Friday, August 14, 2015

Jumping Monkey Hill


Today Chloe and I went to 126th Street to get our hair braided, and I realized that I forgot my book once I sat down in the chair.  There is no way that I can last in that noisy, crowded shop without headphones and something good to read.  Luckily, I had my Kindle, so I used the time to re-read stories from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's collection, The Thing Around Your Neck.  All of the stories are engaging and thought provoking, but I was struck by the brilliance of "Jumping Monkey Hill."  As I return for my second year of teaching at Dwight, the ideas of questioning cultural (and gender related) expectations made it particularly poignant.  The subject matter and the 'story within a story' narrative structure make it ripe for teaching.

Read it here

I would pair "Jumping Monkey Run" with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Ted Talk, "The Danger of the Single Story."



No comments:

Post a Comment