"Nervous Conditions" is a semi-autobiographical story about Tambu, a young girl growing up in rural Rhodesia in the 1960's, and her search for a way out - for both herself and her family - of the tremendous poverty of homestead life in a colonized African country. Narrated through the eyes of young Tambu, the story is told with child-like simplicity about her and her family fighting to survive in a complex world of Imperialism, racism, and class and gender inequality. In hindsight, Dangarembga allows the protagonist's narrative to slowly unravel the meaning of her and her family's struggle with their assimilation into the strange and powerful culture of their rulers. The wealth of her uncle Babamukuru coupled with the back-breaking poverty of her parents provide Tambu with a stark contrast between the lives of the educated and the non-educated. From an early age it is clear to her that education is the key to succeeding in the world of "white wizards." She also knows from an early age that, being female, her education was not as important as that of her brother, and was, in fact, disapproved of by her parents. As a female, she was expected to work at home as her mother had done all her life unquestionably, as was the tradition in her culture. But Tambu would not accept her role in life as it stood. Her mother's life was hard and miserable; in her view it was simply because she was uneducated. Babamukuru's wife, on the other hand, had accompanied him to England to be educated. Education had given Maiguru and her husband the means to make money, the means to live comfortably, the means to live with pride and decency. This was Tambu's vision of the way things were when she was young: simple, black and white. At an early age ... ... middle of paper ... ...nation of her own. Perhaps it is a metaphor for the struggle of all people living under the yoke of imperialism as a whole, an inward fight against complacency towards one's oppression. " 'Do you see what they have done?' Nyasha had said. 'They have taken us away! All of us! They have deprived you of you, him of him, ourselves of each other. We are groveling. Lucia for a job, Jeremiah for money. Daddy grovels to them. We grovel to him' "(p.200). Nyasha's personal revolution, in the end, did not succeed. To Tambu, however, she was a freedom fighter and a hero. Ultimately, because of Nyasha's fight, the seeds of distrust within her grew and flowered. She could no longer sweep away, or bury inside, the feelings she had about the world around her, about the injustice that had been done to her and to her family. She faced up to herself and was no longer silent.
I enjoyed reading Disciplined Hearts by Theresa O'Nell because i find that many people today do not know a lot about the Native American culture and what they have been through. Their cultures history is not talked about as much the African American or Hispanic's are. Most Americans know about the hardships that the African American and Hispanics had to overcome to assimilate to the level that they are today. I think O'Nell is trying to talk about the history of the Native American culture because, she believes that the reason that their culture is not well-known because of the fact that they have chosen to keep living like their ancestors and not assimilate to the American culture.
In the novel a Grain of Wheat written by Nugugi we explore in-depth the hardships and courage of African men and women who were forced to fight for their independence in the War of Independence. This book reveals to us the life of a man named Gikonyo. As a reader we learn that Gikonyo was through into a detention camp a poor and confused man. When released, Gikonyo is a new man with motivational and leadership abilities. Finding his true self in the camp and proving to be a true leader among his people. Although he is a new man after the camps, Gikonyo finds himself falling further apart from his beloved wife then he had ever been before.
Although the struggle for equal rights, food, welfare and survival were all central themes in both narratives, through this essay one could see how similar but at the same time distinctive the injustices for race relations were in South Africa’s apartheid regime and in the Jim Crow South’s segregation era were. The value for education, the struggle to survive and racism were all dominant faces that Anne Moody and Mark Mathabane faced on a day to day basis while growing up that shaped they their incredible lives with.
The novel immediately projects the fear and misunderstanding felt by the people of Bambara due to the unexpected early changes that are taking place in Africa. “A white man...There’s a white man on the bank of the Joliba” is exclaimed by Dousika’s pregnant wife Sira (Conde 5). The family is instantly struck with a curious mind but also one that is uneasy. The sight of this white man causes great despair already for the man of the house Dousika: “White men come and live in Segu among the Bambara? It seemed impossible, whether they were friends or enemies!”(Conde 10). The unexpected appearance of this white ...
There are a couple of main points that stood out to me when I was reading the article by Yarhouse about sin and its influence on psychopathology. One of these points was the different terminology used to when discussing pathology. The author talked about various ways people chose to describe pathology and how these terms influence how we perceive pathology. The second point that I found to be important, was the Christian explanation of pathology and how this can influence psychology. I think that this point is crucial because as Christians, we have a unique perspective on psychopathology that can be very beneficial to the field of psychology as a whole.
Cry the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton is a novel inspired by the industrial revolution. Paton describes in detail the conditions in which the Africans were living during this time period, 1946. This story tells about a Zulu pastor who goes into the city in search of his son and siblings who left in search of a better life. The pastor sees this immense city where a ruling white group is oppressing the black population. This novel is more than just a story, but it depicts the effects imperialism and the Industrial Revolution had on South Africa. Although the government has intervened to protect the people, some of these effects are still present in our societies.
Women are not only assumed to only take care of their family, but to not have the education that they do rightfully deserve. Women can contribute to the world as plentiful and gloriously as men can, but the chances are not given to them. For example, when Minerva tells Trujillo that she dreams of attending the University to study law, he replies "'The University is no place for a woman these days'" (99). Trujillo implies that by going to school to heighten her education, it would be ...
The starting point of this book shows how much she hates Ms.Leone and complaining about her current situations. For example, in one of her first entries, she talks about when she got in trouble for coming home late from school. Her foster parents think she is doing drugs, so they search her. After that they lock her in the laundry room. ...
Before and following Raskolnikov’s murder, he lives a life of anxiety and pride. Raskolnikov has no concern for anyone. But gradually Raskolnikov changes his attitude and actions. This alteration then leads him to confess and recognize his crime. This positive change is all thanks to Sonia. Throughout Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov meets with Sonia and at each meeting Raskolnikov advances in recovering his lost emotions. Sonia was necessary for Raskolnikov’s growth because without her Raskolnikov would have remained a prideful, miserable, man. Sonia’s actions and thoughts for Raskolnikov influence and move him. Yet Raskolnikov is the one who truly changes himself. But this transformation is only possible by Sonia. So she is a positive and
I chose to read the book, “The Emotional Life of Your Brain” written my Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D. Over the past 30 years as a researcher at Harvard University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison he has made great strides connecting human emotions with brain functions and location. Davidson is also a devout Buddhist who incorporates Buddhist teaching and practice into his work. Throughout this book Davidson refers back to his experiences in India and Sir Lanka meditating and teachings from the Dalai Lama. This book covers longevity of Davidson research and the six emotional continuums that human’s fall into, which he calls our emotional fingerprint.
The first part of the book gives an account of Immaculée’s family background. The love she experienced from her parents and her three brothers is illustrated. Her parents cared for everybody, particularly the poor. Because of the love with which she grew up, she never realised that she was living in a country where hatred against the Tutsi, her tribe, was rampant. It was not until she was asked to stand up in class by her teacher during an ethnic roll call that she realised that her neighbours were not what she thought them to be – good and friendly. After struggling to get into high school and university, not because she was not qualified but because of discrimination against her ethnic background, she worked hard to prove that if women are given opportunities to...
Emotional discomfort can sometimes be perceived as mental instability. A person may look, act, or feel insane, when in truth they are just very uncomfortable in their own skin. The narrator has a genuinely difficult decision to make which far outside his comfort zone. He is choosing between a woman who has been like a mother to him and much needed job that he feels he may enjoy. This choice is tearing him apart from the inside out. From the ringing noises that interrupt his every thought to the skin he is scraping off. The author uses diction, syntax, and extended metaphors to express the complete and utter discomfort of the narrator, both physically and emotionally.
...alternate view of the Shona society. Her values are a hybrid taken from both the English and Shona cultures and subsequently she is isolated from both cultures that will not accept her. This isolation leaves her vulnerable and she falls victim to anorexia as she tries to control her life. Her struggle against Babamukuru also serves to show that women are not submissive naturally but that this attitude only comes about because women are brainwashed into believing they are inferior. She never gives in and her resilience influences Tambu to become more assertive, and although Nyasha rebellion may not have been entirely successful, her struggle does live on through Tambu who now refuses to be brainwashed and will fight for social equality.
As with many surface readings I have performed as a student of literature, however, my perspective on The Joys of Motherhood began to evolve. First, I realized and accepted Nnu Ego's failure to react against oppressive forces in order to bring about change for herself and the daughters of Africa; I consoled myself, reasoning that the novel still deserves the feminist label because it calls attention to the plight of the African woman and because its author and protagonist are female. Rereading the novel, however, also triggered the silencing of my initial response. I focused on such passages as the dying wish of Ona, Nnu Ego's mother, who implored Agbadi, Nnu Ego's father, ...
Belize has some of the same social hindrances today as they did in the 1950’s, almost 63 years later, such as gender inequality. Beka, the protagonist, has a best friend name Toyce who is a seventeen year old girl attending school with Beka. Both of them attend a Catholic Private school, until Toyce became pregnant during her last year of school and is expelled. However, Emilio, the boy who impregnated Toyce, did not face any consequences. Toyce’s pregnancy, abandonment of Emilio, and expulsion from school led Toyce to her own demise after suffering mental issues. The chain of events which led to Toyce’s death is prevalent because it displays that gender differences in Belize, which also affected Beka. Toyce was left alone, pregnant and uneducated while Emilio continued his education to become a success in Belize. Toyce was Beka’s idol at the beginning of the book, but her death caused Beka to reevaluate her life and decisions. In fact after Toyce’s death, Beka won a writing contest, which gave her a feeling of accomplishment and relief. Beka realized that she could be more than a Belizean living in poverty and living her life thoug...