Growth is not just a mindset, a goal, or even just a pathway. Growth is the process in which we feed ourselves, nurturing our seedlings of potential and smothering our demons as we grow so high, the sun cannot reach them below the canopy. Adah Price was abandoned by her mother in an ant swarm, which inherently allowed her to realize her place in the world. Upon being left by her own mother, she realized in that moment that life would be worth living. It was only when she was being trampled that she found the will to stand. In the events leading up to the “nsongonya”, Adah is seen with a wired view of life. She doesn’t acknowledge her worth, and she doesn’t make herself any more than the “broken twin”. She resents her hemiplegia just as she resents her father, and is portrayed as a pessimist. However, when the Ants come, they destroy everything, not just the crippled or the poor. They annihilate everyone just the same. Adah is seen limping, struggling just to catch up to her mother, and she is ultimately trampled. When orleanna leaves her, she realizes that she can no longer ask for help or depend on others, she has to stand up for herself. At this point in the novel, she realizes with outstanding clairvoyance that she wants to live. She is no longer being swallowed by her undeniable …show more content…
They do not understand the culture and cannot assimilate to the village life at first. However it is shown throughout the novel that as the Independence movement progresses, it stirs a wildfire within the family itself. As Adah moves through her own independence, the events in Africa reflect it as well. Her sister Leah, having stayed in Africa with Anatole, is a direct witness of these events. Her husband is a major part of the Independence movement, and is constantly in jail because of this. As Adah gains her own Independence at the Ant Swarm, the Congo begins its own shedding as