Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Haley Scholars (Group 3) Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's "The Era"

[Haley Reading Groups Spring 2022]

Since 2009, we've done this reading group and in the process covered dozens of readings. But perhaps we've never read a short story quite like Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's "The Era." It's a story set in a future world after various wars and a re-organized society where genetic engineering has apparently gone to extremes, and brutal honesty has quite brutal. 

After reading "The Finkelstein 5" and now "The Era," I think we have to say something, really a lot of things at some point about the creative and intriguing ways that Adjei-Brenyah's mind works. 

Alright, I'm not even fully sure what questions to ask you because "The Era" disoriented me in unexpected and ultimately useful ways. So for now, let's do this: imagine several of us were in a room discussing this story. What should we focus on first concerning "The Era"? Why? 

54 comments:

Jasmine Johnson said...

Something I would have brought up is how the parents put the child down. As in they had no filter when it comes to them saying how their child was a mistake and that the child only lives with them because of the mother's irrationality and also how they let it be known that the child futurates them because people still try to associate their child with them like how could you possibly say that to your own?

Ehijie Ilenikhena said...

'The Era' was honestly a confusing read. What struck me while reading is how Marlene's little brother is treated. He gets little affection or encouragement as a child, and when he fails Marlene made sure to capitalize on his failures instead of helping him through them. Marlene's brother was essentially born for Marlene to practice her teaching capabilities on him. He isn't seen as part of the family, but more as a tool for the eldest child Marlene to use in her goal to become a successful teacher.

Ehijie.I

Kemry H said...

One thing that I would discuss would be the whole shoelooker thing. Finding out that shoelookers are people who are taunted because they show emotion sparked a lot of thought and emotion from me. That's not something people should be bullied for because it's a part of life. It's a little sad, in my opinion.

David Gaines said...

David Gaines

The first concern that i think i would bring up is about some of the vocabulary used. There is so much non-standard vocabulary that I was not expecting to read. Nonetheless, it kept me intrigued and interested throughout the whole story.

Indya Howard said...

What I would have included is how the parents treated the child. As in they had no filter when it came to them saying how their child was a mistake and that the child only lives with them because of the mother's incoherence, and also how they let it be known that the child futurates them because people still try to associate their child with them as if you could say that to your own child and they were so comfortable putting him down and allowing Marlene to also put him down and also how they treat him like a guinea pig for Marlene's teaching dream.

Tamia said...

I would focus on what people think of a perfect society. We often think of people as being too blunt, or too soft, I would want to discuss if it is accepted in what we call the “perfect” society.
-Tamia Goodlow

Jenaya G. said...

I have to admit I was very confused reading The Era. My first concern would be the shoe lookers. When reading and finding out what a shoe looker is was honestly shocking. After reading how shoe lookers were treated just for having emotions was really unsettling. It made the environment as a whole just toxic and judgmental.

Damya Evans said...

We should focus on how Marlene basically abused her younger brother, Ben as a child and it seems like their parents may have let it happen because Marlene is a "para-one" and Ben is a "clear-born." It seems that Marlene resents her brother and take any chance to let him know that he is less than her but also that he reflects upon her.

Ivan Johnson said...

I feel we should focus on the comparing factor between our way of life now to the way of life in "The Era". I feel this way because maybe some aspects of life in "The Era" could play out in our lives, like their vocabulary and the shoe looking.

Tashauri F. said...

I would focus on how the parents treated their child because how could a parent feel such a way about their child and freely express their true feelings without any remorse. It was honestly disturbing.

Colette Jackson said...

A thing that I would mention if we were to have a group talk about this read, is the uneasiness it brought when I came across the mistreatment of the brother by the parents or even his own sister, they basically reminded him everyday that he was a mistake and will never be enough in the world they live in and that was so disheartening. I would also bring up the shoe looker topic, I know people mentioned before, but the shoelooker part was interesting because I had no idea what it was but once I read how they got treated for being a human and feeling, it gave me a knot in my stomach because what type of living is that.
-Colette Jackson

Terence Smith said...

I think we should focus on how "The Era" factors into are life today Because a lot of things in the era happens in society today as far as how parents treated the children or vocabulary of the parents and how brutality honest they were in the book because things like that affects mental health and all the problems we have today.

Alayah D said...

I would have wanted to focus on how the parents treated THEIR child. Nothing bothers me more than a parent who treats their child poorly.

anaya jones said...

Something I would have brought up is how the parents put the child because they had no filter when it came to saying the child was a mistake and that the child only stay with them because of the mother's irrationality.

James Gladney said...

One thing that I would discuss would be the whole shoe looker thing. Finding out that shoe lookers are people who are taunted because they show emotion sparked a lot of thought and emotion from me. That's not something people should be bullied for because it's a part of life.I think we should focus on how "The Era" factors into are life today Because a lot of things in the era happens in society today as far as how parents treated the children or vocabulary of the parents and how brutality honest they were in the book because things like that affects mental health and all the problems we have today.
- James Gladney

Z'Kya Dixon said...

i have never read such a confusing story. i think we should first talk about the words/vocabulary he uses. i got so jumbled up trying to read it. But beyond that i want to talk about how the teacher and parents are talking to this kid like this. like make it make sense. calling a child a mistake right the there face is down right wrong and when i read it i was at loss for words. like if you didn't want a child then why did you have a child. The whole situation pissed me off, because that same thing is happening everyday and people want to blame the child they carried that they didn't have to carry. its despicable.

Stefani F said...

Reading "The Era", was a lot to take in and I also had to go back and reread some things. The whole shoe looker situation is something that is pretty concerning for me and what I would bring up. Everyone should be able to express themselves any way they want and instead of being ridiculed and bullied, especially when showing emotion is a natural thing that everyone does.
=Stefani Farrow

Jonathan G said...

I would concentrate on how the parents treated their child because how could a parent feel so strongly about their child and freely express their actual emotions without shame or guilt? It is absurd to assume that their child was a mistake and that the child only lives with them due to the mother's misunderstandings.
Jonathan G

Aminah Aaliyah Haynes said...

I would focus on discussing on how the parents treated their child. It saddened me how they expressed their true feelings with their child and how they said the child was an mistake to have. We also need to discuss how drugs are a way to keep the society compliant as this society is an dystopian world that forbids expressing emotions. This story was quite interesting with that setting.

Jayla Walker said...

After reading "The Era", I think we should focus on the treatment of the brother. I found it extremely unsettling yet interesting. The treatment of children by their parents is obviously very important yet the way this child was treated is upsetting. I feel like it Ould be interesting to hear other thoughts relating to this topic.
- Jayla Walker

Marcus G. said...

I am not going to lie, but reading "The Era" was very confusing and hard to understand. The thing with the shoe lookers is something that does concern me. People should be able to express how they feel under some circumstances without consequences or being discriminated against. Also the wording in this section confused me or just some other words that they used.

Kennedy J said...

There would be two things I'd bring up. First would be how easily the parents put the child down. Those kind of words can really bring so much trauma to a child and do them a lot of damage. Therefore, this made this reading really hard to look at. Next, I'd bring up the vocabulary because I kept getting confused while reading.

Tashauna F. said...

I would focus on the fact that Ben felt as if expressing feelings is seen as a weakness. Especially at a young age children should be able to freely express their thoughts because this is how they'll learn and grow mentally.

Tanija Ritchie said...

in my opinion, I believe that this story was by far one of the most confusing. I feel like we should put our focus completely towards how the parents treated their children. I feel like a young child the way you are brought up / raised affects your adult life. SO that's why I feel your childhood is the most important part of your life on earth

Jameelah harbin said...

Jameelah Harbin

What I feel needs to be discussed first is The bluntness of their vocabulary, I think shows how they're unable to further deep dive down into their emotions and thinking to clarify their own feelings. I secondly feel like the parents regret of having children being portrayed onto their "mistake" of a son is unfair, they treat him horribly and degrade him for their own sake and for the sake of their other spoiled and deranged child. They reward the daughters outrages behavior and takes away what makes the son somewhat level to the daughter in a sense of the way he sees life with Good vs without.

Jameelah Harbin

Niylah Edwards said...

This story was very confusing. The focus should be on how the parents treated the children. They were completely put down by putting emphasis on the mistakes that he made. Even Marlene was able to put him down and that is very unsettling knowing that he has to live like that.

Erin Myers said...

Nadia G.:

Honestly, I had trouble reading. The parents and the way they treated their own child. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if it were me. Reading it alone, was enough. No remorse. No shame. Just nothingness.

Erin Myers said...

Neville G.:

When in the discussion, I would focus more on the relationship between Mr. Harper and Ben because, in the first few pages of the story, they arguing with profanity, and you would think they were brothers, but it was a student and teacher, which to me I fell as if the teacher shouldn’t have handled it that way; as then again, it did state that backs the teacher might’ve told Ben… that he was smart if he would just apply himself he’d do better.

Erin Myers said...

Taylor G.:

What I believe we should focus on first concerning “The Era” is the fact that the parents' treatment towards their children was horrific. I have witnessed people I know in real life deal with parents who treated them poorly and it is affected emotionally and mentally. No kid should ever feel the mistreatment from those who brought them into the world, it’s causing a different type of damage on a person.

Erin Myers said...

Natalie G.:

I would probably discuss how poorly the parents treated their child. They spoke unfavorable of their child with absolutely no remorse. Never should a parent speak negatively of their child. The fact that the child had to here all of these false things the parents were saying is awful.

Erin Myers said...

Alexi J. said...
Something I would think to discuss first is the fact that everyone needs/are advised to take a government-made drug to feel good. The fact that need to take this drug in order to be successful functioning citizens and that without they would feel normal emotions that are deemed bad is very befuddling. It also seems like people can get "addicted" to it, or build a tolerance for it which reminds me of reality now.

Alexi J.

March 4, 2022 at 10:04 PM
(Originally posted at https://www.culturalfront.org/2022/03/haley-scholars-group-4-nana-kwame-adjei.html)

Erin Myers said...

Carmesha J.:

I would have mentioned how the parents treat their child, there's no way the parents should ever feel that much hatred. The child is innocent is this whole situation regardless so he shouldn't be saw as a mistake or in the way.

Chaz Hunter said...

One thing that I would discuss would be the whole shoelooker thing. Finding out that shoelookers are people who are taunted because they show emotion sparked a lot of thought and emotion from me. That's not something people should be bullied for because it's a part of life. It's a little sad, in my opinion.

-Chaz Hunter

Tamya Goodlow said...

I would comment about how the parents treated their child. They were verbally abused severely, and heavily neglected all because the parents felt the child was a mistake.
-Tamya Goodlow

Amber Dixon said...

What stood out to me while reading is the way that Marlene's little brother is treated. Her little brother gets little love as a child, leaving him discouraged, and when he fails, Marlene made sure to rub his failures in his face instead of helping him. He isn't seen as part of the family, but more as a method of practicing for the oldest, Marlene, to use in her goal to become a teacher.

- Amber Dixon

Arielle johnson said...

The story was pretty interesting as it was set in a very futuristic time period but also seemed to show the effects of generational trauma and how it still can impact descendant today. Many other factors like the parents constantly pointing out mistakes, reminds me that my parents try to constantly point out my mistakes, as a way fir me to handle myself in the future which in turn has affected me and probably many others in a bad way at times.

Unknown said...

I found this reading assignment incredibly interesting; it was probably my favorite one to read so far. I think one of our first concerns when discussing this reading should be how we see our main character, Ben, go through a pretty dramatic change. He wasn’t always full of “good” but by the end we see him evolve into a “real shoelooker” as Marlene would put it. I would also like to point of how individuals believed that having no emotion was the way to go, yet it isn’t like the world has really improved at all. People just denied to Privilege of having empathy and sympathy for themselves and one another. During the story we are able to read that wars are still happening and that there is still a social and class divide. It is really one man for himself, even in family situations. 

-Tonia Estes

Erin Myers said...

Gianni D.:

My focus would be on the parents' treatment of their children. Their expressions about their feelings towards their child and their statement about their child being a mistake made me sad. The use of drugs is also a way of keeping society compliant since this is a dystopia where emotion-expressing is forbidden. A thing I would have mentioned is how parents did not filter the abuse they said to the child.

Stephanie H. said...

The focus of my discussion will be how the parents raised their children. Having a child is a mistake as they expressed their true feelings to the child and I was saddened how they expressed these feelings. In this society, which is a dystopian world that forbids expressing emotions, drugs are also a way to keep people compliant. That setting made the story quite interesting.

Scott Freeman said...

There are multiple aspects of the story The Era that we can deem important or of utmost concern, but I believe the technology regarding DNA & genetics should be discussed. In todays society we can make changes to DNA as well, but should we. Would we be making the population stronger or weaker, smarter or dumber, frail or resistant etc. Topics about gene alteration is something far too little we know about. For instance getting rid of cancer cells could trigger what? Removing or adding something can ultimately cause changes for the better or worse. No definite solution, 50/50.

Erin Myers said...

Chloe H.:

What I think we should focus on in The Era is how in todays society it correlates with what's going on in The Era. I feel that some of the issues such as the child was treated and the show looker, its still happening today, which needs to be talked about.

Anjeal Jones said...

While this whole "The era" was confusing, I was mostly shocked at how the parents treated their child. I feel as if the child is innocent, even if he wasn't the parents shouldn't have that much hatred against him. That affected the child in many ways.

-Anjeal Jones

Jaliyah J said...

I would like to discuss how disrespectful the parent were they spoke down on their children, without thinking about how it would affect them. By the parents always pointing out mistakes this discourages the children from ever wanting to fix mistakes. Also, the teacher was a bad example as an adult in the way he was arguing with his student.

Arielle Branea Johnson said...

The chapter "the era" was a really interesting one, as it really showed a huge visual methaphor for how the next generation is always on display when it comes to literally anything, and even one small little mistake could disappoint the older generation. How the parents said their true feelings to the child kinda reminds me how my parents act when it comes to mistakes I've made.

Erin Myers said...

Aunye H.:

I believe that people showing emotion is truly a sign of strength especially when people hide their emotions to “not show weakness”. I believe that in reality people who show their emotions and vulnerability are the strongest and when the time comes they are the best at dealing with betrayals and tough situations. Empathy is a power. But for the parents treating their children poorly, children absorb everything that they hear and situations that they go through and they will grow up having the trauma that they went through because of the parents affect them In almost every situation and chance to be happy.

Tyler M Guthrie said...

I would like to discuss a question regarding why this society would choose to discard one aspect of their humanity in order to better another aspect. I understand that honesty is indeed important and that it helps to allow others to trust one another. However, the emotions behind honesty are just as important as they allow us to feel the impact of one's words. For the "Era" section of the book as a whole, I essentially believe that discussing about this specific question regarding the flaw(s) of this society is valid as there seems to be much unnecessary suffering and injustice involved in the story.

Erin Myers said...

Erin Myers said...
Fatima K.:

The main focus that is concerning to me would honestly be how they treat the children and it’s really horrible how they degrade them stating that are are nothing and putting the parents up and how that would be stuck with them for life and can overshadow and make then insecure in themselves and maybe passing that down to generations to generations and causing pain in those children throughout their adulthood

March 7, 2022 at 10:19 AM
(Originally posted to https://www.culturalfront.org/2022/02/haley-scholars-group-3-nana-kwame-adjei.html)

Erin Myers said...

TJ H.:

I would discuss how the wars were started. It was crazy to me reading how the first war started when people were being lied to. Then there was a second war that started because someone told the truth. It makes you wonder should you always tell the truth or should you be able to lie sometimes.

Erin Myers said...

Jonathan H.:

I think the first thing we would focus on if discussing these two stories is how much our nature as humans impacts people's capacity to hate each other. Racism focuses so much on removing the humanity and autonomy from those it oppresses, and both the stories we've read so far reflect that. I think we would probably discuss why this is and how these stories discuss that topic in their own ways.

Brianna H said...

Something I would have brought up is how parents always put their children down. Some parents even make their children feel like they are not worth it. It’s like when you’re little your parents love you and spoil you but as you get older things start to change

Zion H said...

Something that should be brought up is the fact that the parents never put their children down. In the story the parents kept putting their children down. I feel like a parent should always uplift their children and make them feel wanted.

Erin Myers said...

La'Niya G.:

The first thing we should focus on is how bad the parents treated their child because its sad that it still happens today in the real world.

Erin Myers said...

Demeyah Jackson said...
We should focus on the character’s interaction with one another and how disorientated everyone is acting. The students taking drugs in school, one getting addicted. Students being called “ugly”, “dummy” and being just out right disrespectful.

April 11, 2022 at 5:00 PM
(Originally posted to https://www.culturalfront.org/2022/04/haley-scholars-group-3-nana-kwame-adjei.html)

Erin Myers said...

Ma Kayla J.:

As we all know reading this story was a bit distorting. One topic we should discus is how the parents and important figures in the main child's life kept putting him down, saying he's not competent, how he's so frustrating for showing emotions, basically telling him he's worthless. This will absolutely make this child grow up to have physiological trauma and costly feel as if he needs to prove his worth to the world, which many people are struggling with today.