Ngugi wa'Thiong'o

There were three stories that we read this week by Ngugi, an excerpt from "Decolonization of the Mind", "Wedding at the Cross", and "Minutes of Glory". Again, these three stories were written based on colonialism. The two short stories use irony to show how colonialism affects people differently in Africa. In the story “Wedding at the Cross”, we meet Wariuki as a young man that was all about having fun. He would ride his bicycle around, performing tricks for all to see. This is where Miriamu falls in love with him. We follow him throughout the story as he changes. He joins the army, gets picked up by the Europeans, fights for them against his own villagers. He receives land and money from the Europeans as they leave. He joined the Church in gratitude when he does not face retribution from his fellow villagers. This is when we start to see the change in him. Wariuki changes his name and becomes Dodge W. Livingstone, Jr. This is when Miriamu starts to notice a change in her husband. They are to be married again at the wedding at the cross. This was supposed to be a happy day, Livingstone is now accepted by her father but she ends up saying no to him. She says that she has been married before and that her husband, Wariuki, is dead. He of course is not dead in body but the spirit of Wariuki, to her, is no longer present in Livingstone. She does not love the man in front of her after he conformed to colonialism.

There is a similar correlation to how people act once they are conformed to colonialism. They are out for thrills and will only look at or interact with men and women that look wealthy or important. We also see that the narrator will only be called by her English name, Beatrice, because it sounded more pure and more beautiful. Beatrice means blessed by God with beauty. Wanjiru, her African name, is the name of one of the founding goddesses and is related to beauty. She is a plain-looking woman that does not really have anything to her that makes her stand out. She never gets a second look from men and the only time they talk to her is when they have no other option. She finally steals money from the lorry driver and buys herself a dress, heels, stockings, and earrings. She then went to a restaurant to eat, ignored then man that came and sat with her, and left. The man followed her but lost his confidence. She was finally being noticed by men and was being given drinks, seats on the bus, and attention. She went back to the bar that she stole the money from and the men in the bar all stopped talking and stared at her. She was still the same women but since she was wearing a nice dress, heels, earrings and stockings, the men started to pay attention to her and lust for her. She was soon arrested by the police for stealing the money but she was not harmed during the arrest. This shows that women that dress and look like her are treated differently. Some people in the bar thought she should have been beaten.

These stories show that material possessions are how people distinguish people of importance and wealth. We see this in many places all over the world, especially in America. We have become a country that worships our material possessions. People cannot live without all of our accessories that make our lives easier. It is different in Africa because the possessions that they value are things we take for granted, like running water, clean clothes, heels, stockings, and jewelry. No matter where you are in the world, material items are an important part of life.

These stories are more interesting than I thought they were going to be. I know that I have an attachment to my possessions. All of us probably take for granted that we have computers to even write these blogs on and classrooms that have projectors, air conditioning, and white boards to discuss these stories and blogs. I felt that these texts have something to show us all. We need to take a step back and not take everything that we own for granted. We need to remember that we are lucky to live where we do and have the things we have.

Nadine Gordimer

In the three stories written by Nadine Gordimer, “Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants”, “Amnesty”, and “Six Feet of the Country”, she discusses and shows how nobody can win with apartheid. She uses different examples in “Six Feet of the Country” on how people are taken advantage by the system, even the people that implemented apartheid. The man was not able to get what he wanted from the government. He felt that as a white man, he was able to get whatever he wanted and it frustrated him. This shows that even white men are unable to benefit from the system. Gordimer also shows in “Amnesty” how people in all parts of the country are affected by apartheid. In this story, she shows how change needs to happen not just by the men fighting in the cities but by the women raising the children in the country. She felt so strongly that the change needed to come with the raising of the children that she only gave one character a name, their little girl and her name was Inkululeko. The man wanted the woman to know what was going with the Movement. He allowed her to sit and listen when he and the other men from the union gathered to discuss what needed to be done. He wanted her to be able to raise their children to be able to fight against it if they needed to and so that they would understand who he was and why he was not around.

I found these three stories easier to read and much more entertaining. Gordimer develops her stories better and makes them seem more personal. She uses the first person narrative to set this more intimate look into the effects of apartheid. This does not affect me personally but it does clash some with my views on government. I feel that it is a mistake to give a government or system too much power over the people. I do agree with the concept of a government as long as there are a series of checks and balances. I see this as a problem even in our own government. We have a series of checks and balances but they are not all elected by the people. Some are appointed by the heads of the government. I think that this needs to change before anything can be done to change the country for the better. We need people like the man in “Amnesty” to fight to get things changed.

Gordimer is my favorite author that we have read so far. Her stories are just so much easier to read and are more entertaining than any of the others that I have read. The first person narrative makes it easier to relate to the stories and easier for me to understand. It also makes it easier for me to find the hidden message and to figure out the irony. She has wrote the stories for a wider audience, so that more people could read and understand it.

Chinua Achebe

The irony that Achebe uses in his stories "Girls at War" and "The Madman" reminds me of my own ironic situation. A good thing happened to me because of a bad situation.I was moved out to Ohio by my parents, not by choice, to get away from the life I was living out in California. I did not want to move and resented my parents for it. I did, however, meet the girl who is now my fiancé and I could not be happier. Achebe shows his irony in “Girls at War” when Gladys is killed as she tries to save a helpless soldier and Nwankwo is spared because he leaves them behind.

I know that it happens, even in our country, but I have a problem with prostitution. In “Girls at War”, Gladys goes from being a soldier to selling anything that she can get ahold of, including her own body. I understand that someone will do what they can to survive but I would personally find another way. In “The Madman”, I agree with Achebe when he implies that people judge other people based on a single action they see. Nwibe was considered mad by his village based off of one mistake of naked run through the market, chasing after someone that they never saw. The outcome of these accusations caused his whole personality change and affected the rest of his life. This is prevalent today in our schools. Kids are harsh with each other and some have committed suicide or resulted to violence to get back at them. These tests helped to strengthen my views on how the world is and how people around the world acts.

I did not like “An Image of Africa”. It was too dry, boring, and seemed like he was trying to be excessively academic. The other two stories were easy to read and were entertaining. They were great stories that had ironic examples. I enjoyed reading them and would not mind reading similar stories by Achebe or another author.

The Stranglehold of English Lit.

In "The Stranglehold of English Lit." Felix Mnthali takes a stand that Jane Austen novels are not beneficial to students in African countries to read and learn about. They are not relevant to the lives of these students nor do they pose any benefit by reading them. Mnthali states that she is "mauling the flower of our youth in the south". Jane Austen's novels are unrealistic fairy tales for even the Africans with the European education to understand and read them. Their country does not run this way.

I personally have never read a Jane Austen book nor do I ever plan on reading one. I have seen two movies, not by choice, based on her books "Atonement" and "Pride and Prejudice". Based on these movies and from what I heard about her in class, I know that she writes Chick Lit. and romance novels. I do not feel that they are beneficial to anyone in Europe or North America. I completely agree with Mnthali when he asks "how could questions be asked...with Jane Austen at the centre? How could they be answered?" I feel and I believe that Mnthali feels the same, that students in Africa need to read books and novels that are more relevant to their situations and lifestyles. This does not mean that they should not learn about the outside world but should learn from their own countries readings.

Mnthali is not quite as forward about saying that the colonization of Africa by Europeans needs to be abolished as Kenyatta was in "The Gentlemen of the Jungle", he is trying to state that their needs to be more African Literature. Mnthali is closer to what Ngugi states in "Creating Space for a Hundred Flowers to Bloom". Teach everything, learn about all cultures, let everyone have a language and come up with their own written language. They both feel that it is a costly suggestion but it is worth the cost to make it happen.