Short Story: The Late Bud

Short Story: The Late Bud

GENRE: Short Story

TITLE: THE LATE BUD

AUTHOR: Ama Ata Aidoo

PLOT SUMMARY
Yaaba is a girl who really enjoys playing with her friends. She likes to break the rules and
does not like to help her mother with errands or chores at home. Yaaba overhears Maami,
her mother, complaining that she has no red earth to polish her floor for Christmas. She
decides to go with her friends, Panyin and Kakra, to the earth pit the next morning to fetch
some. That night, Maami beats her for not washing herself before going to sleep. After the
beating, Yaaba cannot sleep. She goes into the next room to fetch her tools for collecting
red earth. She slips in a bowl of water, hits her head and faints. Maami hears the noise and
thinks that there is a thief in the house. She screams. She goes into the next room, sees
Yaaba lying on the floor and screams again. People come running from all over the village.
They question Yaaba and Maami and discuss the event until morning. However, Yaaba
won’t answer them and no one can work out what happened. The next morning, while
Yaaba is sleeping, Panyin and Kakra come to fetch her. They tell Maami about the plan
to go to the earth pit. Maami is surprised and grateful that finally Yaaba was trying to do
something helpful. Yaaba is half asleep and confused, but she hears Maami calling her ‘my
child’. She is happy, because Maami is proud of her and she finally knows that she is really
Maami’s child.

SETTING
The story is set in Ghana, in the village where Yaaba lives with her family. It takes place on a
Saturday, the day before Christmas.

SUMMARY REVIEW ACTIVITY: CLOZE PROCEDURE

Below is a summary of the story. Fill in each of the gaps with a word / a few words:

Yaaba is a girl who enjoys playing with her friends. She likes to break the
rules and does not like to help her mother with [1] _______________ or chores
at home. Yaaba overhears Maami, her mother, complaining that she has no
red [2] _______________ to polish her floor for Christmas. She decides to go with
her friends, [3] _______________ and [4] _______________ , to the earth pit the next
morning to fetch some. That night, Maami beats her for not [5] _______________

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 Short Story: The Late Bud

herself before going to sleep. After the beating, Yaambi cannot sleep. She goes
into the next room to fetch her tools for collecting red earth. She slips in a
bowl of [6] _______________ , hits her head and faints. Maami hears the noise and
thinks that there is a [7] _______________ in the house. She screams, and people
come running from all over the village. They discuss the event, but no one can
work out what happened. The next morning while Yaaba is [8] _______________
Panyin and Kakra come to fetch her. They tell Maami about the plan to go to
the earth pit. Maami is surprised and grateful that finally Yaaba was trying to do
something [9] _______________ . Yaaba is half asleep and confused, but she hears
Maami calling her ‘my child’. She is happy, because now she knows that she is
really Maami’s [10] _______________ .

MARKING MEMORANDUM

THE LATE BUD

1 Instruct the learners to compare their answers, to see if they can correct their
own mistakes.
2 Discuss the correct answers with the whole class.
1 errands / jobs / work / housework
2 earth
3 Panyin / Kakra
4 Kakra / Panyin
5 washing / cleaning / bathing
6 water
7 thief / robber
8 sleeping / asleep
9 useful / helpful / kind / selfless / good
10 child / daughter

CONCEPTUAL VOCABULARY

WORD BASIC DEFINITION

an errand (n.) A small job, e.g. going to the shops to buy something or going to another
classroom to deliver a message. Yaaba does not do errands for her mother.
a chore (n.) A small job, usually around the house, that needs to be done most days, e.g. like
washing the dishes. Yaaba does not do chores for her mother.
a trunk (n.) The base of a tree. Yaaba plays with her friends by the Big Trunk.
a pit (n.) A big hole in the ground. Yaaba decides to get red earth from the pit.
a hoe (n.) A hand-held farming tool. People use it to break up the ground before they plant
seeds. Yaaba plans to use a hoe to get red earth from the pit.

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Short Story: The Late Bud

MAJOR CHARACTERS

NAME YAABA

IMPORTANT 1 Decides to go with Panyin and Kakra to the pit to get red earth.
ACTIONS 2 Slips on a bowl of water, hits her head and faints.
RELATIONSHIPS Yaaba does not have a close relationship with her mother. Her mother calls
her other daughter, Adwoa, as ‘my child’ but does not call Yaaba this. Yaaba
wonders if she is not really her mother’s child.
PERSONALITY Yaaba likes to play and have fun. She does not help her mother with errands
TRAITS and chores, and she breaks all the rules. She thinks adults are boring.
PHYSICAL None given.
DESCRIPTION
CHANGES At the beginning of the story, Yaaba does not help her mother. However, when
she hears how sad her mother is about not having red earth to polish the floor,
she decides to get some for her. It is the first helpful thing she tries to do. At
the beginning of the story, Yaaba also wonders if she is really her mother’s
daughter. By the end of the story she knows that she is. This makes her happy.

NAME MAAMI / BENYIWA

IMPORTANT 1 Will not give Yaaba porridge because Yaaba does not help her with errands.
ACTIONS 2 Complains to herself that she has no red earth left to polish her floor.
3 Beats Yaaba because Yaaba goes to sleep without washing herself.
4 Finally calls Yaaba ‘my child’ when she realises that Yaaba wanted to do an
errand for her.
RELATIONSHIPS Benyiwa is Yaaba’s mother. Yaaba calls her Maami.
PERSONALITY Maami complains a lot about all the work she has to do at home.
TRAITS
PHYSICAL None given.
DESCRIPTION
CHANGES At the beginning of the story, Maami is frustrated that Yaaba spends all her time
playing, and does not help her around the house. She even beats her. At the
end of the story, Maami has forgiven Yaaba and shows her love because she is
grateful that Yaaba wanted to fetch red earth for her.

THEMES AND EVIDENCE OF THEMES IN TEXT

THEME 1
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDREN
Relationships between parents and their children can be difficult and complicated.
Parents and children often see things from different perspectives. Parents often need
help around the house, but children find this boring and irritating and often need to be
reminded to help.

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EVIDENCE OF THEME IN TEXT

Yaaba and Maami have a difficult relationship. Maami feels frustrated that Yaaba is selfish
and unhelpful. Yaaba feels frustrated that Maami expects her to do so much work in and
around the house and complains so much.

THEME 2
RECONCILIATION
Reconciliation means putting differences aside and finding a common ground on which to
build up a relationship. Reconciliation takes place after there has been a period of tension or
a big argument between people in a relationship.

EVIDENCE OF THEME IN TEXT

Through the events in the story, Yaaba and Maami are brought closer together. Maami

THE LATE BUD

forgives Yaaba for being selfish and unhelpful. Yaaba is relieved that she is really Maami’s
daughter. They accept the things that irritate them about each other and are able to move on
in their relationship.

THEME 3
PATRIARCHY
Patriarchy is the system of giving men and boys more power than women and girls
are given. In patriarchal societies, men have more power, more freedom and more
opportunities than women do. Women are often expected to stay home, take care of the
household chores and be obedient (do as they are told) to men.

EVIDENCE OF THEME IN TEXT

When Maami is shouting at Yaaba she says, “‘Who inflicted on me such a child? Look here,
Yaaba. You are growing, so be careful how you live your life. When you are ten years old,
you are not a child any more. And a woman that lives on the playground is not a woman. If
you were a boy, it would be bad enough, but for a girl, it is a curse. The house cannot hold
you’” (pg. 132). This shows that their society has different expectations for girls and boys.
Yaaba is expected to stay at home and follow all her mother’s instructions because she is a
child, but even more so, because she is female.

STYLE AND STRUCTURE

1 NARRATIVE VOICE:
The story is told in a third person narrative voice. This means that the narrator who tells
the story is not a character in the story. This gives us inside information to each of the
characters and what they are thinking.

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Short Story: The Late Bud

2 FIGURES OF SPEECH:
The title, ‘The Late Bud’ is a metaphor for Yaaba. A ‘bud’ is a young flower that has not
yet opened. Buds usually open at around the same time in spring, when the weather starts
to get warm. However, if there is a bud that opens later than the others, it can be called a
‘late bud’. Yaaba is being compared to a late bud. She is childish and does not behave like
her mother expects her to behave for her age. Therefore, she is like a bud that has not yet
opened. At the end of the story, she finally tries to do something helpful by going to the pit
to collect red earth for her mother. She is now like a bud that finally opens in that she has
matured from being selfish to being helpful.

3 REGISTER:
Register is how formal or informal the language is. This story is written in an informal
register. It sounds as if someone is casually speaking directly to the reader. For example, the
first paragraph ends with, ‘You know how it is’ (pg.129). Later, the narrator says, ‘But, you
see, one does not go around asking elders such questions. No, not at all’ (pg. 130) It is very
informal to say ‘you see’ directly to the reader. It sounds like a conversation.

4 TONE:
• Maami speaks in different tones at different points in the story. When she is angry and
beating Yaaba, she speaks in a harsh, aggressive tone. She says, “‘You lazy, lazy thing!
She cried. ‘You good-for-nothing, empty corn husk of a daughter…’” (pg. 132). We
know that her tone is aggressive because of the words she uses (‘good-for-nothing’), the
punctuation (the exclamation mark) and the repetition of the word ‘lazy’.
• However, at the end of the story, after Yaaba’s injury, when her mother has forgiven her,
she speaks in a kind and nurturing tone. She says, ‘My child, my child, I say thank you.
You were getting ready to go and fetch me red earth? Is that why you were holding the
hoe? My child, my child, I thank you’ (pg. 134). Here, the repetition of ‘My child, my
child’ is gentle and soothing and shows us that Maami has forgiven Yaaba’.