A Quest for the Self and Identity in Two West African Autobiographies: Mary Ashun’s Tuesday’s Child and Helene Cooper’s the House at Sugar Beach

Abstract

Studies have offered insights into how autobiography recounts and interprets the writer’s past, relying heavily on what the writer has become at the time of writing and invariably, preserving the writer’s personality. The current avalanche of autobiographical writings and their attendant studies indicate without a doubt the keen interest in issues about identity and self in purging writers of their mental, emotional and psychological anguish. The study employs close reading to the analysis of the two texts while deliberating on the central thematic ideas. Thus, through textual analysis, a methodical perusal of the two texts provides an opportunity to investigate how Ashun and Cooper chronicle the development of their ‘selves’ in Tuesday’s Child and The House at Sugar Beach respectively. Through reflections on their past experiences, coupled with the historical consciousness they have about their families and communities, they reach a full realization of their selves for a healthy life and well-being. Aspects of their lives that they had initially struggled to come to terms with are embraced as part of their life stories.