Parenting landmines: a critique of Lesley Nneka Arimah’s what it means when a man falls from the sky

Abstract

This article investigates how Lesley Nneka Arimah‟s short stories in What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky (2017) engage in social commentary on parenting. The study used a qualitative research design, employing research methods such as content analysis and close textual reading. It was further informed by the reader-response theory and found that Arimah‟s stories engage in social commentary on parenting by doing such things as condemning disproportionate love of one‟s children, critiquing inappropriate disciplining methods and questioning long-distance parenting among other commentaries. Arimah‟s text calls on parents to deeply reflect on their roles as parents and take heed to raise whole, upright citizens.