In "The Headstrong Historian," Grace/Afamefuna is the daughter of Anikwenwa and Mgbeke, and she seems to possess her grandfather Obierika's soul. Though Anikwenwa insists that Grace receive a Western and Christian education, Grace is very close to her grandmother Nwamgba and loves her grandmother's poetry and stories. As she grows up, Grace comes to resent her father for rejecting tradition so strongly. She makes it her life project to write about Nigerian history and connect with her roots. As an old woman, Grace legally changes her name to Afamefuna, the name her grandmother called her.
Grace / Afamefuna Quotes in The Thing Around Your Neck
The The Thing Around Your Neck quotes below are all either spoken by Grace / Afamefuna or refer to Grace / Afamefuna. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Headstrong Historian
Quotes
It was Grace who would read about these savages, titillated by their curious and meaningless customs, not connecting them to herself until her teacher, Sister Maureen, told her she could not refer to the call-and-response her grandmother had taught her as poetry because primitive tribes did not have poetry.
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Grace / Afamefuna Quotes in The Thing Around Your Neck
The The Thing Around Your Neck quotes below are all either spoken by Grace / Afamefuna or refer to Grace / Afamefuna. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Headstrong Historian
Quotes
It was Grace who would read about these savages, titillated by their curious and meaningless customs, not connecting them to herself until her teacher, Sister Maureen, told her she could not refer to the call-and-response her grandmother had taught her as poetry because primitive tribes did not have poetry.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
