Table de matières
Table de matières
This chapter focuses on characterization in Neria. It aims at highlighting and explaining the portrayal study about characters in the narrative entitled “Neria”. It takes into consideration the intellectual, moral, psychological, physical and social aspects of the different characters.
Describing characters helps in the understanding of the different characters dramatized in a narrative and understanding the narrative itself. It discloses the characters’ personalities through their actions, reactions and interactions. In fact, characterization is not really an easy task since it is not based on the mere study of names of characters. Its study depends upon actions or plot as well as narrative and point of view as Alison Booth (1967: 140) declares. This also depends on the characters’ mutual relationship and on their environmental relationship.
Thus, thanks to his creativity and his artistic capacity, Tsitsi Dangarembga, the author of “Neria”, the narrative of my concern, presents the story as a real event taking place in real life, through characters. The characters themselves are presented like real personalities acting in the real word. The story centres on a main character named Neria. It also presents some subsidiary characters that are in relationship with Neria, the central character. These subsidiary characters are either for Neria’s advantage or for her disadvantages.
Neria, a middle aged woman of 35 years old, is the protagonist in the Zimbabwean film entitled “Neria”. She is the main character as she is involved in all the actions of the narrative and acts throughout the story from its beginning to its end.
“Neria” is as Zimbabwean woman living in a rural town in Zimbabwe. She is a thin, medium height and dark coloured woman. She always wears decent clothes; she does not have long hair and never twits her hair. She is a naturally beautiful woman and she puts making up shoes.
Neria is motherly. This is manifested through a number of her qualities including caring, nurturing, protecting and loving her children. Neria takes care of her children and does her best to make them feel happy in all circumstances. Her carefulness is also seen in the way that she finds a job in order to help her husband support the family. This attitude of Neria’s carefulness is born from love. She so much loves her family to the extent that from the bottom line, her family is modern, happy and secure, as she herself fixes it. Neria’s love is also seen towards her husband in the way that she helps him struggle for their family’s living.
Neria also loves her husband very much. Her love for her husband has a good consequence on Neria’s attitude towards her husband’s mother. Although this woman is very capricious, Neria helps herself to understand her and take her the way she is. Neria knows that her mother-in-law hates her, but she keeps her care to her because of the love she has for this woman’s son.
Neria’s love for her mother-in-law is seen when she easily accepts to bear some capricious requests from this woman. This is seen when for example this woman shouts, wanting Neria to come and help her change her position in the chair where she is sitting although she is in good health and can do it by herself.
Neria’s love is also obvious towards her brother-in-law, Phineas. This man ill-treats Neria after her husband’s death, but Neria refuses to get a lawyer to accuse him to the court as she was advised.
Neria is also nurturing. Her two children receive warm nurturing care from her. She takes care of them by feeding them, helping their father school them and solving all their problems. Likewise, Neria does her best to make her children happy, and help them grow up successfully.
Neria’s love also pushes her to be protective. She protects her children from all danger after their father’s death. She also protects or conserves her husband’s goods because she knows that this is what will help her rise up her children in the absence of her husband who is already dead.
Neria’s protective behaviour is also detected through her carefulness. When Neria finds her daughters very sick at the village, and Phineas has refused to take her to the hospital, she takes the resolution of putting her daughter on her back and manages to bring her to hospital.
Neria also protects her children when she does her best to take them out of Phineas’
house where nobody could take care of them. Neria plots with her brother, Jethro, so that all the children can be in Neria’s hands.
Neria is also protective towards her relationship with her family-in-law. She is restrained from complaining about some bad behaviour that their in-laws show to her just for keeping a good atmosphere among them. This is what is seen when she is being questioned at the court in the following terms:
Lawyer: When you came to the place you call empty house, did you make any objections and
ask for the future?
Neria: No, my lord. I was afraid. I did not want to offend anyone including those who have
departed.
The protection of good relationship is also seen as one of Neria’s qualities. That is why Neria refuses her friend Connie’s advice. In fact, when Connie sees that her friend suffers a lot, she suggests her to look for a lawyer for supporting her hardship and her case at the court. Neria is not ready to ruin the atmosphere between her husband’s relatives and herself. The script reads:
Connie: There is something else you can do beside borrowing money.
Neria: What? Except waiting home !
Connie: Mr. Machacha, a lawyer who help me during my divorce, why don’t you see him?... Neria: How can I fight my children’s own blood!
Neria’s love and protection make her courageous. Her courage displays itself in the way she helps her husband find a living. Although Patrick has a good job, Neria does not stop working to help the family get all what they need.
Neria’s courage pushes her to paint their house for keeping it beautiful. This woman
( i.e. Neria) does not wait for her husband to paint the house as other woman think by saying that this is a men’s work. She herself takes the Vanish and the brush and paints their house.
Neria continues to be courageous, even after he husband‘s death. Although Phineas, her brother-in-law has already taken all her furniture and hidden them out of Neria, she still takes the courage of writing him a letter to attract his attention.
All the disappointments and hardship passes through do not stop her from going to work. Neria continues working so that she can be able to afford all her children’s needs after their father’s death.
Neria’s courage is also seen in the way she behaves in front of the different events she passes through.
One day, as she was coming from the work, she finds that the locks of her house have been changed and her children taken away. Neria does not lose temper, but she engages to go to the village as she knows her brother-in-law is the only person who must have done this.
Neria does not lose temper either when Phineas refuses to give her financial support for hospital. Neria finds another solution to bring her daughter to hospital.
Neria’s engagement in the legal channels is also a proof of the courage. After Neria has noticed that it is enough with Phineas’ behaviour, she now takes Connie’s advice. She gets through all the steps to defend the difficulties she comes across.
Apart from her courage, love, carefulness, etc., Neria is wise. Neria’s wisdom is helped by her calm attitude. She most of the time keeps quiet in front of hard events. One day, as Ambuya, her mother-in-law is dozing in the chair and Patrick wants to go to work, Patrick refuses to awake his mother. He goes to work without saying ‘goodbye’. When Ambuya wakes up, she deigns saying that it is Neria who forbade her husband to say “goodbye” to his mother. Neria hears this but says nothing.
Neria also uses her wisdom through a calm attitude when they are in the car with Patrick, Phineas and Ambuya, going to their village. Phineas shows his hatless towards Neria but this one does not react.
After Patrick’s body’s burial, the village elder distribute Patrick’s things to his relatives. This one gives nothing to Neria. Neria, although she is still under her husband’s death pressure, says nothing. She only stands up and go to sit alone on a remote place.
One day, when Neria and her children were already in the city, as Neria is coming back from the job, she finds Phineas and his wife already in her house. She does not know where these ones found the key and how they got in. Phineas and Maria, his wife, act as if they were the owners of the house and welcome Neria in her own house like a stranger. Neria is reluctant and does not say a word. Maria serves her tea just the way Neria does for her tars.
Neria takes it without saying anything.
Neria’s wisdom is also seen to the way, she considers the pieces of advice she is given by her friends. She does not do things quickly. Neria takes the time to think deeply on flings before doing them. She does not put into practice her friend Connie’s advice before it is necessary. This is also seen when Chipo tells Neria that she has some friends of hers who could teach Phineas a lesson. Neria does not put this in her mind.
Neria, although the money Phineas is fighting for was found by Patrick and his Neria, keeps quiet. She does not dare tell Patrick’s relatives that they were keeping their money together. She just considers that all of the money was for Patrick alone and lets them complain.
Neria’s wisdom is once more seen at the court. When Neria is being questioned by different judge, this woman does not invent information. She tells the truth and nothing but the truth. She is challenged by Phineas but does not lie to help herself win. All what she pronounces is just the truth.
Neria uses her wisdom once more when, at the village, she is asked to choose among all the men of her late husband’s family, one who will be her husband. Neria does not refuse, not even does she complain. Neria stands up to do her choice. She chooses her son Shingi.
This means that she does not need any husband but she expresses it through wisdom instead of refusing the customary laws. To sum up Neria is a good at love and she is a law’s wife and traditional wife.
This section deals with the description of the subsidiary characters taking part in the narrative i.e. “Neria”. This section aims at portraying these characters’ behaviour by, looking into their actions and reactions so as to show how they help the central character convey her message.
A subsidiary character is sound to be the metaphor of the main character. This is, they assist, supplement and stand for the main character’s characteristics.
Subsidiary characters in narrative are very important both for the writer and the readers for they help for good understanding in that they have a part to play in the network of interpersonal relations in both speech and acts.
In fact, in the narrative “Neria” Tsitsi Dangarembga portrays many subsidiary characters. In this section, those subsidiary characters are described.
Patrick, the main character’s husband, is a young man about thirty-eight years old. He is a slim and tall man with hair and beard not completely cut. He is black skinned, with white eyes and a straight nose. He is handsome.
Patrick is a wine man. His wisdom is shown through his collaboration with his wife. Patrick does not do anything without asking for his wife’s point of view. When he wants to buy a bull for his younger brother, Phineas, he first tells Neria.
Patrick’s wisdom is also seen in the way he asks his wife a service. He begins by flattering her lovingly. This is what he did before telling Neria that it would be a good thing to buy Phineas a bull as the Narrative states:
“I’m a lucky man! How many men have a woman who works so hard and still looks so beautiful! If we have enough money after we finish painting, let’s buy that bull for Phineas…”
Patrick’s wisdom is also show in the answers he gives his relatives when they ask him for money. When Phineas asks him for money, Patrick does not want to give the answer directly without consulting his wife. The narrative shows how he replies to his young brother: “Any way! I’ll talk to Neria”.
On their way going to the village, Phineas is asking for money again. It is brother
Patrick does not want to give a direct answer. He wants to show him that he does not take decisions alone. So he tells his brother. “Neria and I have already talked it over”.
Patrick also shows his wisdom by the way he tries to make his younger brother understand his life through a story. Patrick and his younger brother go to Jethro, Neria’s brother’s show. On their way back, at night, Patrick begins telling his young brother a story of a man who becomes very rich without working to show Phineas that Neria learn a lot of money and what they have is the effort both of them.
Patrick is a generous person. His generosity is seen through how he gives and shares. Patrick never forgets to share with his family when he gets something. First, he opens a store for Phineas so that this story can be helping the family.
Even when Patrick does not have money, he is willing to help his family. This is the case when his brother Phineas is asking for a bull. Patrick regrets of not having anything. He would like to help but there is no way. The narrative reads: “You know, I’d like to help but we have spent so much money on the house”.
Patrick’s generosity is also seen when, in Jethro’s show, he is seen paying drinks for their friends. When Patrick and Phineas arrive in the theatre and meet some friends there.
Phineas orders for everybody. Patrick does not complain; he is ready to pay, to share to give.
Patrick is also humble. His humility shows itself in his openness to his wife. Nothing is done without Neria. He gives much importance to Neria’s contributions.
Patrick’s humility also shows itself in his discussions with his brother. Patrick does not boast for his richness. All what he does is tagging to show his brother that he himself cannot get what he has. He makes this brother understand that Neria is a great help for him. He goes even up to say he is nothing, as the narrative reads:
“I’m not anything big; but whatever I am, Neria; Neria has made me what I am”.
Patrick also shows his humility when, waiting to go to work, the car refuses to work. Patrick has a lot of money and is able to rent another car in town, but he does not do it. Patrick takes his bicycle and goes to work on it.
Patrick is also seen to be humble when he brings a table. Patrick has bought a new table and has to bring it at his. When he arrives in his compound, he knows that his younger brother is there, together his wife and his children. If he calls upon then, someone will come and his carry the table in the house. But Patrick lifts the table by himself and brings it in the house.
Patrick is also a loving man. His love is first proved by his generosity. All what he does for his family is a poof that he loves them.
Patrick’s love is also seen towards Neria, his wife. When they were still friends, Patrick
used to bring Neria to a remote place so that they could talk there. This is a sign of a great attachment to his wife. In brief, Patrick is an exceptional man in relation to his quoted herehigh generous qualities, and especially, a humble and responsible man.
Phineas appears to be the main antagonist in the film. He is defected to be a naturallyborn cruel. Phineas’ cruelty is seen in the way that he does not like people to be happy.
Phineas’ cruel behaviour pushes him to speak nonsense. This man, Phineas does not weigh words before saying them. He does not care if what he says will shock people or not. This is what we see when Patrick arrives home from the work with a table Patrick finds Phineas, his young brother, Jethro his brother-in-low, Jimmy, the mechanic, Neria and Ambuya there. Everybody congratulate Patrick for the nice table he has bought. Only Phineas does not like it, he dishearts his brother. The narrative shows it in these words: “Aaah, that table is too small. How can the whale family sit on such a small table?”
This behavior of hocking people is also seen when the whole family, Patrick’s family, is on their way to the village. As Patrick, Neria Phineas and Ambuya are in the same car, Phineas begins asking his brother to buy him a bull. In Patrick’s norms, he never does anything without consulting his wife. He tells his brother that they have already discussed about the mother with his wife. Phineas is very angry and speaks badly about Neria in her presence. The narrative states:
“Aaah ! Neria, Neria !! You just cannot make up your mind without calling that name of Neria, if she objects, she can say it right here”.
Phineas shacks his brother again become this one speaks about his wife once more. Phineas does not like this head; he tells him: “I’m telling you the truth. Ever since you moved to town, she controls you”.
Phineas tells his brother nonsense even in front of people. He does not care of how he speaks, where he speaks and to whom. In Jethro’s show, as they are on the table with their friends, Phineas wants to narrative presents him imposing himself to him brother.
“Patrick, let us buy something, or you need Neria’s permission to buy beer!”
Phineas shows again his impoliteness when they go to visit the shop with Patrick. Although Patrick always sends money for the shop supply, the shop still looks empty. When Patrick asks why that is so, he is replied impolitely by his brother. The narrative states:
“You are talking about the shop that paid Neria’s bride price! It’s hard to make a profit where a hungry family last up all the store”.
Through these words, Phineas wants to show his brother that he married a wife from a poor family, and that family steals their goods.
Phineas shows his cruelty openly after his brother’s death. After Patrick’s death, Phineas does not hide anything anymore. He does not care of anybody. All what he sees is his own profit. After Patrick’s burial, as Neria is sitting alone at a remote place, thinking of her future life as a widow ; Phineas comes to disturb her with his nonsense stories; what he tolls her does not strengthen her but reminds he about Patrick, his deceased husband.
This behavior of Phineas is also highlighted when he escapes the village to the town.
Although the family is still mourning Patrick in the village, Phineas runs away without telling anybody. He goes to the city, at his brother’s. There, he steals all the furniture. Everything there could be in the house.
Phineas’ cruelty is also seen the same day his brother died. While the body is still in the house, Phineas has already penetrated his brother’s bedroom. There he steals all the money that was kept in the money that could help Neria raise her children. Neria is not satisfied with the money. He even takes the bank book so that his sister-in-low and her children can die with hunger.
Phineas shows his cruelty again when he comes with his wife from the village and enter in Neria’s house in her absence when Neria arrives, as she introduces the key to open the door, somebody opens it immediately and welcomes here as a visitor. Phineas takes Neria as a visitor in her own house. Himself becomes the owner and boss and tells his sister-in-low that she should ask him for anything she will be in need of.
Phineas steals the children and runs away with them to the village while Neria has gone to work. Phineas is a parent as well and knows how a parent can feel when he loses his children. In Neria absence, he takes the children up to the village, without even informing her in advance. He can’t put himself to the place of Neria a parent.
He shows cruelty again when Mavis falls ill. Phineas is the person who took Mavis and her brother to the village. He brings then and throws them without any care. Mavis falls terribly sick, but he does not Cary. Fortunately Neria arrives. But, she has n mean. She needs Phineas refuses to help. He is ready to mown his brother and child but he cannot help for her medical treatment.
Apart from being cruel, Phineas is also brutal. His brutality is seen in his reaction. At the very beginning of the film as he was in the show and wonted to talk to Jethro, one singer stopped him from disturbing Jethro. His first reaction is to fight. Phineas began to beat the person.
Phineas’ brutality is also seen when Neria arrives at the village, looking for her children.
Phineas seems to forget that she is his elder brother’s wife. He wants to beat her.
Phineas also beats his wife. He does not want any piece of advice from anybody. As Neria, his wife is telling him to leave the inheritance to Neria, and Phineas does not want this to get in his wars, he beats her for saying that.
Phineas’ brutality is also seen at the court. When he is asked to speak, he always loses temper. He speaks with loud voice and becomes so agitated as if he wants to fight. His agitation courses him to be called out by the judge. The narrative states: “Mister Kasande, please, be calm!”
Phineas when the judge pronounces the last decision, Phineas shows his brutality again. He stands up immediately, shouting and not telling things to evolve. He even refuses to accept the courts resolution.
This behavior of cruelty is accompanied with selfishness. All what Phineas sees is his own interest. He wants to have his part in everything. He even wants everything to his, especially thing that he has never worked for.
This cruelty of Phineas is set up as a direct result of a failure to underuse. He keeps the traditional mentality and goes on with it through all his life. He is unable to change despite the kindness of his sister-in-low who is claiming for her right with all the possible politeness.
Ambuya is an old woman of about sixty-five. She is a tall and fat woman. She has round checks and a straight nose.
Ambuya, Neria‘s mother-in-low, is a lazy woman. Her laziness is seen in the way that she always sits in a chair not doing anything. Ambuya cannot even move in her chair. However the atmosphere changes, Ambuya cannot move by herself. This is the case when she feels cold and would like to move from the place where Neria has put her. She calls Neria who was busy doing other things to come and help her stand up.
Ambuya’s laziness is also seen by the fact that she cannot even prepare he own food. Ambuya’s food meets her in her chair where she sits. All what she does is to order. The narrative shows her ordering Neria to make tea for her :
“And now ma Mavis, my stomach is complaining, I can take a cut of tea”.
Ambuya’s laziness is accompanied by hypocrisy. When Ambuya is in the city at his brother’s, he only sits in her chair, looking very ill. This is mostly when her son is absent. One day, as her son Patrick was at home, she works up lardy morning, all the sickness over, and swept the ground.
Ambuya’s hypocrisy is also highlighted by the fact that, when she is in the village, she
mills the sorghum. Once at the village, this old woman regains her strength. She recovers.
Ambuya’s hypocrisy is also seen by the fact that she says bad things about people but never wants them to know. This is what she does for Neria after Patrick has gone to work.
She accuses Neria for forbidding her son tells her “buy”, but does not tell Neria the
truth. The narrative states :
“Ambuya : She can’t even tell him say good bye to his own mother !”.
Neria : What did you say Ambuya ?
Ambuya : Eeeh ! Nothing. You know we dying ones, always sliping or talking to ourselves”.
Ambuya is also traditional. She appears to be traditional because she fails to understand the life in the city. Ambuya’s state, as a traditional woman, pushes her not to understand why Neria should work. She walls a good wife, the wife who stays home waiting for her husband or brings everything. Ambuya wonders why her daughter-in-low would not stay home as well, as a good wife.
Ambuya’s traditional states also does not allow her understand the relationship between her son and his wife. Ambuya complains that Patrick is so close to Neria while their customs do not allow that.
Because of her traditional state, Ambuya is not happy for her son to continue living in the city. For her, all the family should be gathered in the village. The narrative shows he asking Patrick to go and live in the village: “Why can’t you just come home and here ?”.
Ambuya’s traditional state is also seen in the way she respects their culture. All what
Ambuya does, she does it according to what the culture establishes. After Patrick’s death,
Ambuya refuses to pass on to the inheritance ceremonies quickly. The only reason for that is culture. The narrative reads:
“You know, in the days of your grandfather, no formalities were carried out until one year after the burial. Only two weeks have passed”.
Ambuya also shows her traditional behavior at the court. She wants everything to walk with the culture. She does not understand the courts judgment; she deduces that their tradition is not respected, as the narrative presents her reacting to the judge’s decision.
“Sir, your low does not respect our tradition?”
Beside the fact of being complicated, traditional, hypocrisy, Ambuya appears to be compressible. This state is proved, first by the fact that she allowed Neria to go back to town a month after Patrick’s death. After Neria has spent a whole month in the village, she expens her mother-in-low that her children must go to school and she, herself, is running the risk of losing he job. Ambuya understands and lets Neria go to the city; the narrative explains it in these words:
“Mr. Machacha : Were you concerned that they could displease your in-law ? Neria: Yes, my lord. I was very concerned. My husband’s family is very important to me. Before I left, I explained my mother-in-low why I was not staying in the village. I think, she understands”.
Ambuya’s comprehension is also seen when she notices that Neria is not offending. At the court, after Neria and Phineas has been questioned, Ambuya notices that her son, Phineas, is guilty. She understands that Neria had the right and reason to act the way she was acting.
This pushes Ambuya to change her mind and sympathize with Neria. The narrative reads : “Neria, I’ve been listening to all this very carefully. Our tradition says that the family must be cared for and it will be”.
In sum, Ambuya is qualified indeed hypocritical vis-a-vis of his behaviors that are not desirable for a mother who respects himself. His attachment to his culture doesn’t necessarily must until there to deprive her daughter-in-law’s happiness.
Jethro is a tall and slim man. He is black skinned.
Jethro is a resourceful person. His resourcefulness is seen through the different shows he organizer. Phineas is a musician. Instead of lying on his relative’s properties, he organizes different consents to learn money.
Jethro is also intelligent. His intelligence helps her know how to cope with different circumstances. This is the case of his reaction when Phineas begins fighting in his show. Jethro intervenes and stops his sister’s brother-in-low from fighting. He even success to make him go back to his place until Jethro finishes his work.
Jethro’s intelligence is also seen when he arrives at his sister’s place with Phineas.
Jethro knows that Ambuya does not behave well in-front-of his sister but he does not show it. He greets Ambuya as if she was his own mother. He even sits near her and begins talking with her when her son Phineas does not even address her a word.
Jethro’s intelligence is also seen in his flexibility to write songs according to circumstances. It does not take him time to produce a new song which is related to new events. When Neria loves her husband and comes through different problems, her brother Phineas composes a song to console her. This is not only the proof for Jethro’s intelligence,
but also for his love to his sister.
Jethro’s love for Neria is also seen when she suffers alone with her children. After Phineas has stolen all Neria’s potently, this one decides to take the legal resolution. Jethro, her brother, never abandons her. He accompanies her in the procedure of her rights difference.
Jethro’s love for his sister makes him charitable. His charity is first of all seen when Neria goes to the village with all her family. As Patrick’s car is small and can only Cary five persons; Jethro takes the children in his bus. Jethro is not going to their village, he is in his own business, but he just wants to help them.
Jethro’s charity is also seen when he helps Phineas. In the show, Phineas asks Jethro if this one could take him to Neria’s home. Jethro does not refuse. When he finishes singing, he puts Phineas’ shop supply in his car and brings /drives her up to Neria’s home. There, he does not cross his handy, but he also helps to carry the boxes in the house.
His charity is also seen towards Neria, after her husband’s death. After Patrick’s death, as Phineas has already stolen all the money, Phineas decides to be helping his sister financially when he gets some money. The narrative supports that in the words :
“Well, sister. Next week I’ll be payed for the first turn. I’ll give you money for the school fees”.
Connie is a tall and big woman. She is beautiful and has almost a clear skin. She is divorced.
Connie, Neria’s friend is charitable. Her charity is seen in the different helps she brings to her friend, Neria. Every time, when Neria is in need of money, she runs to Connie’s home and gets some thing: Connie never complains for Neria’s demands.
Connie’s charity is not limited to money giving. She also gives pieces of advice. Connie is the first and only person who showed Neria the right way to follow her rights’ defense. She suggests Neria to look for a lawyer and she gives her the lawyer’s name. The narrative reads:
“Connie: There is something else you can so beside borrowing money.
Neria: What? Except waiting home!
Connie: Mr. Machacha, the lawyer who helped me during my divorce, why don’t you see him?”
Connie is intelligent. This intelligence is seen through the way she keeps the tradition. Connie knows their tradition. This is seen when she and Neria see a snake on their way to work. Both of them are afraid but Connie is more afraid. She already knows the meaning of a snake. She tells Neria.
“When one of those crosses your path, something terrible is going to happen”.
In short, Connie is a good and a very indispensable friend for Neria, also citizen woman and an excellent adviser for her.
These women are intelligent. Their intelligence is explained by their word. Instead of staying home and waiting for their husbands’ money, their women have thought far and found a way of helping their family with their cooperative.
Women of the women’s crocheting cooperative are united. This is seen in thy way they accompany Neria in her problems with pieces of advice and consolation. Beside giving Neria different pieces of advice and consolation, these women also accompanies her to the court whenever she is summoned.
These women’s union is also seen in good circumstances. Share with Neria bad times as well as good ones. When Neria’s furniture is to be sent back to her, all these women don’t work. They go to at Neria’s home to wait for her furniture and reface together.
Shingirayi, called Shingi, is a young boy aged of seven. He is very black, slim and short. Shingi is innocence is first of all seen in his demands. As he is helping his uncle Jethro to takes out of the car, his uncle promises to pay shoes for him if even he succeeds at school.
This child refuses the shoes and chooses to be thought how to sing. The narrative supports : “ Jethro : Shingi, it you pars this year, I will buy you some shoes !
Shingi : I don’t want shoes ; I want to sing with you”.
Shingi‘s innocence is also seen when his uncle Phineas wants to bring him to the village. As Shingi is preparing his lessons outside, Phineas comes to talk him. Phineas tells him that because he is intelligent, he should go to live with his grandmother in the village and be helping his uncle in the shop. Shingi gives the condition of being paid and bringing his mother and his sister, as well.
Shingi proves his innocence again when, after his uncle Phineas has turned their house into in own, promises him games. Phineas tells Shingi that he is there to help them, that he would be providing them with all what they would need and that he will buy him, not knowing that he cannot do it with love.
Mavis is a young girl aged around thirteen. She is tall, beautiful, but slim.
Mavis is a courageous young girl. Her courage is seen in her love of work. One morning, as his father, Patrick, wants to go work but is still discussing with Neria, Mavis comes to ask her mother the permission of cooking. She cooks the meal of all the family and service everybody when she finishes.
Mavis is also innocent like her brother. In their mother’s absence, Mavis and her
younger brother are forced to go to the village. They do not like it, but they go. The narrative presents Mavis explaining her mother; “… money, I didn’t want to come, she scared me”.
Jimmy is a tall, slim and very black man. He always puts on a hat around his head. He is Patrick’s mechanic.
Jimmy is a polite and obedient man. This is seen in the way he prompts to do all what Patrick’s requests.
First, as Patrick wants to go to the village with his family, he calls upon Jimmy does as he is asked to come and look at the car before they go. Jimmy does as he is asked to with Joël.
One morning, after Patrick, his wife and family and children have returned from the village, Patrick wants to go to work but the car does not move. Patrick takes the bicycle and promises his wife that he will send Jimmy to repair the car. Patrick sends Jimmy and promises to pay him when he comes back from the office. Jimmy does not complain. He starts, and finishes working without being paid. So, in summary Jimmy is a polite man and good in mechanics.
In fictional works, characters entertain some close relationships which make them belong to the same fictional world considered as a same society. The relationships between characters in “Neria” are death with within this story.
A family (from Latin: familia) is a group of affiliated by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage), a co-residence and/or shared consumption.
In most society the family is the principal institution for the socializations of children. Anthropologists generally classify families organization as matrifocal (a mother and her children) ; conjugal a husband, his wife and children ; avuncular (grandparents, brother, sister, children) ; or extended. The narrative under study develops a lot of kinds of family relationship that are dealt about in this section.
A married couple develop close relationship die to the fact that they live together. Living together brings them to shore the same life realities and exchange the same life experiences. This is what brings their relationships to be close. They experience together good and difficult times.
The husband-wife relationship in “Neria” exits between Patrick and Neria : and Patrick and Maria.
The relationship between Patrick and Neria in the narrative entailed “Neria” starts from when they start sharing conjugal life. This is a happy couple. They understand each other very well, they collaborate. Although their love is trying to be shaken by Phineas and Ambuya, they never fall down. They live harmoniously.
Patrick and Neria’s friendship stated from when both of them were still young, living in the village. After their marriage, they moved in the city. They loved each other very much. They got two children, a boy and a girl and they brought them up happy.
Patrick and Neria couple which never forgets their extended family. Despite the fact being in the city they send all what Patrick’s relatives need to the village. Patrick’s relatives have never missed anything despite their hatred for Neria.
A man develops close relationship with his son(s). The reason of this is the fact of living together and because of the relationship that normally exists between parents and their child(ren). The father-son relationship developed in the narrative “Neria” exists between
Patrick and Shingi. Indeed relationship between Shingi and his father is very strong. Shingi is very happy when his father is alive but becomes miserable after his father’s death.
The father-daughter relationship developed “Neria” concerns Patrick and Mavis. Mavis and her father is alive in a great harmony. Mavis gets all what she needs from her father.
The mother-son relationship developed in the narrative “Neria” concerns Neria and
Shingi. They live in harmony. Neria does her best to rise up her children; Shingi also does his best to please his mother by preparing his lessons.
Another mother-son relationship developed in the narrative under study is between Ambuya and Patrick. Ambuya loves her son but does not like wife his son is married to. Ambuya does not live fact that his son is close to his wife and the fact that they live harmonically in the city. She would like to have them living home in the village. Village she always asks his son to go and live in the village with all his family.
The last mot her-son relationship is between Ambuya and Phineas. Ambuya loses her son Phineas but she sometimes does not understand him. The two have the same attitude towards Neria, Patrick’s wife. Ambuya does not like her son, Phineas’ gread. She thinks that he is exaggerating in his love of money.
The only mother-daughter relationship developed in “Neria” is between Neria and
Mavis. This is a collaborative relationship. Although Mavis is still young, her mother tells her everything. She shows her what is good to do and what bad, not to do is. Neria is two troughs with her daughter Mavis for the latter’s good education. Neria is also careful towards her daughter.
The uncle-child relationship developed in “Neria” in the one uniting Neria’s children to their uncles, Phineas and Jethro.
With Phineas, the children have much reserve. Phineas, their father’s younger brother does not show much interest to them. These children, Mavis and Shingi, only know the bad sides of their uncle Phineas.
With Jethro, their mother’s brother, Mavis and Shingi feel at ease. These children are very close o their uncle Jethro. Jethro appears to be the best of uncles for them. He gives them good pieces of advice encouraging them to work hard at school, bringing them gist and teaching them how to sing. Jethro never abandons his sister’s children, even in painful situations. He even pays their school fees.
The first mother-in-low relationship developed “Neria” is the one between Ambuya and
Neria. This is so a different relationship. Different in the way that, it is not the same feeling Neria has for her mother in-low that her mother in-low has for her. Neria loves her mother-inlow very much. She does her best to please her. Ambuya, in her turn, hates Neria. All what she does is to try to accuse Neria to Patrick. She just does not a good woman, just because she works.
The other mother-in-low daughter-in-low relationship is between Ambuya and Maria. Ambuya does not show much in truest for Maria because they both live in the village, experience the same life experience, the same culture; they are all tradition, a lists.
People living in the same society develop social relationships do to the fact of living in the same area, exchanging the same life experiences and realities. The social relationships found in the narrative “Neria” are dealt with in terms of male-female relationships, male-male relationships and female-female relationships.
The male-relationship developed in the narrative under discussion links Neria to Phineas. Between them, they develop a relationship of hatred. First, Phineas hates Neria because his brother, Patrick, loves Neria very much and cannot do anything without her agreement. Neria also hates Phineas in town, because this one makes her family life impossible after he husband’s death.
Men develop close relationships money themselves. Their relationship can begin from their first time to meet for a talk, a dialogue or conversation. Men’s relationship can also result from the fact of living or working together.
The kind of male-male relationship developed in the narrative under analyzes links Jethro to Patrick and Jethro to Phineas. Phineas becomes close to Jethro since when Jethro’s sister is married to Phineas’ brother, Patrick. Because of this relationship, the two men can now do everything.
Patrick becomes close to Jethro because of their in-low relationship. Patrick has married Jethro’s sister. The two men collaboration and help each other, especially for pieces of advice and ideas.
The female-female relationship links Neria to the women of the women’s crocheting cooperative. These women are very close and help each other pieces of advice. They are always together in good as well as in bad situation.
The other female-female relationship links Neria to her friend Connie. Neria and Connie are close friends because they are close neigh boors and work together. Their friendship is improved when Neria’s husband is dead. As Neria gets into trouble with her family-in-low,
Connie helps her very much by teaching her how to cope with her hardships.
In sum, the characters dramatized in the movie “Neria” develop some relationship because they belong to the same fictional society.
The present chapter has dealt with characterization in “Neria”. It has examined the characteristics of each individual character by focusing on their actions, reactions, appearance and behaviour. It has also tackled the description of characters in relationship with one mother.
This analysis made on characters has allowed us to undertake the understanding of the characters’ physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, emotional and psychological personality.
Afric mémoire est une plateforme web pour le partage des mémoires et TFC entre étudiants du monde entier.
Enregistrer en PDF
Imprimer cette page
