Apr 15, 2012
Chimamanda Adichie - how an author's life and past experiences can serve as a platform for stories
Life experiences are a collection of events that people have had in the past. It provides us with something to talk about and share with others. Many writers talk about small pieces of their lives to their readers in how they write and what they write about. One author i am really fascinated with is a Nigerian writer, her name is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, she was born in the year 1977. Maybe the reason why i like her so much is because i could relate easily to her work because I'm Nigerian too.
She grew up in eastern Nigeria with her parents in a university campus because her dad was a professor and mum a university registrar, she started writing at a very young age because she was exposed to American and British children's books. Today she She is the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, and a collection of short stories titled The Thing around Your Neck. She has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Orange Broadband prize for Fiction and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
She frequently talks about the colonial and post colonial era in Nigeria. Her book "Half of a Yellow Sun" for example takes place during the Nigerian civil war also known as the Nigerian-Biafran war, that took place in the late 60's to the early 70's shortly after the British gave Nigeria her Independence. I think one of the reasons why she writes about this event is because she lost relatives during the war and obviously the war was caused by the colonial amalgamation of Nigeria.
The point is she's a writer and she has been able to tell stories by using her a life experience. Just to name but a few, Emily Dickinson life reflected through her work, Elie Wiesel is another example so as many other writers who who have had horrible experiences such a war, and those who have loved and lost, all have their works revealing a little about them.
The point is she's a writer and she has been able to tell stories by using her a life experience. Just to name but a few, Emily Dickinson life reflected through her work, Elie Wiesel is another example so as many other writers who who have had horrible experiences such a war, and those who have loved and lost, all have their works revealing a little about them.
Overall class reflection
I could remember coming to class the first day thinking I'm going to be the odd one out because I'm probably the only one who wasn't born in this country, but I've met a few people i now talk to frequently. My first thought was that it is English so it is going to be easy compared to my other classes but when i got the syllabus, i realized it will take more time than i was hoping for because i have many other classes that requires great deal of time too.
We've covered a lot and i have learnt a lot, even though we didn't do much on writing, i have better understanding now, of how to analyze poems and stories and also interpret them in my own way, Most of all, the biggest thing i have learnt is to always to get as many information as possible about the author of the work I'm reading because, it gives a lot of clue as to why the writer frequently talks about a certain topic for example people who fought in wars write many things based on it and so on and so forth .
furthermore, we discussed Hemingway, Faulkner, Jackson, Langston, Owen, Blake and so many others and interesting stories such as "A Rose for Emily", "Oedipus" which is my favorite because it was straight forward and '"a doll's house" by Henrik Ibsen that emphasized self actualization have all opened my minds to a new way of looking at literature.
In a nutshell it has been an interesting class so far and also a hard one too, but i know more now about literature and also how to read to understand.
We've covered a lot and i have learnt a lot, even though we didn't do much on writing, i have better understanding now, of how to analyze poems and stories and also interpret them in my own way, Most of all, the biggest thing i have learnt is to always to get as many information as possible about the author of the work I'm reading because, it gives a lot of clue as to why the writer frequently talks about a certain topic for example people who fought in wars write many things based on it and so on and so forth .
furthermore, we discussed Hemingway, Faulkner, Jackson, Langston, Owen, Blake and so many others and interesting stories such as "A Rose for Emily", "Oedipus" which is my favorite because it was straight forward and '"a doll's house" by Henrik Ibsen that emphasized self actualization have all opened my minds to a new way of looking at literature.
In a nutshell it has been an interesting class so far and also a hard one too, but i know more now about literature and also how to read to understand.
reflection-personification, alliteration, metaphors, simile and verbal irony
personification is when an inanimate object possess the traits of a person,
alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound
metaphor is the likening or comparison of something with another
Simile is similar to metaphor; it is the comparison of the two different things using "like" and "as"
and finally, verbal irony is a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant
Writers use these literal devices to make their work more meaningful and thought provoking, take "the silken tent" by Robert Frost for example, where he uses the silken tent to represent a woman which is most likely his mother. When we talk about tent, we think about a shelter, shade that is mobile supported by one or more poles, so in-other words his mom possess characteristics of a tent and vice versa. so it is personification.
Verbal irony can be used either when trying to convey a serious message across or when trying to be sarcastic. An example of verbal irony in literature is the one we can find in Hamlet. When he said " I will speak dagger to her, but use none" it means that he will tell her how he feels and wont be nice about it, but wont physically hurt her. Also another example is "Dulce Et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen that loosely translates to "it is good and honorable to die for your country" but the point the poem is trying to get across is totally different.
alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound
metaphor is the likening or comparison of something with another
Simile is similar to metaphor; it is the comparison of the two different things using "like" and "as"
and finally, verbal irony is a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant
Writers use these literal devices to make their work more meaningful and thought provoking, take "the silken tent" by Robert Frost for example, where he uses the silken tent to represent a woman which is most likely his mother. When we talk about tent, we think about a shelter, shade that is mobile supported by one or more poles, so in-other words his mom possess characteristics of a tent and vice versa. so it is personification.
Verbal irony can be used either when trying to convey a serious message across or when trying to be sarcastic. An example of verbal irony in literature is the one we can find in Hamlet. When he said " I will speak dagger to her, but use none" it means that he will tell her how he feels and wont be nice about it, but wont physically hurt her. Also another example is "Dulce Et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen that loosely translates to "it is good and honorable to die for your country" but the point the poem is trying to get across is totally different.
reflection-Wordsworth and Keats
A very interesting class lesson. We discussed similarities and the differences Between Wordsworth and Keats and how they are unique in their own ways. Both authors were romantic writers and by romantic i mean the Romanticism era; a period of artistic and intellectual movement that originated in the late 18th century. It stressed strong emotion, imagination, freedom from classical correctness in all form including paintings and poetry.
Starting with the similarities of Keats and Wordsworth both talked about nature and how beautiful and comforting it is they also wrote about the empirical age.
What i learned from the class lesson is that Wordsworth is a teacher in his works, he wants his readers to gain something, he talks about Joy and that he wants his readers to find themselves while on the other hand Keats didn't write to change others views also he wrote about the joy and relief nature can bring.
It can be said that both authors attitude to writing was influenced on their life experiences for example Keats lost his parents at a very young age which reflected in his work also Wordsworth lived in France during the revolution which can said to have influence him because, he frequently talked about about how he wants his readers to discover themselves which can be equated to freedom displayed in the french revolution because they were tired of the repressive monarchy they were living under.
Starting with the similarities of Keats and Wordsworth both talked about nature and how beautiful and comforting it is they also wrote about the empirical age.
What i learned from the class lesson is that Wordsworth is a teacher in his works, he wants his readers to gain something, he talks about Joy and that he wants his readers to find themselves while on the other hand Keats didn't write to change others views also he wrote about the joy and relief nature can bring.
It can be said that both authors attitude to writing was influenced on their life experiences for example Keats lost his parents at a very young age which reflected in his work also Wordsworth lived in France during the revolution which can said to have influence him because, he frequently talked about about how he wants his readers to discover themselves which can be equated to freedom displayed in the french revolution because they were tired of the repressive monarchy they were living under.
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