Christopher Sanchez INTL-3111 001 Anthills of the Savannah Quiz March 29th, 2012 Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua

Achebe was an interesting novel that exposed the common struggles of African lifestyle. I came across an academic journal that uncovered an ordeal that is common in Africa, yet it was also a topic that was covered indirectly throughout Achebes novel. The academic journal is titled Gesturing with the left hand and retrieving, and within this journal it is proclaimed that Achebes novel enlightens the reader on the issue of feminism in the African culture. In African culture it is said that to give or present something with the left hand connotes disrespect, dislike, and cynicism. The recipient of the aforementioned gift would rarely be pleased with this gesture. In turn, this leads to the writers motive for titling her journal as such because she believes that Achebe initiated a valid promotion of feminism in his novel, which the readers anticipate, but analytically deny. In the book he has two female characters, Beatrice and Elewa, that help to express these ideologies. Elewa helps represent the common ideology of a third world woman, who is often portrayed as victimized, poor, unenlightened, tradition-bound as well as sexually restricted and exploited. Since Beatrice goes against the master narrative of how a female of the Igbo society is normally portrayed, she conveys characteristics of a first world woman. This is because she is educated, sexually adventurous, modern and uses her freedom of choice. She signifies that of an African woman who excels beyond the level expected of her gender. As I continued to read this journal it opened my eyes to a new interpretation of this novel. I didnt realize the hardship a woman living in Africa actually went through,

due to societies sexist view of their gender. The main idea I was absorbing from the novel was the corruption evident in the African government and how poorly it treats its own people. The novel does this by showing how the government can neglect problems occurring in neighboring towns, while falsely advising its own people that they are working on the current issues infiltrating their own society. In reality the president isnt doing anything to improve his peoples quality of life. This journal helped shed light on the issue of sexism within African culture, while exposing the novels underlying motive. Upon further examination of what is being said, the events that are unfolding and how the characters react to them show resemblance to real life African society at that time. Without intense reflection, the similarities between the novel and real life could go unnoticed. In retrospect, the facts I read within the journal surprised me and helped open my mind to the complex messages that masterpieces such as Anthills of the Savannah wish to convey.

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