Similarly, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o in Barrel of a Pen: Resistance to Repression in Neo-Colonial Kenya (1983) compares a writer's pen to the weapon to write back, "[o]ur pens should be used to increase the anxieties of all oppressive regimes...The pen may not always be mightier
Mind, Ngugi wa Thiong'o demonstrates the importance of language in his culture. The languages that the author familiarizes himself with and the styles in which he communicates in ultimately represent his culture. Living in post-colonial Kenya, Ngugi dealt with the struggle to find balance within the area's prominent languages: Gīkūyū and English. Gīkūyū is a native dialect by which the people commonly use to express their cultural identity, such as the act of oral storytelling. When Ngugi begins
In Kwame Anthony Appiah’s essay, The Case for Contamination, he discusses the complications and benefits of globalization, and the impacts it has on smaller cultures. Appiah begins his argument with an apparent negative connotation with the term globalization - how it threatens the ability for a culture to maintain traditions with influences from the western world. As his essay continues on, he proves the contrary, and that members of society have the capability to keep traditions whilst interacting
The writer of the essay "Decolonising the Mind," Ngugi wa Thiong'o, expresses his views that Kenyans had been stripped of their native languages and lost an important way to express themselves. In the essay "Shooting an Elephant," George Orwell presents imperialism metaphorically through the use of animals to illustrate the power and instability of imperialism. Jamaica Kincaid focuses her essay, "On Seeing England for the First Time," on how her view of England ultimately changes when she visits
medium through which a hierarchical structure of power is perpetuated, and the medium through which conceptions of 'truth', 'order', and 'reality' becomes established. Such power is rejected in the emergence of an effective post-colonial voice. Ngugi wa Thiong'o in his book, decolonising the mind portrays this lamentable condition of post colonies through the example of Africa. He believed that literature and politics are
countries. As each country fought for independence a culturally unique form of English was born. Kenyan English is one of these lingua franca1. It is a dialect that contains features derived from local Bantu languages such as Swahili. Ngugi wa Thiong’o, a native Swahili and English author, captures Kenyan English in his novel A Grain of Wheat. Set during the Mau Mau revolution leading to the independence of Kenya, Ngugi writes in the raw English spoken in Kenya. The development of Kenyan English demonstrates
1950s when the United States was electing its thirty fourth president, a small country thousands of miles away, Kenya, was yet to have a president. Kenya was on the brink of beginning its revolution against British rule. Kenya was still young and was not called Kenya until 1963 but instead it was called the British East African Protectorate. At a time when India had just gained independence, Kenya sought to become its own independent state. Famous African author, Ngugi wa Thiong 'o depicts A Grain of
It is a common idea that traveling gives people a greater insight on the dynamics of the world as they experience different cultures and ways of life. This can be seen in the short story Wedding at the Cross by Ngugi wa Thiong’o where traveling greatly influences the main character Wariuki’s outlook of the world. Wariuki starts off as being a very poor but very happy man until he gets humiliated by his father in law, Douglas Jones, for not being wealthy enough to pay for a wedding at a church or
powerful country is adopted, but during the process it is also changed. This is seen in Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell, A Meeting in the Dark by Ngugi wa thiong'o, and Water, directed by Deepa Mehta. Imperialism impacted the characters in the story, and changed their lifestyle. In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell had to kill an elephant that was on the loose, destroying the village and huts. The villagers called for his help, hoping that he would stop the elephant from causing any more destruction
The routine is the enemy of time it makes it fly by. The different types of journeys are the ones that improve your physical, mental, and spiritual states. It matters more when you learn to be a better person from the journey. An example of when the journey matters more than the destination is when you learn to be a better person from the journey. In “The Odyssey” by Homer is an epic poem about a man that learns important lessons on a 20 year journey. An example of this is “Though living still I