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Vicky
Bubu is Adah and Francis’s third child, a son, whom Adah has by emergency C-section in London. He’s a strong, healthy baby, and the nurses on the maternity ward nickname him “Muhammed Ali.” The C-section convinces Adah of the dangers of having more children, leading her to seek contraception—secretly, when Francis refuses to cooperate—and, later, to seek abortifacient pills when she gets pregnant again.
Bubu Quotes in Second Class Citizen
The Second Class Citizen quotes below are all either spoken by Bubu or refer to Bubu. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 8: Role Acceptance Quotes
Francis was so happy and was coming over to her cane chair, kissing her very, very softly, telling her how virtuous she was and how he now was the lord and master of several farms, miles and miles around. What more could a man want than a virtuous wife like her who had helped him achieve all this?
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Chapter 9: Learning the Rules Quotes
“I brought my children here to save them from the clutches of your family, and, God help me, they are going back as different people; never, never are they going to be the type of person you are. My sons will learn to treat their wives as people, individuals, not like goats that have been taught to talk.”
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Chapter 10: Applying the Rules Quotes
If we humans could rationalise about dates and all that, she believed that God, who made the humans who could rationalise and come to terms with things, would be able to rationalise still more. So, having equipped herself with this idea, she did not share Mrs Noble’s distress. The long and short of it was that she had no money for Christmas; God would understand.
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Chapter 11: Population Control Quotes
Why was it necessary to have a husband brought into an issue like this? Could not the woman be given the opportunity of exercising her own will? Whatever happened, she was not going to have any more children.
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Chapter 13: The Ditch Pull Quotes
Francis could kill her child. She could forgive him all he had done before, but not this.
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Bubu Character Timeline in Second Class Citizen
The timeline below shows where the character Bubu appears in Second Class Citizen. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8: Role Acceptance
...gratitude to him with a look. The people bring the baby: a large, hairy boy (Bubu). Adah smiles very gratefully and falls asleep.
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Chapter 9: Learning the Rules
...her Caesar, and the doctors nickname her “cord presentation.” The nurses nickname her new son Bubu “Muhammad Ali” because of his unruly yelling. Eventually, he is given a private nursery so...
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...she plans to tell him that she has earned a present after giving birth to Bubu via Caesarean. She doesn’t mind that Francis will buy the present with her earnings; she...
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...leaves, just to remind the others that Nigeria is an independent country. She frets that Bubu will have to be wrapped in a hand-me-down shawl from Titi when they leave. She...
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...home, Adah wonders whether the people on the ward were genuinely friendly and truly admired Bubu, after all. She questions why she’s become so “suspicious” of people and concludes that it’s...
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Chapter 10: Applying the Rules
Adah’s boss from the library, Mrs. Konrad, sends presents for Titi, Vicky, and Bubu, which Adah interprets as a sign of God’s understanding and support. She is relieved that...
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Chapter 11: Population Control
...her. Adah decides guiltily to go to the clinic in secret. During a checkup for Bubu, Adah asked a nurse about birth control and received some literature, a form for her...
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After the bath, Adah brings Bubu with her to the clinic; she told Francis that the clinic wanted to take a...
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Chapter 12: The Collapse
...and Okpara enter the apartment, an unshaven Francis is singing a Jehovah’s witness hymn to Bubu while Vicky swings his dirty diaper around and Titi watches. Adah, marking the contrast between...
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...for himself. Francis believes that Adah will never leave him because of Titi, Vicky, and Bubu.
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Chapter 13: The Ditch Pull
...burned The Bride Price—the basis of her aspirations, which she planned to show Titi, Vicky, Bubu, and Dada when they were old enough.
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