Possessing the Secret of Joy

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Possessing the Secret of Joy (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

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Characters Discussed

Tashi Evelyn Johnson, the protagonist. She is born in Africa and reared until she is a young woman as a member of the Olinka tribe, then moves to America, where she lives for most of her adult years. She returns to Africa when she is middle-aged. She intends to murder M’Lissa, who performed a female circumcision on her. Tashi experiences a number of cultural shocks in her life, from the British takeover of her country to moving to America and trying to adjust to being an “African American.” In her moves, she marries, has a slightly retarded son,...

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