The short story, A Private Experience by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, was about religious and ethnic conflict between Christians and Muslims. The theme of the story was being able to connect with others, ignoring their appearance and background. This mind map shows this story from start to end with analyses of the author and different aspects of the story. The story started off with a literary device, in media res, as they were in the middle of the riot between the two religions where the two women climbed into the store to hide together. The two women were the main characters in the story and them helping each other was the big idea. Throughout the story, there are times that the author is explaining the characters and about their backgrounds, showing how they are changing over time and how they grow to become friends. Chika and her sister are visiting their aunt in Kano, Nigeria, but in this city, they are higher class that most people that live there. This means that their clothing may look nicer than most people and that they may look cleaner. The woman that Chika met was from the town and you could tell that she was lower class than Chika from her clothes and her job as a street vendor. The quotes that were associated with the characterization were talking about their clothes and their appearance, which helped them to gain a better understanding of their appearance. Even though they were different they were both involved in the same riot between Christians and Muslims. Chika was Christian and the other woman was Muslim, meaning in theory they should have not been helping one another, but instead they should have been fighting. She chose the women’s head scarf to be the main symbol of this story because it does not only have religious meaning, but it also shows connectedness. Chika decided to go outside of the shop to see if the riot was over and she hurt her leg as she was trying to come back to the store. The woman gave her head scarf to Chika so she could wrap it around her leg and stop if from bleeding. This symbolized how the woman did not care that Chika was from another culture and that she is willing to help anyone, no matter what they believe in. At the end of the book the woman let Chika keep the scarf, which can be looked at as a gift because of the help that Chika gave the woman for her breast. In the mind map there are images used to show visually a better understanding of what is happening at that certain point in the story. There was an image of a nurse to represent how Chika was a medical student, connecting it to how Adichie was also one. There were also a few photos with hands connecting to each other. These photos were to show the theme of the story and how Adichie wanted the reader to feel safe and connected to one another. In addition, there were many literary devices that were used which made the story more personal and imaginative when reading. Above all, Adichie wanted to get the point across to readers that it is not correct to judge someone based on a stereotype and that it is important to help and be kind. This mind map was to represent Adichie’s values and represent how her life is portrayed through this story. 

Marked by Monica