Women's liberation in Ake'

The conclusion to Wole Soyinka's well written, yet factually suspect autobiography was a refreshing change of pace from the depressing endings we have seen in the books we have covered previously in this class. The main character doesn't end up dead or mentally damaged, and it ends on a happy, empowering note. The final confrontation between the tax collectors and the mob of angry women was an excellently written scene, where a feel-good atmosphere of people sticking up for themselves and standing up for their rights replaced the quiet, introspective, bitter musing about the injustices heaped upon undeserving people that frustrated me so much in the Book of Not. The humor of the scene was refreshing as well, especially with the withering one liner that the head of the women's mob delivered to the head tax collector and the scene in the shop where Wild Christian forces the tax collector to strip so he doesn't get accosted by the angry mob. I felt that this scene in particular shined a light on the complexity of Wild Christian's character, showing that while she is definitely assertive and authoritative, at her heart she is a compassionate, nonviolent woman who can't bear to see people suffer unreasonably.