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Binti Essay example
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Binti Essay: Discuss the ways in which the novella Binti disrupts the linearity of the traditional
bildungsroman by focusing on Binti’s experiences of being different and her attitude towards
violence.
The Binti Novella attacks modern day issues like political, cultural and social inequalities
through this enticing literary book. Nnedi Okorafor, the author, a Nigerian-American writer,
skillfully raises socio-cultural problems through her afrofuturist Novella Binti and brings to light
the looming problems of modern day society whilst providing an interesting story that draws the
readers’ attention to the on-going struggles of current day life. The Novella defers from the
traditional bildungsroman through Binti’s hardships, losses and her assertive attitude towards
violence on her journey to the galactic university on the planet Oomza and how this shapes her
as she struggles to find her place in society. This story begins on Binti’s home planet, Earth, as
she struggles to decide to leave her home, her people and her culture behind. On her journey,
Binti grows as she sees the world in a new light and encounters a violent race called the Meduce
and struggles to fit in at every turn. Throughout the Novella, Binti encounters a number of
problems as she embarks on her journey across the Milky Way and this essay aims to discuss the
ways in which the Novella disrupts the linearity of the traditional bildungsroman, focusing on
her experiences (Okorafor).
The first of many challenges for Binti starts with her decision to leave home and this goes
against the traditional style of a bildungsroman because the character usually endures a great loss
or a struggle to fit in, an example being the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling where Harry
loses his parents at a very young age and does not feel accepted by his aunt, uncle and cousin,
but for Binti there is no force pushing her towards venturing on this journey especially when
Okorafor explains through Binti that “My people didn’t like to leave the homeland.”(12) And “I
was sixteen years old and had never been beyond my city, let alone near a launch station.” (13).
Once she embarks on this mission, Binti only then begins to experience the real world, and this is
the beginning of her feeling lost and misplaced in society, once again following the course of the
, traditional bildungsroman, “As I stood in line for boarding security, I felt a tug at my hair.”
(Okorafor, 15), “The woman who’d tugged my plait was looking at her fingers and rubbing them
together, frowning.” (Okorafor, 16), “These ‘dirt bathers’ are a filthy people,…” (Okorafor, 16),
through this, Okorafor blatantly introduces the theme and issue of racism as Binti comes into
contact with another race from Earth, the ‘Khoush’ who think very little of the Himba (Binti’s
people), shown by the way in which they talk about Binti while she is standing in front of them,
also illustrating how powerless Binti is as a Himba person, this also presents Binti’s attitude
towards violence and how she is passive and avoids conflict as her father had taught her to do,
even though they were far smarter than the ‘Khoush’ and here, Okorafor uses Binti’s father to
justify why they must be passive, “It is either that or I will start a war with them that I will
finish.” (16). The ‘Khoush’ think that they are the smartest and best race, better and more
superior to everyone else, but Binti is smart and Okorafor proves this when Binti is being
searched by the ‘Khoush’ security guard, “He had no idea what a ‘computative apparatus’ was,
but he didn’t want to show that a poor Himba girl, was more educated than he.” (19). Race as a
theme mainly prevails in the beginning, but Okorafor releases her clamp on this theme for a brief
moment to move onto her next underpinned issue, “The people on the ship weren’t Himba, but I
soon understood that they were still my people. I stood out as Himba, but the commonalities
shined brighter. I made friends quickly.” (Okorafor, 21-22).
Kate Marshall states in The Novella as Technology, that “Binti works to undermine and then re-
engage the bildungsroman” (105). This can be seen in Binti (2015) whereby Okorafor deviates
and then realigns with the traditional style of bildungsroman, and successfully manages to
deliver this over the course of Binti’s journey in the Novella alongside the issues she wishes to
uncover throughout. As Binti grows through her journey she can never seem to be successful
and is continually bombarded by new problems in her search for a better life. The challenges she
faces are not only psychological but also physical and mental when she is under attack by the
Meduse as she hides and negotiates to stay alive, “the Meduse had burst into the hall and begun
committing ‘moojh-ha ki-bira’ before anyone knew what was happening. That’s what the
Khoush call it. We’d all been taught this Meduse form of killing in history class.” (Okorafor, 25),
she also come up against spiritual aspects, “In my culture, it is blasphemy to pray to inanimate
objects, but I did it anyway.” (Okorafor, 24), and cultural barriers , “I couldn’t give my otjize to
this Meduse; this was my culture.” (Okorafor, 49). From beginning to end, Binti is challenged
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