The Bitter Side of Sweet

In these chapters, Sullivan develops the fluctuating dynamic between Amadou and Khadija to show Amadou’s internal struggle between compassion and self-preservation. Their relationship changes as they are forced to work together for a day. At first, they butt heads, and Amadou even wants to lash out at her with his machete at one point. However, he controls his anger, and they eventually find a way to work together. Even though she’s inexperienced at manual labor, Khadija follows Amadou’s lead and works hard. By the end of their day of seeding the pods together, they are at peace.

Yet, the dynamic changes once more when Khadija makes another escape attempt and Moussa turns his anger on Amadou before chasing her. Amadou’s resentment towards her returns, and he’s left struggling internally between compassion for her (wanting her to escape), and self-preservation (wanting her to get caught so that he doesn’t bear the brunt of the bosses’ anger). The oscillation of their relationship shows Amadou’s internal struggle between caring for others and caring for himself and Seydou. He had to fend for his and Seydou’s survival for the last two years on the farm, and the beatings from the bosses have taken a toll on him, both physically and emotionally. He is reluctant to trust and hesitant to develop compassion towards anyone.

Amadou also struggles internally between love for Seydou and fear of the bosses. Even though he sacrificially takes the blame for Seydou’s mistake in getting tricked by Khadija, he resents his younger brother for his carelessness. He’s also angry at Seydou for using the machete dangerously to gather enough pods to meet quota. His love for Seydou is overshadowed by his fear that Seydou could be badly injured, and his fear shows itself as anger.

Sullivan highlights the disparity between the rich and poor in Africa as she continues to build suspense surrounding Khadija’s background. Amadou is surprised to find that she is rich enough that she never had to do manual work. He’s also shocked to learn that she went to school: “she’s clearly rich if her parents were throwing money away sending a girl to school” (45). Amadou’s words show how Khadija’s world is completely opposite of his. To Amadou, any educated child must be wealthier than all of the people in his home village, let alone an educated girl. Sullivan creates a sense of mystery surrounding Khadija’s background and family, making the reader wonder where she came from. She also uses Amadou’s surprise to show how his upbringing in a Malian village sharply contrasts with Khadija’s upbringing in a wealthy family. Sullivan continues to develop this contrast throughout the novel as Amadou discovers more details about Khadija’s life.

Sullivan also periodically uses flashbacks to inform the reader of what life on the plantation has been like for Amadou and Seydou. For example, Amadou thinks back to when he and Seydou tried to escape and shudders at the memory. Sullivan doesn’t yet share what happened, creating a sense of suspense. The punishment the boys received was enough to keep them from attempting escape again. Amadou also flashes back to when he and Seydou first arrived at the farm, and he promised Seydou they would get away somehow. Two years later, he can see they will never get out. The bosses have used manipulation to keep the boys enslaved, making them think they will eventually work enough to pay their debt and be released. However, Amadou has never seen the bosses allow a boy to leave. As he confronts the reality that they will probably never get out, Khadija’s fiery determination to escape starts to take root in his own heart. In this way, Sullivan foreshadows to the reader that escape is Amadou’s only hope for saving Seydou, and shows how Amadou has been manipulated for so long into believing his captors.