Defying Causation

When reading the ending of Tail of the Bluebird I was surprised for two reasons: 1) I was not expecting PC Donkor to pull out a gun and point it at Kayo; 2) Nii Ayikwei Parkes did not make it seem like a big deal when this happened. Yes, as we continue to read we find out that Kayo is not shot, but I was confused as to why Nii Parkes did not emphasize the tense, suspenseful moment. It is almost as if this ending was meant to happen. I feel that nearly all of the events that occur in this novel are almost predetermined by a greater being, perhaps Onyame or any of the ancestors. It was fate that Kofi Atta's body would become younger and eventually turn into a boneless mass. It was inevitable that Kayo would be the one to investigate this. As Parkes states at the very end of the novel, "the ancestors had a plan" (170). Beyond the supernatural events that occur in this book, this 'plan' that explains all events defies, in itself, the laws of causation, breaking with the scientific truth.