In Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra, Steven Feld presents, more than anything else, a heartwarming portrait of a man whose life was guided solely by his passions. The story of Ghanaba is itself a spiritual exercise as much as his life was. This work works stunningly well in this academic context, although it also feels as much like a book you would accidentally find in Books A Million and fall in love. The main reasons for the work’s success lies in Steven Feld’s masterful storytelling technique, one of brutal directness, but strewn also with careful intricacies. The story is told almost exclusively by Ghanaba himself, in the context of Feld (and the reader) listening to his rants and moodiness. Feld somehow manages to create the feeling of …show more content…
Feld instead lends enough creative twine for the reader to see into his insights without them being intrusive or overbearing. Feld clearly has thought very deliberately about every element of the work ranging from word choice, information included, repetition (from his previous works on film and recording), formatting, and changes in time. For example: Feld takes us back to Ghanaba’s stint in the United States in the 1950s to add context and allow the reader to see Ghanaba’s motivations in his impassioned …show more content…
Feld does not “fluff” or “package” his writing. The story is refreshingly untouched and taken directly from the source, whether it be Ghanaba, other people he talks to, or other articles. Every bit of information Feld presents is almost instantly cited, which adds not only to the credibility but also the intensity. The format of the work also lends greatly to the story’s themes and power. The interviews with Ghanaba give the reader a reference point to return to after Feld’s explanations of Ghanaba’s past. Suspense is even built in multiple sections leading up to the news of Ghanaba’s passing. The reader is taken different places and times to understand what is leading Ghanaba’s opinions and lifestyle to emerge as it has in Accra. Feld’s use of shifts in place and time help to show his prowess as a storyteller and an ethnomusicologist, as well as a member of the cosmopolitan
Toyin Falola's memoir, A Mouth Sweeter Than Salt, portrays one boy's views on the culture and customs of his county from his perspective as an active participant as well as an observer. From determining his mother's age to joining in the struggle to free an innocent man, Dr. Falola's journey growing up in Nigeria embodies the rich, diverse history that defines Africa.
Stoltzfus, Ben. “‘Sartre, Nada, and Hemingway's African Stories.’” Comparative Literature Studies. New York: Garrett, 2005. 205-28. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena Krstović. Vol. 117. Detroit: Gale, 142 vols. 214-21. Print.
Angeles, Los. (2009). African arts. Volume 28. Published by African Studies Center, University of California.
To show how stories can affect colonialism, we will be looking at British authors during the time of colonialism. During this period of British colonialism, writers like Joyce Cary, author of “Mister Johnson” wrote novels about Africa and more specifically, a Nigerian named Johnson. Johnson in this novel is represented as “[an] infuriating principal character”. In Mr. Cary’s novel he demeans the people of Africa with hatred and mockery, even describing them as “unhuman, like twisted bags of lard, or burst bladders”. Even though Cary’s novel displayed large amounts of racism and bigotry, it received even larger amounts of praise, even from Time Magazine in October 20, 1952. The ability to write a hateful novel and still receive praise for it is what Chinua Achebe likes to describe as “absolute power over narrative [and...
When a writer picks up their pen and paper, begins one of the most personal and cathartic experiences in their lives, and forms this creation, this seemingly incoherent sets of words and phrases that, read without any critical thinking, any form of analysis or reflexion, can be easily misconstrued as worthless or empty. When one reads an author’s work, in any shape or form, what floats off of the ink of the paper and implants itself in our minds is the author’s personality, their style. Reading any of the greats, many would be able to spot the minute details that separates each author from another; whether it be their use of dialogue, their complex descriptions, their syntax, or their tone. When reading an excerpt of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast one could easily dissect the work, pick apart each significant moment from Hemingway’s life and analyze it in order to form their own idea of the author’s voice, of his identity. Ernest Hemingway’s writing immediately comes across as rather familiar in one sense. His vocabulary is not all that complicated, his layout is rather straightforward, and it is presented in a simplistic form. While he may meander into seemingly unnecessary detail, his work can be easily read. It is when one looks deeper into the work, examines the techniques Hemingway uses to create this comfortable aura surrounding his body of work, that one begins to lift much more complex thoughts and ideas. Hemingway’s tone is stark, unsympathetic, his details are precise and explored in depth, and he organizes his thoughts with clarity and focus. All of this is presented in A Moveable Feast with expertise every writer dreams to achieve. While Hemingway’s style may seem simplistic on the surface, what lies below is a layered...
This speech provides a fair amount of information about the dangers a single story can bring. Therefore, it makes individuals more cautious when it comes to relying solely in the media and believing the stereotypes that are present ubiquitously. In addition, she also makes use of flashbacks in order to put her individual perspective and explain the importance of her view of a single story. She said, “Their poverty was my single story of them.” referring to the houseboy, Fide. Her use of personal anecdotes also places a sense of empathy to the audience, as it is an issue that affected her personally. She demonstrates how the danger of a single story affected her when she talks about her roommate “My roommate had a single story of Africa: A single story of catastrophe”. The idea her roommate had of her depicted Adichie as an incompetent individual who lived in constant fear without knowing how to function a stove, or speak english. Adichie also ends her speech by using rhetorical questions such as “What if we had an African television network..?” “What if my mother had told us that Fide’s family was… hardworking?”. Using rhetorical questions are extremely persuasive as they were are asked with a purpose and intention, making the reader think twice before answering. There was also a presence of the Aristotelian appeals being Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Adichie was able to successfully employ ethos
As wise John Berger once said,“Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one”. A “single story” is the story of a culture that we learn from stereotypes and conspiracies developed throughout time in our society. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe defies the single story of African culture while still tying their native language in to show the importance between a physical differentiation of culture, and the similarities with morals and values they have in common. Through gender roles and proverbs used in the language of this book, we have a cultural insight of Nigeria through a new set of eyes given to us by Achebe that detures us from the single stories that we were taught to by our society.
Monson, I. (2010).Freedom sounds : civil rights call out to jazz and Africa. New York Oxford: Oxford University Press.
In sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of languages, cultures, and geographical regions helped influence our African society. The ways in which we produce our artwork, spiritual ideals, and ritual performances are organic and raw. From the tropical regions of Congo and Ghana, to the arid regions of Mali; I pass through the global gateway into a domain where the Western world lost its roots and artistic imagination and grandeur. Africa appeals most to me for its ability to create a realm where the living, dead, and artistic ideals come into a single unit of tranquil philosophy.
Toyin, Falola. “The Power of African Cultures.” Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom: University of Rochester Press, 2003. Print
In Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie attempts to use history in order to gain leverage on the present, to subvert the single story stereotypes that dominate many contemporary discourses on Africa. Written in the genre of historical fiction, Adichie’s novel transcends beyond mere historical narration and recreates the polyphonic experiences of varying groups of people in Nigeria before and after the Civil War. She employs temporal distortion in her narrative, distorting time in order to illustrate the intertwining effects of the past and present, immersing deep into the impact of western domination that not only catalyzed the war, but continues to affect contemporary Africa. In this paper, I will analyze her portrayal of the multifaceted culture produced by colonialism – one that coalesces elements from traditional African culture with notions of western modernity to varying degrees. I will argue that Adichie uses a range of characters, including Odenigbo’s mother, Ugwu, Olanna and Kainene, to each represent a point in a spectrum between tradition and modernity.
In Chinua Achebe 's classic novel "Things Fall Apart," the development of European colonization 's lead to extreme cultural changes, leaving a lasting impact on the Igbo village of Umofia in West Africa. In the novel, Achebe displays the impacts of European colonization in both critical and sympathetic terms to provide the reader with both positive and negative factors of Imperialism to develop an unbiased understanding of what the Igbo culture and society went through. While addressing the hardship 's of life by showing the deterioration of Okonkwo 's character, the cultural and traditional changes of society, and the positive and negative impacts of imperialism, Achebe keeps touch on the overall theme of the novel, once a dramatic event
The writer uses a lot of humour and irony to make the rather depressing story more ingestible for the reader. The narrator often makes fun of himself, and renders violent experiences in a humoristic tone: “The Cameroon swimmer. Philosophical Professor Me. Border Crosser Extraordinaire.” (p.5, ll.123-124).
There has been notions and perceptions of the treatment or adaptation of African literature as a perception that Africa’s is a cultural body. It is referred by Chinua Achebe as a metaphysical landscape. This term refers to a geographical entity that has surpassed historical experiences. It is also this perception that also gave rise to Organisations of National Unity and also the African Union. Conferences such as the African Writers’ Conference that happened at the Makerere University in the year 1962 discuss the nature and argue the role played by African literature in the African context.
According to David Whittaker, Achebe’s work “proved to be an immensely influential work for African writers, becoming the progenitor of a whole movement of fiction, drama, and poetry, which focused on the revaluation of Africa’s history and cultures, and on representations of the culture conflicts that has their genesis in the colonial era.” This novel became a pivotal point of realization not only for Africa, but also for the world. All at once the world, afraid of what change may bring, pushed the same question to the back their mind: “What if we have it all wrong?” Suddenly, the culture of Africa was influencing the culture of America, Asia, Europe, Australia, etc. Achebe’s novel was a catalyst in the process of nationalist renewal and decolonization of African culture as a whole (Whittaker). A principle in this novel’s thematic course is the inter-generation conflict faced by not only the village as a whole, but also, on a microscopic level, in Okonkwo’s household. As the culture in Umuofia begins to shift, the predecessors of the current generation heavily rely on the cultural norms initiated by their father’s fathers. While tradition should be honored in a society, it should also be modified; this concept is not fully grasped by the older generations of