Warm Up Activity Answer the following in your journal –The story we will read involves a conflict between generations. Do you think that it is inevitable.

Warm Up Activity

• Answer the following in your journal–The story we will read involves a conflict between generations. Do you think that it is inevitable that generations clash? Describe a situation that you have witnessed or heard about that illustrates the problem of conflict between older and younger generations.

Marriage is a Private Affair

10th World Literature – Honors

September 2, 2010

Marriage is a Private Affair

• Author – Chinua Achebe• World Literature textbook – pgs.

1345-1349• NOTE: Largest ethnic groups

– Ibo and Ibibio

About Chinua Achebe

• Date of birth: Nov 16, 1930 • Achebe’s parents converted to

Christianity, and all of their children’s names have spiritual connotations. Chinualumogu (Chinua’s full first name) means “May God fight on my behalf.”

• In 1990, Achebe was in a serious car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down

• A former teacher

NIGERIAN CULTURE• Nigeria is in West Africa, along

the eastern coast of the Gulf of Guinea, and just north of the equator.

Nigeria covers an area of 356,669 square miles (923,768 square kilometers), or about twice the size of California.

• English is the official language of Nigeria

• Pidgin, a mix of African languages and English common form of communication among people who have not had formal education in English.

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• Major agricultural products produced in Nigeria include cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, rice, millet, corn, yams, rubber, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, timber, and fish.

• The highest tier of Nigerian society is made up of wealthy politicians, businessmen, and the educated elite.

• Today the members of the wealthy elite are easily identifiable by their fancy clothing and hairstyles and by their expensive cars and Western-style homes. the elite tend to have a much better command of English, a reflection of the higher quality of education they have received.

Status of Women and Marriage in Nigeria

• MEN ARE DOMINANT OVER WOMEN IN VIRTUALLY ALL AREAS.

• According to Nigeria's Penal Code, men have the right to beat their wives as long as they do not cause permanent physical injury. Wives are often seen as little more than possessions and are

subject to the rule of their husbands.

Mothers and sisters have great say in the lives of their sons and brothers, respectively. The blood relationship allows these women

certain leeway and influence that a wife does not have.

Nigerian Marriages • Marriage. There are three types of marriage in

Nigeria today: religious marriage, civil marriage, and traditional marriage. A Nigerian couple may decide to take part in one or all of these marriages. Religious marriages, usually Christian or Muslim, are conducted according to the norms of the respective religious teachings and take place in a church or a mosque. Christian males are allowed only one wife, while Muslim men can take up to four wives. Civil official weddings take place in a government registry office. Men are allowed only one wife under a civil wedding, regardless of religion. Traditional marriages usually are held at the wife's house and are performed according to the customs of the ethnic group involved. Most ethnic groups traditionally allow more than one wife.

About Marriage is a Private Affair

• In "Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe, he explores the problems of individuals seeking love and fulfillment in a changing culture. The main character (protagonist) is confronted with the problem of having many obstacles stand in between his true love. He must make the choice of whether to follow his heart or follow his culture. In "Marriage is a Private Affair" the main character must decide whether he will obey his father or marry the one he loves.

Literary Terms• Verbal Irony – Occurs when a writer or speaker says

one thing but really means the opposite. (ex. – title of the story)

• Theme – The central idea or insight of a work of literature. It is also the idea the writer wishes to convey about the subject. (Directly stated or implied???)

• Conflict (Internal and External) – – Rural vs. Urban Lifestyles, Arranged marriages vs. Love

marriages, Main character vs. father, wife vs. father-in-law– Father-in-law vs. Father-in-law– Main character vs. Main Character

• Setting – The time and place of a story, play, or narrative poem– Lagos, Nigeria – ~1950s

How does your world topic apply to your life in

America? • Marriage is a Private Affair?

– It was not too long ago that groups of parents would conspire to set up sons and daughters to prepare them for marriage. Marriage to one another. For years, parents and grandparents played a major role in the ‘private’ lives of their children. My high school boyfriend’s mom had planned our ‘wedding’ before we even graduated. The whole family was extremely disappointed when I decided to move on to a better life. Had I decided to succumb to the public scrutiny of our relationship, I would be experiencing my private relationship in the public. Maybe even a DIVORCE!

Individual Activity

•Think-Tac-Toe – Handout

Map of Nigeria