Analysis Of Marita Golden's Migrations Of The Heart

In Marita Golden’s Migrations of the Heart, Marita experiences many events which ultimately lead her to redefine her identity. Certain key aspects of her identity are shaped by her intimate relationships, but particularly the one she has with Femi. Throughout the story, Femi neglects Marita’s basic needs, and Marita struggles with coping with her abuse. At one point in the story, when Marita asks Femi why he cannot shirk the family fee, Femi replies, “I cannot say no to my family” (177). Marita then responds with pure contempt: “Always you can say no to me. And always your family comes first” (177). This passage highlights that over the course of the book, Marita experiences the increasing struggle in dealing with Femi’s preferential treatment

For instance, at one point in the story, Marita buys a slab of cheese that she will use for cooking dinner. Kunle, Femi’s younger brother, takes some of the cheese without asking Marita, and when he is confronted, responds that “You’re in Africa now [...] and you have to do things the way we do them here. What belongs to my brother belongs to me” (142). Marita ultimately fends Kunle off from the rest of the cheese, and Femi confronts her about it: “[Kunle] should not have to ask. By our custom, he doesn’t have to. No friend or relative must ask for anything first, especially my brother” (142). The implication of this statement is that because Marita is Femi’s wife, her rights are no longer valid, and are instead transferred over to

This is perhaps because of the role of tribalism within Nigerian society. Because tribalism is so deeply ingrained into the upbringings of each and every Nigerian native, the value of people just like you, which would usually be your family members, increases. As you grow up within this society, you learn that family exists on a plane above all else, because your family is the most specific tribe you exist in. Within Phillipe Wamba’s Kinship: A Family’s Journey in Africa and America, the narrator touches on growing up in America as an African-American student. One thing that all African-American children experienced while growing up is the struggle to “figure out how to identify with a historical homeland that they have been taught to reject” (82). America experiences an excess of racism as opposed to tribalism, which means that in America, people forge alliances with other people of their race, such as the alliance between African-Americans as a result of their mutual understanding of the nature of their