Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Stranglehold of English Lit
Felix Mnthali's poem titled The Stranglehold of English Lit is about his dislike for English literature. He believes that the Africans shouldn't have to read and learn English literature if they don't want to. He talks about questions that relate to language and class. He asks, “How could questions be asked at Makerere and Ibadan, Dakar and Ford Hare’—with Jane Austen at the centre?”. He brings up a good point with Jane Austen and how her people don't work in her books. He explained how her books trick the Africans into thinking that the British are such great people. He says "Jane Austen lulled the sons and daughters of the dispossessed into calf-love" which means that the literature is deceiving. Although Jane Austen's books are very popular, he does make a valid point on how her literature tricks the African's into thinking that the British lead such great lives. It doesn't seem fair that if you take literature in Africa, you take British literature and that's final. I can't imagine what it would be like if the roles were reversed. If we have to read only African literature, I don't think I would understand why. Especially if the Africans were taking over our land while we were reading about how they were such great people.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In your last few sentences, you make a good point about how it is interesting to think about the situation reversed to get a new perspective. I think that he was just using Jane Austen as a symbolic text for all British literature. Of course, if we were to say, in America, that every one should read the literature of their heritage, would we all be reading literature about other countries? It's a funny problem for a nation of immigrants. But for the Hopi, Navajo, Salish, Sioux, Cheyenne, etc. they all have to read Jane Austen too, and they have a similar perspective with Mnthali. I think it will be helpful to take a look at the series of questions I have listed in the "Assignments" area of our BB site. It will help guide your commentary through the analysis, personal reflection, and then recommendations.
ReplyDelete