Nwamgba was born and raised in a small village in Nigeria. They had very primitive ways. She fell in love with Obierika, to the dismay of her family, who thought she could do better. However, her father finally agreed that they could marry.
They were very successful and wealthy by the village standards and Obierika helped out his four cousins by giving them seeding sweet potatoes and other things. After several miscarriages, they had a healthy son, Anikwenwa however, shortly after, Obierika died. Nwamgba thinks that his death was mysterious and thought that perhaps, his cousins might have had a hand in his death.
Soon after Obierika died, his four cousins started to harass Nwamgba. They took things from her, like all of the seeding potatoes. They also claimed that her property was theirs. She feared that they would take that away, eventually. When the white man came and told her about the new school, she decided to enroll Anikwenwa in the mission school, where he would learn English. Her hope was that her son would be able to read the legal documents she had, including the deed to their house and thereby, get free and clear from the four cousins, once and for all.
Nwamgba was very proud of Anikwenwa for how well he did in school but was not happy that he would not participate in the family and village traditions.
This is a powerful story of how one culture can go to another culture and quickly change traditions and values to their own beliefs, thereby “civilizing” natives. In this story, Englishmen came from a Christian mission and assimilated the village children to their beliefs and reject their own. Highly recommended. You can read it here.
Also reviewed by:
Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Other Short Stories I have reviwed by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:
Quality Street
A Private Experience
If you would like to participate in Short Story Mondays, go to John of The Book Mine Set. He has a short story review every Monday and a place for you to link your short story review. Come join in the fun!