Omeros

The sea swift leads Achille to Africa, which looks more like “the African movies” he saw when he was a child more than a specific place (133). There, he is captured by a group of warriors who take him upriver to their village. As they travel, Achille speaks to God. He is told that he has been given permission to return home; the swift was a guide. Achille wishes that he could remember the names of his ancestral gods, but he cannot. He travels along the Congo River, eventually arriving at a village where he is helped out of the boat.

The narrator, in this moment, is only half with Achille—Derek’s other half is with Midshipman Plunkett in the Netherlands.

In the village, Achille is greeted and led to a hut. He meets his father, Afolabe, with time itself acting as the translator between them. Afolabe admits that neither he nor the other villagers understand the meaning of Achille’s name. Achille also does not know. Conversely, Achille has forgotten all African names and words, as have many people in Saint Lucia. According to Afolabe, names are important because they symbolize the virtue and hope given to a child.