African Imperialism: Creative Historians Project
In this project, we each got to choose an African country of our choice, conduct in-depth research regarding it, and create a short story and an art piece about that country. First everyone started out reading a few African books to get a general feel for the type of writing we would be focusing on. After that we chose our countries. My country of choice was Kenya, and throughout this project I learned a great deal about it. I knew a great deal of research would have to go into this project, and I began with the basics: researching the languages, art, music, economy, etc. I then studied the major events and imperialistic times of Kenya. Finally, I got the opportunity to interview two people who had gone to Kenya and who could tell of the little details and main events that ensued in their time in Kenya. I then created a short story based on the Maasai tribe in Kenya and made a corresponding art piece.
Pictures shown are my re-creations of traditional Maasai jewelry.
One thing that makes my story unique is that it is written in the second person point of view. Writing in this point of view was both my strength and my weakness. Second person aims to make the reader feel like they are the main character and are physically IN the story. For example, "Throughout the weeks, you get used to the early dawn wake-up calls and the chewy, bloody-nose taste of cow heart. You begin to laugh at miscommunications like when you asked for the bathroom and they handed you tea, or when you asked for some tea and they showed you the bathroom. You get used to the creepy crawlies joining you at night, and you even name a certain three-legged spider Joey. The trek to the watering hole begins to seem like a breeze, and the fecal smell of the boma slowly becomes comforting." Writing in this narrative mode made my story stand out and provided something different for the reader. I chose this point of view because I wanted the reader to feel immersed in my story and feel how one would feel while in Kenya. This point of view made my story stronger by letting the reader be the main character and feel like they have been transported to Kenya. However, the second person narrative mode is not very common in literature because it is difficult to accomplish. I struggled indefinitely as to whether or not I should continue with the second person throughout my story. Making the reader feel transported to another country is no easy feat. I had to have a strong idea of what I wanted to feel, see, and hear in order to produce an extraordinary piece. In the end, I feel I used this point of view fairly well and that I was able to produce a very unique and interesting story.
I went through four quite different drafts of my story before finally settling down. In each, I played with changing the plot line, the characters, and yet again, the point of view. I asked multiple people for their two cents on my story and the idea of the second person point of view. I also translated a paragraph into first and third person to see if second person was really the best bet. After going through many evaluations, I did end up keeping the second person narrative mode, but I did change the plot line, and tweaked the characters. Although tedious and sometimes frustrating, I'm glad I went through each revision step because the end result is now a story I can be proud of.
Pictures shown are my re-creations of traditional Maasai jewelry.
One thing that makes my story unique is that it is written in the second person point of view. Writing in this point of view was both my strength and my weakness. Second person aims to make the reader feel like they are the main character and are physically IN the story. For example, "Throughout the weeks, you get used to the early dawn wake-up calls and the chewy, bloody-nose taste of cow heart. You begin to laugh at miscommunications like when you asked for the bathroom and they handed you tea, or when you asked for some tea and they showed you the bathroom. You get used to the creepy crawlies joining you at night, and you even name a certain three-legged spider Joey. The trek to the watering hole begins to seem like a breeze, and the fecal smell of the boma slowly becomes comforting." Writing in this narrative mode made my story stand out and provided something different for the reader. I chose this point of view because I wanted the reader to feel immersed in my story and feel how one would feel while in Kenya. This point of view made my story stronger by letting the reader be the main character and feel like they have been transported to Kenya. However, the second person narrative mode is not very common in literature because it is difficult to accomplish. I struggled indefinitely as to whether or not I should continue with the second person throughout my story. Making the reader feel transported to another country is no easy feat. I had to have a strong idea of what I wanted to feel, see, and hear in order to produce an extraordinary piece. In the end, I feel I used this point of view fairly well and that I was able to produce a very unique and interesting story.
I went through four quite different drafts of my story before finally settling down. In each, I played with changing the plot line, the characters, and yet again, the point of view. I asked multiple people for their two cents on my story and the idea of the second person point of view. I also translated a paragraph into first and third person to see if second person was really the best bet. After going through many evaluations, I did end up keeping the second person narrative mode, but I did change the plot line, and tweaked the characters. Although tedious and sometimes frustrating, I'm glad I went through each revision step because the end result is now a story I can be proud of.
For this project, I completed one challenge extension made up of two parts: an additional art piece and an additional interview. I always loved the idea of interviewing someone because real-life stories are always the best at capturing the little, yet important, details for a story. Also, if you had the opportunity to listen to people recollect and tell you stories of a foreign land, how could you decline? I'm very glad I chose a second interview because I learned many things that got incorporated into my story and made it come to life. Since I was focusing on the Maasai tribe in Kenya, I learned things such as how the Maasai show affection, what the living grounds are composed of, and what cow heart tastes like- just to name a few.
I chose to do an additional art piece because after doing tons of in-depth research about the Maasai, I wanted to get a better feel for their culture by doing a re-creation of a piece of Maasai jewelry (as shown on the right). By doing this extra piece of art, I learned how amazing the Maasai jewelry is, and definitely how difficult it is to accomplish.
I chose to do an additional art piece because after doing tons of in-depth research about the Maasai, I wanted to get a better feel for their culture by doing a re-creation of a piece of Maasai jewelry (as shown on the right). By doing this extra piece of art, I learned how amazing the Maasai jewelry is, and definitely how difficult it is to accomplish.