Gonna Go Be a Christian Now, Kthxbai.

What do you mean “How is my father?” Obierika ?!  If I am here, (motion to your “friends” around you) among the wonderful Christian missionaries, how would I know, or why would I care to know?  Such a man cannot be my father!  You saw the way he treated me; beating me at every possibility, so disappointed with having such an “effeminate” son such as myself.  It was so clear that I wasn’t like the rest of the boys in my village, and I thought you of all people would understand!  You weren’t with Okonkwo when they went off to kill Ikemefuna, the closest person that I had to real father!  He supported me, motivated me, he made me feel appreciated; the complete opposite of my “father”.  (CALM DOWN) I still remember the folk tales that he shared with me.  Oh, how I wish that I could go to the land where the ant lived, where the sands danced forever (DO NOT DO A DANCE HERE).  But enough of those tragic times in my life.  (SOUND DESPERATE HERE) Oh, Obierika, I tried hard to make Okonkwo proud, but the endless nagging!  Why must our culture support such activities?  Why do our fathers have to be so harsh?  And I know that you question our culture and traditions too; you didn’t know why Ikemefuna was forced to be killed, or why twins are killed too!  Oh my, and seeing my sister, Ezinma, cry as Agbala’s priestess took her away to the caves.  Why do we have to act this way, and support such horrors?  We wonder about the same issues!  Just thinking about it leaves you emotionless, chilled (SHIVER), wondering if it’s all worth it.  But I ... I am the different one.  I chose to make a change for the better; I chose to follow what I believe in!  I knew that my father could not be trusted after he killed my brother ... his own son!  When the “white men” had visited our village, I was intrigued!  No longer would I have to work for the rest of my life on a yam farm.  No longer would I have to be what my father expects of me.  By just being a Christian, I can live a happy life, and even a happy afterlife!  I paced in front of the new church, hesitating if it was the right choice to enter, but when I did, oh how much better I felt!  The poetry and songs, they answered all the questions I’ve been pondering for so long.  Our culture is wrong!  God is the answer!  So I told the inspiring Mr. Kiaga about my dream to attend the school in Umuofia.  How overjoyed I was at the opportunities that lay ahead of me.  My troubles would be over forever.  No Okonkwo, no stupid traditions, no expectations stopping me from being who I really am!  I am now free.

"Every Hero Becomes a Bore At Last."

In my original essay, I believed that Okonkwo was indeed a hero, but now I no longer think this way.  Before, I thought that Okonkwo displayed a lot of determination and strength in his pursuit for success, but towards the end of the novel, he seems to give up.  The conclusion of the novel, where Okonkwo commits suicide, shows that he stopped believing that his village could fight against the missionaries.  He lost all hope, as well as his self-respect, and committed one of the greatest offenses of the Ibo culture; to kill oneself.  In my opinion, heroes aren’t ones to give up easily; they stick to what they believe in and don’t stop until they achieve. 

He also used to be very strong, mentally and physically, as he worked hard to build up his farm.  However, his mental strength began to decrease significantly after he chose to take part in killing Ikemefuna.  Okonkwo suffered very much after that event, and “was so weak that his legs could hardly carry him”, showing that his physical strength was affected also (61).  Since heroes should be fairly stable and able to control themselves, Okonkwo can no longer be considered a hero, since he has lost this control. 

If looked at from other points of view, Okonkwo can however be seen as your classical tragic hero.  He possesses a flaw of not wanting himself or his children to be like Unoka, his father, and he lets this want control his life.  He is not aware of how much he lets this affect him, or responsible for hating his father so much, but he is responsible for his outrageous actions throughout the story.  The way that he treats Nwoye and his complete hatred towards the missionaries are derived from his loyalty to the Ibo culture, but also essentially lead to his death. 

The idea of post-colonialism also comes into consideration.  With the presence of the missionaries, many of the members of his village change their views towards the Ibo culture, and consequently, their views towards what defines a successful man.  With the development of the Christian school, their expectations may have changed in favour of someone more educated or civil.  This results in Okonkwo being less respected among his community, which explains his village’s less than ecstatic response to Okonkwo’s frightening action of killing one of the messengers.  This change in expectations is what led to our main character’s, and the Ibo culture’s, downfall.  Just like the quote in my title, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the village becomes “bored” of Okonkwo because new heroes and new expectations come around.  As the Ibo people are affected by the European culture and grow out of their traditions, they grow out of what were once their heroes, leaving them hopeless. 

In conclusion, Okonkwo is a tragic hero in a sense, but counteracts any chance of the reader feeling sympathy for him because of his actions; his behaviour throughout the story shows that he is not a true hero at all.

Why Can't Everyone Just Get Along ?!

            The main conflicts in the novel Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson are Kabuo vs. Society, Ishmael vs. Society, Ishmael vs. Self and Ishmael vs. Hatsue.  Kabuo was accused of murdering Carl Heine, and is therefore opposing the criminal justice system.  He must find a way to prove himself innocent, or he will be imprisoned for a crime that he didn’t commit.  The justice system is also very large and overpowering, so Kabuo must stand up for himself in a big way in order to make any change.  Additionally, being of Japanese descent, Kabuo is also hated by most of his peers, since the Japanese were considered enemies throughout World War II.  This makes Kabuo’s first conflict even more difficult, since it will be almost impossible to prove to the rest of the island that a Japanese person is innocent and kind-hearted. 

            Next, Ishmael is the town reporter, and therefore has to find evidence to prove whether Kabuo, a friend of his, is guilty or innocent.  He was also friends with the deceased, Carl Heine, and wishes to find justice so that Carl’s death does not go unsolved.  This conflict can be seen as Man vs. Society, since he must convince the judge and the rest of San Piedro that Kabuo is either guilty or innocent, or Man vs. Self, because he also wants to find out the truth for himself.  This could lead to the dilemma of doing what is right, or doing what could help him get closer to Hatsue.

            This leads to the last conflict between Ishmael and Hatsue.  Ishmael outwardly displays strong feelings for Hatsue and clearly cares about her very much, since he was so worried about her reaction to him outside the courtroom.  The author also states that he was Hatsue’s first kiss and that she lied to Kabuo, her husband, about it, which shows that there may still be a spark between her and Ishmael.  Ishmael also says that the sadness in Hatsue’s eyes will stay in his mind forever, meaning that he will always be thinking of her.  This foreshadows that some relationship may form between Ishmael and Hatsue, which would create a very tense environment between them and Kabuo and his case.  Therefore, Ishmael must choose between his friend, Kabuo, and his love, Hatsue.  

Vanilla > Chocolate ?

Post-colonialism is a highly debatable theory, but can be clearly defined as what occurs after colonialism.  This includes the cultural, agricultural, and social impacts of the European conquests.  An example of these impacts is the attempt to create some kind of identity within their own nation once becoming independent; the “expectations” of the colonist are often passed down to the colony itself.  This results in much of the colonized country’s culture being defined by the colonists, and therefore any knowledge of this country that we have is usually false and manipulated by the colonists.  Consequently, the Caucasian appearance is often perceived as “better”, which leads to many people being influenced into thinking they are nothing if they do not look like the population of the colonist countries.

A prominent example of this in today’s culture is the idea of plastic surgery in order to change someone’s race.  In China, many women get surgery to appear more white, whether it be getting a pointier nose or rounder eyes, including the popular double eyelid surgery.  The Christian Broadcasting Network did a story on this issue, in which they interviewed different women on their intentions for the surgery. 

Many advertisements pressure people to have this look around the world by showing models with “white” faces and features, showing that one must be Caucasian in order to be beautiful.  In addition to this, Maxim magazine also releases a list of the “World’s 100 Most Beautiful Women”, which is often mostly Caucasian women, reinforcing the idea that they are the definition of beauty. 

Vaseline also released a skin whitening lotion in India, along with a Facebook application that shows people what they would look like with lighter skin.  This want for light skin relates to the need to appear more Caucasian in order to be accepted in society, as was stated by many interviewees in the Christian Broadcasting Network video.  A milk advertisement by Cravendale also implies that one cannot be pure and kind if they have imperfections such as a skin colour other than white.

Beyonce was involved in a recent controversy based on her photo shoot for the French magazine L’Officiel.  Beyonce’s face was darkened very significantly as a tribute to a Nigerian musician and human rights activist.  The make up used to darken her face has been rumoured to be the make up which wass used to portray harsh caricatures of African Americans in historical theatre and entertainment.  I also believe that another issue connected to this photo shoot is the fact that the magazine used a “whiter” African American as a tribute to Nigerians, rather than an actual Nigerian woman.  This brings up the idea of Nigerian women perhaps not being beautiful enough to use for photo shoots, or that more Americanized women are better than foreign women.  The fact that Beyonce has lighter skin shows that the magazine may be mocking black skin, since it is different and very surprising to see.  This once again reinforces the idea that light skin is “better”, and proves that post-colonialism still affects our world today.