Question

Read the passage and answer the question that follows. “Have you written to your dad yet?” asked Nene one afternoon. . . . “No. . . . I think it’s better to tell him when I get home on leave!” “But why? . . . . He should be let into our happiness now.” . . . “I wish I were sure it would be happiness to him.” “Of course it must,” replied Nene, a little surprised. “Why shouldn’t it?” “You have lived in Lagos all your life, and you know very little about people in remote parts of the country. . . . “They are most unhappy if the engagement is not arranged by them. In our case it’s worse—you are not even an Ibo.” –“Marriage Is a Private Affair,” Chinua Achebe How does this passage reflect the author's cultural environment? It shows the reliance that children have on their parents. It shows that marriage is not important to the Ibo people. It shows that the Ibo people do not rely on their parents. It shows the clash between traditional village and modern city life.

Answer 1

Answer:

It shows the clash between traditional village and modern city life.

Explanation:

In Chinua Achebe's Marriage Is A Private Affair deal with the dilemma of a couple who decided to get married despite being from different tribes. And as is customary in the native village, marriage is arranged by the parents and love plays no role in it.

As seen in the given discourse between Nene and her would-be husband Nnaemeka, it is evident that the young man is anxious about informing his father about his choice of a wife. Even when Nene wants the father to be included in their "happy news", the young man simply stated that it is impossible to know if it'll be good news to him. And when asked further why it shouldn't be good news, Nnaemeka mentions that people in his village "are most unhappy if the engagement is not arranged by them. In our case it’s worse—you are not even an Ibo." Moreover, Nene being from Lagos "knows very little about people in remote parts of the country", which is a reference to his native village.

This discourse is a reflection of how the traditional village and modern city life clash against each other in their traditions and approaches of life.