Nervous Conditions Rhetorical Analysis

When the Huffington Post interviewed Oprah Winfrey about the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls located in South Africa, they asked her views regarding educating and empowering women. Oprah replied, “How do I view it? It is THE way - capital THE. It is THE way. Because it’s not just rhetoric - it is a fact - that when you change a girl’s life you affect her vision of herself and her immediate world and the world that she will have an impact on.” (1) Oprah isn’t alone in her views. The Global Partnership for Education lists 10 reasons; there are obstacles in educating children in poor countries. Here are two, which I believe are similar to the position Tambu experienced in Nervous Conditions:
5. Being the “wrong” gender
6. The
expense of education (formal or informal) (2)
This article goes on to explain: “At least one in five adolescent girls around the world is denied an education by the daily realities of poverty, conflict and discrimination. Poverty forces many families to choose which of their children to send to school. Girls often miss out due to belief that there’s less value in educating a girl than a boy. Instead, they are sent to work or made to stay at home to look after siblings and work on household chores.” (3) Does this not have a familiar ring to it?
Isn’t this what Tambu was facing had it not been for the death of her brother? This is the brother that was to be educated simply because he was a male. Her aunt, Maiguru, held a master’s degree, yet, stayed at home never utilizing her education to enhance the family position, or her own. Tambu sought to be educated to escape her life of poverty.
Why would this be though? Could it be due to the Shona culture? Nervous Conditions point out how prevalent patriarchy and gender oppression was. "Can you cook books and feed them to your husband? Stay at home with your mother. Learn to cook and clean. Grow vegetables." (Jeremiah pg. 15) Similarly, Faat Kine reveals a vivid example of patriarchy that exists within the Senegalaise society as Kine apologizes to her father for bearing children out of wedlock. A second example reveals itself as Kine broke barriers and taboos when making herself a successful gas station owner. "We have all the responsibilities of a man, but none of the benefits."
(4)
The concept of gender roles and patriarchy isn’t just found in the books Nervous Conditions or the movie Faat Kine. Our past and present histories are filled with examples of other prominent women challenging the injustices of both.
As early as 1872, the Quaker Susan B.
Anthony fought for women’s rights and to abolish slavery. Mother Teresa, the Catholic nun dedicated her life to helping the poor and those who were sick. She was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, in 2006 took office as the President of Liberia. And Professor Wangari Muta Maathai, an African scientist and political activist has been credited for establishing the Green Belt Movement. “The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is an environmental organization that empowers communities, particularly women, to conserve the environment and improve livelihoods.” (6) Most of us though would associate more with household names such as Senator Hillary Clinton who failed in her attempt to be the first female President of the United States, or Oprah Winfrey the actress, talk show host, producer and widely known for her philanthropy. All these women have fought against injustices, and have dispelled the stereotypes placed on
women.
Education is defined in the dictionary as:
1. the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university.
2. an enlightening experience. (5)
Faat Kine preached the importance of education to her children, Aby and Djip, as a result of her own life. Formal education aside, it was the ”real life” experiences that educated them as well. Lessons taught by their mother, grandmother (Mammy) and because they grew up without their fathers being present. Similarly, the delinquent Kela in Waiting for an Angel receives a worldly education living with his aunt and witnessing poverty, prostitution, drunkenness and recounts of Nigeria’s bloody during his association with Lomba. As has been illustrated previously, the Shona and Senegalaise teach with a collectivist mentality, shunning individualism. Despite her mother wanting her to continue the ways of her culture, Aby had expressed her desire to leave these stifling traditions behind and travel to Europe. Did the formal education received by Aby, Tambu or Nyasa cause them to question traditions and cultural heritage? Did it alienate them from their relatives?
NEED A QUOTE HERE FROM ANY OF THESE THREE ON THIS SUBJECT MATTER.
Yes, it did. Change can be social or personal. For there to be social change, tension and conflict must be present. Personal change results when the thought process is altered. How does this happen? Most often through education and personal experiences. Both of these occur within the lives Ady, Djip, Nyasha, Kela and Tambu. NEED A QUOTE FROM ANY OF THESE PEOPLE While I won’t say they became great visionaries, you can see in the stories how they start to question and want to transform their lives in a different direction. For this reason you can see some alienation taking place in the stories with these characters and their families.
NEED A QUOTE FROM ANY OF THESE PEOPLE While the works we have read have been fictional accounts, there is reason to believe there is some factual history intertwined in the stories told. If patriarchy is a social system with males dominating over women, is today’s society still patriarchal? Does there continue to be gender issues society? It is all very debatable. In fact, there are some interesting points made on the matter a person can read at www.debate.org. I won’t profess to offer my opinion, although, all the books we read and the discussions at the above website does make me stop and ponder it all.