“Once Upon A Time” by Gabriel Okara / Essay for III BA

 

“Once Upon A Time” by Gabriel Okara

(Prepared by Dr Suresh Frederick)

Introduction

Gabriel Okara, in full Gabriel Imomotimi Gbaingbain Okara (24 April 1921 – 25 March 2019) was born in Bumodi, Nigeria. The poem "Once Upon a Time" explains what occurs when a traditional African society is confronted with the influences of the Western way of life. In the poem, there is a conversation that takes place between a father and a son. The father wishes to learn from his son how to return to normalcy and stop being fake.

The poem starts with the father telling his son how, “once upon a time”, people, or “they”, “used to laugh with their hearts”. This description gives the impression of genuine emotion given up by the people. The father then says that now they only, “laugh with their teeth, while their ice-block cold eyes search behind his shadow”.  This evokes very unpleasant, fake, and false emotions, and it is a very cold description. This changes the tone of the poem, which becomes unpleasant and bitter.

Stanza two then reveals more of the past when it is said that, “they used to shake hands with their hearts”, again this image reveals true and genuine emotion. But just as in the first stanza, the present reality is discussed when it is said that, “that has gone, now they only shake hands without hearts while their left hands search his empty pockets”. This shows that, again the people are fake and seem to be using the other human beings to see what they can get.

Stanza three explains more about the changes he has noticed in these false people. Again the Stanza starts positive with the phrases, “feel at home”, “come again”, but then goes on to say that he will come again, “once, twice” but there will 'be no more thrice' for then “I find doors shut on me”. This shows that the people lie when they say the positive phrases and after a few visits they have all that they want from the man; their falseness is reflected in their language.

The first three Stanzas have the same structure. They start by telling the past and explaining how things used to be, but then they tell the negative reality. The poet compares the pleasant past with the present situation.

Stanza four presents the adaptations and solutions that the man has found to counter the problems. It starts by saying that the man has “learned many things”, suggesting that he has changed to fit in. He then explains the things he has learnt. He tells of the false personalities or of his “many faces”. He says that he has learnt to “wear” these faces, suggesting that he wears faces for different situations. He says that he has started wearing different faces like “office-face, street-face, and host-face”. This shows that he acts differently under different circumstances. He then adds that they have, “conforming smiles, like a fixed portrait”. This suggests even more falseness and deceptiveness.

Stanza five of the poem tells of the fake attributes to go along with the fake looks. It also repeats some of the acts that were mentioned earlier in the poem. Repetition seems to be a key technique in this poem. He says that he has also, “learned to laugh with only his teeth” and “shakes hands without his heart”. This suggests that he has copied the western ways as this is what they did earlier in the poem. He then goes even further to say that he has learned to say, “Goodbye” when he means, “Good-riddance” and “Glad to meet you, without being glad”. The man is ashamed of himself and is confesses to his son how far the fake attitudes have developed. He clearly hates what he has done.

In the final stanza, the speaker begs and pleads with his son to teach him how to laugh and smile like he did as a child. The man shows his regret as he says, “I want to be what I used to be when I was like you”, showing that he wants to be honest and truthful again. The poem's final sentence, which ties everything together, sums everything up well. The poetry, with the six-line stanzas, is amazing and flows well.

Conclusion

Gabriel Okara’s “Once Upon A Time” is about the artificiality of relationships and manners prevailing in the present-day world. The poet calls our attention to the hollowness of human nature. This poem exhorts us to give up the artificial smiles and manners that society demands we adopt and to rediscover what it means to be happy and innocent.