Perspectives

Literary movement

The short story “The Headstrong Historian” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie can be considered an example of post-colonial literature. This type of literature is written by authors from former colonies and presents the experiences of c…

...

Works by the same author

The story “Imitation” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie also deals with the theme of identity. Unlike “The Headstrong Historian” where Grace is struggling to reclaim her cultural identity, the main character in "Imitation” wants to take back her identity as a woman and a wife when she discovers that her husband has a mistress.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie also wrote the short story “The Thing Around Your Neck” which deals with the main character, Akunna, who is struggling with cultural differences when she moves from Nigeria to America. Both stories present the idea of encountering and learning to accept other cultural viewpoints.

"The danger of a single story” is a TED talk that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave in 2009. Here, Adichie draws attention to the need to give African people their own voice, instead of allowing only non-African perspectives when talking about Africa. Just like in “The Headstrong History”, the talk shows the damage a singular perspective can have on one’s cultural identity.…