African Proverbs - Weebly



African Proverbs Assignment

“I believe in the complexity of the human story, and that there’s no way you can tell that story in one way and say, ‘this is it.’ Always there will be someone who can tell it differently depending on where they are standing … this is the way I think the world’s stories should be told: from many different perspectives.” –Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart

So much of the complexity of the human story begins with culture. This culture affects so much of a person’s life that it begins to affect how they see the world, history, the future, and others. In order to better understand how experience, history, and culture shapes a person and his/her perspective of an event (Our Learning Target) we will look at the African Proverbs the Lost Boys grew up hearing.

PROVERB: a wise saying or warning (often using imagery) providing guidance

Below is a small collection of African proverbs, all of which have been collected by historians since the 19th century:

Don't set sail using someone else's star.

Meaning: Just because someone has been successful at doing something does not mean you will be successful at doing the same thing.

The best way to defeat an elephant in your path is cut him up into little pieces.

Meaning: The best way to solve a problem is to solve it bit by bit.

He who does not know one thing knows another.

Meaning: No one knows everything, but everyone knows something.

It takes a whole village to raise a child.

Meaning: Everyone in a community should be responsible for helping to raise a child.

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

Meaning: Trouble comes to everyone at one time or another.

A roaring lion kills no game.

Meaning: You cannot gain anything by sitting around talking about it. You must get up and work for it.

Restless feet may walk into a snake pit.

Meaning: It is easy for a person to get into trouble when he or she is not busy doing something.

Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.

Meaning: Don't look at your mistakes; look at what caused you to make the mistakes.

Wherever a man goes to dwell, his character goes with him.

Meaning: Your character follows you wherever you go.

Life is like a shadow and a mist; it passes quickly by, and is no more.

Meaning: Life is short, and you only live it once.

Directions:

Use the example proverbs to explain how culture has shaped your Lost Boy and his/her perspective of the events he has encountered so far in the novel. You will be choosing two of the proverbs and describing how this bit of culture has shaped either Benson or Alepho. Each proverb will be accompanied by a picture and either a direct quote from the novel or an explanation of an event, which connects the book to the proverb.

Show how each of the proverbs has affected Benson or Alepho through the combination of words and visuals.

Example:

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“It takes a whole village to raise a child.” – African Proverb

[pic]

“When a boy ate alone, they said he was cruel and not following the traditional ways. His age-mates would throw bad words at him when they saw him walking on the street or in the jungle taking care of his cattle” (22).

Drawing of situation/event in novel

Proverb

Quote to support

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