Aké thus far...

As a precocious, intellectually hungry child, Soyinka's pseudo-autobiography presents this sense of social phenomena. Provided with ample opportunity, support, and encouragement, opposite that of Tambu, Soyinka's world of childhood is lovingly stimulated and evoked. For instance, this evocation is largely revealed by the young author's simple reference to his parents by using many nicknames.

Wole's initial exposure with the marching band presents this melding of cultures - a collaborative effort of harmony for the colonized and the colonizer. Effectively, he seems to gently mock his own precociousness. The outside world, apart from Aké, seems to compliment young Wole's world (the one in which he lives in and that of what is retained mentally). He describes many things encountered, suggesting largely this sensory richness of the world.

The marching scene certainly made me recall Tambu's initial reactions/sensations upon her arrival to Babamukuru's house. Along these lines, I reread the first few chapters and reassessed that this book, like Nervous Conditions, had many references to food. For example, Bukola (bookseller's daughter) was given fish-soup, opportunistically in a separate bowl when she had one of her episodic crises and requested for a sàarà, supplicating for a large feast. Similarly, young Wole described how his mother "enjoyed the roll played by the Headmaster's house," providing a place "with such stomachs for arguments and food" even when she "shook her head in despair" (19). In addition, Young Wole awaits for what he thought was a birthday party to provide food and festivities for his friends. Food continues to emerge throughout the chapters, but am I onto something that isn't intended to be that significant in this novel?

I think the unpredictable tangents help audiences to stay alert - allowing immediate contact with what is being communicated - suggesting that we must be just as alert as young Wole.