Modernity and Tradition in Chinua Achebe's 'Girls at War' and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's 'A Meeting in the Dark'

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Modernity and Tradition in Chinua Achebe's 'Girls at War' and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's 'A Meeting in the Dark' by Ana María Leiva Aguilera, GRIN Verlag
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ana María Leiva Aguilera ISBN: 9783668073913
Publisher: GRIN Verlag Publication: October 23, 2015
Imprint: GRIN Verlag Language: English
Author: Ana María Leiva Aguilera
ISBN: 9783668073913
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Publication: October 23, 2015
Imprint: GRIN Verlag
Language: English

Literature Review from the year 2015 in the subject Literature - Africa, grade: A, University of Jaén, language: English, abstract: The aim of this essay is to analyse two short African stories, each of them belonging to different areas. I will be focusing my attention on Chinua Achebe from Nigeria (West Africa), author of the short story 'Girls at War', and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's 'A Meeting in the Dark', from Kenya (East Africa). Nonetheless, both short stories share an important contrast between modernity (as a result of European influence on the part of colonizers) and tradition (the combination of cultural and social features characterizing African people's identity). Language acts as another element which divides tradition (aboriginal languages) and modernity (language of the colonizer): Ngugui wa Thiong'o supported the unique use of African languages in literature but it was after he wrote this story, which he wrote in English. He said that the language of the colonizer was a symbol of his identity, a way of accepting European culture. On the contrary, Achebe decided to write in English because he wanted to address to the whole nation by means of a central language. He even considered that the use of English opened up more opportunities for his message to be read throughout Europe. This Western cultural background and clash between European and original African identities results in the concept of cultural syncretism, which will be a key concept for this analysis. These short stories are written literary proof of how African people found themselves in a constant fight to keep their original believes and traditions, trying to achieve success through European literacy but never being accepted as fully Westernized, nor as fully Africans anymore.

Graduada en Estudios ingleses con dos menciones: Lingüística aplicada y Literaturas. Máster en Ed. Secundaria. Máster OMIES Ujaen Becaria Ujaen Becaria telefónica

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Literature Review from the year 2015 in the subject Literature - Africa, grade: A, University of Jaén, language: English, abstract: The aim of this essay is to analyse two short African stories, each of them belonging to different areas. I will be focusing my attention on Chinua Achebe from Nigeria (West Africa), author of the short story 'Girls at War', and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's 'A Meeting in the Dark', from Kenya (East Africa). Nonetheless, both short stories share an important contrast between modernity (as a result of European influence on the part of colonizers) and tradition (the combination of cultural and social features characterizing African people's identity). Language acts as another element which divides tradition (aboriginal languages) and modernity (language of the colonizer): Ngugui wa Thiong'o supported the unique use of African languages in literature but it was after he wrote this story, which he wrote in English. He said that the language of the colonizer was a symbol of his identity, a way of accepting European culture. On the contrary, Achebe decided to write in English because he wanted to address to the whole nation by means of a central language. He even considered that the use of English opened up more opportunities for his message to be read throughout Europe. This Western cultural background and clash between European and original African identities results in the concept of cultural syncretism, which will be a key concept for this analysis. These short stories are written literary proof of how African people found themselves in a constant fight to keep their original believes and traditions, trying to achieve success through European literacy but never being accepted as fully Westernized, nor as fully Africans anymore.

Graduada en Estudios ingleses con dos menciones: Lingüística aplicada y Literaturas. Máster en Ed. Secundaria. Máster OMIES Ujaen Becaria Ujaen Becaria telefónica

More books from GRIN Verlag

Cover of the book 'Es schüttet'. Zum Phänomen des Wetters im Roman 'Der Wolkenatlas' by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Zur Situation der liberalen Demokratie im postsozialistischen Transformationsprozess by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Was bedeutet 'good government' bei den Autoren der Federalist Papers? by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Polenaktion 1938 by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Blitzschutz in Gebäuden by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Hobbes Staatsphilosophie by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Altersgemischte Teamarbeit. Potenziale und Handlungsmöglichkeiten für Unternehmen by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Stilvergleich von Ernst Ludwig Kirchners 'Bildnis Dodo' und Ernst Ludwig Kirchners 'Erna mit Zigarette' by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Die 'Einnahme- Überschußrechnung' der Corporis Christi Bruderschaft zu Pressath in der Oberpfalz by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Is it more accurate to speak of the collapse or the destruction of the Weimar Republic by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Zentralbank und das Bankensystem in Russland by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Suizid bei Jugendlichen by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Early Jurassic palynomorphs from the Adigrat Sandstone in well Abred-1, Ogaden, Ethiopia by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Gerontagogik als Teil der Erwachsenenbildung. Otto Friedrich Bollnows Schrift 'Das hohe Alter' by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
Cover of the book Towards the Theorization of Cultural Logic of Museums as Places of Memory in the Late Capitalism by Ana María Leiva Aguilera
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy