Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie by Bella Williams

Author Summary

palerose0104 — 2024-12-04 21:19:52 UTC

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian author and activist born and raised in Enugu, Nigeria. She went to four different universities including the University of Nigeria where she was the school's magazine editor called "The Compass". Her first published work was a poetry collection in 1997 called "Decisions" that was turned into a play in 1998 called "For Love of Biafra". She then published "Purple Hibiscus in 2003, and then Half of a Yellow Sun as her second novel in 2006 (her most famous book) using her father's story in the war for material. She has many other works as well, and continues to publish things and make new accomplishments, such as her first children's book she published in 2023, "Mama's Sleeping Scarf".

“Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Dec. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimamanda_Ngozi_Adichie.

To My One Love

palerose0104 — 2024-12-04 21:34:19 UTC

To My One Love is an essay based on a true story from Adichie herself about a love she had when she was young. This essay covers the topics of young love and loss as it is about Adichie and Nnamdi (her young love in primary school) and their brief love story.

The story starts off showing the 19-year-old Adichie and her accomplishments, but she is reminded of her love in primary school who had died and we get to see their story unfold.

Once Adichie is reminded of Nnamdi, her young love, she remembers the image of when she last saw him all bloody in the armed robbery he was mixed into.

They met in high school, or "primary school", and they called Adichie "Ima". Nnamdi was a popular rich kid that Ima and her friends usually made fun of although they secretly wanted to be like them. Ima secretly liked Nnamdi so they start dating. With typical high school love, Nnamdi tells Ima how he wants to marry her and she plays it cool but also wants the same thing.

This story was such a sweet story of love and loss. I could relate to the grief that Adichie felt as she describes the loss of her friend and the last time she saw him. The grief one feels in the loss of a friend is always profound, but as a young teen the first loss felt is a life changing moment that can be unbearable at times as one learns how to navigate this new existence without that special friend.

Adichie, Chimamanda. “To My One Love.” Utne, Granta, 12 Feb. 2008, www.utne.com/arts/tomy-one-love/.

Interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

palerose0104 — 2024-12-05 02:50:02 UTC

In this interview Chimamanda Adichie and Trevor Noah talk about feminism and ways to raise a child to be a feminist. It started as she was writing an email to a friend who had a baby and was asking Chimamanda how to raise a child to be a feminist. In this email she came up with 15 suggestions on how to push back against the world and raise a child how to be a feminist. In just small changes to our thinking we can begin this process from holding a door open for everyone, regardless of gender to buying children toys for whatever interests them individually. Little girls don't have to want a doll, they can have a football or a chemistry set; or a doll if that is what they would like. These small changes to our thinking must include men as well. We need men onboard with feminism for their to be a significant change in the world.

Emma Barnett & Chimamanda Adichie

palerose0104 — 2024-12-11 00:39:28 UTC

In this interview with Emma Barnett, Chimamanda touches on the dangers of social media and what it seems to have stolen from people. She has found that there is a puritan stance online amongst people and if one doesn't come to the same conclusion that everyone else has they are "cancelled". This problematic take has stolen the ability for one to think and grow. We are no longer able to come to our own conclusions we must agree with everyone else or face being publicly maligned for not having the same puritanical beliefs as everyone else. The mob mentality is quick to not only unfriend, but make a public fuss that reaches out to bring harm to the one that is not falling in line. We need to give people the space to not know; to be confused and to ask questions. People need to feel safe enough to ask questions and learn without fear of repercussions for having the wrong opinion. Chimamanda finds this to be a disturbing trend that ".. we have a generation of young people on social media so terrified of having the wrong opinions that they have robbed themselves of the opportunity to think and to learn and to grow."

X @ChimamandaReal

palerose0104 — 2024-12-11 00:57:20 UTC

Chimamanda posts pretty much the same things as she does on Instagram as she does on X. She does have a pinned post about people pretending to be her on the platform so she made an official account for X and made it clear that this account is her and to not trust anyone else due to attempted extortion.

She posts about her new works, and sometimes her personal life as well.

https://x.com/chimamandareal?lang=en

Early Life

palerose0104 — 2024-12-11 20:53:34 UTC

Adichie was born on September 15, 1977 and raised in Enugu, Nigeria as the second youngest child out of six total children to her parents. Her parents names are James Nwoye Adichie and Grace Odigwe who married on April 15, 1963 and moved to Berkely for James to complete his PhD at the University of California, and then returned to Nigeria to become a professor as the University of Nigeria. Grace began her college life in 1964 at Merritt College in Oakland and returned to Nigera for a degree in sociology and anthropology from UNN.

When Adichie was a child, she only read English-language stories, mostly by Enid Blyton and most of the characters consisted of blue eyes and white skin. When she got older, she began reading African literature such as "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, or "The African Child" by Camara Laye. She was writing at a very young age, and began to incorporate her visits to Abba in her novels. When she visited Abba, she saw bullets on the ground and houses in ruins.

“Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Dec. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimamanda_Ngozi_Adichie.

Education

palerose0104 — 2024-12-11 20:53:52 UTC

In Adichie's formal education, she would start in her high school with both English and Igbo, even though Igbo was not a popular subject. At University of Nigeria Campus is where she completed her secondary education with top distinction in the West African Examinations Council and a number of academic prizes. She was then enrolled into the University of Nigeria where she first studied medicine and pharmacy as well as being the editor for her school magazine "The Compass".

She moved to the U.S. after her first publishing of "Decisions" at 19-years-old, and soon after moving to the states she transferred to Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut. She lived with her sister Ijeoma who was a doctor there. Adichie would continue to publish multiple works while in school and finished her undergraduate degree. She would receive her bachelor's degree summa cum laude with a major in political science and a minor in communications in 2001. At Johns Hopkins University in 2003, she got her masters in creative writing, then for the next two years she was a "Hodder Fellow" at Princeton where she taught introductory fiction. At Yale, she completed a second master's degree in African studies in 2008, then she received a MacArthur Fellowship the same year as well as other academic prizes.

“Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Dec. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimamanda_Ngozi_Adichie.

Instagram @chimamanda_adichie

palerose0104 — 2024-12-11 21:12:10 UTC

Adichie posts images of her new works--her latest post is about her newest book "Dream Count" about four women with empowering themes. Her posts consist of mostly professional topics, such as photos or videos of her speaking on politics. On occasion though, it looks as though she posts some personal things to, such as a video of Adichie officiating her nephew's wedding, or simply just celebrations she has done recently that she is excited about.

https://www.instagram.com/chimamanda_adichie/

It Is Obscene

palerose0104 — 2024-12-14 23:29:36 UTC

It Is Obscene is an essay based on a true story about Adichie and her personal experience she has had with being a famous activist and how it is not perceived as it actually is. In this essay she is particularly angry as she stresses that being famous does not make her correct in her opinions and that she has been persecuted because of those opinions. She struggles with whether or not she should be silent when people have a problem with her opinion. She made a comment that got public backlash accusing her of being transphobic. What was particularly hurtful to her was that she knew this person well. They could have called her, texted her, or popped by her home to discuss it. Instead they chose to make public statements calling her transphobic. Adichie decided to be silent but quickly realized that by being silent this person was able to direct the public narrative about her. In It Is Obscene, Adichie addresses this false narrative about her, but also the dangers of social media for so many young people. She addresses this puritanical thought process that has arisen that if you don't believe as everyone else does it is acceptable to be publicly ridiculed. She states that people are being robbed of the opportunity to be confused or uncertain and ask questions. People are terrified of voicing the wrong opinion and being put on public display for "cancellation". I tend to agree with her here as I find that we are constantly evolving and growing in our thoughts and opinions. Our opinions change as we take in new information. Generations before us were able to learn and grow rather privately; their mistakes weren't posted publicly on social media as everyone they knew was encouraged to "cancel" them for their poor opinions. It is a danger that has been brought on exclusively by social media and the power we can wield as keyboard warriors. Adichie feels this has robbed younger generations of the opportunity to think, learn, and grow.

Adichie, Chimamanda. “It Is Obscene: A True Reflection in Three Parts.” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 15 June 1970, www.chimamanda.com/news_items/it-is-obscene-a-true-reflection-in-three-parts/.

Synthesis

palerose0104 — 2024-12-18 05:41:34 UTC

As one essay is in the tone of anger and the other in the tone of sadness, they are both true stories about Adichie's reflection on grief. The grief in It Is Obscene is about someone who she thought was a good friend but turned out not to be her friend at all in the end. In To My One Love is one that is about the most obvious grief of all, death. In it, she continues to say she has a boyfriend even though he is not there anymore, which is something that can be understood fully as I still continue to say the same things about my family members who are also dead because it is no different.