Name: Emorinken, Odion Evelyn

Matric Number: 210102066

Course code: ENG 115

An Analysis Of Zack's Story.

Zack's story encompasses the ongoing events in Zack, the protagonist's life. It tells the story of
Zack and his pursuit of himself, who he is, the balance of his work and marriage, and the test of
his newfound faith. The book Abidemi Sanusi wrote is a reply to one of her books, Kemi's
Journal, which is about Kemi, Zack's wife, who tries to harmonize her newly found faith and her
relationship with her irreligious boyfriend, pulling the strings of her advertising career with great
expertise. The book starts with Zack's experience with his ex-girlfriend, who aborted his baby on
three occasions to while they were at the University, claiming he was "a control freak." He had
gone the the club after that in a quest for "No strings sex" to "numb the physical and emotional
pain he felt", but had found Kemi. That single act from his ex-girlfriend influences his behavior
which creates problems between him and his wife.

One of the dominant themes in the text is that of Identity. Yanis, Zack's baby, had caused a stir
when he was born because he looked different and this caused Zack to become anxious. Zack
seeks to find out who he is so that, at least, his child can know "his paternal roots" and be aware
if there are any "genetic traits that could have medical repercussions" on his baby. He admits
how he envies his wife's close attachment to her family, something he never had. He eventually
goes back to the adoption home he grew up in and gets a clue about who his mother is through
the gardener that once stayed in the home but was rejected by her. He realizes that just the
knowledge of where he comes from, his identity, is enough for him and decides not to disrupt her
present family.

Another theme one can get at a glance is that of Bi-racism. Kemi's father, Femi, is a typical
Yoruba man while her mother, Gail, hails from London. The difference in race is so glaring, as
Zack notes that Femi's "colorful relatives" always want to be noticed in every crowd with their
numbers, unlike Gail's not-so-glaring ones. Kemi got her unruly hair, a blessing she believes
most mixed-race children are born with from them. It is fun to note that despite the differences in
race, theirs is a happy home, and Gail goes Nigerian style sometimes to please her husband -
"Gail had cooking Nigerian-style down to a fine art." There are other bi-racial marriages like that
of Zack's mother and father, Kemi and Zack, but it was either broken or laden with problems and
not as perfect as that of Gail and Femi's.

We can agree that the First person and Third person Narrative Technique styles are utilized in the
text. Zack tells the story from his point of view; he uses first-person pronouns like I, me, and us
and third-person pronouns like Her, she, and he to refer to other personalities in his story. The
use of the First person narrative techniques and past tenses reaffirms that it is a narration written
by Zack, as we all know that the past tense is used to tell a narration.

The text starts with a prologue that tells us the cause of the break up between Zack and his
ex-girlfriend; she had aborted their baby three times without Zack's knowledge or opinion
because she didn't want "it." These actions influence Zack's activities in the book. Kemi had
initially wished to abort baby Yanis because "it just wasn't convenient", but Zack negates the
decision vehemently, threatening her with a lawsuit. Moving on, we get to see how Zack's life
changed with the birth of baby Yanis and the struggles he encounters at work, rebuffing Maxine's
charms, who was a coworker that always tries to seduce him at work and the downturn leap his
life took when Grace spoke to the media about the tragic bid story they made in Liberia and Zack
was sacked by his boss. The story takes a linear order into how Zack lives his life in the months
and years to come after Yanis's birth.

The characters in the book are introduced with their actions or characters; Zack's ex who turns
out to be Grace's abortion. Kemi's lively spirit when Zack met her at the bar, Kemi's Yoruba
Father and London birthed mother, Maxine advances amidst others. Some other characters in the
book are Andy (Zack's teammate), Helen (The leader of the NGO), and Michael and Mark
(Kemi's friends in charge of the church).

Zachary Kariba, the protagonist, is a character with a growing personality. Although Zack's ex
had painted him as a "control freak" due to their unhealthy relationship, he tries to learn from his
mistakes through the help of Micheal, Mark, and the Bible. Zack is a contented man who, despite
all the advances from Maxine, thinks only about his "wholesome wife" and his baby boy. He
could have had all the girls he wanted, Maxine included, because he is a handsome well-to-do
lawyer, but he decides to stay loyal, bearing in mind what Kemi would do to him if she caught
him cheating. Men like him aren't common in our society, as some would jump at the offer from
Maxine.

Kemi is who we'll call the baby of the house, as she is the only child of her family. She is so
attached to her father that she runs to him at the slightest misunderstanding between her and her
husband. Even though she wants to abort Yanis initially, she does all she can to take care of him
and tries to leverage her job and house duties together. She is like some Lagos women who love
their job and are often tagged "independent women" because of their outright devotion.

The language used in the book is all that simple, and it is comprehensible. Although you get to
learn new vocabulary, which I presume is an importance of reading a text, its meaning is
something that can be deduced contextually. The writer's rich style of writing aids reading, and
one will be hooked.

The events in the text rotated between Zack's apartment, his place of work, and Liberia. There is
also the bar where Zack and Kemi had met. This is a somewhat contradictory scene as opposed
to her newfound faith, but even the Bible says, "behold old things are passed away." As I've
mentioned earlier, it is a book that tells the story of Zack from when Yanis was born till he
becomes a toddler, more or less 10-12 years after meeting Kemi. Zack wrote this in his flat after
all the turbulence while playing "house."