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.
I think that the first idea has some great possibilities. I would suggest being careful about making the essay to broad but bet you could bring up a lot of great points. The second idea is also good. You could even talk about how Kambili listens to the same music Amaka does at the end of the book. I would suggest discussing how Amaka shaped Kambili because Aunty Ifeoma wasn't the only factor in Kambili's change.
ReplyDeleteI think your idea for your risky topic is really interesting. I was considering comparing Eugene and the grandmother in a Good Man is Hard to Find, but I never considered comparing her with Aunty Ifeoma. I think analyzing their respective relationships with their family could make for a great essay.
ReplyDeleteI, too, considered comparing the two family dynamics to one another. If you're still hesitant on your essay topic, I would consider writing about your risky topic. It's not the first comparison people would typically make, so that makes for an interesting topic.
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