EllieGu’s answer to “I am reading Americanah, and I'm about half way through. If, for the protagonist, Nigeria is 100 % …” > Likes and Comments
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As if America is so modern and refreshing with it's perspectives. It's extremely condescending to say that their culture is narrow and confining. Stop glorifying America and western civilisation, as the novel displays, its fucked up in it's own way and we don't need western culture to learn to appreciate our own or to enhance our lives. What an elitist attitude!
I think your comment is extremely prideful and naive and is loaded with the hidden shame that an African person can learn anything from an American or Euro country. Americans going abroad is also a learning experience for fresh perspective and views. But I guess when I say abroad you will immediately jump to the thought of Europe not including Africa or anywhere else in the world. The novel is about a country that was once in crisis and in its rebirth the people who love their country were coming back bringing things they had learned while they were wandering. Jesus traveled to learn and expand his knowledge and gain wisdom, why can't Africans? As I also pointed out that the male protagonist did not find the successful experience that she did in his wanderings. His "fresh" perspective tainted with a more dim view of the outside world. If Adichie has written about issues that have happened completely in country. With this book she chose to write a deliberate story of people going away and coming back changed yet with an internal core of love of their birth place. American and Africa are both neither saviour or demons in this book. To look at it as such is a narrow and prejudice uncritical reading of a complex novel.
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Anah
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Mar 14, 2016 06:21AM
As if America is so modern and refreshing with it's perspectives. It's extremely condescending to say that their culture is narrow and confining. Stop glorifying America and western civilisation, as the novel displays, its fucked up in it's own way and we don't need western culture to learn to appreciate our own or to enhance our lives. What an elitist attitude!
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I think your comment is extremely prideful and naive and is loaded with the hidden shame that an African person can learn anything from an American or Euro country. Americans going abroad is also a learning experience for fresh perspective and views. But I guess when I say abroad you will immediately jump to the thought of Europe not including Africa or anywhere else in the world. The novel is about a country that was once in crisis and in its rebirth the people who love their country were coming back bringing things they had learned while they were wandering. Jesus traveled to learn and expand his knowledge and gain wisdom, why can't Africans? As I also pointed out that the male protagonist did not find the successful experience that she did in his wanderings. His "fresh" perspective tainted with a more dim view of the outside world. If Adichie has written about issues that have happened completely in country. With this book she chose to write a deliberate story of people going away and coming back changed yet with an internal core of love of their birth place. American and Africa are both neither saviour or demons in this book. To look at it as such is a narrow and prejudice uncritical reading of a complex novel.
