Achebe’s Work

 1) What was the most meaningful takeaway from today’s discussion relating to the cultural or literary context of Achebe’s work?
We particularly discussed the idea of the single story. Over numerous questions, this topic was arising. It was concluded that, whether or not it was the intention to fight against the single story, the authors wrote stories that empowered their cultures. African authors wrote/write from their point of view, therefore giving their side of story. Ultimately, there is no longer a single story, there are an abundance of perspectives.

2) Select a specific quote from the interview or a general idea from the discussion and write a brief reflection.
 Selected Quote:  “There may be cultures that may sadly have to go, because no one is rooting for them, but we should make the effort to prevent this. We have to hold this conversation, which is a conversation of stories, a conversation of languages, and see what happens.” 
I believe that Achebe is saying that the single story is causing cultures to become unpopular. A culture is given a reputation. However cultures are important to history and our everyday lives, and therefore their extinction should be prevented. Achebe is suggesting that different cultures should "hold [a] conversation" in order to create multiple perspectives by sharing stories, rather than having the existence of only the single story. This also implies that African authors write stories about their cultures in order to achieve this.