Buchi Emecheta And Africa Nwapa Analysis

In the debate over equality for both African-Americans and women, the question of 'nature versus nurture' inevitably arises. Although most authors acknowledge that there are differences between these historically discriminated-against groups and members of the hegemonic culture, the origin of those differences has been hotly debated. While the African-American intellectual W.E.B Du Bois was inclined to conceptualize African-Americans as 'a race,' feminists of the 1950s like Simone De Beauvoir were more inclined to see the values ascribed to the genders as mainly rooted in cultural norms established by men, not as essential attributes of women.

According to Naomi Nkealah who considers diverse streams of African feminisms as something which strive to create a new, liberal, productive and self-reliant African woman within the heterogeneous cultures of Africa. Feminisms in Africa, ultimately, aim at modifying culture as it affects women in different societies. Thus taking the multifarious nature of African experience into consideration, African Feminisms explore the possibilities of embracing the magnitude of their collective experiences. Assorted patterns of feminisms, that deviate from the conceptual equations of (western) feminism and construed after indigenous models emerged in African backdrop- such as Womanism, Stiwanism, Nego-feminism, Motherism, Femalism and Snail-sense feminism. Being indigenous blueprints these variegated modes were attempts to demarcate African female at the centre of entire contentions and to explore in the cultural chronicles for material to initiate further elaboration.

Of the six main Eurocentric constructions of black womanhood, each are categorized and constructed to bring about a stereotypical image of the Black woman. African American women are depicted in a few cliché categories; that of Mammy, Jezebel (or sexual siren), Sapphire (or likewise called Matriarch), and the Welfare Mother (Queen). The conduct and attitudes represented in these stereotypes can have harming impacts on and in view of African American

Black women, however, have long been relegated to subordinate societal roles in relation to white men and women and black men. Black women have been viewed as monsters and suffered distortions of their image. Toni Cade Bambara, in her writings, has helped to change the image of black women. Bambara presents a very descriptive picture of what life was like for blacks, particularly women, in the North and in the South. The world, in

The classic novel “ Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is about life in Nigeria before it was colonized. The story follows a leader, Okonkwo, and his society’s (Umuofia) lifestyle and traditions. In this particular society, gender roles are not balanced. The male is more dominant.

"Marriage is a Private Affair" which was written by Chinua Achebe, the best- known African Writer, is not just a story describing how marriage should be as private affair. More than anything else, this story is all about the clash between the modern and traditional ways of having affair. This story tells Nene and Nnaemeka, Nigerian people who were caught in the clash between the new generation and old generation. Nene is a teacher in Girls' School in Lagos while, Nnameka is a young Ibo man who is a son of Okeke, a very conservative father. Both of them came from different tribes which results to the rejection of Okeke to their marriage. Despite the rejection, Nene and Nnaemeka got married and at the end of the story, Nene wrote to his father-

“A woman is not an object of convenience; but a creation of Gods purpose, ” said Wayne Chirisa (Akara). This quote exemplifies that in our society today, women are being treated as commodities and useless individuals that men use to fulfill their needs. Moreover, women have always been in a position of less power and authority. This is exceptionally evident in marriages. In today’s society, marriage is something that allows the men to control the women and it serves the needs of a patriarchal society. Overtime, women continue to struggle to voice their opinions and be independent in this male dominated environment as seen through the books The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. The lack of freedom and individuality women face in a phallocentric society, as seen through the characters Celie and Edna, leads directly to them being seen as the weaker sex.

Of course, there are many proverbs about polygamy and co-wives. But proverbs do not have the same weight as myths. Indeed, the former are humans’ sayings, whereas the latter are sacred literatures, so to speak. Numerous African creation myths develop the idea that monogyny was the original practice among creator-gods and among the first human couples. After reading numerous creation myths, I have identified five of them which substantiate this claim. These myths are representative of five geographic areas of sub-Saharan Africa, that is, the northern, southern, eastern, western, and central Africa.

‘Marriage is a private affair’ is a short story written by Chinua Achebe, in the year 1952. The story takes place in Lagos in Nigeria in the 1950ies. The most important point in this story is the cultural and religious differences between Nene and Nnaemeka’s families. Therefor the main theme of the text is the clash between two cultures. The text is also dealing with other subthemes such as, love, arranged marriage, father and son relationship (Nnaemeka’s respect for his father) and of course family. The title of the story says a lot, because it pretty much sums up the message of the story. Chinua Achebe is with his story trying to point out that marriage is a private affair, and no one

In Nawal El Saadawi’s book Woman at Point Zero and a Hausa story from northern Nigeria called “Yamira, Atafa, and the King” have both main characters that go through the a similar childhood obstacle, even though Saadawi’s book is about a real woman while the Nigerian story is on a fictional character. The technique of masculinity is presented in various stories, such as “Yamira, Atafa, and the King” and Saadawi’s book Woman at Point Zero, which are further analyzed in this essay, which not only state what is definition of a masculine man but also shows how men standards influence the way society looks upon woman, which creates the “ideal woman.”

Feminist theory is slyly intertwined in her presentation through personal narratives. The first however was the most impactful on Adichie’s feminist identity. She discusses a childhood friend, Okoloma, and how he had called her a feminist. However, Adichie knew that this was not meant as a compliment, but instead as, “a supporter of terrorism.” This inspired her to investigate her own feminist identity. However, she quickly found she was many things that were not stereotypically feminist. Many told her it was un-African because it brought a woman out of her subordination of her husband. She had a happy demeanor, which many argued was not typical for feminists for they were angry and hated men. She later decided that she would be a, “Happy African Feminist Who Does Not Hate Men and Who Likes to Wear Lip Gloss and High Heels for

It may be possible to imagine a place where no one would make a fuss over the differences between a white or a black man, but unfortunately, it is likely impossible to imagine a society that would not comment on the differences between a man and a woman (Heinämaa, 127). Simone de Beauvoir was quite determined to give society a glimpse into what it meant to be a woman within her time period, and did so by writing her novel The Second Sex which brought many controversial topics to light. There are four concepts I will be mentioning in different sections of this paper, and it is best to know how Beauvoir personally defines these terms. Firstly, “alienation” refers to the action of projecting oneself into a different person or object, thereby losing all responsibility for yourself (Moi,

Buchi Emecheta is one of the growing numbers of African women writers who have set their authorial eyes on the conditions of women living both on their home continent and abroad. She takes her place among Tsitsi Dangarembga, Miriama Ba, Bessie Head, Ama Ata Aidoo, Lauretta Ngcobo, and Lindsey Collen, to name a few, as writers who have formed an intense new voice of African womanhood. Emecheta has published more than twenty works; including the novels Double Yoke, The Bride Price, Head above Water, Destination Biafra, and Kehinde. Each is an exploration of what it means to be a woman and a mother in rapidly evolving societies where traditions and mores are in a constant state of flux. While some of her novels mirror her own experience as an expatriate living in London, her work mostly focuses on her native country of Nigeria. The Joys of Motherhood is among her most pivotal works, as it offers critical commentary on colonialism, tradition, capitalism, and women’s roles as they come to affect one woman, Nnu Ego, and her family

Ama Ata Aidoo is an outstanding black and female writer. She is a pan-Africanist and a feminist but she doesn’t use these adjectives separately. She combines her racial and sexual identity to produce a mixed ideology of feminist pan-Africanism. This is especially significant because the pan-Africanism discourse, like all political discourses, is generally dominated by the male. She becomes one of the strongest female voices in this discourse and she brings another point of view to pan-Africanism. Her point of view suggests that feminism and pan-Africanism are essentially bound together and they need to be dealt together. In order to do so, Aidoo constructs literarily strong female characters and she transmits her pan-Africanist ideas through a woman-based perspective by using her characters and