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Under the Udala Trees


Raw, emotionally intelligent and unflinchingly honest--a triumph.
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Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

Created: 08/26/16

Replies: 9

Posted Aug. 26, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?


Posted Sep. 07, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
juliep

Join Date: 04/07/12

Posts: 250

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

I think it's her dreams that reveal to her the reasons why she needs to leave. The reasons have been there all along, and finally come to the forefront through her dreams.
This book seemed to have a lot of dream sequences in it, which I usually don't like, and which I wasn't that fond of in this book. I have never personally had dreams that "spoke" to me like Ijeoma's did. Does this happen in real life? Or is this a trick that authors use to get their characters to do what they want them to?


Posted Sep. 08, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
reene

Join Date: 02/18/15

Posts: 497

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

In this society, dreams are an important part of life. They guide you and often "speak" to you. They are part of the religion of your life. Ijeoma would not ignore any dreams. She did follow the advise to leave her marriage. I do think her major reason for leaving was what she saw in her own daughter. The fear, the indifference to things around her, the haunted look on her face. As depressed as Ijeoma had become, she still cared about her child and knew she had to do something.


Posted Sep. 08, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dianaps

Join Date: 05/29/15

Posts: 460

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

Ijeoma had plenty of reasons to leave her husband but she kept pushing them back and not facing them. The dream was the pivotal point in her decision. To answer Juliep's question about dreams such as these happing in real life my answer is yes they do. I, myself, have had many dreams that had a direct impact on me and/or my family members. One of my ancestors was part American Indian and she had them too.


Posted Sep. 09, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
marilynj

Join Date: 08/07/11

Posts: 54

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

I agree with Juliep about the dreams. I think it is indeed a literary device. I don't like reading or hearing about anybody's dreams. My dreams don't have any impact on my life. My son died recently, and I think of him almost constantly. I've asked him again and again to come to me in my dreams. Still hasn't happened except once and he did not appear as a living person. I think Ijeoma's dreams, as part of the plot, might have prompted her to leave, but she obviously had other reasons. She wanted to be happy. She wanted her daughter to be happy. She wanted a better life for herself and her daughter, and I don't think she wanted another child.


Posted Sep. 10, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
reene

Join Date: 02/18/15

Posts: 497

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

In this case the dreams were not a literary device. They were a very important part of her life. In her culture and many others included our Native Americans, our dreams speak to us, help us understand our lives and work out our problems. The author was educated in the United States, but would certainly remember and hold on to a major part of her culture. She, the character, who was living the culture would have a very difficult time ignoring the advice given in a dream.


Posted Sep. 11, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kate

Join Date: 01/22/11

Posts: 95

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

I don't mind reading about dreams in a story. I personally do not remember any of my dreams; I wish I did. If a person does remember dreams I could see how they could effect major decisions one makes. I think your intuition is similar; almost like dreams while you are awake. I have based decisions in the past on a very strong intuition or feeling I have had.


Posted Sep. 11, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
jeant

Join Date: 06/16/11

Posts: 17

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

I agree with the others that Ijeoma had multiple reasons for leaving Chibundu with one of the most compelling the increasing detachment and emotional withdrawal of her daughter. My interpretation would be that her dreams were the crystallization of the things she knew in her heart but which she denied with her intellect. I am not a member of any culture, ie Native American, etc., which openly encourages the use of dreams as a tool, but I have had dreams since childhood which spoke to me and offered clarification of situations troubling me at the time. There are everyday dreams and then, rarely, there are those that kind of slap me upside the head and say "Pay attention, look at this!" For me, these dreams are always metaphorical and offer a keen distillation of what might seem to be very complex indecipherable issues when I'm awake. Far from being simply a literary device, the interpretation of dreams as an opening to the subconscious and/or the soul is widely explored and accepted among numerous schools of psychology and spirituality -- the work of Carl Jung to name just one.


Posted Sep. 17, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
ritah

Join Date: 05/26/11

Posts: 80

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

Dreams generally reflect our strong fears and needs of our daily wakeful lives and are often said to be a way of unconscious problem-solving. That is what the dreams are doing for Ijeoma. I believe that she also had real fears for the physical safety of herself and her daughter...the machete incident bothered her. She was also being forced into sexual interactions which she did not want; we call that rape today even when it is between a married couple. But, I was really anticipating a physical attack by Chibundu as he became increasingly frustrated and, especially, after Ijeoma's miscarriage. I thought he might interpret that as being a deliberate act to get rid of a what he firmly believed was a son.


Posted Sep. 19, 2016 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
darylb

Join Date: 06/23/13

Posts: 142

RE: Is it only her dreams that prompt Ijeoma to leave Chibundu or does she have other reasons for her decision?

No, it may have been the catalyst that pushes her into leaving, but she knew in her heart that her marriage was a farce. Her love of her daughter and her yearning for a happier life were why she left.


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