Yams, yams, yams. What the heck is with all of these yams? In this blog post I will trace the symbolism of the yams throughout the novel(or up to Chapter 19).
I have narrowed down a few themes to which the yams connect too: wealth, power, and celebrations/gatherings.
As far as I have read, the amount of yams and how successful your crop is controls your wealth. Okonkwo, the protagonist in the novel, gains his title and status by planting a thunderous amount of viable yams. When Okonkwo gets exiled to his "motherland", his cousins "contributed three hundred seed yams to enable thier cousin[Okonkwo] to plant a farm"(130). Basically the cousins attributed and helped Okonkwo live prosperously. This would be a great system for the United States; where we can base wealth not on the qaulity of the car you own, but on the amount and condition of yams! Instead of the Big Mac Index it would be the Big Yam Index for world wealth.
Very similar to the concept of yams correlating to wealth, they can represent power. It is often that the amount of wealth can be proportionate to the power. Also the grandeur of a yam farm represents hard work, which is perceived as a manly characteristic in this book. Might I mention, that in Things Fall Apart women get little to no recognition. It is considered mocking and is looked down upon if you are called a women, or agbala.
Every time in the novel when people are gathering at a person's obi, or house, a yam foo-foo dish is made.
Very similar to the concept of yams correlating to wealth, they can represent power. It is often that the amount of wealth can be proportionate to the power. Also the grandeur of a yam farm represents hard work, which is perceived as a manly characteristic in this book. Might I mention, that in Things Fall Apart women get little to no recognition. It is considered mocking and is looked down upon if you are called a women, or agbala.
Every time in the novel when people are gathering at a person's obi, or house, a yam foo-foo dish is made.
Above is a picture of yam foo foo. Often accompanied by a soup, yam foo foo is a puree of yams kneaded into a dough.
When a women would make a yam dish, it would typically mean that there was company, an event, or a ceremony going to happen. At Obierika's, a friend of Okonknwos, daughter's bride-prince ceremony, "foo-foo was pounded in a hundred wooden mortars." (113).
For your information, the word "yam(s)" are said about 100 times in the book! Yams are the most prominent crop and it is not a vegetable to overlook in this novel!
OH MY GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH I WAS SO CURIOUS WHAT FOO FOO WAS AND NOW I KNOW but it looks super gross and I would never eat it in a million years BUT THANK YOU A++++ WHAT AN INFORMATIVE BLOG POST YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am very impressed with your analyzation of the symbolism of yams in the novel. I never would have thought of it that way-- I thought it was just a vegetable, but evidently, the yam is so much more than that. I also loved the way you outlined the usage of the yams throughout the story and what it means each time. You are one of the most brilliant minds of our generation.
-Eliana TR
Hi Jaffe,
ReplyDeleteI loved your post !! The dedication to the yams, simply yes. In your post you mention instead of the Big Mac Index we should have the Big Yam Index which I think is great and such a fantastic idea ever. I also love your enthusiasm for the yams and the research you did about the foo foo food stuff!! Also I liked how you traced the symbolism of the yams throughout the book, and what it means. I think that your blog post was amazing keep up the great work! Thank you!!
Claire