Conception

This piece of work visualizes and brings into the mind of the reader a clear picture of misery and what the unexpected arm of fate drops into the lives of simple black women in America. The writer conveys this through in the live of a young innocent girl Shivana Golding who is a daughter in a single parent family. Her mother’s character shows how the society is bitter and exhausted out of the harsh life of frustration and despair. Due to the circumstances that she goes through, Shivana develops a conviction that the women in her society are destined to endure destitution, posed on them by lack and spiteful men, who hold to an evil notion that women should be misused.

 Under the pressure of a rough and unfriendly atmosphere, the young girl fails to comprehend or even catch a glimpse of what life has in store for her. Unintentionally, she conceives after being lured into a relationship with her neighbours’ husband. She becomes puzzled not knowing what to do. In the midst of a dilemma of whether to end the pregnancy or not, she gets into a relationship with Rasul, a young man, who is personally troubled. The two joins hands and battles against their situation and strides on looking forward to a more fulfilling future life.

There is a glowing theme of desperation that is reflected throughout the story. The theme is clearly depicted from chapter nine to the last chapter of the book in several instances. The unborn child is anxious to survive the present pregnancy. It craves for justice after facing cruelty in the wombs of some heartless women. Shavana and her new lover are longing for brighter prospects that would bring forth the long waited day, where they could celebrate life and appreciate it.

Poverty is also a prevalent subject that lingers and affects occurrences in the story. As it unfolds from chapter nine onwards, the reader is able to visualize the level of lack and want that have infiltrated down deep into the family and social set up. This problem has greatly affected  the people`s thoughts, their way of life and the general view of it. Shivana gets herself into a hurting scenario of pregnancy in her attempt to earn herself a living at her young and tender age as she take care of her neighbour’s kids. Lack of finances is the main reason that hinders her from ending the pregnancy.  Education is a long forgotten aspect to many youths including Shavana, because everyone is busy looking for a way to earn a living. Illiteracy becomes one of the key reasons that severely affect the outcome of people’s lives.  

There is also the idea of cruelty and violence. The baby inside Shivana protests against the injustices that it has suffered on the hands of a pitiless mother, who does not seem to have even a hint of kindness init. In the society where these events occur, this vice of social violence appears to be the order of the day. It’s only the reason of lack of money that makes Shivana fail to kill her unborn child. The men are being described as arrogant and negligent. Leroy doesn’t give any impression of taking responsibility after impregnating Shivana, as the writer exposes him as one, who doesn’t care about anyone. The fact that he is a drug dealer reveals him as a ruthless and heartless person ready to do anything to survive. His illegal occupation of drug trafficking as well, demonstrates the critical problem of drug abuse and lawlessness in the society. This work also displays how women have been mistreated and suffered on the hands of the selfish men, who have a general view of women as sex objects. Finally, the victims end up bringing up their offspring singlehandedly.

Dissatisfaction is also a crucial subject that has been well highlighted. Everyone in the story lacks some crucial necessities. Fate has deprived the people of life appreciation and acceptance, love and happiness. At an endeavour for love, Shivana, who doesn’t get the same from her mother, falls in love with the egocentric Leroy, who is also not contented with his wife, takes advantage of it to abuse her. Later, when Rasul come into her way, she hastily gives in since she is already fed up with her present life and is looking for any available relief to ease the distressing atmosphere of hopelessness and rejection. When Rasul and his fiancé move to live in New York, the two are so worn out by their past lives and experiences that the overwhelming desire to get rid of and be free from the shackles of poverty and extreme anxiety, causes Rasul to apprehensively buy an old and damaged car, which they use for the picnic despite the fact that he has a low underpaying job. His decisions are being influenced greatly by his earnest desire for an improved life.

The work also displays the theme of determination, in that, Rasul and Shavana are well decided to join hands, and together work tirelessly towards a better future. Due to this, encouraging rays of hope and good expectations start streaming into the lives of the young couple. Their perspective changes and they can now embrace life as it is and even see the good things that come with it. The two are able to make good decisions out of their willpower to see things change. It’s evident that they are not going to waver into the same mediocrity as the environment around them. Their positive perspective towards life makes Shivana to discard the idea of getting rid of the foetus, even after she finds the money to do so.

Conclusion

            Kalisha’s work “Conception”, gives the reader a perception of the misery that befalls the majority, who struggle with their lives below poverty lines. It majors on how the innocent gets entangled and bound into the yoke of frustrating and distressful lives. It also figures out the destructive mood that dominates the people’s hearts causing them to lose sensitivity to the extent being so irresponsible, even ruining the very lives of their stillborn children. There is, therefore, a desperate need for the society to revolutionize and overcome the power of their misfortune through embracing life with a constructive intent and be armed with diligence to work to influence their lives affirmatively.