Themes of Faceless

Themes of Faceless

1. Superstitions
- Maa Tsuru was born with curse. She was considered to be a bad omen because she was too fertile.
- The third child is considered to bring bad luck to the family. When Maa Tsuru is pregnant with her third child, Kwei abuses her and hits her yet the child still lives.
- When Baby T was killed, a white fowl was slaughtered to appease her spirit.

2. Betrayal
- Fofo was betrayed by her mother because she allowed her to go on the streets.
- Baby T was turned into a child prostitute.
- When Poison was young, he was betrayed by his stepfather who used to beat him with his belt.

3. Dehumanization
- Poison continues to molest and undermine all the women that he meets.
- Baby T was abused and raped by Onko. He convinces her to sleep with him by using his authority as her “uncle”
- Fofo was almost abused by Poison at the beginning of the book, which was usual for Poison.

4. Parental relationships
Kabria is quite close to her children. They feel comfortable telling her what goes on in their lives. While Fofo’s mother doesn’t care about her children and only uses them as means of income. Kabria feels the need to protect and care for her children, while Fofo’s mother would rather she leave so she would not have to feed her.

5. Inequality
Kabria is considered an independent woman. She had her own job and maintains her own life. While Fofo’s mother cannot survive without a man in her life.

6. Friendship
- Dina and the rest of the MUTE group felt protective over Fofo and want to help her.
- Another point was throughout the book, Fofo wanted to come back to Odarley to see if she was alright.