The Girl Who Can (Ama Ata Aidoo): Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup
Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked
In The Girl Who Can by Ama Ata Aidoo, the young Ghanaian narrator Adjoa is criticised by her grandmother Nana for her thin legs, which Nana thinks are useless for bearing children, while her mother Maami defends her. Adjoa wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete and Nana changes her mind. The story challenges narrow ideas of a woman's role.
Understand Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete
Narrator and family. The story is narrated by Adjoa, a young girl born in Ghana, who lives with her mother Maami and grandmother Nana. In papers, MCQs have asked where Adjoa was born (2025) and what her final thought suggests (specimen).
Nana's view. Nana judges women by the traditional view that a woman's legs must be strong enough for her main purpose, marrying and bearing children. She criticises Adjoa's thin legs again and again. Adjoa, though a child, wonders why legs should be judged only for that.
Maami's view. Maami defends her daughter and stands for a different view in which a girl's future includes education and more than child-bearing. The arguments of the grown-ups are reported with a child's innocence and humour.
The cup. At school Adjoa turns out to be a fast runner and wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete. Nana, the harshest critic, comes round to admiring the legs.
The ending. Adjoa notices the change with quiet amusement. That her legs are useful for more than child-bearing is, she thinks, how she was feeling and thinking all along. The irony: the child knew from the start what the adult learnt only when the cup proved it.
Themes. Challenging traditional gender roles; education and opportunity for girls; three generations and changing attitudes; a child's wisdom.
Devices. Child narrator, irony, humour and contrast of generations. The story is in copyright; only short phrases from the story are used.
Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete: key facts
- Three generations
- Nana tradition
- Maami bridge
- Adjoa future
- Characters and attitudes.
- Arc
- Criticism
- Defence
- School sports
- Cup
- Nana changes
- Order of events.
- Themes
- Gender roles
- Education
- Changing attitudes
- Child's wisdom
- Choose by the question.
- Ending
- Child knew all along | Adult learnt by proof
- Gentle irony.
How to answer Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete questions
Use this for a character or ending question.
- 1Name the character or the ending.
- 2Give two events as evidence.
- 3Explain the attitude each represents.
- 4State the irony or message.
- 5Link to the theme.
Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete in real life
The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
A girl who loves cricket
Suppose a girl is told by an elder relative that cricket is for boys and she should learn cooking, but she plays in the school team and wins a trophy.
Which theme does this match?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- A traditional view limits a girl.
- Her success challenges it.
- The elder may come to admire her.
Answer: It matches the challenge to traditional gender roles, with the elder's attitude possibly changing after the success.
Memory hook: Prove it by doing.
Tricks to remember Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
N-M-A
Nana tradition, Maami bridge, Adjoa future.
Use it when: Characters.
Legs for more
Legs are useful for more than child-bearing.
Use it when: Ending.
Cup changes minds
The cup changes Nana's mind.
Use it when: Plot.
Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete: solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: Nana's view of the legs (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Read this paraphrase of a passage. Nana looks at Adjoa's thin legs and declares them useless, since a girl with such legs will not manage to bear children. Maami defends Adjoa, while Adjoa listens and wonders why legs should matter only for that.
Why does Nana think Adjoa's legs are useless? What does this show about her values?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Nana thinks a woman's legs must be strong enough to bear children, so thin legs seem too weak (1)
- She judges a girl by her future role as wife and mother (1)
- This shows Nana holds traditional values about a woman's purpose (1).
Answer: Nana thinks the legs are useless because, in her view, a woman's legs must be strong enough for bearing children. This shows she holds traditional values and judges a girl only by her future role as wife and mother.
Example 2: Nana's criticism (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
What does Nana criticise about Adjoa and why?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Thin legs (1)
- Child-bearing (1)
- Traditional view (1).
Answer: Nana criticises Adjoa's thin legs, because by the traditional view a woman's legs must be strong enough for marriage and bearing children.
Example 3: Maami's stand (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level
How does Maami differ from Nana in her view of Adjoa?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Defends (1)
- Education (1)
- More than child-bearing (1)
- Contrast with Nana (1).
Answer: Maami defends her daughter and values her education, believing a girl's future includes more than child-bearing. Nana judges Adjoa by tradition, so Maami represents a more modern view.
Example 4: The ending (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level
What does Adjoa's final thought suggest?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Quote idea (1)
- Legs useful for more (1)
- Child knew (1)
- Irony (1).
Answer: Her thought that she felt and thought so all along suggests she always believed her legs were useful for more than child-bearing. The child understood from the start what the adult learnt only when the cup proved it, a gentle irony.
Example 5: Theme (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
How does the story challenge traditional gender roles?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Nana's view (1)
- Adjoa's success (1)
- Maami (1)
- Change of heart (1).
Answer: Nana judges a girl by child-bearing, but Adjoa's success as an athlete shows a girl's body and life can be valued for other things. Maami supports education, and Nana's change shows that fixed views can alter when faced with achievement.
Where students lose marks in Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Calling Nana cruel
Traits lack balance.
Wrong working
Nana is cruel.
Right working
Nana is traditional but loving and she changes.
Do this: Add balance.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Missing the irony
The child knew first.
Wrong working
Adjoa wins.
Right working
The child knew all along, the adult learnt later.
Do this: State the irony.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Confusing Maami and Nana
Roles mixed.
Wrong working
Maami criticises the legs.
Right working
Nana criticises; Maami defends.
Do this: Learn roles.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Exam tips
- Know the three generations and their views.
- Quote short phrases from the story to support your point.
- Explain the irony of the ending.
- Link to gender roles and education.
- Give two reasons in opinion answers.
Practice questions on Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Read this paraphrase. Maami defends Adjoa while Nana goes on criticising her thin legs, and Adjoa listens quietly. (a) What does Maami's defence suggest about her hopes for Adjoa? (b) Why does the child's quiet listening make the scene humorous? (4 marks)
Hint
Think of Maami's view of the future, and of a child hearing adults argue about her.
Answer
(a) Maami's defence suggests she hopes for a future for Adjoa that includes education and more than child-bearing. (b) The child reports the adults' serious quarrel without fully understanding it, so their heated argument about her legs looks comic.
Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why is it ironic that Nana, who criticised the thin legs, comes round to admiring them? (3 marks)
Hint
Compare what Nana said earlier with what she does after the cup.
Answer
Nana had called the legs useless, but the same legs win the cup for the best all-round junior athlete, so she ends by admiring what she criticised. The child had believed in her legs all along, while the adult learnt only when the cup proved it.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How does Adjoa's innocent narration expose the absurdity of Nana's view of her legs? Support your answer with reference to the story. (3 marks)
Hint
Give the point, then evidence from Nana's criticism and Adjoa's wondering, then explain the effect of the child's voice.
Answer
Point: Adjoa reports the grown-ups' serious arguments with a child's honesty, without fully understanding them, so Nana's view looks narrow and comic. Evidence: Nana criticises the thin legs again and again as useless for child-bearing, while Adjoa simply wonders why legs should be judged only for that. Explanation: the child's simple question shows that Nana's view rests on habit, not reason, and the humour comes from the contrast between the adult's solemnity and the child's innocence. The cup later proves the legs useful.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Explain how and why Nana's attitude to Adjoa's legs changes by the end of the story. What does this change show about fixed ideas? (3 marks)
Hint
Contrast Nana's attitude before and after the cup, then say what caused the change and what it shows.
Answer
Point: Nana, the harshest critic of the thin legs, comes round to admiring them. Evidence: Adjoa turns out to be a fast runner and wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete, which proves the legs useful for more than child-bearing. Explanation: Nana's traditional view could not stand against visible achievement, so the change shows that fixed ideas about a woman's role can alter when faced with proof.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Adjoa wonders why legs should be judged only for child-bearing. What does this question show about her, and how does the story later answer it? (3 marks)
Hint
Link the child's question to the theme of a child's wisdom and to the result of the cup.
Answer
Point: the question shows that Adjoa, though a child, thinks for herself and does not accept the narrow traditional view that Nana holds. Evidence: she wonders about this while Nana criticises her thin legs and Maami defends her. Explanation: the story answers her question when she wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete, showing that legs are useful for more than child-bearing and that the child's instinct was right all along.
Q6 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Is the ending hopeful or ironic? Give two reasons. (4 marks)
Hint
Both can be argued.
Answer
Hopeful, because Nana changes and the girl is valued for her talent. Ironic, because the child knew all along what the adult learnt only after proof, which shows how long old attitudes can last.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Who wrote it?Show answer
Ama Ata Aidoo.
2.Who narrates?Show answer
Adjoa.
3.What does Nana's criticism show about her values?Show answer
She holds the traditional view that a woman's worth lies in marriage and bearing children.
4.What does Nana criticise?Show answer
The thin legs.
5.What does the cup prove to Nana?Show answer
That Adjoa's legs are useful for more than child-bearing.
6.Where was Adjoa born?Show answer
Ghana.
Adjoa's Thin Legs, Nana's View and the Cup for the Best Athlete: frequently asked questions
Is it in copyright?
Yes; only short phrases are used.
Which Class?
ICSE Class X.
How is it tested?
As MCQs and possibly a 16-mark extract.