Symbolic and Ironic Dimensions of The Return of Ameze by F.N. Ogoanah

Abstract

This essay highlights poverty, ignorance and greed as the major pre-occupations of the author in his novel, The Return of Ameze. The novel portrays the travails of the girl child in Nigeria. We see the girl, Ameze.s birth, her childhood days, her growing up, her struggles to survive, her love for Frank, her trip to Italy and the accompanying hardships, and her death as symbolic and ironic. In the course of the analysis, it is established that Ogoanah employs symbolism and irony to effectively realize his artistic goals. His characters are symbolic and because they are symbolic, they are deeper than they physically appear to be on the surface. Some actions in the novel are symbolic and the author uses them either for implications or to foreshadow certain future incidents. He employs irony to emphasize that all that glitters is not gold.

Key words: symbolism, irony, flashback, prostitution and culture,