Arranged Marriage and the Vanishing Roots

A review of:
Arranged Marriage and the Vanishing Roots
by Dr. Oliver Akamnonu

Arranged Marriage and the Vanishing Roots presents a matter of fact view of the division between three generations. The first generation consists of a hardworking man and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Eberechi, who represents all grandparents. In contrast, the second generation consists of the children of the grandparents, Paul and Peter Eberechi, who represent those who are resolute to leave the land of their forefathers. From their point-of-view, the extreme comparison of Africa and America that occur within the text are enough to stay in America. The last generation consists of the children of these children, who never gain the opportunity to indulge in their parents’ culture. These children grew up in America with little knowledge of their African culture. Written in the third person omniscient objective narrative through the use of many repetitious phrases, this literary piece invites the reader to empathize with the first generation, regardless of the fact that the conflicts present in the text are directly a cause of the parents’ actions. Although, perhaps, the reader empathizes more with the intention of the parents than the outcome of their actions.
Diverging from the typical, Dr. Akamnonu begins his story with a synopsis in the form of a poem in the prologue. In this synopsis, the central theme of vanishing roots and the disservice done to the youngest generations is critically analyzed. The concluding chapter parallels the prologue in the same way. His assertions are such that our very being revolves around our home country, and to rid the young of the knowledge of our mother tongue and the culture of our forefathers would be to rid them of the very core of themselves. To prove the assertions that he makes, Dr. Akamnonu presents the reader with two very dissimilar cases, even if only differing in the cause of the vanishing roots.
The first case is presented to us as Mr....