Trevor Elder Prof. Bummer English 7 13 May 2021 A Picture Painted by Symbolism In almost all of the most famous texts written throughout time, symbolism is used to better create a picture and vision for the reader to interpret. Symbolism as such is seen through the literary theory formalism, that focuses on literary devices, which in this situation would be symbolism. Symbolism is seen in most books and is present throughout many stories, and without it, most stories couldn't and wouldn't be the same. In the book Adua by Igiaba Scego, the story highlights the life of an African migrant seeking a freedom in Italy from a country riddled with crippling war, her strict father, and she does so all while chasing her dream of being a film star. However through her effort in trying to escape she still faces the burden of conflict, and struggles with it. The same goes for her father too as his upbringing was very hard and the trauma, and things he experienced haunts him into his later years. The repeated use of symbolism in the text through formalist criticism is essential in highlighting the gap in Adua and her father's relationships throughout the story. One of the biggest conflicts Adua faces throughout the entirety of the book is the relationship she shares with her father, which is far from ideal. Her father, Zoppe, lost his wife during childbirth when Adua was being delivered, which caused Zoppe to resent Adua for her entire life. This distance and the connection between the two of them however, is painted by symbolism throughout in formalist criticism. A recurring symbol we see is Zoppe’s blue turban, which he acquired from Count Anselmi, a man who freed him from extremely violent incarceration only to figuratively place him back in it. Anselmi gave him this turban as his servant, in order to give “class,” because he thought he was lesser due to his dark skin complexion. Even after this traumatizing experience he would continue to wear it, and would never take it off. “My father wrapped it around his head and never took it off” (134). Adua explained, as this built up trauma was embedded within the turban, and all the hardships that surrounded it made Zoppe feel as if he couldn’t ever take it off. Eventually, Adua steals this turban from her father, and after he passes away it not only reminds her of him but to her it also represents her slavery, and build the gap and bridge between the two of them. Adua explains what it means to her in chapter 19 of the book. “It was the sign of my slavery and my old shame, that turban.” (134). The shame she feels is from her mistakes, and the turban that bears all the pain her father experiences helps her reassure herself. This is the symbolism of the turban, a bridge, that further connects the struggle they have of being distant. Another use of literary devices through formalist symbolism is the recurring blue elephant we see throughout the book. This little blue elephant that Adua adores is more than just a statue to her; it provides support for her, as she explains how she feels when in its presence, “I feel safe when I’m around you.” (Scego 3). This is no coincidence however, as Adua’s father Zoppe, also has an eerie relationship with the animal. In Front of a hotel Zoppe encountered a man with ears that resembled an elephant that would draw anything he would see, and when zoppe asked him to show him the portrait of himself he asked for the man to explain that the drawing would “hurt” Zoppe. This led Zoppe to have a dream of what the man drew, which was a frightened man wearing a blue turban throwing a javelin through an elephant. This intrigued Zoppe, and he eventually asked the man who he is, to which he replied “who in the devil are you? ... I’m you” (102). The elephant symbolizes a father figure in the text, this comfort Adua feels is what in the text is a father figure's presence which is something she never had. Since the “elephant eared man” is Zoppe, he is the father figure, and the elephant statue that gives off this comforting aura represents that. This symbol in the story is bringing Zoppe and Adua together, as they never were able to establish this connection. Adua even explains to the statue that the elephant reminded her of her father, just it actually did what she had wanted, listened to her. “He was never good at listening, and I was never able to talk to him. It’s different with you” (Adua 12). This elephant not only represents a father figure in the text, it represents one that Adua wanted her whole life, one that listens to her. This builds that gap that they have, it is the embodiment of what she wanted her father to be like, while reminding her of him. Another formalist symbol that Scegbo uses to build the bridge in between their relationship is Zoppe recurring visions and flashbacks. An example of a vision that ties the two together is the visions that Zoppe has of his father. His flashbacks show us just how much of an intellectual man he was, and how much he had laid out for Zoppe, however Zoppe still creates bad situations for himself, and doesn't live up to the standard his father set. "I see but I don't know what to do with my visions. I feel the vibrations of the universe. I read the world, but I don't know how to decipher it" (45) Although he understood what these visions meant, he didn't know what to do with them, and how to fix these problems his visions were trying to solve. This made him feel as if he had failed Adua as a father, and caused him to hate his past, which affected his future relationships. Since he felt as if he had failed his father as a son, it caused him to not know how to be a father. These visions and flashbacks show his ideal role as a father to Adua and what he wanted in life. They allowed him to realize how he went wrong as a father, we can see this with the vision about the jewish family that he knew as well. In this vision, it is him imagining what he wanted his family and his relationships , including Adua, to be like. His other vision, that entailed his strong relationships literally being burned to the ground and taken out of his life, particularly with his father and Dagwami showed how he wanted this type of relationship with Adua as well while also showing how these relationships were taken out of his life leaving him lonely. This is also a parallel to Adua’s life, she misses her culture and old relations often regrets chasing her dreams in Italy due to her being taken advantage of, and it is the same with Zoppe, in order to chase his dreams he was being taken advantage when in reality it never was worth it and only caused him deep regret in life. The symbolism used in Adua through the formalist literary device helps in building and highlighting the bridge that was built in between her and her father throughout the story. Symbolism creates a path in many stories and often helps create certain narratives in order for the reader to be able to grasp the true meaning in the book. In Adua the symbolism continuously creates parallels through symbolism to create a relationship that was never there for Adua and her father. Literary devices such as formalists ones, can create a story and give it a deeper meaning, just like Adua’s.
