Possible Essay Topics

Easy: Differences between Aunty Ifeoma and Eugene's parenting, and how that in turn affects how their children act. Aunty Ifeoma's children are raised on love and laughter and turn out very confident and happy. Eugene's children, on the other hand, grow up in constant fear of disappointing their father, and are in turn very scared to do anything on their own, besides from excelling in school and following his religious ideals.

Likely: Focusing in on Kambili and Amaka and contrasting how their different views of religion and their contrasting childhoods affect the way they are. Kambili, on one hand, is too afraid to express herself, while Amaka is constantly laughing and has no problem showing people who she truly is. However, as the novel moves forward, Kambili gets more and more like Amaka, so at the end of this essay it could become more of a comparative essay discussing the ways in which they become similar as Aunty Ifeoma starts to affect Kambili's character.

Risky: Comparing the grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard To Find and Aunty Ifeoma. They are both powerful women who attempt to shape the minds of the children around them. While the Grandmother is constantly disappointed in how the youth acts, Aunty Ifeoma is always urging Eugene's children to break out of their shell and express themselves without fear of failure. Both of these ladies' attempts to change the ways of the youth around them end up in complete disaster and death.

Purple Hibiscus p 11

thick with chunks of boiled and dried fish and dark green Onugbu leaves. We ate silently. I molded my fufu into small balls with my fingers, dipped it in the soup, making sure to scoop up fish chunks, and then brought it to my mouth. I was certain the soup was good, but I did not taste it, could not taste it. My tongue felt like paper. "Pass the salt, please," Papa said. We all reached for the salt at the same time. Jaja and I touched the crystal shaker, my finger brushed his gently, then he let go. I passed it to Papa. The silence stretched out even longer. "They brought the cashew juice this afternoon. It tastes good. I am sure it will sell," Mama finally said. "Ask that girl to bring it," Papa said. Mama pressed the ringer that dangled above the table on a transparent wire from the ceiling, and Sisi appeared. "Yes, Madam?" "Bring two bottles of the drink they brought from the factory." "Yes, Madam." I wished Sisi had said "What bottles, Madam?" or "Where are they, Madam?" Just something to keep her and Mama talk- ing, to veil the nervous movements of Jaja molding his fufu. Sisi was back shortly and placed the bottles next to Papa. They 
had the same faded-looking labels as every other thing Papa's factories made--the wafers and cream biscuits and bottled juice and banana chips. Papa poured the yellow juice for everyone. I reached out quickly for my glass and took a sip. It tasted watery. I wanted to seem eager; maybe if I talked about
how good it tasted, Papa might forget that he had not yet pun- ished Jaja.


I chose this particular page because I felt that it expressed a great deal of info about the story as a whole. First of all, it really explained the family dynamics between Papa, Mama, Kambili, Jaja and Sisi. Right before this page occurs, Jaja talks back to Papa and Papa causes a violent scene. After such an erratic event, the real nature of the characters come out. This applies especially to Kambili, because we can read her thoughts on everything. We can see that Kambili wants the best for her brother Jaja, and is constantly looking out for him. She does not want him to be punished by Papa and tries to limit their interactions as much as possible. That is why she is the one who passes the salt to Papa when they both reach for it. Furthermore, this scene is testament to the culture of the family. I especially liked the descriptions of the food they are eating. It sounds as if it's from another planet.

Several times in this passage, Adichie uses spacing to highlight her point. For example, about a third of the way down, when Kambili describes how the silence stretched out, the last line of the paragraph is just the word longer. Because it stands alone on the line with a large space after it, it really stands out and further accentuates just how long the silence really was. Also, Sisi's question "Yes, Madam?" and then Mama's command, followed by Sisi's answer, "Yes, Madam." is very repetitive and stood out to me as showing the dynamic of respect shown by Sisi towards her employers.

Adjusting to Michigan

When I applied to the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan, I never seriously considered that this is where I would end up. I wanted to go to California. I wanted the warmth, the chilled out atmosphere, and to be able to drop everything and spend the day at a beach at a moments notice. Well, that is not how it turned out in the end. And to be honest, I think it is for the better. Although my life here is completely and utterly hectic at the moment especially, the people I have met here and the friends I have made are some of the best I have ever had.
Being in the art school has also been a totally new experience for me. Although I have always been fascinated with art, I had never taken it really that seriously before coming here. I was a very gifted young artist, making pieces such as these ones

when I was only 10 years old. I compiled a lot of these works from when I was younger into an  online portfolio which I sent to Michigan when I was applying. The funny thing is, since then, I have not produced a lot of work, so to come here to Michigan and have almost 100% of my classes to be Studio Art classes has definitely been a shock, but one that I embrace. I like to think of myself as an easily adaptable person, so I am making the most out of it and learning a lot every day. I look forward to seeing where art school leads me, and what I find most interesting about it...

Aunty Ifeoma

While reading this novel so far, Aunty Ifeoma has stood out to me as one of the more powerful, open-minded women in the story up to this point. Despite her grand, almost imposing stature, her willingness to speak her mind always impresses me. She works as a teacher at a nearby University, which reinforces the fact that she is not like most other women in the story. I believe that her job also gives her a more liberal view on life, and parenting in particular.

I fully respect the way Aunty Ifeoma acts in relation to her family.

She is one of the few good parents in the story, in my opinion. Despite being widowed and having to care for her three young children, Aunty Ifeoma does not resort to stern parenting, like her brother, Eugene. Rather, she feels as though there are other ways to raise a child. Although she is a devout Catholic, Aunty Ifeoma also recognizes the importance of keeping to her traditional Nigerian roots, just as her father, Papa-Nnukwu, does.

The way Aunty Ifeoma brings up her children, Chima, Amaka and Obiora, shines through in the ways they act differently from their cousins, Jambili and Jaja. Chima, Amaka, and Obiora are very willing to speak their minds, as their mother did while raising them in a loving environment, while Jambili and Jaja are too scared to do so, as they have been raised in a more strict, punishable environment. I believe, however, that soon enough, Aunty Ifeoma will begin to change this, and Jambili and Jaja will become more and more swayed by her way of parenting. Auny Ifeoma even hints at doing just this on page 119 when she says, "'Today we'll treat Kambili and Jaja as guests, but from tomorrow they will be family..."

Aunty Ifeoma reminded me slightly of the Grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard To Find, because of her attempts to try and mold the minds/manners/views on life of the children around her. However, Aunty Ifeoma is much more successful at this than the Grandmother is.

Short Stories vs Novels

How I read a a novel is very different than how I read a short story for various reasons. First off, there is clearly a lot more information to take into account when reading a novel, which is much longer than a short story. This forces the reader to focus in on the important aspects of the novel. In a short story, every small detail is put in for a reason and adds something extra to the story. But in a novel, it is up to the reader to highlight the key details, facts and events that occur. I feel that it is easier to read a novel with a pen or highlighter in my hand with which I can visualize what is really important and mark it down. 

To remain short in length, a short story usually only focuses in on one particular event, which makes it very easy to understand the meaning behind it. 

When reading a novel however, one must take into consideration a series of events and how they relate to one another and so on, which causes a lot more analysis and thought. 

Stories Comparison

In all 4 of Chimamanda Adichie’s stories, I was immediately drawn in due to the first person narrator. I could automatically imagine the setting and I think Adichie did a great job of chosing her narrators wisely. I particularly liked the narrator of Ghost and the way he viewed the world. In all four stories there are strong family ties, tension, and death. I found it interesting how death is pretty much avoided altogether in these stories. It seems as though whenever somebody dies, everybody immediately moves on. Personally, I agree with this method of moving on and not mourning so much. I feel as though people should celebrate life, rather than dwelling on the death that ends all. 

I also liked Tomorrow Is Too Far and especially the relationship between the children and their grandparents. I saw a lot of my brother and my relationship to our grandparents in this story and I could relate to many aspects of it.

Nigerian Culture: A Broad Overview

Nigeria is not at all the place I thought it was. After doing just some quick research on the basics of Nigerian culture, I quickly learned a lot that I would never have expected. For example, there are more than 50 languages spoken in Nigeria itself. One of these is even a very basic form of English, called Pigdin English. There are in fact a lot of famous English language literature writers who come from Nigeria because the English language is so commonly spoken there. Looks like Chimamanda Adichie is no exception after all.

I also found it interesting how large of a role soccer plays into Nigerian culture. Personally, I grew up in a European family, and so I was raised on soccer. But I love to be reminded of how universal  soccer is and how it brings people together from all across the world. It's funny to me to see mentioned online that that there is a large Nigerian support group for my personal favorite soccer team, Arsenal.


There are over 250 Ethnic groups found in Nigeria. The most common religion is Muslim, with about 50% of the population practicing it. Nigerian society is dominated by family ties. Even extended familly will work together as a unit through life. Nigerians value many forms of art, including ivory/wood carving, grass weaving, and glass and metal works.

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/nigeria.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Nigeria
http://www.mapsofworld.com/nigeria/culture/

Chimamanda Adichie on TED Talks

Chimamanda Adichie's talk was extremely meaningful to me because it opened my eyes up to something I hadn't really thought about before. Adichie argued that although stereotypes are somewhat true, they are by no means the full story. People often chose to focus in on the negatives of a group of people, completely disregarding all of their positive aspects. Adichie is a great example of how not all people fit into their stereotypical roles that society places on them. Her eloquence and oratory are clearly displayed in her beautiful speech, and a lot of the points she brought up were very accurate. I guess deep down, it is probably true, that many people already pity Africans before even meeting them, based on what the media displays of Africa. Adichie made it very clear how important it is to hear multiple sides of a story before making a rash assumption.

For example, a visual argument she could have made, would have been to show this picture.

 Then she could have asked what the audience's immediate reaction was.

They would probably say something along the lines of a soldier reaching for ammunition, or another weapon.

After that, she could show them the full picture, and ask them the same question...

Clearly, you need the full story to make an accurate interpretation of what is really going on. Adichie drove her point home using various stories, rather than images. But the ultimate effect was the same in the end: stereotypes, although somewhat true, are nowhere near the full truth. To achieve that, you must get unbiased perspectives from all angles, which cover the full story, not just part of it.

Wisdom Nuggets!

"It is possible to write a line of seemingly innocuous dialogue and have it send a chill along the reader's spine." -Carver

"But a writer who has some special way of looking at things and who gives artistic expression to that way of looking: that writer may be around for a time." -Carver

"All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know."-Hemmingway

"Don’t describe an emotion–make it."-Hemingway

"You've got to sell your heart, your strongest reactions, not the little minor things that only touch you lightly."-Fitzgerald

Tips for Successful Writing

"The Science of Scientific Writing"

In this piece, Swan and Gopen make many points about writing, but a few of them stood out to me as ways that I could personally improve my writing, which is key. First off, they stressed the importance of clear, concise writing. The goal of writing is to make the reader understand and think about your piece, not to confuse them with foreign words and strange sentence pairings. The writer should always have his/her audience in mind when writing his piece, and never expect their reader to understand background knowledge. That is why the writer must give his/her audience ample context before starting the story so as to make everybody aware of where he/she is going before he/she actually starts. Furthermore, the natural flow of the piece must be, well, natural. It must make sense which way the story goes from start to finish. Every sentence should lead to the next seamlessly. The last point I really related to was the one about needing to spread out the plot from start to finish, rather than packing in all the exciting bits in the very beginning. After all, the lasting impression is often made just after reading the final few pages, which should be exciting and resolving. Only when the reader can fully understand every aspect of the work, can he/she fully appreciate the work.


"Politics and the English Language"

In this piece Orwell warns his audience not to fall into several common traps, which in turn hinder your writing as a whole. For example, he tells his audience that if they are trying to create successful work, rather than throwing in complicated words and dialect, it is more successful to use more common words that really mean what they are trying to say. Often times, students will just use a thesaurus to find what they think is more advanced, intelligent words to replace their simple one. Orwell would deffinitely object to this. To him, it is much more important to be clear and concise. Only then, he believes, can you fully develop your paper and convey your meaning to your audience, which is, after all, your biggest goal as a writer.

Life is Balance

 Life is all about balance. At home I feel like I had a great balance of school-work, friends and partying, and sports. Here in Michigan, I have focused more on the first two aspects, but unfortunately sports has fallen behind a bit. I look forward to fixing this and getting back on my grind again.

1) Having unbelievable times with amazing people.

2)Having homework as cool as this.

3) Needing to join a soccer team while I’m here.