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.
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...
In the novel Segu, Maryse Conde beautifully constructs personal and in depth images of African history through the use of four main characters that depict the struggles and importance of family in what is now present day Mali. These four characters and also brothers, by the names of Tiekoro, Siga, Naba, and Malobali are faced with a world changing around their beloved city of Bambara with new customs of the Islamic religion and the developing ideas of European commerce and slave trade. These new expansions in Africa become stepping stones for the Troare brothers to face head on and they have brought both victory and heartache for them and their family. These four characters are centralized throughout this novel because they provide the reader with an inside account of what life is like during a time where traditional Africa begins to change due to the forceful injection of conquering settlers and religions. This creates a split between family members, a mixing of cultures, and the loss of one’s traditions in the Bambara society which is a reflection of the (WHAT ARE SOME CHANGES) changes that occur in societies across the world.
Cry, the Beloved Country is such a controversial novel that people tend to forget the true meaning and message being presented. Paton’s aim in writing the novel was to present and create awareness of the ongoing conflict within South Africa through his unbiased and objective view. The importance of the story lies within the title, which sheds light on South Africa’s slowly crumbling society and land, for it is the citizens and the land itself which are “crying” for their beloved country as it collapses under the pressures of racism, broken tribes and native exploitation.
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.
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...
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.
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.
Bibliography w/4 sources Cry , the Beloved Country by Alan Paton is a perfect example of post-colonial literature. South Africa is a colonized country, which is, in many ways, still living under oppression. Though no longer living under apartheid, the indigenous Africans are treated as a minority, as they were when Paton wrote the book. This novel provides the political view of the author in both subtle and evident ways. Looking at the skeleton of the novel, it is extremely evident that relationship of the colonized vs. colonizers, in this case the blacks vs. the whites, rules the plot. Every character’s race is provided and has association with his/her place in life. A black man kills a white man, therefore that black man must die. A black umfundisi lives in a valley of desolation, while a white farmer dwells above on a rich plot of land. White men are even taken to court for the simple gesture of giving a black man a ride. This is not a subtle point, the reader is immediately stricken by the diversities in the lives of the South Africans.
Tucker, Carole. "African Nationalism and Liberation in Post World War II Africa." Suite. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Ogundipe-Leslie, Molora. "The Female Writer and Her Commitment." Women in African Literature Today. Ed. Eldred Durosimi Jones. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1987. 5-14.
We learn from the novel that Makhaya is struggling with several very large struggles. Makhaya wants to live in a country that is free from all forms of apartheid, racial domination and conflict between the rich and poor and the black and white. Makhaya spent his whole life under the apartheid system in South Africa, where offensive terms such as ‘boy’, ‘dog’ and ‘kaffir’ are used when referring to the black people, and attempts to escape this system by crossing into Botswana. “… He simply wanted a country to love and chose the first thing at hand…” (Head, When Rain Clouds Gather, p. 17). He moves into the village of Golema Mmidi which is a unique refuge for Botswana and South African people who are trying to escape the misfortunes of their lives. Makhaya left South Africa for many reasons, one being that if he lived in a free country he thought that “maybe some of the evils in his life will correct themselves” (Head, When Rain Clouds Gather, p. 10). In this journey, Makhaya realises his main aspiration is that of a simple life. “ ... One road might lead to fame and importance, and another might lead to peace of mind. It’s the road of peace of mind that that I’m seeking” (Head, When Rain Clouds Gather, p. 20).
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.
In 1993, he became the president of South Africa after a long journey of seeking freedom and equality among his people. Under his power, his country attained democratic government without discrimination between the white and black people. He had never talked about racism during his presidential time and had never responded harshly against any racism action. He had very successful time in leading South Africa until he retired because of his health bad condition. Finally, he died in 2013, but he remained in our heart as strong leader, peaceful person, and free man.
Having done the above analysis on my favourite text, “Anowa” by Ama Ataa Aidoo, I realise that my like for the text have heightened because the analysis of Anowa has given me a deeper understanding of Africa’s colonialism. I now know what actually led to our colonialisation (the betrayal) and how it began(the bond of 1844) through the personal lives of Anowa and Kofi.