The Colonizer and the Colonized
Angelo Sepulveda Jr.
03/14/08
Page 1
After the American Revolution ended in 1783, other colonies of the Americas began to win their freedom from the European homeland. After much of the European presence had been lifted from the continents, Europe began to focus much of their imperial power on areas close to home, their southern neighbors in Africa. Much of the same methods that governed rule in the new world were used: it was to convert those who they had been trading with for centuries to European philosophies on religion and government and to plunder their lands of natural resources and precious materials. Not much ever changes when it comes to colonization, just the oppressors and the oppressed. However, there are several points that have to be addressed: what is it like to be colonized, are the colonizers really helping matters in the colonies, or making more turmoil for them, and why are the colonies being colonized in the first place? The two novels that really capture both sides of imperialism are Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. As the title implies, Things Fall Apart centers on the tale of Okonkwo and how things fall apart for him and his people. Set in the present day country of Niger, Achebe describes the rise and fall of a hero to his people, someone who one day represents all the tribe stands for and the next they are taken over by Europe and he no longer stands for the ideals of his tribe. In the novel, Achebe describes a culture rich in tradition, with customs that go back generations to the day of the tribes creation. They have festivals, a governing council, an organized religion, and superstitions, similar to all cultures of the world, including Europe. The Ibo tribe holds a friendly competition of wrestling every year
Page 2 during The Feast of the New Yam (pg. 46), where representatives of the all nine villages of the Ibo tribe were separated into two teams and wrestled for the glory of
03/14/08
Page 1
After the American Revolution ended in 1783, other colonies of the Americas began to win their freedom from the European homeland. After much of the European presence had been lifted from the continents, Europe began to focus much of their imperial power on areas close to home, their southern neighbors in Africa. Much of the same methods that governed rule in the new world were used: it was to convert those who they had been trading with for centuries to European philosophies on religion and government and to plunder their lands of natural resources and precious materials. Not much ever changes when it comes to colonization, just the oppressors and the oppressed. However, there are several points that have to be addressed: what is it like to be colonized, are the colonizers really helping matters in the colonies, or making more turmoil for them, and why are the colonies being colonized in the first place? The two novels that really capture both sides of imperialism are Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. As the title implies, Things Fall Apart centers on the tale of Okonkwo and how things fall apart for him and his people. Set in the present day country of Niger, Achebe describes the rise and fall of a hero to his people, someone who one day represents all the tribe stands for and the next they are taken over by Europe and he no longer stands for the ideals of his tribe. In the novel, Achebe describes a culture rich in tradition, with customs that go back generations to the day of the tribes creation. They have festivals, a governing council, an organized religion, and superstitions, similar to all cultures of the world, including Europe. The Ibo tribe holds a friendly competition of wrestling every year
Page 2 during The Feast of the New Yam (pg. 46), where representatives of the all nine villages of the Ibo tribe were separated into two teams and wrestled for the glory of