A week of Achebes three stories were certainly not enough for me. At the end of the week i was so drawn in by his form of writing that I wanted to read more stories and discuss more in depth of each story . I loved the twist the author had in each story of his. The use of irony kept me wanting more. I would have to announce Achebe as one of my new favorite authors, what really gets me about his form of writing is that it leaves me confused in the end the first time I read it, the confusion makes me want to go back and re-read his writing again so i can completely understand his message. I love that! I love the mystery of not understanding it right away, I love that his story makes me be so interested that I go back to re read it for the second time to completely understand each and every thing about it.
In "Image of Africa" Achebe writes how most Europeans were under the assumption that they believed they knew the history of Africa. Many went on to explain it in their own words, but never fully understood the true history. I love how the author writes " What did I teach? African Literature. Now that was funny, he said, because he never had thought of Africa as having that kind of stuff, you know. By this time I was walking much faster. "Oh well," I heard him say finally, behind me. "I guess I have to take your course to find out" (Achebe 1). I can easily relate this back to many people I know and including my self. I never thought much of Africa. Sure I heard about the people dying of hunger but I always viewed Africa as the place I always "felt sorry for", as the place that many were not educated. Africa up until these readings never really meant much to me. After reading "Image of Africa" it makes me realize I was quick to assume things and that Africa really did have much beauty to it. It had been underestimated.
"Girls at war" was one story that left me a bit angry at the end. The irony of the story is about a rich government man who talks highly of the people fighting for the country. Through out the story the man is described as someone who is saddened and worried for the people of the country . At one point he mentions how he will not dance at the party until the war is over and the people fighting for the country are safe. At the end of the story, the men is provided with an opportunity to save a soldier from the blast. Unfortunately the man denies this chance and quickly jumps out of the car himself at the same time telling Gladys not to worry about the solider either. The man quickly becomes selfish and his true colors come out when placed in the situation . I can relate this story to myself because I firmly believe everyone opinions change on certain issues til they are actually placed in the situation .
My favorite story of the three was " The Madman". This story was one where I was so interested to completely understand it that I had to go back and read it for the second time. I loved the overall message Achebe is sending out, the message of what society can do to you . In this story Nwibe was considered crazy because he was running around the market naked chasing and shouting to the people to stop the man. People automatically viewed him as being crazy and quickly based assumptions off of his frustration of losing his pants. How society perceived you can change a person . Society judges people. What you say can be perceived as real. You believe what society tells you . I can quickly relate this overall message to me. I know at home sometimes when my siblings accuse me of something I quickly get frustrated, during my frustration I start to shout and yell which leads them to think I did it. Which further causes me to get more frustrated. Most people believe that if you remain calm when being accused that you never truly did it in the first place. When people accuse you of certain things, it can cause you to change your behavior towards them, and misunderstandings can be formed this way .
I hope we continue to read many more stories of where I can quickly relate the readings back to my personal life to help me understand the author more. These three readings allowed me to look at certain situations more in depth.
Irony- When bad things happen for good reasons or when good things happen for bad reasons.
You do a good job of explaining how your personal experience informs you understanding of the stories. You do a good job of this with "Image of Africa" and "The Madman," although "Girls at War could use a little more development in that department.
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