Global Journal of Human Social Science, H: Interdisciplinary, Volume 22 Issue 7

scams her of connecting her to the commissioner for a romantic affair. Owate promises her, he will connect her to the commissioner but she discovers later it was all a scam. She further expresses her worry about carrying the burden of her family from her sex business, a lifestyle she is not familiar with. It also unveils the challenges of Papawey and his ordeal during the army, especially, his abrupt retirement from the army for lack of proper certification and his sexual relationship with Angelina, the bar owner many years back. It also brings to fore Angelina’s readiness to align with Papawey and the need for him to pay for her pride price and of course Papawey’s sudden death in the forest before the arrival of Amatu from Odi. It was at the point of going to meet Papawey at Mbiama bridge that, he was arrested and taken to Prison. The next section of the novel is concerned with the Odi massacre and how Amatu was wooed by Dr. Olokumo to join the struggle and his subsequent imprisonment and release. It also examines the fate of the Odi people and how they were betrayed by those at the corridors of power. It also talks about his encounter with Obiageli, Ovie, and his subsequent unsuccessful marriage to Ovie after losing Bodiere to another man, due to his incarceration for years. We are also informed that Bodiere after losing her parents to the Odi crisis looked for Amatu, and even visited him in the prison but did not see him. His decision to marry Ovie was informed by her effort to ensure his release as a prison warder. Ovie later becomes a prison warder with the help of her boyfriend in the North. She finds Amatu in one of the prisons through the effort of Dr. Olokumo. The marriage did not last because of her life of promiscuity as a mimic. She was caught severally frolicking with her boyfriend and boss in the office who helps her with the job. The story ends on a note of sorrow as Amatu is turned in between two options either to travel out or stay to take care of his daughter, Somkime, or to remarry again. Most painfully to him, is his younger sister’s marriage to Dr. Olokumo. Amatu could not understand how Dr. Olokumo used his absence and his little support to his family, to take advantage of his younger sister Imomotimi. However, his reunion with nurse Obiageli, a nurse who treats, and was fond of him in prison during his illness, after many years at the end signals some glimmer of hope for Amatu. V. M anifestation of M imicry in T ed E lemeforo’s F ountain of B etrayal In Elemeforo’s Fountain of Betrayal , the author brings to manifest the complexities of life and the dilemma of human existence, especially those on the side of the Niger Delta with multifaceted problems begging for attention. The novel re-echoes the motif of neocolonial forces on the eve of a postcolonial society. He foregrounds issues of promiscuity orchestrated by environmental forces and the unwinding of those already caught in the web of neocolonial elites who prey on their host. Elemeforo brings to fore others issues such as the Odi massacre and the betrayal of the Izons by their own sons. Most importantly, the forceful plundering of the Odi people by agencies of federal powers. Although the plot of the story lacks cohesion and coherency, one could see the attempts by the author to give a vivid description of what life holds out for the people of the Nige Delta at the boom of oil activities. There is every reason to believe that what later led to the revolution of Odi, and her subsequent attack by agencies of federal powers is orchestrated by the absolute neglect of the people amidst the pool of oil wonders. One who sees through the eyes of the omniscient narrator that life is not pleased with the people of the Niger Delta. This we see in the characters Papawey, Mama, Bodiere, Ovie, Amatu, Imomotimi, and others. There is every reason to believe that most of these characters turned into mimics, that is imitating the lifestyle of others, especially, the females as a way of trying to find existence and acceptance in a bizarre society. Mimicry manifests in the text at various levels of relationships. The women in the novel are mimics. Like Nwoye in Things Fall Apart who tries to mimic the hard nature of his father Okonkwo even though he acts feminine in nature. He does this to gain respect and approval from his father, however, he feels ambivalent and lost to the other religion. This is exactly the case of Bodiere and other female characters in the novel. A critical study of the novel will reveal that Bodiere does not like her lifestyle of hopping from one man to the other. More so, it is not in her gene as an Izon girl, to be wobbly for any Dick and Harry but society has constructed her to mimic this kind of life pattern that is weird to the Izons. She becomes a mimic and aspires to live like those in positions of authority. This, she only achieves by becoming a ready meal for any man that can foot her bills so she can also belong to the class of big girls in the city. Bodiere has to measure up by living the life of those big girls in big cities who frolic around their sugar Daddies. Another reason she mimics the lifestyle of those big people is the pressure from her parents. It is clear from the text that Bodiere is the pillar of the family. She provides for every need of her immediate family from food, clothing, and shelter. We see her resentment toward the kind of life she lives and more angrily, her parents’ docile moral position on it. Don’t tell me that, Bodiere’s voice rose like tiny chimes of bells strung on Ogboin wrester . How could you say they love me? Is not for the food I put on the table and clothes I put on their backs to hide their nakedness that triggers as seeming parental affection… How else do you think they can coax me to continue carrying such heavy loads on my fragile shoulder? ( Fountain of Betrayal, 11). Volume XXII Issue VII Version I 8 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals H Mimicry in Ted Elemeforo’s Fountain of Betrayal