THEME IN THE NOVEL “DESTINY OF LIFE”

THEME IN THE NOVEL “DESTINY OF LIFE”

The following are the themes in the Novel “Destiny of Life”.
1. Theme of sorrow
2. Theme corruption
3. Theme of love and hatred
4. Theme of regrets

THEME OF SORROW

The theme of sorrow was demonstrated in the Novel “Destinies of life” Characters such as Maryam, Aisha, Umar experienced sorrowful moments. Maryam was the mother of Aisha who out of frustration of living in a loveless marriage left Awwal. In Maryam’s case it is a sorrowful moment leaving Aisha behind in the hands of another step mother who maltreated her.

Aisha was in her third year of Queen’s College when she met Mukhtar. In Aisha’s second year at the university, a date or the wedding ceremony was agreed upon. Two days to the wedding, Mukhtar finally called to explain the reasons for his absence and promised to arrive earlier to meet with the wedding arrangements. Tragedy struck as the news of Mukhtar’s death went viral. He was involved in a motor accident along Zaria/Jos road that eventually claimed his life. As a result of this, Aisha was soaked up in the ocean of sorrow.

Aisha had travelled to Jos to visit her father “Baha, who had been ill, and had just been discharge from the hospital. After several attempts by Aisha to call Umar proved abortive. Baba persuaded Aisha to return to Abuja that day because she believed something has amiss. When Aisha finally arrived in Abuja, the heavens were let loose on her. The secret affairs between her husband Umar and Nafisah became very glaring. Aisha wallowed in pains as tears of sorrow and disappointment rolled down her cheek.

Aisha again swam in the ocean of sorrow for losing her son to a premature death Aisha stared blankly at her father before he was buried after the Islamic shrouding of the dead. Against Aisha’s wish, tears streamed down her face. Her heart was in disarray.

Pains of loss sapped Umar’s soul when he entered the meeting a bit late as the chairman of the meeting apologized just to notice the new minister giving him a sinister smile and told him that he was not supposed to be part of the meeting of the ministry. It dawned on him that the game is up and sorrow besieged his heart.

THEME CORRUPTION

The theme of corruption characters are Nafisah’s mother and Umar. When Nafisah’s mother got hint of Nafisah’s relationship with Umar she became excited. They had caught a big fish in their net she said. What a mother she is! It takes only a corrupted mind mother to give her support to such an immoral relationship of her daughter.
Umar’s share of the deal was to be 36 million naira; this accepting of the deal by Umar is another high rank corruption by a public office holder that he was.

THEME OF LOVE AND HATRED

“Destinies of life” is a novel that has captured life in its completeness. Love and hatred was portray in the life of the protagonist Aisha and several others in the story. The love life of Aisha did not begin with her. It began with her mother Mariam, whose quest for true love, sought for separation from her first husband Awwal as an “unwilling partner”. This was so because they both decided to accept “family and cultural pressures” and got married without loving each other.

According to the writer Mariam and Awwal “were like two birds that have been put together in a cage” and one of them had to be brave and break the door or else they might end up in a psychiatric hospital. So after six years of “loveless” marriage, they had to break up leaving Aisha their first daughter as the victim to suffer the consequences of their action. Actually Mariam found love in the arms of another man.

Aisha grew up into a beautiful and intelligent young lady and found love for the first time after she lost a mother’s love for years. (p.15).

Mukhtar was Aisha’s “first love” and the only person she had ever called a friend. This was something her step mother could have paid any amount to find for her daughters Amina an Assistant Director of economic planning to Deputy Director and then to director, a successful husband and the loving father of four kids (children) ruined his life with the desire of getting rich quickly. Alone in his office he reflected in how rich he would become if he push through with the deals or if the deal turns out to be successful.

When he (Umar) sat down and thought of how he frowned at the idea rind the risk involved when the Director of finance and supply had brought up the issue a month ago but having considered the benefits he would enjoy if successful he decided to give in to the director’s request.

Umar’s inability to control his quest or urge for more riches (wealth) led him into problem when he agreed to sign the deal with the Director of finance and supply. This singular act makes Umar a corrupt person as well as a corrupt citizen of his country, instead of being a successful husband to Aisha and the loving father to his four children.

THEME OF REGRETS

On the theme of regret1 the author portrays life as a mysterious phenomenon when man or human beings cannot solely determine what happens to him. In the novel, Aisha though the only child and the loving daughter of her father (Baba) whose ambition had always been to pass her examinations and make her father proud was determined to be a good wife to Umar was faced with the worst fears of her life when her threat to leave was thwarted by Baba.

She sacrificed her life, career and gave up everything for Umar but he rejected all and threw her love, care and understanding to the winds, and took everything for granted.

Umar was grief-stricken when he was at loss over what to do he broke down and wept for the loss he was beginning to feel for the first time. Then that day he regretted his separation from Aisha and left without saying a goodbye to Baba.

Umar also regretted marrying Nafisah by saying “I wish I had known what a useless, spoilt and wicked woman I had married. Nafisah also regretted by realizing that she had made a terrible mistake by marrying Umar for the first time, she saw clearly that she was punished herself by accepting such as low statua common housewife.

Reference

Destiny of life by Asabe Kabir Usman