Today, we had a shared discussion about Achebe's interview with An African Voice, where Achebe gives the audience and readers of Things Fall Apart some background and insight into his inspiration and the reason why he wrote the novel and what impact the novel had on his after life
Achebe explains that he 'had no idea' whether Things Fall Apart would be 'accepted or even published'- we all agreed that this shows exactly Nigerian citizens were viewed at the time the British were invading; this is further reinforced with the following quote:
"We realize and recognize that it's not just colonized people whose stories have been suppressed, but a whole range of people across the globe who have not spoken. It's not because they don't have something to say, it simply has to do with the division of power, because storytelling has to do with power. Those who win tell the story; those who are defeated are not heard"
-- My group agreed that this quote was most definitely one of the most meaningful quotes in the interviewed, this is because it can be seen from different perspectives
1) Achebe could be challenging this idea that only 'the winners' get to tell theirs story and he wants to speak up and tell his and Nigerian citizen's story
2) Achebe could be attempting to raise awareness for Nigeria's ongoing struggle and how much their culture and country was destroyed
3) Achebe could try to be gaining power for his hometown by belittling the British
~ perhaps this is why he decided to move to the Western world- to 'tell the story' ?
Achebe explains that he 'had no idea' whether Things Fall Apart would be 'accepted or even published'- we all agreed that this shows exactly Nigerian citizens were viewed at the time the British were invading; this is further reinforced with the following quote:
"We realize and recognize that it's not just colonized people whose stories have been suppressed, but a whole range of people across the globe who have not spoken. It's not because they don't have something to say, it simply has to do with the division of power, because storytelling has to do with power. Those who win tell the story; those who are defeated are not heard"
-- My group agreed that this quote was most definitely one of the most meaningful quotes in the interviewed, this is because it can be seen from different perspectives
1) Achebe could be challenging this idea that only 'the winners' get to tell theirs story and he wants to speak up and tell his and Nigerian citizen's story
2) Achebe could be attempting to raise awareness for Nigeria's ongoing struggle and how much their culture and country was destroyed
3) Achebe could try to be gaining power for his hometown by belittling the British
~ perhaps this is why he decided to move to the Western world- to 'tell the story' ?
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