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Dramatic Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Blind Faith:
Ifemelu’s mother succumbs to staggering dramatic irony in Chapter 3. Caught in her bouts of religious fervor, she deludes herself about Aunty Uju’s miraculous good luck and even prays for the General:
Every morning, Ifemelu’s mother prayed for The General. She would say, “Heavenly father, I command you to bless Uju’s mentor. May his enemies never triumph over him!” Or she would say, “We cover Uju’s mentor with the precious blood of Jesus!” […] Her mother said the word “mentor” defiantly, a thickness in her tone, as though the force of her delivery would truly turn The General into a mentor, and also remake the world into a place where young doctors could afford Aunty Uju’s new Mazda, that green, glossy, intimidatingly streamlined car.
Dramatic irony builds a jarring distance between the rosy fantasies entertained by Ifemelu’s mother and the sad truth that even the reader can sense. The General’s “mentorship” is no blessing: Aunty Uju’s “quiet smile” and “embarrassed casualness” when handing her brother cash suggest anything but. Aunty Uju’s uneasy acquaintance with the General—the powerful man who assures her of his support—hardly needs further explanation. Yet the mother’s passionate blindness creates an uncomfortable tension with Ifemelu’s own knowledge. God has not so much blessed Aunty Uju as taken her sexual innocence from her. Framed in this light, her mother’s pious, innocent devotion feels warped and strangely twisted.
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