Telephone Conversation by Wole Soyinka:  ISC Rhapsody Solutions

 Telephone Conversation : Justification of the Title 

Question : Why do you think that the poet has chosen the title  “Telephone Conversation”. Give reason to support your answer.

 Answer:  

The poet Wole Soyinka has chosen the title  “Telephone Conversation” to depict the prejudice and racial discrimination by means of casual telephonic conversation. The title has two parts – first emphasising a conversation between two people which is telephonic, means they can not look at each other, so that they are unaware of their physical appearance. Second part is a conversation which should be all about an apartment to be rented and a prospective tenant but in reality, is focused only on the colour of the black prospective tenant.

   The poem is written in the first person narrative. It is a poetic satire against the widely spread racism in the modern western society. The title  “Telephone Conversation” is justified because it captures the essence of the poem’s central theme – Prejudice and Discrimination based on the race and colour of individuals.

     A telephone conversation is usually a common day – to – day event but in this poem, it becomes a battleground for racial tension. The title emphasises the contrast between the normalcy of the setting and the abnormality of the prejudiced attitudes it reveals. The telephone is usually a tool for communication ironically it becomes a medium for misunderstanding and discrimination.

      As the title suggests, the poem depicts a telephone conversation between a west African man and a white landlady who  shockingly changes her attitude towards the man soon after he reveals his racial identity.

   The poem begins with a simple phone call between an African man and a white landlady. The man, looking for a place to live, finds the price and location good, but decides to “confess” the landlady that he is an African, knowing it could make her not want to rent him.

   “Silence. Silenced transmission of / 

   pressurised good breeding …”

 When he discloses that he is an African, she is silent, which he first interprets as her being well – mannered. However, she then bluntly asks whether he is “light or very dark”. Her rude inquiry destroys any impression he had of her as sophisticated or open – minded.

     However, unaware of the extent of the landlady’s ignorance, he is shocked and annoyed by her cold, impersonal and demeaning approach to his confession. 

    As the landlady repeats the same question he understands that it is something very important for her to know before she allows him to rent her house. At that moment he feels disgusting and is  reduced to shame as he is subjected to racial discrimination.

   But the woman’s repeated questions about his skin colour are irritating, annoying and insulting. The man at first remains polite and humble. The moment he realises the woman’s derogatory attitude towards the black he gets annoyed starts responding in an ironical and sarcastic way.

      The man, with the woman still confused, sarcastically continues to describe himself as – 

   “Not altogether/

   Facially, I an brunette, but madam, you should see / 

   The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet / 

   Are a peroxide blonde.”

    He told her that he is brunette, “facially brunette”, but the palm of his hand and soles of his feet is  “peroxide blonde”.

    The African man is being very sarcastic about the colour of his skin but the landlady  can not accept the fact that he is black. When his sarcasm reached at a peak he said  that his bottom is “raven black” due to friction caused by prolonged sitting. This phrase expresses his anger at her as he insults her simple mindedness and her desire to categorise him.

    The landlady is discontented with the man’s answer and hangs up the phone. Sensing the call is ending soon, he makes one last attempt to invite the landlady to observe his skin colour personally.

  The poem concludes without divulging her final response, but implies her questions stemmed more from prejudice than simple interest.

     This conversation exposes the landlady’s racial biases and the speaker’s anxiety about revealing his race, turning an ordinary call into a powerful commentary on racism.

    By choosing this title, Soyinka sets the stage for a critique of racial prejudice showing how it taints even the most routine interactions. The poem points at the absurdity of racism. The practice of judging someone on the basis of his colour or race or social status instead of his inner capabilities, presents the highly corrupt image of modern society.