Surname4
Name
Professor
Course
Date
Akata Witch “Organic Fantasy”
Okorafor is an American Born of Nigerian Immigrants and therefore during her visits to Nigeria she had a glimpse of Nigerian culture, myths and even the dark side of magical life. She has since become a famous fantasy and science fiction writer. Okorafor came up with a theory of organic fantasy which she applies in most of her novels. Organic fantasy is a speculative fiction that emerges from the nature of the story itself. She believes that “fantasy is the most accurate way of describing reality.” The book Akata Witch starts with a moment of fantasy when Sunny Nwazue’s local home in Nigeria is faced with another of the frequent blackouts. As a result Sunny uses candles during the blackouts; she is usually fascinated by candles. A fantasy presents itself when one night she lights a candle, and it presents itself with a vision where she saw “But it was what I saw in that candle that stayed with me most. I’d seen the end of the world in its flame. Raging fires, boiling oceans, toppled skyscrapers, ruptured land, dead and dying people” this is an example of an organic fantasy in which Sunny saw a vision of the world ending. She was sure that this was not her imagination. To this is more of a reality given what is happening in the world today. People do not care about the environment, social ills, possible wars and all that is a possible reality that can only be presented perfectly as a fantasy. She later came to learn that she could see she behold the candles because she had special powers and belonged to the Leopard people.
Sunny’s life was difficult because she was a sister among two brothers, having been born in America and migrated back to Nigeria to be raised. As if her problems are not enough she is an Albino, and people usually scold her. She brought out another way in which fantasy can be used to present reality when she was sick of malaria her healing came from some light that came to her like a tiny yellow flame or sun, and she explains it to have been laughing and warm. It stayed for a long time watching over and decided she will not die. This represents another incidence of original fantasy because it was in line with the original occurrence of events. Akata presents the challenges sunny was going through in her confusing life as an American born black woman.
The African culture is brought out in Akita through a fantasy where communities are represented as having involved in witchcraft and magic. Sunny notices that she has juju just like her other three friends in school who introduce her to the Leopards. Unfortunately, she is not accepted at first and finds it difficult to adopt. The fantasy was deeply rooted because they believed that “Here in Nigeria, we call ourselves Leopard People. Back in the day, there were powerful groups called the Ekpe, Leopard societies. The name stuck.” With such beliefs, Okorafor wanted to bring out the dark sides of their culture which have always been hidden from the general public. These events and aspects presented in fantasy mode can be displayed as so because they are difficult to explain in the real world. The author will not find words or even means of telling something so complex or virtual reality in actual words. Some events are best described as fantasy because that it the best way they can be understood. For example who would believe there existed a Leopard people without seeing them coexist and protect each other in fantasy. When Okorafor was explaining the fantasy when Sunny was heavily sick something magical happened and in the real sense that would be difficult to describe other than in imagination. The real world can be inherently magical too as seen in the book, while in school after everybody scolders Sunny about her condition and cut hare they end to class where a test is conducted and on writing about your relative. Sunny writes about her brother’s pride. On receiving results, Sunny who was the laughing stock emerges on top with a considerable margin the magical moment in the world comes up when Sunny is requested to stroke all the students who had failed, but she refuses which leads to them receiving the punishment altogether. Where else does such an occurrence happen?
Okorafor wrote a fantasy book to bring out real societal issues in the world today. Despite being fictional and fantasy, she plays her role in bringing out the problems and situations in the best way possible through original imagination which she has proven to be working in the best way possible. For example, in a single book, she brought differences in American life and African life, similarities such as the status of women which is yet to reach the levels everybody would want, African culture that is profoundly hidden in which she presents both sides of the juju world.
Work cited