Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Sociologist Summary:

In the African society, women held complementary work positions to the men. Much of the legislation concerning women attempted to control them, their sexuality, and fertility. Societies expected women to work at home and outside as part of their daily chores. Women usually married young and to an older, predetermined man. When hitting puberty, women stayed in a "fat house" not allowed to come out or work until they were physically mature enough.

When a woman would marry, first the potential groom would have to pay a dowry for his wife. The father of the wife chooses the groom, and if his daughter disobeyed him or went against his wishes for whom she would marry he could punish her however he pleased.

After marriage, the wife chosen to sleep with the husband the night before rises to fetch wood to warm up the water she fetched as well so the husband can bathe. Then she goes and pays her duties to the weekly gods, and then goes about cleaning, cooking, and preparing for morning.

The main objects of traditional belief are for the African's God(s), divinities, spirits, and ancestors. Each African culture differed somewhat according to the God or Gods they worshipped.

Questions:

12) In the resolution of the novel, Okonkwo commits suicide. He does this not only to show his culture and his people that they are making a big mistake by allowing the white men to invade their land and culture, but also that he felt he had to do something drastic to get his point across, and since he was such an authoritative figure with much to say, he decided drastic measures were in order.

13) The similarities between Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness are that both novels depict a scene in which the white men come into the African's homeland. Another similarity is that the white men believe that they are better than the Africans. However, differences there are many. For one, in Heart of Darkness, Africans are depicted as irrationally violent. In Things Fall Apart however, Africans are depicted as kind, gentle, and although at times violent, for the most part are peaceful creatures.

Posted by ChelseaTaylor_Delgado @ 3:51 PM