Chinua Achebe's "How the Tortoise Cracked his Shell"

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Synopsis: A Tortoise tricks the birds into giving him one feather each until he can fly and becomes their king. The tortoise then tricks them into giving him all their food in a time of famine. The birds get angry and take back there feathers, leaving the tortoise unable to fly, but stuck in the sky. The Parrot promises the Tortoise to tell his wife to bring all the soft things from the house, but instead the Parrot tells the Tortoise's wife to bring out all the hard things, so that when the Tortoise falls, his smooth shell shatters. The medicine comes out and pieces the shell back into a cracked design.

reflects the Western culture, by is influenced by Nigerian folktales

was written to mimic oral storytelling (interrupting audience)

pour quoi? story

community helps him to fly, and then takes that ability away

we don't know if the tortoise learned his lesson, because he was so happy with the large meal he received

broken shell is a symbol of his trickery

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