In "The Headstrong Historian", Ayaju wants her son to "learn the ways of these foreigners, since people ruled over others not because they were better people but because they had better guns."
This quote is heavily tied into ideas about race and privilege. While some white people around the world consider themselves superior to other races because they think they are "better people", Ayaju is suggesting that the reason white people were able to colonize and rule over Africans is because they "had better guns" - meaning they were more developed and possessed better technology, but were not superior in morality or in character. The ability to view such issues of racism from a historical perspective is important. Ayaju, rather than being resentful of the white men for ruling her people, recognizes the historical reason behind her society's structure, and wanted her son to adapt and "learn the ways of these foreigners" in order to thrive in a new, more modern world.
Though she wants her son to learn English in order for him to have a better life in a world ruled by white men, she does not wish for him to completely forget his native culture, because her culture is very important to her identity. In her society, legacy is valued heavily - Ayaju wants to preserve her family's culture by teaching her son, and later, her grandchildren, the ways of her ancestors. Though her son is so heavily influenced by the white Christian men that he completely dismisses Ayaju's culture, her native culture ultimately lives on in her granddaughter.
In this class so far, we have read many different perspectives which have refined my understanding of power and privilege. In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, we saw the viewpoint of two boys living during Mao's Cultural Revolution in China. Though widespread Mao propaganda probably told a very different story, Dai Sijie's book expressed an untold, unique perspective. I learned that sometimes privilege isn't just about where and to whom you are born - it is often shaped by the constraints, rules, and values of the society you live in. Certainly, privilege isn't a matter of merit - it is something you are either born with, or not - but anybody can work to overcome unlucky circumstances, as shown by the Little Seamstress' ambition and ultimate escape from her village.
In "The Headstrong Historian", from The Thing Around Your Neck, I learned that power of one civilization over another is often not a matter of "who has the biggest guns", or which civilization has developed under better circumstances in history. History is formed by the decisions of those in power, and it is so often told from the perspective of those in power. I appreciate the opportunity to read the unique literature we have read in this class so far, including Chimamanda Adichie's short stories, because they tell the stories of forgotten perspectives.
