ABUSE OF THE GIRL CHILD IN IKECHUKWU ASIKA’S TAMARA

ABSTRACT

This study examined the abuse of the girl child and failed parenting in Ikechukwu Asika’s Tamara. It has shown the resulting consequences of these vices by analyzing the novelist’s literary devices and relatable characters in the novel. This study also has presented the psychoanalytic aspects of the thought, speech and actions of the characters using Ikechukwu Asika’s Tamara. In chapter two, this study focused on failed parenting in Ikechukwu Asika’s Tamara. In this chapter, the study presented the various forms of failed parenting and their effects on the family and society. It also attributed failed parenting to such factors as neglect, psychological abuse, inappropriate discipline and lack of emotional support. Furthermore, the study focused on girl child abuse in chapter three. This chapter illustrated the connecting results from failed parenting to girl child abuse. Also, it presented the various forms of this girl child abuse as depicted in Asika’s Tamara. These includes physical abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, and sexual exploitation and trafficking. With the help of this study, a profound understanding of sex trafficking and abuse of the participants involved is derived from the novel through critical analysis of the narratives by certain characters, such as Tamara, Senorita, and Princess among others.