Also, the scene with the Smelling Ghost put Dangarembga's toilet scene to shame in terms of disgust. The Smelling Ghost almost made me want to put down the book, while Dangarembga's was something I could push through. Of course, here Tutuola would use ample description so that a vivid picture was present in my imagination, while leaving out all specifics where I needed them! Once we discussed how the book was an allegory in class, and the possibility of the urine being offered being a child's first encounter with tea, I was a little more appreciative of the book, however. Now I am trying to place what all of the vile things and the ghosts could mean in terms of a colonial education.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
First Impressions
Currently I am frustrated with Tutuola's book, and left my reading largely confused. The way it is written, while probably important, is so infuriating! The bad grammar and the constant repetition of thoughts are interrupting the text, and causing me to constantly backtrack to make sure something was actually repeated versus simply in my imagination. Not to mention that the actual plot, while entertaining in its fantastical nature, is so unclear and vague. I am never really sure of what is going on, and simply have to grasp for clues to figure out what is unfolding. The scene with him and his brother in the forest was especially difficult, because I didn't know whether they were trying to climb trees or just hide under them or who actually ended up getting caught.
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Hooray for a commentary on the grammar! As soon as I began delving into the book, I found myself constantly halting to reconfigure what sentences were trying to tell me. His constant use of "as" and "because" and "immediately" (in place of as soon as, for example) kept throwing me off. I had to keep "translating" it basically into what a more grammatical structure would make the words mean. Subordinate clauses were practically non-existent and were substituted with the strange usages of the aforementioned "immediately" and "because". As I continued to read, though, I found that I became used to it and also came to realize how dependent I am on grammar.
ReplyDeleteI definitely do agree with Tutuola's grammar causing the writing to be slightly frustrating and confusing. His simple style of writing, however, I found, also made it a fairly easy read. So, though it was rather confusing at times, I found it, for the most part, to be extremely easy to comprehend. I found the greater challenge to be in interpreting the deeper meanings behind all of the short stories which he presented and attempting to identify the actual real-life situations to which the allegories could be applied.
ReplyDeleteYour spot on with your comment on Tutuola's grammar. When reading the novel, I noticed right away that most of the paragraphs were 2-3 long, run on sentences. I agree that while that might speak to the deeper meaning of the novel, it to me almost detracted from it because of the confusion it caused. But the grammar did force me to slow down and really absorb what I was reading, so as not to be confused. One wonders if that is just Tutuola's style, or if that was intentional on his part.
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