Tone Of The Poem Landlady

In the beginning of the poem, an African man is searching for an apartment. As he speaks to the landlady over the phone his interest in acquiring the apartment develops. However, understanding the societal racism that plagued the peoples, he confesses that he is indeed African. For a while the landlady is silent, but afterwards she abruptly asks the man if his skin tone is light or very dark. The man is enraged and comprises sarcastic replies. One of his responses includes asking the landlady whether she is referring to plain or milk chocolate. He continues to make such comments to the point that he describes how the palm of his hands and the sole of his feet are blond and his bottom is black. As the landlady’s patience is belittled, the man
perceives that she is about to end the call and out of desperation asks the women if she would like to see him face to face. The literary style of Wole Soyinka displays the stereotypes and racism of society. For example, the man has a preconceived notation of the landlady as sophisticated with long golden hair and lip-stick coating. Therefore by allowing the characters to interact via telephone, Soyinka has allowed the reader to enter the mind and hearts of the characters. The reader is able to clearly understand the stereotypical viewpoints of the man and furthermore the racist views of the landlady. In addition, the characters are not limited to constrain their beliefs. If the characters had met personally, the landlady could judge the skintone of the man and avoid asking racial questions. Overall, Soyinka’s poem displays the how all mankind has fallen prey to stereotypical and racial profiling.