Analysis of zenzele a letter Essay - 1664 Words

Analysis of: Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter By J. Nozipo Maraire Dominique Kemp History 1210-01 Professor Adejumobi November 17, 2014 The novel, Zenzele1, is so much more than the telling of a good, touching story. Zenzele informs and educates its reader to what it means to be an African. The story is unfolded as a letter from a mother, Amai Zenzele, to her daughter, Zenzele. Reading a mothers perspective on the many different lessons that Amai attempts and hopes to teach and impart upon her daughter is a privilege in itself. Amai Zenzele recollects several anecdotes from her past as inspiration to inform and educate her daughter through her words, her verbal pearls of wisdom. These valuable lessons from her life include†¦show more content†¦Amai wants her daughter to carry on the traditions from their culture but knows she has to find her own way in the world. Zenzele is a beautiful letter, given to a daughter from her mother on her departure for university. The mother firmly, but lovingly reminds her daughter that there is no place like home and whatever culture she finds in this new country, to remember where she comes from. Each chapter is simply a lesson in itself, intended to prepare Zenzele of the challenges she may face as a black woman studying in a predominantly white country. When it comes to cultures and traditions, I don’t think you have to take everything literally. Amai explains so many things to her daughter about her beliefs and hope for her daughter but that doesn’t mean she expects every single thing to be carried out by Zenzele. Parents know that kids make mistakes and the only way to learn is by making those same mistakes. Amai writes this letter to Zenzele, hoping to remind her of some of what she’s being telling Zenzele of her whole life. Amai writes about growing up and the hardships she endured in a racially segregated Rhodesia and what being an African woman meant to her. She talks of the African culture from the point of view of Europeans; how their inability to regard Africans as human beings was unbearable and how ignorant the white Europeans were of their civilization. Amai conveys her passion on many topics including interracial marriages, relationships with other