SECTION E: African Prose AMMA DARKO: Faceless Comment on the role of Fofo in the novel.

Answer Details

In Amma Darko's Faceless, Fofo is the central character whose experiences hold the whole novel together. A fourteen-year-old street girl in Accra, she is both a victim of urban poverty and the catalyst through which the tragedy of her family and the plight of street children are exposed.

The protagonist and point of entry. Fofo is the younger daughter of Maa Tsuru and the sister of the murdered Baby T. It is through Fofo that the reader is drawn into the harsh world of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Accra slum, and the dangers faced by girls who live on the streets. Her story frames and drives the narrative.

Victim of the streets. Fofo embodies the vulnerability of the abandoned girl-child. She scrapes a living on the streets, is exposed to hunger and danger, and narrowly escapes rape when a man attacks her in the dark, an experience that shocks her and turns her towards seeking a better path. Her suffering dramatises the perils that destroy such children.

Catalyst for the investigation. Fofo's determination to discover the truth about her sister's death links the street world to the NGO called MUTE and to Kabria and her colleagues. By pursuing the mystery of Baby T's murder, Fofo sets in motion the investigation that uncovers the network of exploitation, negligence and abuse behind it. She is thus the thread connecting the different strands of the plot.

Figure of transformation and hope. Unlike Baby T, who is lost to prostitution and death, Fofo is rescued. Taken in and supported by MUTE, she is given the chance of schooling and a decent life. Her transformation from ragged street urchin to a girl with hope offers the novel's most positive note and its faith in intervention and rehabilitation.

Conclusion. Fofo's role is therefore pivotal. As victim, investigator and symbol of hope, she carries the novel's exposure of the suffering of street children and its plea for the protection and rescue of the vulnerable girl-child.