Chimamanda Ngozi: For the Love of Literature and Home Country
You are to write a profileessay of between 1000and 1200words (that’s about 3to 4pages, double spaced)about a person who is importantto you in some way. Your goalis to inform your audience about the person in such a way that makes the audience understand why this person means something to you.As we have discussed in class, a profileis meant to give readers a clear sense of the person without trying to tell the entire story of the person’s life. A profile is not, in other words, a biography. Since your purpose is to help your readers understand how you feel about your subject,you should build your profile around your relationship with the person or what the person means to you.The type of writing for a profile essay is less rigidly structuredthan a traditional essay, and, as we have discussed, you can take several different approachesto telling the story you want to tell. I want you to do what you think will work best, given your writing situation.WritingSituation •Audience: Your audience for this essay is the members of this class. •Purpose: Your purpose, again, is to tell your audience about a person in such a way that helps us see the person the same way you do. In other words, after readingyouressay, we shouldknow the person as you know the person.•Persona: Because you’re writing about someone who is important to you, you should think about how you want to come across to your readers. In other words, how can you present yourself in such a way that makes your readers want to listen to you?SourcesYou do not have to use any outside sources in your paper.But if you do any interview or use any other sources, you should document them. We’ll talk about this in class.FormattingYour paper should be double spaced and typed in an 11-or 12-point font and should include a title (but not a title page). Put your name, assignment, and date in the upperleft corner of the first page.
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Profile Essay
Chimamanda Ngozi: For the Love of Literature and Home Country
Chimamanda Ngozi is a contemporary writer who has used her background and origin to give her audience rich and thought-provoking pieces of literature. The kind of literature she writes is thought-provoking because it has enabled her to raise awareness and start conversations on issues that matter. She was born in Nigeria, Africa, at a time when the country was going through some political instability and the future of the country's people was bleak. This was a year after the failed attempted coup which saw the country adopt a new constitution to allow for free elections (BBC News, 2018). Growing up in a country that was faced by so many political turmoils did not deter her from pursuing her passion as a writer, which was largely inspired by Chinua Achebe. She has, on many occasions, named him as her literary influence, and reading her work reveals the same.
Looking at her style and structure of writing from her various literary works, it is clear that she really cares about how her work is arranged, and as a writer, this is an important aspect. She is very particular about her word choice and rhythm when constructing sentences. “ I am a keen admirer of good prose stylists and I can tell, right away, which writers pay attention to style.” (Tunca, 2017). This one of the important considerations when reviewing the work of a writer and for me, Chimamanda’s delivery of literary work is what makes it an interesting read, regardless of the subject or theme. She has gone ahead to win awards and has been invited to give talks on different social issues, the most common one being on feminism. The interesting part is that her work, which is written in English with some small elements of her native language, has been translated into more than thirty languages (Chimamanda, n.d.). This is evidence that more people are interested in her work and in return, she is making sure they get it. She is able to use her work to spread her ideologies and view of the world while at the same time remaining relevant by addressing contemporary issues.
Chimamanda Ngozi started writing at a young age, although she never consciously thought she would one day become one of the greatest contemporary writers. Her writing, however, has inspired and brought fulfillment not only to her readers but also to herserlf. “ …just sitting down and writing made me feel incredibly fulfilled.” (Tunca, 2017). Such talks reveal how much she loves writing and the kind of happiness she derives from it. Her literary work has been informed and influenced by actual experiences, both hers and of those people in her country. In her own way, Chimamanda Ngozi sheds light on how Nigeria and her people have survived through different political and social seasons, and anyone who is interested in the history of Nigeria and Africa, in general, can get an insight on the happenings without actually having to go through the books of history. One of her earliest works was a play that depicts Nigeria during the civil war and the Biafra secession (Tunca, 2017). The interesting part is that she manages to illustrate the experiences of people during the war using fictional characters, yet she was not even born during ...