Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Know the Author

Hello Readers!

Literature is becoming free from the prejudices and false beliefs. It is good to observe that the lines of so called cultural barrier is now blurring. Authors and activists have come forward with a fervor of new thoughts Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian novelist, short story writer and nonfiction writer. She has written many novels including, Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), Americanah (2013). Her collections of short story is The Thing Around Your Neck (2009). She also wrote an interesting essay on We Should All Be Feminists (2014).

Here are some of her videos, from which we can get much of the things which are nowadays we are constantly forgetting. Our perspectives vary, when we look at things only with one aspect. And it has  become necessary to see it with multiple angles. Feminism and how should it be looked at, and the embracing the truth are vital things

1. Talk on importance of story/literature.

From this video one can get the glimpse of the thought that how a bad impact of a single sided story is created on our minds. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about the drawbacks of having one sided story. One should cultivate the habit of looking at things with multidimensional approach. Seeing only one part or a front side of anything, becomes truth for us, and we get ready to deny all the other perception other than the front side. Similarly many misconceptions regarding African literature have taken place. She gives a good example of the different perceptions by describing two to or three incidents from her life. When she was a child, she had only seen the books which contain British and American characters, but later on she came to know about Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye. One is an incident of Fide's family and the other is of her interaction with a roommate while studying in U.S. In short this she has conveyed a good message about how Africa should be looked at. Before interacting with any chocolate skinned person who seems to have African roots, one must clear bout the country. Because Africa is a continent, not a country. Literature also should be free from such false beliefs.

2. We should all be feminist

When Adichie and her brother used talk, she didn't know what was feminism. The very root of this term lies somewhere in the development of a child, no matter if it is boy or a girl. Every boy and girl should be equally treated right from the childhood. Rather than explaining a boy about masculinity, teaching him to respect girls is worthier. If a boy is getting a certain opportunities, girls also should have different. Each one should be raised equally. We see much discrimination between men and women. Women are paid less than men, even after having similar qualification and talent. It is truly true that we should all be feminist.

3. Importance of truth in post-truth era

One can completely agree with the thoughts she presets. An individual should always have the courage to embrace the truth. Complimenting an author is good, but one should't admire her/his works without reading it. The hardest truths are those that we need to tell to ourselves. Be courageous enough not to be provoked by any misleading elements. Accepting, embracing and acknowledging the truths is the most valuable thing. Be courageous enough to accept that life is messy, and it doesn't always matches the ideology we have in our minds. We have to acknowledge it. Personally speaking, these are the thoughts which I liked because they contain contexts. They are directly relating with our daily happenings. Life teaches us many lessons, and we just have to identify it.

Sources:
(1) Wikipedia: Feminism, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
(2) Britannica - biography
(3) Ted - Ted video
(4) YouTube - TEDx and Harvard

Thank You!