Second Class Citizen Chapter 7 Summary

You can now have a concise summary of Second Class Citizen Chapter 7.

Title of Second Class Citizen Chapter 7

Let’s begin our summary of Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen Chapter 7 with the title of this chapter. The title of Chapter 7 of Second Class Citizen is simply, The Ghetto.

The title of Second Class Citizen chapter 7 epitomizes the deplorable housing conditions for most black immigrants in England. I should quickly add, however, that some whites also live in very poor housing in their own country.

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Chapter by Chapter Summary of Second Class Citizen

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After their bitter experience with the racist white landlady in Hawley Street in Chapter 6, the Obis have been praying for a miracle that will make them get a new place to live. Second Class Citizen Chapter Seven is, therefore, about how that miracle will unfold. This chapter tells the story of Mr Noble or Pa Noble and how Adah and Francis have been lucky to find a place in Mr Noble’s house.

The Sad Story of Nigerian Male Immigrants

Chapter 7 narrates the harrowing experiences of some otherwise respectable Nigerian men in England. These men left behind all they had achieved in life back in Nigeria. They migrated to England in pursuit of a lofty goal. They dreamt of reading Law so they could make themselves eligible for appointment to juicy political positions.

Historically, this was the time Nigeria was on the verge of gaining self-rule from British colonial rule.

“In search of this dream or reality, or whatever you decide to call it, they sold all, abandoned all they had held dear. They were like those men in the Bible whom Jesus had told to sell all they had and follow him. Those men in the Bible had little to lose. Only their nets. But these Nigerians had plenty – wives, status, jobs and many, many children.”

Some made it but others like Mr. Noble couldn’t.

“However, most of these men who sought the kingdom of the eligibles did not make it. Like the seeds of that sower in the Bible, they fell on the wayside to be trodden upon by passersby. They came, failed to gain a foothold in England, sought consolation in the pubs, got themselves involved with the type of women who frequented the pubs…”

So the feeling of disappointment is not reserved for non-political dreamers like Adah and Francis alone. All Nigerians who have come to England to achieve any kind of dream have quickly realized that the United Kingdom is far from being God’s own Holiest of Holies.

Just that for Mr Noble and his like, the failure they suffer has had a more devastating effect on their minds and egos.

“If they remembered their original dream, the dream of reading Law and becoming an elite in their newly independent country, they buried it deep in their bitter hearts. It was such a disappointment, too bitter to put into words. When these men fell so distrastrously, their dreams were crushed within them. The dream of becoming an aristocrat became a reality of being a black, a nobody, a second class citizen.”

Mr Noble’s Story

Mr Noble’s (Pa Noble’s) is a rather pathetic story. Noble is not his real name. It is a name given him by his white colleague workers (just to make fun of him) at the place he ended up working.

Here are some facts to note about Mr Noble.

• He is a retired civil servant from Nigeria– an elderly man.

• Mr Noble is the son of a Benin City chief

• Back in Nigeria, Pa Noble has had 6 wives and about 20 children to boot.

• He came to England to read Law

• Mr Noble failed to make it

• So he had settled on working as a liftman at a tube station.

• At the tube station, Mr Noble had a rather curious duty to perform – shout “Mind the door.” all day.

• He also collected tickets and pennies from fare-dodgers.

Thus, Mr Noble started drinking heavily. He frequented pubs and nightclubs. Due to his heavy drinking and resulting childlike behaviour, his mates at work turned him into a jester and a clown.

Noble is the ironic name his colleagues gave him. And he liked it because, being an English name, it boosted his morale.

Ironically, it was a serious accident during one of Mr Noble’s clownish displays that appears to have saved him from total destruction. The accident gave him a fractured and almost useless shoulder for the rest of his life.

Consequently, Mr Noble got a pension again. Remember he had earlier come to England after his pension from the civil service.

With this second pension, Pa Noble bought a cheap old house on Wiles Road, near Kentish Town Station.

Call it a real estate investment, if you like. Because Mr Noble’s intention was to rent out the rooms and live on the proceeds. It was evident that he was not going to be able to do much else with his useless fractured shoulder.

Janet Tells Adah About Mr Noble’s Vacant Rooms

It is Janet, Babalola’s white wife and a friend of Adah’s, who alerts Adah about available rooms in Pa Noble’s house. So the couple decides to go and try their luck. Luckily for them, Pa Noble readily offers them the accommodation.

Three different factors account for the ease with which Adah and Francis are able to finally get a new place with Mr Noble.

Why Adah and Francis Easily Get a Place at Pa Noble’s

To begin with, Pa Noble himself has been desperately looking for tenants. His rooms have been lying idle for a while.

The story is that Pa Noble is suspected of being the cause of the deaths of two former tenants he came to meet in his newly bought property.

These were very old white women with responsible adult male children living with them. They wouldn’t agree to either pay a higher rent or leave the apartment. So Pa Noble told them he would invoke the spirit of his powerful dead African mother to kill them.

And when a very cold winter came and the women passed away (most probably due to the unsuitable condition of the apartment for women of their age in that sort of weather), it is widely believed that Pa Noble might have carried through his threat.

In fact, he boasted about it himself. Quickly, the women’s children also fled. Since then, people have been reluctant to live in Mr Noble’s house.

A second factor is that Sue, Pa Noble’s wife who is much younger than him, has apparently had a crush on the womanizing Francis. This happens on the very first day they see each other during the visit. Adah is observant enough to see it. And she just knows, though with much discomfort in her chest, that they will get the rooms.

“Mrs Noble had been so amused that she started to laugh to herself. Francis, who, like Pa Noble always had a certain tenderness toward any white woman, smiled at her. It seemed as if their friendship clicked in that smile. Adah felt betrayed, but she knew something. They were going to get the room they were asking for. Pa Noble was too old for Sue.”

Finally, being fellow Nigerians may have made things easier for Adah and Francis. The racist factor has been taken out in this case.

Conclusion

Thus, Adah and Francis now have a new place to live. It may be a cheap old place in a nondescript neighbourhood, a Ghetto for that matter, but it is still better than nothing.

This is the end of our summary of Second Class Citizen Chapter 7.