Ethnocentrism is defined as the belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture (Ethnocentrism). This attitude often has toxic outcomes, yet is common all throughout the world, and especially in Western nations. More specific to these Western countries is Eurocentrism, wherein Europe is viewed by Europeans as the core of humanity, and therefore, civilization. Eurocentrism often lends its way to racism towards non-whites, viewing them as primitive and ignorant of modern times. During the Age of Imperialism, a “scramble for Africa” took place in the 1880’s and 1890’s, in which these Eurocentric Western countries sought to exploit Africa’s natural resources and enact supposedly humanitarian civilization efforts (Kenalemang
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In the past, colonization and cultivation of native African communities has had extremely detrimental effects on their rich cultures and customs, creating a community of cultural hybrids and a “perpetual otherness” of the African aboriginals, allowing for ever-continued harsh subjugation of natives (Gibb 237). This damaging imperialism is viewed from differing perspectives within two novels: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Conrad’s narrative tells about an Englishman named Marlow traversing the Congo River and observing with a Eurocentric perspective the unfair treatment and livelihood of African peoples, whereas Achebe’s tale follows a revered man named Okonkwo living as a member of the Umuofia tribe in Nigeria when European Christian missionaries move into their territory in hopes of civilizing them. Though the novels are of opposing perspective, both Conrad and Achebe express a theme of imperialistic corruption within their works. Tone, symbolism, allegories, and other literary elements are used in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart to present the adverse effects that colonization has on …show more content…
Okonkwo is a respected man, acting as one of several elder leaders within Umuofia. As a character who is violent yet compassionate about his community, Okonkwo is representative of the entire tribe (Kenalemang 14). The leaders of Umuofia work together to enforce an unbiased, fair judicial system, where both parties in a trial get to say their piece before a decision is made. This contrasts the missionaries’ judicial system, in which the “guilty” party gets no say and indictments are made without evidence or civil trial. The missionaries come to civilize, yet are the truly uncivil leaders compared to Umuofia’s elders. These autocratic Europeans act as dictators in a land that is not theirs. As Berhanu Nega, the previous mayor of Ethiopia’s capital, points out in his criticism of dictatorships, “...the inbuilt instability of dictatorships…can lead to a complete breakdown of society…The human and economic costs…are substantial…including losses to human life, infrastructure damage and business and foreign direct investment losses.” (Nega 371, 377). In Things Fall Apart, losses such as these are seen in the treatment by missionaries of the Abame tribe. The massacre acts as the colonizers’ retribution for one white man’s murder, where, “everybody was killed, except the old and the sick who were at home and a handful of men and women…Their clan is now completely empty. Even the sacred fish in
In the past, colonization and cultivation of native African communities has had extremely detrimental effects on their rich cultures and customs, creating a community of cultural hybrids and a “perpetual otherness” of the African aboriginals, allowing for ever-continued harsh subjugation of natives (Gibb 237). This damaging imperialism is viewed from differing perspectives within two novels: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Conrad’s narrative tells about an Englishman named Marlow traversing the Congo River and observing with a Eurocentric perspective the unfair treatment and livelihood of African peoples, whereas Achebe’s tale follows a revered man named Okonkwo living as a member of the Umuofia tribe in Nigeria when European Christian missionaries move into their territory in hopes of civilizing them. Though the novels are of opposing perspective, both Conrad and Achebe express a theme of imperialistic corruption within their works. Tone, symbolism, allegories, and other literary elements are used in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart to present the adverse effects that colonization has on …show more content…
Okonkwo is a respected man, acting as one of several elder leaders within Umuofia. As a character who is violent yet compassionate about his community, Okonkwo is representative of the entire tribe (Kenalemang 14). The leaders of Umuofia work together to enforce an unbiased, fair judicial system, where both parties in a trial get to say their piece before a decision is made. This contrasts the missionaries’ judicial system, in which the “guilty” party gets no say and indictments are made without evidence or civil trial. The missionaries come to civilize, yet are the truly uncivil leaders compared to Umuofia’s elders. These autocratic Europeans act as dictators in a land that is not theirs. As Berhanu Nega, the previous mayor of Ethiopia’s capital, points out in his criticism of dictatorships, “...the inbuilt instability of dictatorships…can lead to a complete breakdown of society…The human and economic costs…are substantial…including losses to human life, infrastructure damage and business and foreign direct investment losses.” (Nega 371, 377). In Things Fall Apart, losses such as these are seen in the treatment by missionaries of the Abame tribe. The massacre acts as the colonizers’ retribution for one white man’s murder, where, “everybody was killed, except the old and the sick who were at home and a handful of men and women…Their clan is now completely empty. Even the sacred fish in