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Short Stories
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"Among Strangers" by Jude Dibia
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So, I read this last night, and I'm afraid it isn't clear to me where his stepmother is assigning his supposed shame. Is it that he came to his father's funeral, or that he doesn't speak his father's language? Or that he and his mother left his father? I really don't know.
And yet I really liked the story! He flawlessly spanned the years from toddler to grown man and it seemed possible to feel his life. And I agree with him: "She spoke of shame in a tone that exonerated her from any, yet she was the one who had the most to be ashamed of."

I think the stepmother was implying that he is not a true member of his father's people. I don't understand why that is his fault since his father married his mother who was also an outsider. Also, his father is the one who insisted he speak English which also set him apart. But, I don't think the stepmother is terribly rational.
I liked this story too. The way language defined people is an important concept. It made me think of the whole controversy about language and the hearing impaired community. There is a division among those who think that all deaf people can learn to talk orally if they are not allowed to use sign language. In some happy circumstances, they can. But, those who don't and are deprived of any other language stand apart from both groups, the hearing and the deaf. Like the narrator in this story, they try to learn sign language as adults but it is never the same. It is a very lonely situation.
I think this story is about much more than language but it certainly provides the metaphor for being an outcast. The number of languages spoken in Nigeria has always amazed me. I'm looking forward to Sheila's observations on this. It sounds like the languages aren't at all similar. For instance, I learned Spanish in school so when I traveled, French was always a little easier for me to understand since they are both derived from Latin. I get the sense that this isn't true of the languages spoken in Nigeria.