Adichie Cell One

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“Cell One” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the tale of a boy’s descent into a life of crime, through the eyes of his younger sister. The story begins with Nnamabia robbing his own house and stealing his mother’s jewelry, and goes on to explain that his earlier crimes had been met with lenience and forgiveness from his parents. As Nnamabia gets older, his peers begin to join cults, their crimes escalating from robbing houses to murder. Adichie never explicitly states whether or not Nnamabia joins a cult, but he is arrested for associating with cult members nonetheless. In prison he learns of the terrifying Cell One, from which the guards drag a corpse each day. He meets an old man, who had been imprisoned because the police were looking for his son. The old man is innocent and sick, and Nnamabia stands up for him, getting himself moved to Cell One. Though Nnamabia’s parents do manage to secure his release, he comes out of this experience seeming more reserved and mindful.…show more content…
When describing Nnamabia’s childhood crimes, his sister mentions that she does not know if he feels any remorse, and the fact that he continues to commit such crimes makes it easy to assume that he does not. When he is questioned about robbing his own house, he feigns hurt feelings and lies to his father’s face. Although he does apologize for the incident two weeks later, he continues to associate with criminals and put himself in unsavory situations, such as the one that led to his

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