I must admit that when I first read The Stranglehold of English Lit I didn’t understand its point. When Dr. B read it out loud in class it made a lot more sense. Mnthali validly argues the point of reading American literature, dealing with the problems that American’s face, when they have no relevance to African life. My friends and I used to argue the same point in high school when we were made to study subjects that had nothing to do with our career goals. Why should we know chemistry when we are planning on going into a non-science field? Why should Africans have to read Jane Austin when they don’t have the same life problems that she and her female friends faced? I’m sure that in a civilization where tea time is a daily ritual where you discuss the real-life version of The Bachelor is fun and all, and the Africans would probably prefer it, but from my point of view/understanding, things like finding food for the day, without being eaten themselves, was probably a little more important to them. People want to read stories that they can relate to. Literature is something to get lost in. If you can’t get lost in it, and you have to dissect and study it, just to understand it, then it’s considered more of a text in my book.
Over the years Africa has faced many wars within itself, as well as with the world. Their languages are becoming extinct because they are not accepted or understood. Their stories are told in English only after they travel to Europe so that they can translate, and there is always something lost in translation. The rest of the world is taking away their history a little at a time. In Ngugi’s Creating Space for a Hundred Flowers to Blossom it explains this point. Our countries issue is that we try to fix the rest of the world. I don’t believe that it’s our job to fix anyone else’s problems. Traditions are terminated and we lose pieces of heritage that define us as a people.
After being in the real world for a few years I understand the need to know a broad range of subject matter. In our culture it’s necessary. It’s not relevant in African culture though. Their lives are nothing like ours. Everyone deserves the right to their own types of communication, transfer of history, and preservation of sacred traditions. No one should force anyone to conform their way of life.
I think you make a good point about how in the early parts of a person's education it is hard to understand why one must study things that do not have direct relevance to oneself. However, as one gets a wider perspective, a person can begin to see the value of learning a variety of things that may have value. This is where World literature comes in, I think. It is good for us to be able to read about things that are far away from us so that we can understand them. However, you make a good point that no one should force anyone to conform to their way of life. Remember that you wrote this! It is a powerful core value.
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