comparative essay- english literature

8/9/2019 Comparative Essay- English Literature

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A foreign ideology is a concept of strange or rather an indifferent set of conscious or even

unconscious system of ideas and ideals. A foreign concept of thinking and reasoning is what

impacted on traditional African culture as it became “infected” with western traditions and

values. Chinua Achebe in his book, Things Fall Apart, attempt to give the reader, a before the

invasion look at African culture, it then goes onto show the introduction of western values and

then lastly it shows the impact it has as a result of these new values being integrated into the

society. Achebe uses his structure of his novel as he separate his novel in three parts making the

chapters directly before and after the sections significantly important in showing this. Ama Ata

Aidoo on the other hand seeks to show the same influence that western culture had on the

African tradition but she does this from a different perspective. nlike Achebe who separates his

novel in three distinctive parts, Aidoo in her play Anowa, uses her chorus to show the reader or

audience through graphic imagery how the land was before the invasion of the westerners.

Achebe who shows his society in a patriarchal light, Aidoo sets her play in a matriarchal society

but shows the effects in a before and after way through her setting. nlike Achebe there is no

before and after of the society and its people before the onslaught of western values however the

prologue acts as a type of ground for setting the stage. !n the other hand "eorge #amming$s

novel, %n the Castle of &y 'kin is set around the ()*+s, centuries later. nlike the previous two

writers, Achebe and Aidoo, #amming shows the effects of what they were introducing about the

African society, by etension through what later became the Caribbean. -ach artist, Achebe,

Aidoo and #amming in their work, utilise techniues such as characterisation, symbolism and

ma/or themes of change and colonialism to show the impact the outside ideologies had on

African societies and through #amming, by etension the Caribbean.


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Characterisation does not only give the reader insight into the type of person which the

author tried to create but a larger purpose the character undertakes and that is to show how the

eternal forces can impact on ones thinking as well as ones re0action to something and action on

something. This is also realistic in its thought process as ones past and history definitely

influences ones present ideologies. Achebe$s main character in showing how foreign ideologies

impact on a person and then by etension the wider community is !konkwo. The difference

however is that !kwonko is not affected like the society !kwonko does not adapt to change and

this in itself is how !kwonko is impacted. 1eing from a patriarchal society !konkwo is placed

on high esteem but this is also through great perseverance of not wanting to become inferior like

his father, noka. %n part one of the novel, !konkwo is praised from the beginning. !konkwo

became famous from the young age of eighteen as he had thrown Amalin2e the Cat, described as

a great fighter who was unbeaten for seven years until !konkwo. From the beginning Achebe

does not attempt to paint !kwonko as a saint of sorts he makes him a very realistic character.

!kwonko has his faults one being his temper, as much praise as he is given, !kwonko is a very

violent person, this is seen from in the beginning, “3 he seemed to walk on spring, as if he was

going to pounce on somebody. And he did pounce on people uite often. 4e had a stammer and

whenever he was angry and could not get his words out uickly enough, he would use his fists”.

4e is later described like this as well when he breaks African tradition and beats one of his wives

during the week of peace. 1y doing this Achebe is making the character more relatable but not

only so, Achebe is also showing the reader how !kwonko will be set up due to his temper when

colonialism is introduced. !kwonko then can be seen as a modern day tragic hero due to his

temper being his tragic flaw as this will be the downfall of him when the white man makes his

appearance. !ne can then say that Achebe is showing how !konkwo is “ripe” for showing the


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horrors of colonialism. 5ue to his anger in part two when we are told of the white man$s

appearance in Abame, !kwonko$s first reaction is why did not the Abame people arm themselves

at all times6 This foreshadows how !kwonko will react when faced with the western culture and

western laws. %n part three of Things Fall Apart !kwonko kills a messenger who has come to

order a meeting between some of the great men in muofia to stop as ordered by the “white

man”. !kwonko kills this messenger swiftly and uietly. 1y doing this Achebe shows how

!kwonko is prone to acting rashly but however one can see how the impacting culture was

!kwonko$s downfall. !n the face of it, it appears as if !konkwo has not been affected by the

invasion of the white man, he is seeking to be as he once was, he is still interested in society as it

was and he is still a warrior at heart. 4owever, what one should account for is the fact that

!kwonko does not adapt to change and this is his downfall, he is set in his ways and it is ironic

that he dies in shame like his father did. According to the authors of 7'parknotes$, “Achebe’s re-

creation of the complexity of Okonkwo’s and Umuofia’s situation lends fairness to his writing. At

the same time, his critiue of colonialism and of colonial literary representations comes across

loud and clear!.

#ike Achebe, Aidoo also uses characterisation to show the impact of foreign ideologies

on her African society found in her play Anowa. nlike Achebe though she has her play from a

matriarchal society and she is able to use a male, 8ofi Ako, to show how western values can

contaminate and change one$s traditional values. There is no before and after like there was for

!kwonko in Things Fall Apart but however the chorus does make reference to 8ofi in "hings

#all Apart 9():); “$ofi was, is and shall always be%One of us!& :


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representative of how western culture impacts on another culture. From the play this can be seen

through the many conversations which 8ofi have with Anowa about marriage. At one point in

the novel Anowa has brought up the topic of finding a second wife for 8ofi which irritates him,

shown through stage directions, she goes onto say, “*ee if + don’t. One of these plump Oguaa

mulatto women. ith a skin as smooth as shea-butter and golden like fresh palm-oil on yam!.

8ofi from the 7get go$ has made it very clear he will take only one wife, that wife being Anowa.

This is linked to western culture and that is through monogamous relationships, as one can note

that in Africa, polygamy is normal and the fact that 8ofi is opposed that he is by essence

opposed to traditions and by all means has embraced western society. 8ofi is impacted upon

these values so much so that he is not only impacted by them but he also becomes them. 8ofi

goes onto embrace his western culture more so than tradition as he is seen purchasing slaves and

not only that these slaves call him father and Anowa mother. 'ignificantly this can be linked to

how colonialism makes some persons dependent on others like the boy and then like the girl

colonialism can cause rebellion in others much like !konkwo. #amming is instructive in this

sense as well as he also attempts to show through characterisation how colonialism years after

still has its impact on individuals who are descendants of Africans. This psychological damage

never goes away as seen in the overseer types found in #amming$s novel where they work very

hard at keeping their own race down, a tactic used by coloni2ers. Also through &r. Croton who

represents persons like the Commissioner in Things Fall Apart or 8ofi in Anowa, showing great

7sympathy$ in an attempt to trap the individual blindsided.

%n speaking about 8ofi as a character this can lead to the very symbolic role he plays

along with Anowa. 'ymbolism is a well used techniue by Aidoo in her attempt to show western

values and how they can creep in and take over and also 7kill$ an entire tradition. Anowa


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always be by force but by a sense of psychological damage still present in people hundreds of

years later. Achebe also attempts to use symbolism but instead of characters or individuals he

uses locust, a delicacy for the %bo people. The fact that when the locust come persons tend to be

uite accepting and never uestion why locust would come and what is it eactly. 1ut it is how

the locust descended? Achebe uses the imagery to capture the invasion of colonialism. Achebe

wrote, “ And at last the locusts did descend. "hey settled on e/ery tree and on e/ery blade of

grass0 they settled on the roofs and co/ered the bare ground. 2ighty tree branches broke away

under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the /ast, hungry

swarm”9@+0@(;. %t is not by accident that Achebe$s language is so graphic he wanted to see that

as good as something was, after locust was a delicacy and very rare, there was always a

downside to something and in this case it was the locust and how it broke 7mighty trees$.

Colonialism did the same with mighty countries and when the westerners were finish eploiting

the 7weaker$ countries it became like a 7hungry swarm$ always seeking more and wanting more

even when there was none to give.

The ma/or themes utilised by the three writers are change and colonialism and they can

be linked and used simultaneously as they both are instrumental in showing the introduction and

the impact of western tradition on African tradition. -ach and every one of these societies went

through change whether it was !kwonko like Anowa who refused to change with the times or "

in his adolescent stages not wanting to think that change was possible. -ach society went from

communal to individualistic and this change was all brought about by colonialism. 'olomon

%yasere 9():); noted about Things Fall Apart, 3"he peace of the tribe as a whole takes

precedence o/er personal considerations!. Change linked with colonialism can be found at the

end of chapter twenty four with the killing of the chief messenger being slain by !kwonko.


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reviously Achebe showed !kwonko reflecting on life as it was in the village before the

invasion of the white man. 1y doing this Achebe then sets the stage for the killing !kwonko has

a hand in. !kwonko is fighting not to change but times in moufia as he knows it is over, &r.

1rown psychologically damaged some individuals but his successor &r. 'mith was a tyrant and

this kept individuals in line. Colonialism was used as a tool of change for westerners, which

change being one of superiority to inferiority. %t is said the only way to make a man do as he is

told is to make him lower than you yourself are. Aidoo also attempts to make this causal

connection between the two but not as Achebe did. Aidoo shows the switch from a matriarchal

society to characteristics set out from a patriarchal society. 'he uses the character Anowa to

further what she meant by a changing society. At one point in the book Anowa is annoyed that

she must now do as her husband ask of. Anowa believed she should have been taught to be

submissive woman but rather one with an opinion on her life and also on societies. #amming

also uses change in an instrumental way to show that change can be for the better and it need not

only demonstrate catastrophe.

Theme, symbolism and characterisation all play a wider significance in the

characterisation and also the plot build up. Things such as love and change should coeist so that

home time does not mean the invasion of others.


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Beferences

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. ew =orkD Fawcett Crest, ():).

Aidoo, A. A. ()eb. ) Apr. G+(@.

comparative essay- english literature

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