The Girl with the Louding Voice

72 pages • 2 hours read

The Girl with the Louding Voice

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-9

Reading Check

1. What does Adunni dream of becoming?

2. What does Adunni’s mother make her father promise not to do to Adunni?

3. How does Morufu see himself?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is at stake for Adunni if she marries, and why does Enitan not show sympathy?

2. Why is Adunni proud of being in school despite being teased for being older than the other children?

3. What does it mean to have a “louding voice,” and to what extent does Adunni already have a “louding voice” in the making?

Paired Resource

“‘He Bought Me Like a Chicken’: The Struggle To End Slavery in Niger”

Though focused on issues of child brides in bordering Niger, this article from The Guardian directly connects forced childhood marriage to slavery and trafficking, and it examines the factors that allow this form of modern slavery to exist.
Shared themes include How Individuals Find the Strength to Overcome Unimaginable Trauma.
In what ways do the article and Adunni’s situation illuminate the social attitudes and economic realities that lead to child marriage arrangements? How do they each make compelling arguments as to how such arrangements impact survivors?

CHAPTERS 10-18

Reading Check

1. How does Khadija view herself and Adunni despite their circumstances?

2. What aspirations does Labake have for her daughter Kike?

3. What accusation is a death sentence in the villages where Adunni lives?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What roles does Khadija take on in Adunni’s life, and why does this make her death so upsetting?

2. What do the women’s attitudes toward Morufu’s household dynamics reveal about misogyny and gender oppression?

3. How does Adunni display her “louding voice” in Khadija’s memory?

Paired Resource

“The Cycle of Liberation”

This follow-up to Bobbie Harro’s “Cycle of Socialization” looks at the role of waking up, naming, and reaching out to others experiencing oppression as a necessary step toward liberation.
This relates to the themes of How Individuals Find the Strength to Overcome Unimaginable Trauma and The Bond Between Parents and Children.
Consider Morufu’s household through the lens of Harro’s liberation framework. How might Adunni’s relationship with Khadija and Kike illustrate ways in which found-family bonds can be used to undermine oppression and form a step on the path to liberation?

CHAPTERS 19-27

Reading Check

Who helps Adunni escape her father’s notice in Iya’s bathroom?
Where does Kola plan to send Adunni?
Where does Adunni find a place of escape in Big Madam’s house?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What principle does Iya’s willingness to help Adunni illustrate, despite the personal risk of harboring an accused criminal?

2. Why does Kola drive her around Lagos to see the factory and sights before taking her to Big Madam?

3. Why is Kofi’s advice to Adunni about her situation ridiculous, even if it comes from a good place?

Paired Resource

“Still Becoming: At Home in Lagos with Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche”

This essay offers a literary contextualization of the city of Lagos and reflects on topics of class, fashion, culture, and history in Nigeria’s most populous city.
This touches on the theme of The Importance and Meaning of Nigeria, Both Inside and Outside the Country.
Compare Adiche’s descriptions of Lagos with those in the novel. How does this essay help clarify and contextualize Adunni’s feelings and the social dynamics in the household of her employers? To what extent is Lagos integral to the story?

CHAPTERS 28-36

Reading Check

1. What does Adunni find that fills her with fear and suspicion?

2. What is Abu’s advice about Rebecca?

3. What does Adunni compare her situation and, by extension, Big Madam’s two-week absence to?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What reality does the discussion of the merits of each of the wives’ housemaids reveal?

2. What does reading the book of Nigerian facts do for Adunni?

3. In what ways is Tia also in a predicament, and what is the source?

CHAPTERS 37-46

Reading Check

1. What does the phone represent to Adunni?

2. What is Adunni’s definition of “forsaken,” and what does she refuse to attach this definition to?

3. What does Tia’s bath entail?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In what ways is Big Madam’s situation also difficult?

2. Why does Adunni feel that her friendship with Tia is not like her friendship with Enitan? Why is this important?

3. What do Adunni’s interactions with Chisom and the forced segregation at the church service make Adunni realize?

CHAPTERS 47-56

Reading Check

1. What does Ken, Tia’s husband, reveal after her bath?

2. What does Abu show Adunni?

3. Who killed Rebecca?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Adunni hope to do with the letter?

2. What does Adunni’s “louding voice” entail in her discussion with Big Madam after the incident, and what signs suggest that Big Madam has listened to it?

3. Why does Adunni find Big Madam’s sadness ridiculous?

Paired Resource

“We Should All be Feminists”

This video and transcript of Adiche’s 2012 TEDx Euston Talk offers a perspective on gender inequality that helps contextualize how some gendered attitudes inform social behavior in Nigeria.
Shared themes include The Importance and Meaning of Nigeria, Both Inside and Outside the Country.
Where does Adiche’s talk regarding gender inequality in Nigeria overlap and diverge with Adunni’s story? How does Daré’s novel expose the missing intersections of gender and class in the talk and propose a solution for female empowerment across all classes?

Recommended Next Reads

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

Drawing from the author’s own experiences growing up in Cameroon, How Beautiful We Were chronicles the efforts of a fictional African village to fight back against the exploitation of an American oil company. The story is told from the perspectives of the village’s children as they come of age, and some, like Thula, become revolutionaries.
Shared themes include How Individuals Find the Strength to Overcome Unimaginable Trauma.
Shared topics include ongoing colonialism, resisting exploitation, issues related to class, gender, and ethnicity, and the quest for liberation.
How Beautiful We Were on SuperSummary

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

Set during the decade of the Nigerian Civil War, the novel follows the war’s lasting impact on five intertwined characters, who must make sacrifices and question their ideals as they face the consequences of their affiliations with the Biafran rebels.
Shared themes include The Importance and Meaning of Nigeria, Both Inside and Outside the Country and How Individuals Find the Strength to Overcome Unimaginable Trauma.
Shared topics include the consequences of colonialism in Nigeria, issues related to class, gender, and ethnicity, and the complexities of Nigerian identity.
Half of a Yellow Sun on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

CHAPTERS 1-9

Reading Check

1. A teacher (Chapter 1)

2. Marry her off (Chapter 2)

3. As a king (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. If Adunni marries, she will not only have to give up her dreams of teaching, but also the dreams of her dead mother, who wanted more for her. However, there is much more at stake: Marriage would tear her away from Kayus (whom she cares for as a mother), rob her of her childhood, and force her into a role she is not ready for. Despite all of this, all Enitan can see is the economic benefits and excitement of a wedding. (Various chapters)

2. Adunni believes that learning is for everyone, at any age, but she is also proud of the sacrifices her mother made to put her there. Despite being teased by the other children, she works hard to realize her mother’s dream for her. (Chapter 3)

3. As described, a “louding voice” is one of authority and respect that cannot be ignored. This is different from male voices like her father’s and Morufu’s, whose voices demand authority through fear but lose the listener’s respect as a result. Adunni’s refusal to let matters rest and to raise objections to her mistreatment make it difficult for her to be ignored. Though this gets her into trouble, each time she uses her voice to defend herself, she shows courage and a belief in her own personhood—all things that one must have to use a “louding voice.” (Chapter 4, various chapters)

CHAPTERS 10-18

Reading Check

1. As fighters (Chapter 10)

2. Tailoring school (Chapter 12)

3. Ole/Thief (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Khadija becomes a mother figure to Adunni by providing the kind of advice a mother might offer to a new wife, cooking for her, and making sure she is adjusting to her new role. In turn, Adunni becomes like an eldest daughter, caring for her when she is sick. Unfortunately, Khadija dies. The injustice of her death and Adunni’s inability to save her not only imperils Adunni’s standing in the village, but also forces her to relive the trauma of her mother’s death. (Various chapters)

2. Khadija, Kike, and Adunni undermine Morufu’s male authority and resist oppression by showing empathy for and supporting one another, such as Khadija’s willingness to help Adunni with birth control herbs and Kike’s intervention in the argument over her mother Labake’s stove. Women who see other women as rivals and seek power are not only aiding the male oppressor; in refusing female allies, they are also more impacted by male whims. For example, Labake’s self-worth is so tied up in being the first wife to an oppressive person that she suffers jealousy and inadequacy, and she alienates herself form the rest of the household. As a result, she is never able to hold Morufu’s sole attention. Therefore, women empowering women is the path toward freedom for women; it cannot be found by working for the oppressor. (Various chapters)

3. Adunni shouts to Bamidele so that he hears the truth of his complicity in Khadija’s death and marital infidelities. Here, Adunni speaks with the authority of knowing the truth and with courage, despite the likelihood that she will be blamed for the death. Adunni’s use of her “louding voice” makes it so that Bamidele will be unable to ignore his own cowardice even if he escapes justice. (Chapter 16)

CHAPTERS 19-27

Reading Check

1. Kayus (Chapter 20)

2. Lagos (Chapter 21)

3. The library (Chapter 27)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Adunni’s mother used to make and deliver food to Iya and others even when she became ill. Helping those in need—especially when in need herself—was the principle she lived by. Adunni does not understand that giving is reciprocal and that gratitude outlasts death until Iya begs Kola to help her make good on her promise to Adunni’s mother. (Chapter 21)

2. Despite thinking it is a kindness to take her sightseeing, Kola is showing her that her only choice will be to obey. The city is so big and unknown that, if she were kicked out, she would not know how to survive. The enormity of the city is a reminder that she is trapped. (Chapter 22)

3. Kofi tells her to “be careful” (especially around Big Daddy), to avoid Big Madam, and to keep quiet, but this is impossible considering of the nature of the work and the temperament of the employers. Staying hidden and quiet also means to be complicit. Kofi has little power or courage to help her beyond this advice. (Various chapters)

CHAPTERS 28-36

Reading Check

1. Rebecca’s waist beads (Chapter 28)

2. Quit asking (Chapter 31)

3. Colonization; Nigerian Independence (Chapter 32)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. This discussion exposes the prevalence of trafficking on an international scale and exposes the hypocrisy of wealthy Nigerians who enslave and subjugate others just as carelessly as the European enslavers and colonizers that subjugated Nigerians. (Chapter 29)

2. Reading the book gives Adunni the language and historical context to understand her own situation as an extension of Nigerian history in which Britain subjugated the country, but then the Nigerian people worked and achieved independence. Knowing this history, she can envision a path toward liberation for herself and other women. (Chapter 32)

3. Like most of the women in the story, including Big Madam, Tia suffers because of male weakness. Though she and her husband have agreed not to have children together, he does not intervene when Tia’s mother-in-law blames the situation on her, allowing bad feelings to grow between the women by not taking responsibility. (Chapter 35)

CHAPTERS 37-46

Reading Check

1. A lifeline (Chapter 41)

2. A “Wasted Waste”/ herself (Chapter 42)

3. Flogging and humiliation (Chapter 45)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Big Madam’s rage stems from her own inability to stand up to Big Daddy as a battered wife. Despite her wealth, she cannot escape the consequences of Big Daddy’s actions and becomes complicit in his worst behaviors. Instead of standing up to him, she keeps up the appearance that he is supporting her in a loving marriage, when the roles are reversed; her business funds the house, and she covers for his drinking, gambling, and extramarital affairs. She does not see that the power she uses to make money, to cover for Big Daddy, and to oppress others like Adunni could be turned toward her own liberation instead. (Chapter 36)

2. Adunni realizes that her friendship with Tia is different from her friendship with Enitan because they are not peers; even though they support each other, their different lived experiences and classes make finding common ground more difficult. However, though Tia could pity Adunni and feel like her savior and Adunni could resent or become dependent on Tia’s wealth, neither woman dehumanizes the other nor allows the differences to dictate the terms of their friendship. (Chapter 41)

3. When Adunni first meets Chisom, she is shocked to discover how well cared for Caroline’s housemaid is because she is well-dressed, fed, and unafraid to be caught relaxing. This makes Adunni wonder if she is simply unlucky to be employed by Big Madam. The segregated church ceremony in which the maids are forced to sit in a smelling shed for their service and where she sees the other maids look more like she does makes Adunni realize that Chisom is the exception, not the rule. (Chapter 43)

CHAPTERS 47-56

Reading Check

1. He is infertile. (Chapter 48)

2. An incriminating letter (Chapter 50)

3. No one/it is unclear (Chapter 55)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. She hopes to use the letter to prove Big Daddy killed Rebecca and to make him pay for her suffering, since she was unable to make Bamidele pay for Khadija’s suffering. (Chapter 52)

2. Adunni speaks with the authority of truth when Big Madam asks her if she will leave because of Big Daddy. Adunni tells her that Big Daddy is part of the reason, but that Big Madam has also had a part in her suffering. She also tells Big Madam that she does not have to support Big Daddy anymore, and that she should not put up with his abuses. Big Madam does not let Big Daddy back in the gates, which is something the household has never seen, indicating that she has listened to Adunni’s words. (Chapter 52)

3. Adunni knows that Big Madam has been complicit in and covered for Big Daddy’s affairs, but she also finds it astonishing that what has upset Big Madam is that he was having an affair with her friend, not that he tried to sexually assault a child. (Chapter 54)