The Door of No Return

“I hang on to all his words,

the lulls in between,

and I remember

the stories

like a pigeon remembers

its way home.”

This section shows The Power of Storytelling and Oral Tradition through Kofi’s love of Nana Mosi’s stories. This sensory-based simile of a bird remembering its way home acts as figurative language, but also foreshadows that Kofi should follow the birds toward shore in the ocean much later.

“[B]ut I do feel the scorch

of the rod

across my hand

and in my bones.

I even taste its sting

in my mouth.

Queen’s English, please, Mr. Phillip says,

as calm as rain...”

Cultural Identity and Colonialism is highlighted as Mr. Phillip insists they speak English instead of their native Twi language. This is a major conflict in the book, displayed through Kofi’s intense physical pain.

“Ei! The bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly!”

This adage gives Kofi an opportunity to grow and learn. He questions them and must piece together their meaning for himself; in this case, the words are a metaphor for Kofi to be brave and dare to fail.