Chinua Achebe makes a strong point in each of his stories and each story has a different message. “An Image of Africa” explains how Europeans tried to write the history of Africa from their point of view and how they claimed Africa had no history until the Europeans arrived. Just because the African’s didn’t have a written language, and therefore an unwritten history, doesn’t mean they have no history, traditions, or way of life. Everyone has a history, no matter how they choose to pass it to the next generation it still exists.
“Girls at War” is a tale of irony. A hooker dies trying to save the life of a soldier who was there to save her. Maybe not her specifically, but he was part of a unit who was there to try to help better the lives of those who lived there. It figures that both the girl and the soldier die from being bombed.
My favorite story was “The Madman.” Both men were viewed as being mad, or insane. This story depicts two different degrees of insanity though. Just because someone does something crazy every once in a while doesn’t mean that they need to be put in a straight jacket and a locked in a padded room (although the padded room idea could be fun). With my anxiety disorder causes me react to things in a more unorthodox manner. Just because I have an anxiety attack, or temporarily break down, doesn’t warrant me a hospital stay. Granted, if someone is literally talking to the road, they probably need to get some sort of help. High running emotions, and also alcohol, can cause temporary acts insanity. The second man was angry at the first for stealing his pants, and based on the principle of it, chased him through the market… naked. You can say, “That is insane” but unless it’s a constant, consistent, mental disorder who is to deem one act of madness as insanity? It seems to work in court systems when an offender claims "temporary insanity,” but they are fine during the trial. I would need to research that further, but the understanding I have is that high levels of adrenaline (or something like that) cause temporary blackouts in memory (or something like that). Even psychiatrists aren't always the best source if a clinical diagnosis because unless the see the person regularly over a period of time, then the patient can say whatever, and act any way they want to get the diagnosis they want.
In “Madmen” the view of madness is making fun of the Africans in their lack of education and written language. The author is getting at that the African’s aren’t crazy in their way of life but they have been taught that they are by the Europeans. Since they have been told so constantly that they are “insane” they have started to believe that it’s true and attempted to change their ways accordingly. It’s wrong to call out being different as being uncivilized and crazy.
Every culture has their traditions and way of life. Just because it doesn't match what the "norm" is of a more advanced lifestyle doesn't mean its wrong or unbalanced. This is exactly what the Europeans thought of the African's way of life and still today Africa suffers from it. The wars that were triggered by forced colonization have left most of Africa in constant battles and destitution. Maybe if they had been shown how technological advancements could improve their lives the Africans may have utilized them. Instead the Europeans forced Africans to "work for them" as they took over Africa without regard to improving it. Its heartbreaking to see the photos from this time period and see the cruelty inflicted just because of a difference in lifestyle and people's greed. Its a long-shot to wish that we could all just get along, but is it so much to wish that we could stop harming one another?
Your commentary on "The Madman" is good although the commentary on "Girls at War" is a little thin. I think that during the process of colonization, some African countries did industrialize to an extent, so the present countries do have people who are work with some sophisticated technologies. However, subsistence farming is still prominent for many. The cash/export farming is fairly technologically modernized, but sometimes those techniques are only good in the short run in given climates. It is very complicated and different in each country.
ReplyDelete