Language in India www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 13:4 April 2013 Stephen Jantuah Boakye, M.Phil. Suspense Strategies in Buchi Emecheta’s Head Above Water 247 Suspense Strategies in Buchi Emecheta’s Head Above Water Stephen Jantuah Boakye, M.Phil. =============================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia.com ISSN 1930-2940 Vol. 13:4 April 2013 =============================================================== Abstract This paper explores two strategies employed by Buchi Emecheta to create suspense in her autobiography Head Above Water. The two strategies are the use of chapter headings and provision of backgrounds to episodes. It has been ascertained from this study that contrary to some assertions by some scholars about the structure of female autobiography, Emecheta’s self-account is coherently organised. This organisation is exploited by the author to create expectation in her readers about what transpires in her account. Keywords: female autobiography, suspense, Buchi Emecheta, African autobiography Introduction Almost every autobiographer has as his or her focus the mission of portraying his or her life as the ideal one. In fact, without this aim, the need for autobiography will be obviated as writers of autobiography try to paint pictures of their lives whether it was progressive or otherwise. According to White and Epston (1990), “persons give meaning to their lives and relationships by storying their experience” (p. 13). Hence the necessity for autobiography by those who deem their experiences worthy of portrayal. The ideal life, according to the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, is one that corresponds to the ideal story; each act is coherently related to all other with nothing to spare (cited in Nehamas, 1985). In creating this coherence, some authors try to get their readers involved by gluing them to the account through the use of suspense. This is a controlled way on creating internal tensions in a narrative (Yanal, 1996). Suspense is the creation of a sense of anticipation on the part of the reader concerning what will ensue in a piece of narrative. This paper explores the strategies employed by Buchi Emecheta to create suspense in her autobiography Head Above Water. The two main techniques to be looked at are chapter headings and backgrounding of episodes or withholding of revelation. The strategies adopted by Buchi Emecheta in her autobiography to create suspense are going to be delved into in terms of the following questions: