'Say You’re One of Them\r'

'In many respects, the sphere’s attention has shied past from modern Africa in recent years, most likely due to the uneven domestic situations in other parts of the world. Recently, however, the disposition of stories written by Uwem Akpan, Say You’re star of Them, has brought back to the forefront all of the pain and quarrel of life in Africa at the present time. The cosmos that comes through the words non only tugs at the heartstrings of the reader, notwithstanding besides makes strong statements about heathenish contest, class struggles and other social phenomena.\r\nThis research pull up s acquits not only reason Akpan’s wager, but besides these intertwined issues within the work. Ultimately, the work lead be better appreciated and understood, but alike, modern issues will be brought to light. Discussion of the Various Issues of Cultural date within the Story When the research was introduced, the point was do that Akpan’s work was n ot only pro primely emotional, but also makes strong cultural statements. fetching that assertion a step further is potential when using specific examples from the work to identify and discuss the various aspects of cultural conflict to be found in the story.\r\nThe first of the beas of cultural conflict which emerges in the work is the vast divide between the scotch classes within modern Africa. An early story in the work tells of a young boy whose sis publishs to street prostitution in order for him to be able to afford to attend school- a dazzling attempt to escape the lower class and surface in Afri hind end society. So intense is this longing to advance that utmost(a) measures are taken by poor Africans to make ends meet: â€Å"When Baby was born, we pawned triad quarters of his clothes to defray debts” (Akpan, 2008, p. 13).\r\nTherefore, fellow Africans are in occurrence culturally divided along economic lines, despite hailing from the same homeland. Languag e is also a dividing factor in modern mean solar day Africa, or more specifically, the way that some unrivaled’s voice sounds not only could set them asunder from others in a cultural context, but in fact could lead to bodily harm for those of atomic number 53 polish who encounter resistor from another, as seen in this excerpt from the work: â€Å"He was an easy mastermind for the sporadic violence that seized the land…a simple-minded thing like his accent could give him away” (Akpan, 2008, p. 93). This is an interesting element of cultural conflict in a highly respective(a) continent- it is a remarkable type of situation whereby someone who merely speaks in a distinct way than others could in fact set them apart and lead to fractured sub farmings, but that is but what Akpan is portraying. Additionally, there is a subculture of violence that is prevalent in the Africa of today; to be more specific, much of Africa is command at the present by wealthy w arlords, who essentially build their throw armies and make their own rules for their own advancement.\r\nBasically, these individuals are using force to alienate and squelch their own fellow Africans, keeping the weak in a state of poerty and preventing them from possible improvements that would leave behind them to surpass their oppressors: â€Å"Our northern generals are responsible for the extreme poverty in the land” (Akpan, 2008, p. 314). Therefore, we see the creation of a new culture of the indexful over that of the weak. This culture is likewise somewhat restrictive, as the penalization for trying to escape it would be brutality at trump, and death at worst.\r\nChanges in the Culture in the Story In Say You’re iodin of Them, there are sweeping changes to African culture that can be seen when finding more almost at the points that are do in work; the culture is essentially shifting from one of idealistic traditions and an embracing of the diversity of the various nations of the continent to a more divided one, where differences in economic status, delivery and ability to fight back against those who run through the power to destroy one another has taken antecedence (Mwaria, et al, 2004).\r\nAn important point needs to be do here- although what is happening in Africa according to Akpan is certainly distressing, it is not unique to Africa, nor is it limited to lands where opportunity is less than astray available. This can be pointed out with a look into other cultures where division is complicating matters at present. A tuition of Other Cultures Like Africa, the United States is a run pot of different cultures and also like Africa, has encountered its contribution of culture clash in recent years.\r\nThis conflict has taken place in several diverse cultures and has divided mess in several different ways. First, along lines of ethnicity, the US has seen a renewed level of awareness of the fundamental differences in cle ment beings as a result of the horrific terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 on the Statesn soil. Because of this pivotal event, those wishing to immigrate to the US from other nations, whether legally or illegally, have met with opposition ranging from disdain to outrage and acts of unwarranted violence (Moser, 2000).\r\nIt would come out that like Africa, the diversity of culture that made America such a unique place has been watered down in a flurry of prejudice, veneration and false impressions about one ethnic meeting or another. Instead of introducing new cultures into the American adorn and then allowing them to assimilate into the prevailing American culture, mountain are being excluded from the opportunity to do so from the beginning, not only depriving them of opportunity, but also subdue the advancement of American society from within. Politically, Americans have also formed subcultures that of late have been in a great deal of conflict.\r\nRecent years have seen d ifferences in political mindset become diagnose issues that instead of bringing these individuals together for the sake of legal debate, have in many cases divided individuals to the injury of the political process (Shogan, 2002). From time to time, this difference has also turned volatile in more than one instance as wars of words sometimes turn into acts of violence. Lastly, class envy is also alive and substantially in America, creating cultural conflicts, especially given the rate of flow dire economic climate in the world.\r\n trussed closely to the political issues of the nation, economically diverse tribe are commonly divided by a lack of understanding of each other’s culture- a culture defined by property and privilege or the absence thereof. Overall compendium of the Reading Akpan’s book opened the eye of the researcher in many ways, not the least of which was in terms of gaining an understanding that cultural differences can either create a wonderful immingle of different traditions and ideas or can divide people and lead them to destroy others.\r\nThis realization evoked in the researcher the feeling that diversity must be embraced, lest its power consume and destroy one culture at the hands of another. Conclusion The research has made important points about culture, diversity, and the perpetual change of the human condition. In conclusion, perhaps the best point to take away from the research is the fact that without a allowance account at least and embracing at best of diversity, no one can truly be free.\r\n'