Marching On
By: Rachel Ruffner
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”
(King James Bible, John 1:1).
Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom focuses on important themes such as: faith, addiction, mental illness, racism, and family. The reader follows the life of the narrator, Gifty, from her childhood to her adulthood. Gifty rejects her faith at a time in her life when she should instead turn towards God.
The pandemic creates a great deal of uncertainty in the lives of many. People who believe in God should attempt to grow closer to Him. For example, people could attend church or read their bibles. Transcendent Kingdom is a fitting contribution in this pandemic environment: many international students on college campuses have been relocated like Gifty is in the novel. A large portion of students who were able to stay in their home countries have been relocated from their dorms and living spaces on campus to their homes. The novel discusses similar types of uncertainty which are prevalent in the world, today.
Faith is a difficult topic because the United States has changed and grown more politically correct over the last few years; people are turning their backs on church when the world needs it most. I am a Baptist and proud to inform people of that fact, but Gifty did not feel the same way; although she and I do not share a denomination, our core beliefs are similar. Gifty had a strained relationship with God that only worsened over the years. Gyasi writes of how Gifty first accepted Christ: “I walked that long, lonely walk of trembling. I knelt down before my pastor as he placed a hand on my forehead and I felt the pressure of his hand like a beam of light from God himself” (148). Gifty had accepted the Lord when she was in fourth grade; prior to being saved, Gifty used to write journal entries to God, but did not have a true relationship with Him. She wrote these entries out of obligation, instead of trying to become closer to God. As Gifty grew and her family dynamic shifted she began to break away from her church and denounced God. The novel states, “I didn’t want further proof of God’s failure to heal my brother, a failure that I saw as unbelievably cruel” (Gyasi 177). Gifty had previously spoken of how she had grown frustrated with her church for gossiping and viewing her family in a racist light. This blatant racism was the main reason why she abandoned her church.
This novel tends to read more like an autobiography than realistic fiction. There are many similarities between the lives of Gyasi and Gifty; both were born in Ghana and moved to Alabama, and both wrote a great deal throughout their lives. The story is written in first person, which causes the reader to feel more connected with the piece, the protagonist, and the author. In addition, this style of writing is beneficial. The story flows quite well in first person; if the story were written in third person, the reader would not have the opportunity to learn about Gifty as if she was a close friend. The intensity of her mother’s depression would not be as apparent. The impact of the familial shift would not come across as painful if the story were written from an outsider’s perspective. Her life may have seemed less challenging if the story were written from a different point of view.
The order of Gifty’s life becomes blurred when her journal entries are inserted between chapters. The entries were a unique idea, but the execution was rather confusing. The entries helped provide context from the past, which was needed to describe Gifty’s current views. If the entries were placed at the beginning or end of the story, the story would have flowed smoother; the reader would not have had to differentiate between the past and the present in the novel. The timeline of Gifty’s life becomes rather difficult to follow since none of these entries are dated; this lack of information takes away from the writing. Gifty implied that she was a meticulous student, “I, too, have spent years creating my little moat of good deeds in an attempt to protect the castle of myself” (Gyasi 211). Meticulous students take detailed notes, but perhaps these entries were not dated because Gifty was quite young when she penned these thoughts. Due to that lack of knowledge, the chronological order of Gifty’s life becomes distorted.
At certain points of the novel, Gifty feels a distant sense of nihilism. “What’s the point? became a refrain for me as I went through the motions” (Gyasi 120). Due to her challenging studies and the difficulties with her family, these bleak thoughts should come as no surprise. College students tend to struggle with their mental health in one way or another as they begin to discover their true selves and experience a taste of freedom from their parents. As Gifty worked in her lab and struggled with a mountain of problems in her personal life, she became increasingly depressed. The grief of losing those who were close to her took a toll of her mental health. She was closest with her brother, and now, that is no longer possible. She was frustrated by how static her mother became as she grew older. Her lab work was repetitious, yet she preferred working over spending time with her peers. Gifty wished she could change many factors of her life, which is why she challenged herself. She gives a strong example of perseverance and shows how one can battle self-doubt while still moving forward with one’s life.
This novel covers a wide array of topics and handles each one quite well. The story does not read like a pamphlet or as if it is criticizing the reader. Gyasi indirectly cautions the reader about daily challenges throughout this story. When life becomes difficult, one should not stray from one’s religion. One should use religion as a source of strength and continually move forward in life. What is the point in existence if one is not moving forward?