Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

Grandparents shows you the way of life, the morals, the values and the culture. This is what Naomi, grandmother of Saul always taught her family in the novel “Indian Horse”. Richard Wagamese, tells his story through his novel ‘Indian Horse’ in the hope to heal and reclaim his life. In the novel, the main character Saul faces tough circumstances which shattered him completely and make him feel worthless. In Richard Wagamese’s novel “Indian Horse” the relation of a grandson with his grandmother shows the importance of elders in person’s childhood. While stating his life story he reveals his grandmother’s importance in his childhood, how she always taught him how to be connected with his cultural values and to do things in the way their

In the short story “Saving Sourdi” by May-Lee Chai, the author use Nea’s point of view to show how a bond between sisters can grow farther apart through time and maturity. Nea is the younger sister in short story and Sourdi is the older one “escaping” Nea. By placing the point of view on Nea the reader is given the perspective of the sister that is naïve and sampling does know about life. This way, the author is able to make her readers emotionally connect with Nea because the reader directly knows Nea thoughts and fears, ultimately sympathizing with her through the point of view of Nea. Once the readers connects with Nea, the theme of the story is able to be recognized by the readers.

to conduct new counts, and "added that the exercise had nothing to do with a tax

Hailing from the African state of Ndongo and born in 1581 during the start of Luandan disagreement with Portuguese settlers (Toler 265), Queen Nzinga of the African Mbundu tribe stood up for her country and reestablished power over her people. Nzinga came in a time period that needed her. She got her country of Matamba (present day Angola) equal, both economically and socially, to the Portuguese. In order to do this, Nzinga took measures to place herself in the right position to eventually seize rule and steer her country in the right direction, even though it prompted a steady flow of opposition from her enemies. These initial enemies included the Imbangala tribes and irritated Portuguese Settlers, both of which she succeeded in

Narrative conventions have been used to position the reader to respond sympathetic and have the view on how identity also power are important for one’s self. The issues presented in Victim are shown

This highlights the realistic atmosphere prevailing as well as reflects the true meaning of relationship. The readers are exposed to the mother-son relationship. It can be seen that even if the narrator is a twenty-year old law student, he is still the little boy who needed his neck scrubbed from the point of view of the mother. Whatever good advice the son gives, it is not followed and instead he is given a lecture. This is a typical mother-son relationship which shows that no matter how much a child grows, he always remains a little kid for the mother. Moreover, the readers also notice the routine life of the narrator and his mother. The boy used to accompany his mother to work and help her which makes a four-hour job becomes two. There is solidarity, strong family bond and understanding between them because although he did not like his mother

Believe it or not slavery was a problem even for Indians. Many Indians were captured and sold into slavery, Indians such as Sacagawea who was born in 1788 (Timeline). Unfortunately, Sacagawea was captured at a young age and was forced into slavery. We know her as the young, brave woman who traveled with Lewis and Clark on their expedition to the West. She is also recognized on the one dollar coin for her amazing adventure with the discoverers (Hoose 130). There is much to be known about this extraordinary women. The way she was taken from her family and put into slavery is a major part of her life, as well as her adventure with Lewis and Clark, what happened after she returned home and the legacy she left behind.

Sacrifice for the greater good is the natural inclination for heroes and protagonists in stories; however, in order to subsidize and materialize the profits for forfeiting one's humanity which is a drastic step towards lowering one's abilities and the perception other people have of that individual. A false hero practices charisma, a desire to succeed and the need to be placed on a pedestal adorned by arbitrary individuals. These practices serve as the root for this “Hero” to forward his ideas on those closest to him, even if those close individuals are regarded as rational and clear-minded. These followers hurl themselves at the whims of the “Hero” willing to sacrifice their dreams and aspirations for the “Heroes” own gratification and elation.

However, the image of the typical grandmother is shattered as the author reveals details of the Grandmother’s character. The Grandmother self identifies as a sweet, proper, old woman while her behavior further supports the theme of sin and guilt. Did the Grandmother’s selfish and thus, stubborn and manipulative

mother, and to blunt the natural affection of the mother for the child.  This is the inevitable result' (Douglass 17-18).

The author who brought to us The Tale of Genji, a novel now regarded as the first written novel in history, left behind an arguably more treasurable artifact: a diary that opens a window into history. The Diary of Lady Murasaki by Lady Murasaki Shikibu gives the reader a glimpse of the imperial court during eleventh century Japan and presents the past in an illuminated vision. Being an attendant in the imperial court, Lady Murasaki is frequently involved with the activities of elite Japanese women. Her day-to-day interaction with the nobles and elites enhance her account with the curious perspective of an elite female. As a woman, Lady Murasaki's descriptions are oriented around clothing

How does the epic porttray the gender relations in Old Mali? In Old Mali, women must work hard to provide for her family. A woman takes full responibility in caring for the children throughout the day and raising them. A mother must go to any length to protect her child and make sacrifices for the childs well-being.

In the essentially dual religious system in Japan, ideologies and traditions play a heavy role in the everyday life of the Japanese people. Shintoism and Buddhism intertwine and complement themselves in Japanese culture, despite Buddhism coming in from mainland Asia. A particularly powerful idea from Buddhism is mono no aware, the realization and acknowledgment of the impermanence and its place in the world. This idea that nothing stays the same forever manifests itself heavily in Japanese literature, whether in personal writings or fictional works. Despite spanning hundreds of years, each work was shaped by and include manifestations of mono no aware. I intend to underline and pinpoint instances that mono no aware is influencing these works, and discuss similarities and differences between them. In this paper, I have three works that I will explore, each one corresponding to a different time period before the pre-industrial revolution; The Diary of Lady Murasaki comes from the classical period, Essays in Idleness from the medieval, and the immensely popular play Chushingura from the pre-modern era.

The two heroines share a harsh background; they both have had a rough childhood and are searching for a way out of their misery. Their lives are centered around the strategies that contribute to their rise. When writing this essay I was mainly interested in exploring how even the characters with smaller roles could affect the outcome, could shape the path the heroines followed towards their rise, but also wanted to analyze all the aspects through characters contributed to the liberation of the heroines.

John Maxwell Coetzee is a South African essayist, novelist , linguist, literary critic and translator. He has also won the Noble prize in the Literature category. The following lecture ‘The Novel in Africa’ was given by him in the University of California in Doreen B.Townsend Center for the Humanities.