Ngugi's "Decolonising of the Mind", "Wedding at the Cross" & "Minutes of Glory"

Three works by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

In Ngugi's story "Decolonising of the Mind", the discussion of language possessing a "dual character [acting as] a means of communication and a carrier of culture" cannot be more of the truth. That is in my view of the truth. While the main lesson in Ngugi's "Wedding at the Cross" is the loss of identity of Africans after colonization takes place, both literally and metaphorically in the mind. In Ngugi's third story, "Minutes of Glory", he focuses on gender-bias especially in women to portray his message that women's power lies in sexuality, which in the end is self-destructive.

My view of language, identity loss and negotiation of power for women differ from Ngugi's view and interpretations of such topics. Ngugi's narrative in "Decolonising of the Mind" detailing his childhood learning and speaking his native tongue, Gikuyu, in the fields and in the home acted as education for the young pre-school children like him is a beautiful process and memory. However, Ngugi mentions that once he was old enough to attend the colonised schools, "this harmony was broken", the natural balance and spreading of Gikuyu was no longer the taught language. I believe that Ngugi has a point here, there is a difference between teaching African students English and enforcing the English language as the most important. I believe in the endless power of education and the fact that traveling to help other countries is a philantropic task, but I do not agree with assimilation and changing tradition, and in Ngugi's opinion, language is more than just a form of communication but a door into the lives and culture of African people.

In Ngugi's "Wedding at the Cross", I was almost instantly able to predict the character change which was built up in the story and eventually took place in mid story. Ngugi wants the reader to witness the negativity surrounding the change of Wariuki to the white-respected Dodge W. Livingstone Jr., Ngugi parallels the change in character with the change of name as if he is saying that with a colonised white name comes bad luck and misfortune. Although Dodge W. Livingstone Jr. is a successful timber merchant, he has become the man that had humiliated him when he was a unique, poor milk clerk. He ironically becomes the man he hates, he becomes Douglas Jones, a converted Christian but in the end he ends up without a wife or a family. Ngugi's way of showing that the loss of identity due to colonisation is a creative method in allowing the audience to experience the identity crisis without being told out front.

"Minutes of Glory", a sad and pitiful story of self-destruction and self-hate by Ngugi illuminates Ngugi's view that women are inherently unable to act in an effective and successful way without being punished. This punishment is caused by women's undeniable sex appeal, which in Wanjiru's case, is sparked by her inability to accept and love herself for her, which is no surprise since she is a prostitute. I disagree with Ngugi's labeling of women as having less power and destructive power, I think that Ngugi's view of women as being the weaker and inferior gender as well as sexual temptresses is a close-minded opinion. I do agree, however, that women especially are self conscious in their appearance and lack confidence in themselves, so this view of Ngugi's still pertains to today and is reflected in many women world-wide.

After reading all three stories, I have respect for Ngugi's writing, he is an entertainer and a creative writer of powerful stories of sadness and pity. I enjoyed his stories "Wedding at the Cross" and "Minutes of Glory" mainly because there was not a Disney-inspired happily ever after ending of either of these stories. I especially enjoyed the page-turning "Wedding at the Cross" because I felt like Ngugi's point was well stated and his character of Wariuki was detailed to the point that the reader was able to realistically follow his transformation into a God-fearing successful suit wearer while his mind and soul lacked life and a hearty identity.

Gordimer's "Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants", "Amnesty" & "Six Feet of the Country"

Three works by Nadine Gordimer.

Nadine Gordimer, a notoriously powerful South African author, expresses her first-hand witnessings of apartheid through her subtle but meaningful literature by imboding the narrators of her stories. Gordimer, in three of her stories, "Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants", "Amnesty" & "Six Feet of the Country" assumes the narrator's character, she becomes the narrator, convincing the reader that the story-teller is a real person with a particular view of their surroundings, which results in a lesson or opinion concerning apartheid.

In "Good Climate" Gordimer's unreliable narrator is a 49 year old white woman who is anything but humble. She is a character that we as readers pity for her loneliness and colonized mind. Gordimer does not give this woman a name, but rather she gives the only black African in the story a name. His name is Jack Mpanza Makiwane and he is the contradiction to stereotypes of Africans, he is intelligent, literate and he contains more depth than the white woman. At the end of the story, Gordimer's lesson regarding apartheid is that such segregated upbringing can change good people's minds to believe that such colonial thinking is the right, ethical and only option.

Gordimer imbodies another of her unreliable narrators in "Amnesty" but this time she speaks through a young woman struggling to balance a life on an African farm alone raising her child while her not-yet-husband deals with more worldly matters of the Movement. Gordimer, unlike many authors who agree with the ANC, decides to tell this story through the eyes of someone who is not a seeminlgy direct fighter for the end of apartheid. The story ends with the mother "waiting for him to come back home" this however is a sad realization because the no-named narrator accepts that she is going to be without her love but at the same time she is willing to sacrafice because the broader picture is the future of her children and of the next generation in general. Gordimer is suggesting here that the end of apartheid is only possible when everyone works together, even if their fight is in different ways.

In my opinion, Gordimer's "Six Feet.." is the most intriguing and entertaining story of the three and this story is meant to elaborate to the audience that apartheid is a lose-lose policy because neither the black men and women nor the white men and women hold the power, but rather the institution itself is the sole wiedler of power. Gordimer's (yet-another) unrealiable narrator is a white man who is burdened with having to live in the country with a wife that is martyr-like in actions and beliefs. Through this man, we the readers realize that he has little power over any institution of the era. After being powerless in his vain efforts to get the dead body of a black worker's brother back, the reader is left with a underlying disappointment and pity for the black African family who is now unable to bury their relative properly. Nadine Gordimer's point is subtle and not given to the reader in words, but rather in all three of the previously mentioned works, the view and lesson of the story must be implied and pieced together.

Nadine Gordimer's ability to evoke emotion through the rhetorical appeal of pathos is undeniably impressive but this ability combined with her underlying meanings and passion is what makes her stories very interesting to read. Gordimer's view of apartheid and the characteristics of the segregation she grew up in has opened my eyes to more than just one standard, directional view. I now know that apartheid does not just negatively affect the owned or the dark skinned Africans but that whites were negatively affected too. Their minds were warped to believe that racism was an accepted way of life and that in the end many people suffered from such persuasion invading their minds.

I believe that Gordimer's views of segregation are what make such organizations such as the ANC and the Congress of South African Writers possible as well as a success. In a way she is a peaceful protestor. She believes in an awakening and a change that will end apartheid but the answer is not through violence like African writer Jomo Kenyatta. I believe her writings are successfully balanced with passion, intensity, honesty and just enough subtly to get people's minds thinking for themselves.

However, apartheid is still an ongoing institution. I have witnessed such segregatory practices right here in the United States. Our states may claim to be united but not all of the nation's citizens can unite with different races. This is an issue that I personally care about and I want the future to consist of more open minds and welcoming hearts and with encouragement to write there is a chance that writers with views shared by Gordimer will be able to penetrate the barrier between light and dark.

Achebe's "An image of Africa", "Girls at war" & "The Madman"

Three works By Chinua Achebe

In Achebe's three stories, "An image of Africa", "Girls at war" and "The madman", Achebe uses the tool of irony in a successful manner of expressing his views and opinions concerning African issues and events regarding society, politics and culture. I am a fan of ironic stories, always have been, ever since I learned that dramatic irony in plays such as Shakespeare was used to expose corruptions. As a middle schooler I knew the use of ironic satire was pure gold as long as the attempt was effective. In Achebe's case, he was very successful in gaining my interest and keeping it. He not only captures the reader's attention, but he captures their mind and challenges the reader to think about the tale in which he intertwines a lesson to be learned.

Achebe's view of African treatment, portrayal and politics are mentioned in his stories/ reader responses such as Conrad's "An image of Africa". Although "An image of Africa" was a dry, vocabulary-heavy response, Achebe's personal opinions were voiced concerning his disagreement and dislike of Conrad's representation of African people as "savage" and possessing a "bestiality" unlike the civil Europeans. Achebe does not use an allegory or a parable here but he does not have to. I have already been won over by his knowledge on the subject and his vast uses of textual support. I also agree with Achebe's world view as described in his stories "Girls at war" and "the madman". In these stories he reveals the ironies in life, not just in African lifestyles, but in worldly lives. He suggests that ironically good things happen for bad reasons and bad things happen for good reasons in everyday life, in a way he is saying that sometimes people get screwed over. An example of this mentality is present in "Girls at war" when Gladys suffers death after going back to save a helpless soldier, while Nwankwo is rewarded with life after abandoning the others. In "The madman" the clinically-crazy and naked man experieces the best outcome at the end of the tale, while the ideal African male in society is humiliated and deemed insane at the end of the story. After reading these stories in particular my agreement of Achebe's world views was strengthened.

Although I agree with Achebe, his audience was seemingly more of the African race, therefore I was unable to directly link the stories to my family or community. However I do believe that Achebe addresses matters that I personally care about such as  the solution in battling the stereotypes of Africans or other immigrants is to educate! I believe that education is a great way to solve almost any problem, because education and knowledge of current events are the tools that allow individuals to gain insight and better themselves as a citizen of any country. Despite my previous agreement, I do not believe that it is fair to say that dialects are solely a way "to downgrade" a person's language. Most people fail to see dialects as a tradition, as a reflection of a certain area in the world. For example, an Ohioan can make fun of a Kentuckian's dialect but some Kentuckians have grown up emersed in such "erroneous" forms of English making them speak differently not wrongly. Just because a person says "aint" does not mean that in their region of the country they are outcasted, but rather if they spoke proper English they would be looked at as a non-local. Perhaps my view of dialects is unconventional but I would not associate all varying forms of dialects with ignorance or uneducated people.

Overall, I enjoyed Achebe's works as a whole. My favorite of the three short stories was "Girls at war" due to the dramatic and detailed scenes and the not-so-happy ending therefore I enjoyed this story as entertainment and as a literary art form due to the irony-fillled message and lesson. "The madman" was a great work of art because I had to really question in depth what the symbols of the story meant and how Achebe was trying to inform his audience that craziness is not always clinical and being judgemental is not an effective way to read a person. "An image of Africa" was different than the two previously mentioned works because this piece was Achebe's response to Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Due to the lack of vivid story telling and characters I was not as interested in this work, but I would say that Achebe is skilled in arguing a certain point with support to back up his findings and beliefs. After reading a selection of Achebe's writings I would recommend to myself and others who enjoy exploring new ways of thinking and analyzing to read more of Achebe's works.

Mnthali's "Stranglehold of English Lit."

“The Stranglehold of English Lit.” By Felix Mnthali

In the poem “The Stranglehold of English Lit.”, Mnthali exposes the corruptive nature of American Literature as well as the suppression of native tradition and voice of Africans. Mnthali’s view, like Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, revolves around the idea that English as the main educational language spread world-wide hinders or rather “strangleholds” the breath of African culture from expressing what is their reality.  As a white American female I seemingly have no connection to the poetic words of Mnthali but surprisingly I am able to relate. Mnthali’s literature inundates me with sympathy for the African people not having the freedom to write their stories in their native tongue but that English has overstepped the boundaries. I am a believer in freedom of speech and expression and one of my main goals in the near future is to travel to Africa in order to educate the African children through the Peace Corps and to spread the opportunities and importance of education, however, my goal is not to convert any one person or group to become a robotic version of an English writer or citizen.

I personally believe that being human is defined by having a unique identity which stems from culture, tradition, background and lifestyle of antiquity. I believe that all humans should have the right to equally express themselves and to form individual opinions within their own minds and to not be enslaved to preconceived notions of right and wrong stated by others. I agree with Mnthali when he states that English literature has gone too far and has begun to “maul the flower of [African’s] youth” meaning that instead of helping, the English literature of the time was encroaching on the African people therefore changing the definition of human. I however hope that Mnthali does not assume that all English speakers and writers are of this same breed that “mock[s] the victims of the branding irons and sugar-plantations” because if it were not for American writers and education I would have never known the harsh history of black Africans. Writers like Mark Twain, an American white skinned man, wrote novels such as a “Huckleberry Finn” in order to show the struggle and the reality of the times of black men and women through characters like Jim.

This poem was a window into the passionate heart of a black man who saw the truth and who knew the threat that English Literature had on African culture. Because the author was so hurt and so moved by his belief I was able to enjoy reading and interpreting Mnthali’s work. Overall, I was very touched by Mnthali’s poem because his words were honest and he did not guild his meaning in sugar or gold. His words seemed to spill like blood from his open wounds and for that reason, among others, I was very glad I read this poem and I will hopefully read more from Felix Mnthali in the future.

Kelsey Betz