Chinua Achebe rose to prevalence as one of the finest African writers during the decolonization of Africa. He was an outspoken critic of the West and its influence on Africa. One of the frequent topics Achebe visited was how the language used by the Western intellectuals in reference to the Africans affected the view of Africans during that time. Achebe’s unique insights in his writings can affect modern society because modern society still suffers from this issue but with different nuances. Things Fall Apart is one of Achebe’s best writings to explore this issue due to many of the times it serves as a foil to Western Society, as well as, the interactions between the Christian missionaries and the Igbo people. I am not the only one who thinks
…show more content…
This is a nuanced issue with many sides involved. However, when presented by the media, the media decides to paint the issue as black-and-white with the blame on the victim. It does this through the implementation of words such as “thug” and using negative photos of the victim. These words carry negative value judgements. So, by recognizing that and recognizing what Achebe wrote about that in “Colonialist Criticism” one can glem a recognition of why what the media is doing is bad, and one might be more perceptive to this if this happened again. Such perception is vital in today’s society so that one can recognize the use of words with negative connotations when used to persuade people. A related issue is the use of the word “Ghetto”. In America, it is common to hear someone say, “Oh, that’s ghetto”. While it is not immediately apparent why this is a problem, it soon is when looked at it in the way Achebe would. First what is the speaker implying with the word ghetto. Well, the word ghetto is associated with poor persons, typically poor African Americans. Even further back, one can see the word was used to reference walled-off slums that Jewish people were corralled into during the Nazi-occupation of Europe. By looking at what the Speaker is implying the way Achebe would, the classist and racist undertones quickly surface. Another issue that Achebe can help to solve is the generalization of Africa. When Africa is discussed, it is usually treated as one singular entity instead of the vast, diverse content it truly is. When this happened in Marlow's Heart of Darkness, Achebe fought it with a narrow, more human description of the night. Achebe is showing us that a good way to combat generalizations is to provide for a more specific and accurate example. So, for example, instead of discussing the monolithic, war-torn Africa, one could
This is a nuanced issue with many sides involved. However, when presented by the media, the media decides to paint the issue as black-and-white with the blame on the victim. It does this through the implementation of words such as “thug” and using negative photos of the victim. These words carry negative value judgements. So, by recognizing that and recognizing what Achebe wrote about that in “Colonialist Criticism” one can glem a recognition of why what the media is doing is bad, and one might be more perceptive to this if this happened again. Such perception is vital in today’s society so that one can recognize the use of words with negative connotations when used to persuade people. A related issue is the use of the word “Ghetto”. In America, it is common to hear someone say, “Oh, that’s ghetto”. While it is not immediately apparent why this is a problem, it soon is when looked at it in the way Achebe would. First what is the speaker implying with the word ghetto. Well, the word ghetto is associated with poor persons, typically poor African Americans. Even further back, one can see the word was used to reference walled-off slums that Jewish people were corralled into during the Nazi-occupation of Europe. By looking at what the Speaker is implying the way Achebe would, the classist and racist undertones quickly surface. Another issue that Achebe can help to solve is the generalization of Africa. When Africa is discussed, it is usually treated as one singular entity instead of the vast, diverse content it truly is. When this happened in Marlow's Heart of Darkness, Achebe fought it with a narrow, more human description of the night. Achebe is showing us that a good way to combat generalizations is to provide for a more specific and accurate example. So, for example, instead of discussing the monolithic, war-torn Africa, one could