Aidoo, Changes, a Love Story Term Paper

After all, as Esi realizes in Chapter, and articulates to herself clearly, within this chapter, for the first time, Ali's presents are no substitute for Ali's presence, of which there no has come to be entirely too little in Esi's life.

Esi also comes to understand, within Chapter 20, that she has essentially traded her first, claustrophobic marriage to Oko for an altogether opposite marriage, one in which she never even sees her second husband. Fusena, and his children with her remain Ali's priority, as Esi slowly and painfully comes to understand. After Ali presents Esi with her new maroon sports car, announcing to her proudly, "This is your car, and here are the keys" (p. 147), as if all should be fine now, both soon realize, shortly thereafter when they go inside to eat breakfast together, that when they have finished discussing the car itself, they have nothing more to say to each other.What hurts Esi even more than that, however, is when Ali has her drive him, in her new car, to the Twentieth Century hotel, on the flimsy excuse of having a someone from work to look in on (flimsy because this is New Year's Day), when the truth is that "Obviously, Ali was determined to keep her off his and Fusena's home" (p. 149).

But Esi's powerful new sports car also becomes a surprising metaphor for the freedom she feels on her way home after dropping Ali at the Twentieth Century Hotel. Today she has received some clarity, even if it has been by way of confirmation of her suspicions and fears. Driving back home, she asks herself "To wit: in what way was her situation different from what it would have been if she has simply stayed as Ali's mistress . . . "….....