Avery AP Lit

"Does this story remind you of anything in your own life or in something you've read about in the news? What connections can you make to outside events?"  Ironically, however specifically, in the chapter  The Thing Around Your Neck  I immediately could relate with what was going on in the first few pages on false advertisement of diversity. In this case, the uncle's company paid him more than the average salary because they wanted to appear diverse to outsiders. The uncle agreed to be in a picture of every brochure, even the ones that had nothing to do with his field of work. I have visited multiple institutions, websites, and college fairs that will have photos of people of color or people from multiple cultural backgrounds on the front page and advertise diversity but, when I actually visit the actual campus or workplace or talk to someone who is more familiar with the place, it's the complete opposite.

Initially, I was quite eager to read E.M. Forster's A Passage to India until I realized how thick the novel appeared. I feared I would lose interest and the story would eventually feel long-winded. I strongly dislike a drag or slow start in literature works. However, I applaud the manner in which Forster wrote this novel. I believe it played an intricate role in keeping me interested and ultimately, finishing the book. Forster uses an unnamed third-person narrator from an omniscient point of view, attuned to both the physical world and the inner states of the characters. Forster's often poetic and sometimes ironic or philosophical tone contributed to the lack of boredom in reading  A Passage to India.

In E.M. Forster's A Passage to India, I particularly took interest in the theme in which he portrays in regard to the difficulty of English-Indian friendship. I thought this was a different approach considering it went beyond the concept of British colonization but rather a personal level for the two cultures. However, he uses the friendship between Aziz and Fielding as framework to explore the general issues of Britain's political control over India. Perhaps the friendship between the two will never correlate with the way Indians are treated under British rule due to the lack of liberal humanism in the government.

In Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor, I   really appreciated the section about intertextuality. Intertextuality is the connection shared between literary works and texts. Before reading this section, I thought I had been developing this skill long enough therefore, this section of the book would be more irrelevant than not. However, that was false. Intertextuality goes beyond the simple comparison and contrast of novels. Understanding intertextuality and how to use it in analysis of literature is a very useful skill to have, and one that is steadily developed over time through practice, extensive reading, and knowing what one should be looking for. While this isn't crucial to enjoy a work of literature, it nonetheless allows for a deeper understanding of how complex and rich a story can be.

I highly encourage others to read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck because most students I know might be apprehensive to reading the novel if they read the back of the book first or maybe even the first 50 pages due to the format and themes. However, I strongly feel that Adichie tells each story with a distinct voice and purpose. The voice of Adichie that does not change through the entire novel is honesty. I believe the rawness in which she tells each story works in the favor of the reader as well as gives respect to Adichie as an author. Overall, with the consideration of Adichie's writing style,  The Thing Around Your Neck is a perfect book to guide readers to a higher level of consciousness, especially those who are stuck in their own niche when it comes to literature.

"How would this novel compare to novels you've read previously? Is like another story you've studied or just read?" While reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche's The Thing Around Your Neck , I immediately compared this novel to two novel that I read during my sophomore year. The first novel was Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart due to the African culture in both novels and more specifically, the Igbo language. The second novel was Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies due to the similar format. Each chapter is a different chapter in both novels except Adiche explores the relationship between African and American cultures while Lahiri explores the relationship between the culture of immigrant Indians and first-generation Americans.