Perspective

Wole Soyinka the real man is a professor of comparative literature at a university in Nigeria. He has achieved what Wole the young boy is constantly striving for in the text; that is, an education. As such he turns a very intelligent and critical eye to the events of his boyhood, deconstructing them, so to speak, in order to understand them better. However, the book is far from a dry academic dissertation; Wole injects an infectious joy and sense of wonder in the past. The first-person child's perspective is crucial in establishing this joy and wonder. Writing as through the eyes of a child, he is able to (mis)understand situations, make judgments, and relay childlike beliefs that are humorous and touching. Wole also relishes the certain irony of a child sometimes understanding the world better than adults. When, for example, Wole the child questions the usefulness and...