5.1 About the story
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| author | Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghanaian writer |
| collection | The Girl Who Can and Other Stories (1997) |
| narrator | Adjoa, a seven-year-old girl (first person) |
| setting | Hasodzi, a big village in the Central Region of Ghana |
| family | Adjoa, Maami (mother) and Nana (grandmother); the father is absent |
| Nana's complaint | Adjoa's legs are too thin (slender) for child-bearing |
| the argument about school | Maami wants Adjoa educated; Nana thinks it a waste of time |
| distance to school | about five kilometres |
| competition | the junior section of the district sports |
| award | the cup for the best all-round junior athlete |
| how Nana carries the cup | on her back, the way babies are carried |
| Adjoa's final thought | that is how she had felt and thought all along |
5.2 Key events in order
- Adjoa introduces herself, Hasodzi and her household of three women.
- She describes the adults' puzzling rules about what she may say.
- Nana and Maami argue about Adjoa's thin legs.
- Maami insists on school; Adjoa walks five kilometres daily and loves it.
- Adjoa, a secret winner of school races, is selected for the district sports.
- Nana goes to the school to check the news.
- Nana washes and irons Adjoa's uniform daily and walks to school to watch.
- Adjoa wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete.
- Nana carries the cup home on her back like a baby.
- Nana admits thin legs can be good for other things; Adjoa thinks she knew it all along; Maami is speechless.
5.3 The three women
| Adjoa | Maami | Nana | |
|---|---|---|---|
| generation | child | mother | grandmother |
| view of the legs | nothing wrong with them | defends them quietly | too thin for child-bearing |
| view of school | "school is nice" | essential for her daughter | a waste of time |
| power in the home | little; told when to be quiet | little; reminded of her failed marriage | the head of the household |
| at the end | quietly sure she was right | speechless with joy | proud; carries the cup |