Escapism

The escapism demonstrated by Femi within the novel shows the boundaries of what the human spirit and an individual family may withstand. Although both Sade and Femi and their family left in Nigeria must contend with the void and danger their mother’s death left in their lives, Femi begins to retreat into himself in order to cope with the trauma, leaving Sade to find out how to reunite with their father and keep themselves safe in a foreign country. He creates his own individual delusions of escape and return to an easier way of life through his burgeoning dependence on another person to save him.

Neither of the children is initially eager to flee their country and immigrate illegally to England. They wish only to turn back time and return to the family life they experienced before their mother’s murder in response to their...