This section contains 1,736 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) |
Things Fall Apart and a Small Place: Comparing the Theme of Cultural Integrity
Summary: Discusses the cultural integrity of the natives in A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Describes the values and morals of the natives and details how they are compromised by the invading British.
The integrity of local cultures is compromised for that of the intruding colonizer. There is conflict between the existing traditions and beliefs in an area and the new civilization's rules and ideas. Each side believes that they are correct and the other is the amoral one. "We felt superior, for we were so much better behaved and we were full of grace, and these people were so badly behaved and they were so completely empty of grace. (Of course, I now see that good behaviour is the proper posture of the weak, of children)" (Kincaid 30). In A Small Place, Jamaica Kincaid states that the Antiguans believed that the English were terrible because of their manners and behavior. She follows that the good behavior of the Antiguans is actually a sign of weakness. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart also portrays a struggle between two cultures. Okonkwo tries to act...
This section contains 1,736 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) |