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Maddie Cohen
Professor Parmiter
Expository Writing
September 30, 2015
The Power of the Pen
As an active participant in my world, I like to keep myself informed and
updated on current events. As much as I would like to rely on one solid resource for
providing me with daily news, I know that I cannot because a news station that
provides the public with unbiased, non-partisan information does not exist. Most
networks tend to skew the story to favor their particular political party’s views,
which, in turn, results in information that gets left unreported. When I am trying to
take a stand on current issues, I find that it is crucial for me to read about the
situation from both the conservative and the liberal sides before reaching my
conclusion. I know that, in order to really understand an event in full, I must be a
direct witness, and since I cannot witness everything, I must allow myself to
understand that I most likely do not have all the information I need to make my
most informed decision. In his essay, “How to Write about Africa,” Binyavanga
Wainaina explores this manipulative power of words through the impact of the
stereotypical African novel on the way it has formed Western Society’s view of the
continent of Africa. These novelists’ ability to manipulate the written word allows
them to deceive their readers in a similar fashion to the news networks’ actions of
lying by omission.

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To convey this misrepresentation of Africa, Wainaina utilizes the literary
power of satire by explaining the “musts” of writing a “real Africa” novel. In his
opening he advises, “Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of
your book, or in it, … An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these” (528).
This sarcastic approach reveals the problem that Wainaina finds most authors who
write about Africa encounter: they all depict one small part of Africa and, in doing
so, omit a larger part of the continent. The “suggestion” Wainaina makes for the
cover reveals that these authors romanticize the entire continent of Africa and make
it seem like a helpless, underfed and easily dominated world. Note his usage of the
phrase “a well-adjusted African,” which Wainaina includes to project the unstated
assumption that there is a part of Africa that is developed and independent that
these authors are completely ignoring. Wainaina continues with his satirical tone to
develop his stance on this depiction of Africa and “suggests” that, “Africa is to be
pitied, worshipped or dominated. Whichever angle you take, be sure to leave the
strong impression that without your intervention and your important book, Africa is
doomed”(529). In these authors’ minute depictions of these worlds, their writing
makes it seem as if they care about Africa-which they may. I do not doubt their pure
intentions. But what Wainaina brings awareness to is that their intentions may be
misguided. Yes, there is a part of Africa that fits their depicted stereotype, but where
the writers falter is when they show this reality as a place that needs to be pitied
and westernized. What Wainaina reveals is that Africa is not a place of struggle
calling for Western aid as the writers depict it, but rather a place with a culture that
is cherished and preserved.

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The costs of this misguided form of writing are even greater when it is looked
upon viewed in regard to its macro effect on society. These consequences are
enhanced magnified when looked upon in regards to George Orwell’s essay, “Politics
and the English Language,” where Orwell utilizes a more step-by-step instruction
method to explain the implications of speaking without meaning. The basis of what
he struggles with in this essay lies with the idea that “Political language -- and with
variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists -- is
designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an
appearance of solidity to pure wind”(128). Here, Orwell reveals that people can
manipulate the English language to make entire nations of people view certain
situations in the light which they want the people to see it in. This linguistic ability
grants the speaker the possibility to hide bad situations and speak about nothing
while sounding intelligent and credible. This ability is, in a way, what the writers
who misguidedly depict Africa use. They, too, are able to deceive an entire nation of
people by romanticizing one part of Africa, making it seem like this one part of the
continent is the entire continent of Africa and, in doing so, completely dehumanize
entire nations of people. What Orwell’s concepts reveal about the issue with this
type of writing is shown when he grapples with the concept that, “if thought corrupt
language, language can also corrupt thought”(125). This idea that Orwell provokes
suggests that if our words are foolish then, consequently, our thoughts are foolish.
So, if the authors only depict Africa in this one specific aspect and one specific tone,
they will defile their readers’ views of Africa. The readers do not all have the ability
to visit this part, or any part, of Africa, so these accounts are all that they can rely on

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to paint this world for them, leading their knowledge about Africa to be the writers’
knowledge. This allows for a downward spiral of viewing Africa as a place that
needs aid because, since all that the readers can rely on for a “first-hand account” of
Africa is these misguided authors’ accounts, then that is how the readers will view
the continent.
The mere fact that people can utilize these abilities to deceive entire nations
of people scares me. The misguided novelists and the insincere politicians reveal
that often times it is hard to distinguish between what is real and what is
subliminally placed into my mind. This makes me question how much information
that I have read about online or heard on the news that has been defiled by the
ability to write away the bad. When I read the news on my phone in the morning,
can I trust what I am reading? How can I decipher between the real and the fake?
What I now feel is that it is almost impossible for me to decode the writing in
everyday life, so I am forced to make the daily choice to regard what I am reading as
legitimate or illegitimate. In fact, I must even question the works of Wainaina and
Orwell, as well; are their words written to help and inform their readers, or are they
too, misguided in their words? What I must force myself to conclude from these
essays is that no matter what I read or hear, I must allow myself to understand that
these words may not be fully true, and when I repeat what I hear, I too could be
wrong. So, we are forced to live our lives with the constant struggle between the
desire to know and understand and the concern of the legitimacy of our sources of
information.

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Works Cited
Wainaina, Binyavanga. "How to Write About Africa.” The Broa view Anthology of
Expository Prose. Laura Buzzard et al. Peterborough: Broadviewpress, 2011.
528-531. Print
Wainaina, Binyavanga. "How to Write About Africa.” The Broa view Anthology of
Expository Prose. Laura Buzzard et al. Peterborough: Broadviewpress, 2011.
116-129. Print

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Dear Reader,
The main idea of my essay is that writers have the ability to lie to us through their
words by lying by omission. They can deceive us by not fully reporting something, or
confuse us with their words. When writing, I found that the progressions were the
most helpful tool for my essay. They really helped me see what the idea that I
wanted to develop was and get it from my mind onto paper better. What I really
need to work on in the future, though, is figuring out what I want to delve into and
not just get into a bunch of small ideas. I need to start focusing my energies better
on one main topic. If I were to have had another one-on-one session with my

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amazing professor, I think that my confidence in my essay would be a lot higher.
Overall, this experience definitely improved my writing because I accessed parts of
my writing brain that I have never done before. I left the routine essay that I wrote in
high school and put in some of my own personal tone for my first time.
Sincerely,
Maddie Cohen