Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Haley Scholars (Group 5) 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? 

56 comments:

Gabriel Scott said...

I think it would be best to focus on how the "optimization" works. I think the conversation of trying to make people "perfect" in a sense would bring a lot of creative ideas about society to the table.
-Gabriel Scott

Anonymous said...

I think the concept of needing "Good" to get through the day, and feeling ashamed for having emotions and not being perfect should be addressed. Also, what "Good" even is should be a topic of discussion.
- Jaisha Sims

Aerin T. said...

I think it would be best to focus on how brutal honesty is so accepted, even in their "perfect" era. I feel like this would bring up a good conversation on whether it's okay to sugarcoat the truth in certain situations, or just always be straight up with people.

Britney Wallace said...

One interesting area of focus was the injections of the “good".“Good” was something that made Ben feel an instant dose of serotonin. It affected the way he saw and felt about himself. He never saw it as a drug, but as something that was necessary for his daily life. To me, the protagonist represented a person going through depression. Ben needed something to make him feel good when it felt like the weight of his life was crushing him.

-Britney Wallace

A’nya Wilkes said...

I think the first thing I would want to discuss is the social hierarchy within this "perfect" society. It would be interesting to discuss this hierarchy and how we saw it affect the narrator and other characters within the story.-A'nya Wilkes

Jordan W. said...

I think one of the concerning things that we should focus on is people being so brutally honest because this can affect people mental health, so I would like to see more of how people started to accept this more into their lives and affects their everyday lives. Plus, this is their portray of a perfect society, so how did this type of honesty come apart.

Madison Wilkins said...

I think one thing we could focus on is the interpretation of this "good" or "perfect" society. What makes a good society or who can contribute to having a good society. There could be a lot of answers this topic which could be a good discussion.

Starteese.S said...

I think it would be interesting to focus on how the story explored what humanity would or may look like in the future. The use of the word "good" signified somewhat of a social acceptance between others and was a manipulation to keep people in order. I believe this could bring a lot of important conversations people may have for being socially accepted by others like does it really matter or not.

- Starteese S.

Shaniyah Robinson said...

One of the main things I think we should focus on Is the idea of being "perfect" or "the best" in our society because people see the world as competition and it really is what you make it. I feel that as long as people are doing the best that they can their lives will flourish the way that they are supposed to. -Shaniyah Robinson

Unknown said...

I think we should be focusing on the "perfect" society and how honest people are. I think people being honest to others is a good thing. I think someone being lied to would hurt much more than someone being told the truth. I think the truth is what everyone needs to hear. I also don't think that there is a such thing as a perfect society. I feel like there will always be something missing so that there won't be a "perfect" society that we live in. Nothing about our societies are "perfect".

Abigelle Washington said...

I think we should be focusing on the "perfect" society and how honest people are. I think people being honest to others is a good thing. I think someone being lied to would hurt much more than someone being told the truth. I think the truth is what everyone needs to hear. I also don't think that there is a such thing as a perfect society. I feel like there will always be something missing so that there won't be a "perfect" society that we live in. Nothing about our societies are "perfect".
-Abigelle Washington

Anonymous said...

I think we should focus on how "perfect" the world in "The Era" is portrayed. For us today many people talk about wanting to have a perfect life and try to achieve that daily. After reading "The Era" I think it shows readers what our world can look like if our society only pushed towards the goal to achieve perfection, leaving no room for basic concepts that are involved in our everyday lives right now such as emotion.
- Madisen Wilkins

Kailiah W. said...

We should focus on what the idea of being "good" or "perfect" means regarding society. Everyone has different ideas and opinions on what a "good" or "perfect" society would look like, but I think coming to an agreement on how to define these terms would help everyone be on the same page and shed light on the discussion.

Kailiah Williams said...

We should focus on what the idea of being "good" or "perfect" means regarding society. Everyone has different ideas and opinions on what a "good" or "perfect" society would look like, but I think coming to an agreement on how to define these terms would help everyone be on the same page and shed light on the discussion.

Sierrea McNiff said...

When discussing this book, I believed we should focus on how being "perfect" is not as great as it sounds. The genetically engineered people are humorless. They do not enjoy indulges like cake. Honesty and bad manners are considered the same thing. They take shots of "Good" to feel euphoric. They bully people who do not live up to society's standards. This is no utopia but a world consisting of constant dysphoria.

Calviana Shepherd said...

I feel as though a good discussion would come from seeing what everyone’s views or morals are when they think of what a society is supposed to consist of. We all come from different walks of life, different backgrounds so it would be interesting to hear.

Calviana S.

Kehajana Tallie said...

I think we should discuss the concept of "good" and how it would be defined in today’s society. It would be interesting to hear everyone's views on this situation because of the different backgrounds we have.

Damen Ward said...

I believe the first thing that should be addressed is the amount of harm being done to achieve this new sense of a utopian world. In the story the world is not genuine, it has been managed and changed artificially and we must consider if these sacrifices are ones that will still give us a purpose in life.
-Damen Ward

Atayah Smith said...

If we were all together at a table discussing this chapter, I feel that we should focus on the injections of the "Good". Families strive to be perfect and have completely forgotten that the key to being a well-rounded individual comes from a place of emotion. As human beings, we shouldn't be afraid to say what is on our minds and feel emotions- because that is what sets us apart from other people. Everyone has their own definition of "good" and that said definition stems from our own individual experiences, pain, and pleasure.

-Atayah Smith

Sandy Stokes said...

I agree with what all the other comments are basically saying, i think we should focus on the concept of needing to be "perfect" and how it works in society.

Tateaundra W said...

I think if we were discussing this together, we should focus first on how some people said everything they wanted without holding back and it was being seen as them being superior to others who didn't. It was also shown as a way to make it like they had the perfect society by doing so unlike during back in the day. I think it would spark discussions if telling the complete truth would make a difference in life and society or not no matter what was said and if so, how?

HEAVEN WATKINS said...

I think we should focus on the concept of "good". Everyone has their own opinions on what this society looks like. The "ERA' shows the readers what our world can look like if we all focused on one goal which is perfection.

Anonymous said...

I think a good discussion will be about how the concept of being "Perfect" in today's society that people want perfection than being satisfied with what is going on in society.

- Sydney Witherspoon

Sealaya Washington said...

I think a discussion on individuality would be good. In "The Era," they keep pointing out each other's differences as flaws. It showed a more negative result of wanting perfection instead of allowing yourself to be different and comfortable in being so.

Brandon Wiles said...

I think the conversation on how people are labeled as shoe lookers and idiots is so common. There's also the fact that Good is a drug that everyone uses. People in this short story are very brutal and the main character especially so. He thinks about murdering other people very often. Most people in this world seem to be depressed, suicidal, or homicidal if they're not like the vast majority of the population. This drug Good is highly effective but the withdrawal symptoms are immediate and hit very powerfully.

Deaunzze T said...

I think we should focus on is the brutal honesty that is widely accepted. The fact of would it be better for people to constantly be brutally honest, or should we as people tell little white lies to spare others.

- Deaunzze Trotter

Ayanna Townsend said...

The message behind the short story "The Era" is extremely important because it raises awareness of how cruel society can be to others based on unimportant factors such as social status. Therefore, I believe that if we were to gather and discuss this short story, that we should bring up how this applies to our lives today and in what ways we could change this in the future.

- Ayanna T.

Dakahi Leflore said...

My first concern would be that people who show their emotions are looked down on. I feel like that is something that is going on in the era we are in today. It also concerns me how the parents can customize their children's personalities.


-Dakahi L

Xavier Stacker said...

I would say we should focus on the "optimzation" concept. Firstly, because I'm curious on how it works exactly. Secondly, what are the results of being optimal on the emotional side of things, because it reminds me of the society in something I watched called "Psychopass".

DeAndre Watson said...

I thing the first thing we should talk about is being brutally honest. Are white lies necessary for us today or should we all be more brutally honest? Which one would be better for society?

Me-Na S. said...

if we were discussing this in person I'd say that we would have to focus on the idea of optimizing and how it effects everything around the characters in the story to make this so "perfect" orientated harsh world.

Kizito Nwauwa said...

When reading “The Era” by Nana Kwame Adeji-Brenyah, I’ve come to the conclusion that what we should mainly be focusing on first is the apparent lack of emotion coming from many of the kids. And I don’t think that the coerced use of government-made drugs is helping that either. It makes since giving their stance on emotions and the effects it has on society. The perception that emotions are detrimental to their productivity as humans is really where it all stems from. I feel as if this is something that can actually happen in our future, given that we, as a people, take a certain route to get there.

Erin Myers said...

Anozha S.:

When reading “The Era” by Nana Kwame Adeji-Brenyah, I’ve come to the conclusion that what we should mainly be focusing on first is the apparent lack of emotion coming from many of the kids. And I don’t think that the coerced use of government-made drugs is helping that either. It makes since giving their stance on emotions and the effects it has on society. The perception that emotions are detrimental to their productivity as humans is really where it all stems from. I feel as if this is something that can actually happen in our future, given that we, as a people, take a certain route to get there.

Erin Myers said...

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.

March 4, 2022 at 12:05 PM
(Originally posted to https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=595859379914711075&postID=6982461342009419911&page=1&token=1646686629574)

Erin Myers said...

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

March 4, 2022 at 11:28 PM
(Originally posted to https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=595859379914711075&postID=6982461342009419911&page=1&token=1646686629574)

Leea S. said...

"Optimization" and on how it works. I think if we were to have a group discussion about it there will be a lot of creative ideas.

Sarah Z Rollins said...


I feel as though the concept of being "perfect" Is merely unattainable. If we as a people see ourselves as individuals with different plans and goals. We then can view life like how Ben felt.


~Sarah z Rollins

Ty'Ria R said...

I think that we should focus one perfection. Trying to be perfect can cause stress because it is unattainable. Talking about this might help individuals.

- Ty'Ria Rounds

Erin Myers said...

ArTerrious T.:

I think the number one thing we should discuss is "optimization". I think of this term to be a creative way of discrimination in society.

Gabrielle S. said...

I think that the focus should be on those that feel the need to be super honest all the time. It sheds light on the "perfect" era and how some people use that to really just do the things they want. We're told that we need to accept those people and that's just how they are. But it does not have to be that way, you don't have to say everything that comes to your mind.

Nyah Marcano said...

If we were having a disscussion in a classroom about the short story "The Era" the first thing I believe we should talk about is the idea of this "perfect" society. At what cost does it take to be accepted as "good" in a place that has a false sense of perfection. -Nyah Marcano

Devin Willis said...

I think we should focus on honesty. Being honest to others can change a person’s mental health, builds relationships, trust, and even love, it can also break them. How is honesty impacting society? Honesty can go both ways, that would be a good discussion to have.

Anjel Vela said...

I think what needs to be focused on is the question of who/what determines perfection? Personally I think perfection is a perception type of thing. Particularly for this reading it's very noticeable the perfection is equivalent to beauty, meaning if you're pretty than you're perfect and worth more than someone who is less beautiful and not perfect. But that's where the system the reading is going by is flawed and hypocritical. One can be less visually pleasing yet be more successful than someone who is.

- Anjel Vela

Unknown said...

I think we should focus on "Good" as a "mandatory" way to get through the day and as to how it makes you feel happy for a time. Also the fact that honesty is always prevalent and people share intrusive thoughts and are shrugged off like if it is something normal.
-Jonah Wolfe

Erin Myers said...

Nikiyah T.:

I think that we need to look at what the concept of "good" or "perfect" means. those two words are not real-life attainable things. people try so hard to meet standards in society that they think are good or perfect but in reality its not a real thing.

Damien W said...

I think when we talk about "The Era" we should compare to what's going on in today's society. Both things correspond with each other and have similarities. Honesty is a huge deal when it come to relationship and even friendships. If you can't be honest to one another then that's when trust issues fall into play.

Damien Williams said...

I think when we talk about "The Era" we should compare to what's going on in today's society. Both things correspond with each other and have similarities. Honesty is a huge deal when it come to relationship and even friendships. If you can't be honest to one another then that's when trust issues fall into play.

Sarai WB said...

I think we should focus on the idea of being "perfect" and the concept of honesty. I feel like most people don't want to be honest or tell the truth about things to protect the other person's feelings. In today's society you have to be "perfect", you can't go a day without making a mistake even if it's a small one, people are always watching and praying on your downfall.
-Sarai WB

Erin Myers said...

Preston W.:

What I think is important to consider is the idea of a perfect society and how honest and raw they were with each other. I think about how in today’s society how most people want honesty when it fits them or it makes them look good. But they didn’t do that, they told the truth even when it seemed harsh. That's not what our society is built on, nowadays you hear people saying “speak your truth” as a means to justify you and your actions. But that's not the case, there can only be one truth and everything else is a lie.

Caleb W. said...

I think we should first put our focus on the idea of beauty and wanting people to look perfect, I feel that everyone has their own definition of what it is and who they like, but I also believe that they were out of line for calling that girl hideous. The whole story is all over the place though honestly so it was hard to pick where to start.

Erin Myers said...

Demarco S.:

The most concerning thing i think we should focus on in "the era" is the concept of a "perfect" and "good" society. Also how honest they are in this society because what if someone can't handle that level of honesty. Which coukd lead to bodily harm of themselves.

Kiara Umana said...

Focusing on the ideals of the people in the story would be abundantly great. We could cover the Optimization of people at young ages, the types of things parents can "buy" to Optimize their child or even the normality of the harsh treatment of one another. Why is the world in which Ben lives striving for each individual to be "perfect"?

-Kiara Umana

Niobe Young said...

The era seems to take place in a dystopia world that's very prestigious. I think that the fact that the people who are deemed as emotional are looked down upon on as less of just because they can't control their emotions when in reality learning how to cope and not actually control your emotions is what makes people burst when things don't go right and that's what's most concerning.

Unknown said...

The most important aspect of "the era" was that it talked about how we try to find an unhealty escape when life doesn't seem to be in your favor. In this story, GOOD is the escape that is home for Ben because he is upset that he thinks he isn't "Optimized" like the other kids.

Kancy Ulluste

Zaria Wiley said...

Zaria Wiley

I think many aspects of the story should be focused on, but my main concern was thinking about people's emotions. It's scary how no one was truly allowed to show their emotions and would be seen as faulty if they did. Ben's character was the most interesting piece of the story to me. I think his character signified what was wrong with the new federation the most. It seemed as if he was depressed and that he used "good" to cope, seeing as how he wasn't allowed to experience emotions. It's also interesting that he supported the new federation and not the antis, but it makes sense, because that's all he knew. He was taught that the new federation implemented the correct structure of living.

Janelle W said...

I think we should focus on people being brutly honest. most people tell lies because they dont want to hurt anyones feelings. you have to ask the question are you as an indviual strong enough to take critsim or is the world better off when they tell the truth when it benifits them?