Africa is typically thought of as being a continent full of violence and revolution. This concept may have originated from the poor treatment of Africans by the rest of the world through colonization, forced labor in Africa, and the enslaving of Africans in other regions of the world. The danger and violence that stemmed from many countries gaining independence and experiencing political upheaval has been thwarted by peacekeeping efforts from outside agencies, like the United Nations. Africa has had a violent past, but only because of the exploitation by the Europeans, and eventually Americans. Ultimately, their ethnocentrism led to violence and the stereotype of danger in Africa.
(Achebe 129)” Chenowa Achebe speaks his thoughts on imperialism here by saying that even though the white imperialists thought they were doing good, they didn’t bother to even try to understand the natives’ feelings towards them. Although imperialism brought government stability and education, the long term effects of imperialism in Africa were negative because natives were made slaves, borders were poorly placed, and European religion/education was forced upon them. All in all, British Imperialism hurt Africa much more than it
p.12). According to Ola (2015) one of the main effect of colonial rule in Nigeria remains the “distortions of natural boundaries without due recourse to antecedent institutions and cultures. The western civilization submerged and dismantled indigenous institutions and, in its place, a foreign rule was established" (p.71) Ola (2015) went further to assert that after dismantling the ‘indigenous institutions’ came the initiation of Western democracy disregarding how these natives were living their lives prior their arrival of the
The rate of poverty and homelessness created a need for more economic opportunities. Colonies provided a chance for work and prosperity(Iweriebor, “The colonization of Africa”). Europeans lied to the Africans and made them sign what the Africans thought were peace treaties. Proverbs were among the many popular folkloric forms. Nigeria’s diverse past traditions provide many culture ideas(Gall, Hobby, “nigeria”).
3.1 THE COLONIAL LEGACY ON THE AFRICA’S UNDERDEVELOPMENT From the 16th century to 1921, 84 % of the earth had been under the sphere of influences of colonial powers. After World War I, there were around 168 colonies (Chiriyankandath, 2007) European colonization of Africa has had serious negative consequences for development, which over rides any purported differences in rule style. Colonialism has had a very negative, constraining effect on development in general. The impact of colonialism on the African continent is certainly relevant in characterizing postcolonial states and conflicts. Colonialism has permanent geographical, cultural, and financial legacies.
The character is therefore associated to negative concepts such as that of poverty through the reference to the “valley of ashes” and the implicit prejudice of the narrator´s perspective. Fitzgerald constructs Daisy Buchanan as the archetype of a sociopath, the author 's pursuit to criticize a manipulative hegemonic class. Likewise, the novel focuses on quotes such as, “Gatsby?” demanded Daisy. “What Gatsby?” (p.11), to consolidate criticism. The definition of sociopathy, bases on, “Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a lack of regard for the moral or legal standards in the local culture.” (McAfee, 2003).
If Things Fall Apart had been written is a different time, how and why might it differ? Chinua Achebe, the author of the post-colonial novel Things Fall Apart, founded a Nigerian literary movement which wrote about the traditional oral culture of its indigenous peoples in the 1950’s. Achebe sought to convey understanding of this culture in response to novels, such as Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, which portray native Africans as primitive, socially backward and language-less. In his novel, Achebe shatters the stereotypical European litera-ture in which Africans are described as primitive and mindless savages. "The writer cannot be excused from the task of re-education and regeneration that must be done.
reconcile themselves to an accommodating change. The aim of this research is to explore a new dimension about the concept of Colonialism within the African context. A colonizer is always considered to be a brutal person whose sole aim is to destroy the recent culture and tradition of the territory under his command. This research will discuss entirely different prospects of viewing a colonizer. Colonialism is not just something that happens from outside a country,
The Western Europeans gain power over Africans, however the way they controlled their power, with inhumane, racist and selfish actions mean’t the colonies were bound to failure. In the conquest for colonies racism and ethnocentrism played a role in how the Europeans went about with their Imperialistic conquest, however it wasn’t the original
For example, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who receives Commonwealth Prize for Literature for her first novel Purple Hibiscus also receives Orange Prize for her same novel and for her Half of a Yellow Sun. She follows tradition like Chinua Achebe, also targets issues of social and political issues directly or indirectly of the status of Nigeria. However, her Half of a Yellow sun speaks the most direct attack of Nigeria and Biafra war. Her Purple Hibiscus shows the impact of colonization of Nigeria. It visualizes the facts of ethnic tensions and political imbalance and the fear of racial injustice and cultural identity and power supremacy among the people as well as rulers.