Reflection on Chinua Achebe's Interview on "The African Voice"
An Interview with Chinua Achebe - Reflection
Chinua Achebe, who is the author of the famous literature book "Things Fall Apart", this story revolves around Okonkwo, a member of the Umofia clan; who lives to be very great and has a great fear of ending up like his father who was very lazy and feminine. This story sets in Nigeria before civilization, which is around the early 1900's or the late 1800's.
In class, students were assigned to read an interview published by "An African Voice", this interview was with the famous Chinua Achebe, an author of the enduring works of modern African literature. While discussing this interview with my classmates, I had a better understanding the Nigerian History and the stories setting as well. Achebe also would want the people to identify themselves with the book to feel what is like to be in a country when colonization, I personally have never experienced that nor has my country, and Achebe achieved that in his literature. He has also done that by using African terms in the story and use tribe names that gave me a better understanding of the culture and history.
Today, students have discussed on how Achebe states "The last four or five hundred years of European contact with Africa produced a body of literature that presented Africa in a very bad light and Africans in lurid terms.", this is true because in the discussion with my classmates this morning, we have stated how many stories only have one side to it, a single story. Achebe's book does the opposite and gives us and the world a very positive view of Nigeria's old culture, Achebe's ethnic tribe and gives us the values and tells us how interesting the history of Nigeria and all of Africa really is; Since other literature works show Africa as a boring, dull land with many valuable resources that many would fancy.
The circumstances, the history, the culture, language and tragedy has really impacted and shaped the context of "Things Fall Apart" and gave its readers a better understanding of its time period and setting; this also gave me and my classmates a better understanding of the theme and context of this story, which only makes me more interested in Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" even more.
Chinua Achebe, who is the author of the famous literature book "Things Fall Apart", this story revolves around Okonkwo, a member of the Umofia clan; who lives to be very great and has a great fear of ending up like his father who was very lazy and feminine. This story sets in Nigeria before civilization, which is around the early 1900's or the late 1800's.
In class, students were assigned to read an interview published by "An African Voice", this interview was with the famous Chinua Achebe, an author of the enduring works of modern African literature. While discussing this interview with my classmates, I had a better understanding the Nigerian History and the stories setting as well. Achebe also would want the people to identify themselves with the book to feel what is like to be in a country when colonization, I personally have never experienced that nor has my country, and Achebe achieved that in his literature. He has also done that by using African terms in the story and use tribe names that gave me a better understanding of the culture and history.
Today, students have discussed on how Achebe states "The last four or five hundred years of European contact with Africa produced a body of literature that presented Africa in a very bad light and Africans in lurid terms.", this is true because in the discussion with my classmates this morning, we have stated how many stories only have one side to it, a single story. Achebe's book does the opposite and gives us and the world a very positive view of Nigeria's old culture, Achebe's ethnic tribe and gives us the values and tells us how interesting the history of Nigeria and all of Africa really is; Since other literature works show Africa as a boring, dull land with many valuable resources that many would fancy.
The circumstances, the history, the culture, language and tragedy has really impacted and shaped the context of "Things Fall Apart" and gave its readers a better understanding of its time period and setting; this also gave me and my classmates a better understanding of the theme and context of this story, which only makes me more interested in Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" even more.
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