Alexander McCall Smith, the author of the award winning novel The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency spoke in a recent interview in The Sydney Morning Herald (December 2006) about his famously optimistic views of Africa and its people. The works of many African authors express rather grim and bleak views in comparison to McCall Smith’s view. In a “Foreign Correspondent” interview McCall Smith says Botswana is a very beautiful country and that Africa transformed him into a best selling novelist and made him famous for his views on hope and optimism. There is a strong sense of family and community that gives cause for belonging, hope and optimism. McCall Smith creates hope and optimism in his novel through his characters and their events.
The main character Mma Ramotswe illustrates the qualities of the conventional patriotism of one’s own country. She is not the only character to demonstrate such virtues. Many of the other characters display pride and dignity for their country. The society of Botswana is proud of their cultural background and they are hopeful and optimistic about their country. Mma Ramotswe is not ashamed for loving her country, she is an African patriot
She loved her country, Botswana, which is a place of peace and she loved Africa for all its trials. I am not ashamed to be called an African patriot, said Mma Ramotswe
(McCall Smith 2003, 2)
Obed Ramotswe, the father of Precious Ramotswe loves his country ‘I love our country, and I am proud to be a Motswana’ (McCall Smith 2003, 17) and then he says on the behalf of his people ‘there’s no other country in Africa that can hold its head as we can’ (McCall Smith 2003, 17). Obed also says his people should love Botswana because
There’s no other country in Africa who can hold up its head like we can. We have no political prisoners, and never had any. We have democracy. We have been careful. The Bank of Botswana is full of money, from our diamonds. We owe nothing
(McCall Smith 2003, 17)
Mr J.L.B Matekoni, a main character demonstrates his belonging to his country ‘O Botswana, my country, my place’ (McCall Smith 2003, 232) and shows that he has a place in this world. Mma Ramotswe’s pride is evident when she says that she ‘would not be anything else but an African’ (McCall Smith 2003, 214). Many of the characters acknowledge that there are grim and bleak sides of the country but they are still appreciative of what they have and of their motherland.
This seems to illustrate Sembene’s personal storytelling about the patriotism and its effects on the post- colonial African. As the story of Black Girl seems to be nothing more than a tragedy of...
The short stories “Two Sisters” and “Wedding at the Cross” are filled with examples of the powerful hand men and Western colonialism played in the lives of African women, but they also provide examples of women rising above these oppressors. Ama Aito Aidoo and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o give a representation of the societies that hindered and oppressed African women in a post-colonial Africa. Through the actions taken by the characters, the authors offer commentary on the social situation and on the way women can change their position. The short stories depict the everyday life of the women and take the reader through their journey for independence from men and Western colonialism.
The society of the small urban town called Ndotsheni, from which both Stephan and Author come, is based largely on the native African tribal system. This town also suffers from a drought that drives away the young men to work in the mines of Johannesburg. Johannesburg directly contradicts Ndotsheni with no tribal system and the brake down of the moral fibers of its people. Yet in Johannesburg there is also hope for the future and ideas that help lead to the restoration of Ndotsheni. During the time the story is set in Johannesburg the reader is introduced to two exceptionally different characters. The first is John Kumalo, the brother of Stephen Kumalo. He is a corrupt politician with the voice of a “lion,” but a week hart, who spoke about the injustices of the whites to the blacks and their need to revolt. The other an enlightened priest, Msimangu, who prayed for loving and restoration through coming to amends. Their influences help to shape Kumalo into a new person. Furthermore, throughout his story Paton stresses the idea of irresponsibility contradicted by individual responsibility. Eventually the idea of unified responsibility is shown to be the only manor by which South Africa can be saved.
Achebe, Chinua. “An Image of Africa.” EXPLORING Novels. Online Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center – Gold. Gale. Ascension Academy. 9 June 2008.
This is a gripping novel about the problem of European colonialism in Africa. The story relates the cultural collision that occurs when Christian English missionaries arrive among the Ibos of Nigeria, bringing along their European ways of life and religion.
Arthur, Napoleon, and Msimangu, all characters from Alan Paton’s book, Cry, The Beloved Country, are used to share Paton’s points of view on the future of South Africa and the apartheid. Paton uses these characters to represent specific views; Arthur expresses clearly that the apartheid isn’t the right way to progress as a country, Napoleon exemplifies how Paton thinks people should take the anti-apartheid effort, and Msimangu explicitly expresses Paton’s ideas of an ideal leader.
Toyin, Falola. “The Power of African Cultures.” Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom: University of Rochester Press, 2003. Print
One of the central themes that Achebe developed in his book “Things Fall Apart” is the contrast between feminine and masculine in the African tribes, more specifically Umofia. In the Ibo culture the gender difference plays an important role in Umofian people’s daily life, and has become one of the centric themes of Achebe’s book. This masculinity vs femininity theme has developed through novels protagonist, Okonkwo, by explaining his different reactions toward folktales, sports, and farming.
Bradley, Heather M. "Conflicting Loyalties in 'A Far Cry from Africa'". Literature of the Caribbean. The Scholarly Technology Group, Washington and Lee University.
...e senseless and heartless government, which ruthlessly destroys the peaceful atmosphere in the villages. Africa will only reach its potential when everybody realizes the importance of preserving the cultural traditions.
Korang, Kwaku Larbi. “Making a Post-Eurocentric Humanity: Tragedy, Realism, and Things Fall Apart.” Research in African Literatures 42.2 (2011): 1–29. ProQuest. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Have you ever heard of Botswana? Well, it is a country in Africa. Most people have never heard of Botswana, just like most people do not know that Egypt is in Africa. Pretty interesting? I, myself, had never heard of Botswana until I was selected to spend six weeks on a missionary internship there. I also did not know that Egypt was in Africa until recently. I would not give up my experience in Botswana away for the world. That is not what I am here to tell you about, though. I would love to tell you all about the mission trip and my plans for going back for a two year stay; however, I would like to inform you about the country of Botswana. I would like to begin by telling you where Botswana is. We will then look at this country under South African rule, compared to the independent government of Botswana that now exists. I would also like to have you look at the people and their culture to sho3w you what kind of people they are, and how simply they live and still get along quite well. I hope you enjoy this informational page of a country that many people have never heard about, and maybe it will inspire you to at least make a visit to see if I am telling the truth.
The bridging of native traditions with modern imperial ways has a direct effect on the minds of Zimbabwean girls and women. Dangarembga drew inspiration for her title from the quote “the condition of the nation is a nervous one”, from Frantz Franon’s book Wretched of the Earth. The reader sees this idea of nervousness displayed within the female main characters of this novel. “ Its bad enough, when a country gets colonised but when the people do as well! That’s the end, really, that’s the end. (Nervous Conditions,150). This quote stated by Nyasha addresses how colonialism and imperialism are not just cultural, political and economical, but psychological as well. It infiltrates the minds of the citizens and their very cultural existence. The women in this novel are faced with the choice of embracing the British ways or running back to their Shona roots. No matter the choice they make, the Imperial control of the British Empire over Zimbabwe affects the minds of these women. The title of Dangarembga's novel, Nervous Conditions, alludes to the influence imperialism has on the minds of Tambu, Nyasha and Maiguru as they struggle to re-define themselves in a white man’s world.
Mathabane, Mark. “I Leave South Africa”. The Many Worlds of Literature. Ed. Stuart and Terry Hirschberg. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2006.
While their beliefs are strong, post colonialism has placed an inferiority complex upon the culture of the people. As opposed to highlighting their relatively new freedoms, Achebe speaks as if Africans let their beliefs serve as a shadow cast upon them in the high technology modern world that they are looking to find. Achebe wants to build a confidence in his people that makes them as proud of their culture as any other. He mentions "anti- racist racism" as a way to uplift the African people. With African writers implanting the positive power of ethnocentrism and acceptance, the people will gain the confidence to infuse their old ways with that of the new world.