Essay on Images of Africans in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness

Images of Afri stinkers in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness   In my interpreting of Things Fall Apart, it has better informed me of a culture that I did not know of before, and by reading it helped correct some broad misconceptions that I antecedently held of the raft and their cultures of Africa. Reading the novel also gave me another perspective on the effects of imperialism/colonialism by the Europeans on the Africans. I believe Achebe has succeeded in enabling the westerly an opportunity to have them listen to the weak (Achebe interview), but whether or not Western society decides to listen will come down to the individual at bottom the society--if they do choose to listen to the call of the weak. In this essay I will shargon realizations that I gained by reading Achebes novel, and how I came to view the stack of the Igbo and Africa and not so different as I had thought before. The distinct writing style that Achebe used to narrate his novel take me, as the reader, to look as if I were a fellow tribesman of the Igbo people. This differing perspective, rather than being an outsider looking in on the people, led me to define that the Igbos are a people with strong beliefs, culture, and identity. An example of their identity is the description of one of their dwellings, more specifically of Okonkwos compound it is described as a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth and we read further on about the barn for Okonkwos yams and the shed for his goats (1429). The Igbo people are obviously agrarian, and led me to the question, how different are they from us? My answer is, there are not a lot of differenes. Based upon my experience--my father was raised on a farm--I see stark similarities between us and them... ...people of Umuofia could not have forecasted, with the exception of the oracle, that they would have fallen due to the white man and his religion, but I believe we can derive a couple of reasons why they fell and app ly it to our own society. In conclusion, I really enjoyed Achebes novel and liked the contrast between it and Conrads lock of Heart of Darkness. I believe there are times that, in order to see the extremes of something, you must contrast it to its opposite extreme. As a reason moderate of beliefs on colonialism and those who proselytize their religion onto others, I realize now the dire impact those acts can have on a naive or vulnerable culture, and I now disagree with those practices. Finally, I heed the call of the weak for I hear the quiet but powerful voice that says, We are a people too... and I know the truth of the message