Heart of Darkness...unconventionally impactful

Although I have read excerpts of Heart of Darkness in the past, reading it in its' entirety provides a completely different effect. It seems that rather than explicitly exploiting the corrupt nature of European colonialism at the time, Conrad utilizes Marlow as a tool to reveal not only the cruelty but also the ignorance of European explorers of the time.

I found this approach to be surprisingly effective, its interesting to view the Europeans as the ignorant savages rather than the Africans. I especially liked when Marlow makes a point to remind his fellow crewman that England hasn't always been the center of the civilized world, and at one point, it too was considered an undiscovered, savage place. In addition to this subtle jab at European ethnocentrism, multiple times throughout the book, I was reminded of the utter ignorance of European figures in society. One example is the doctor in Part 1...he does and says a number of idiotic things that prove his complete lack of qualification as well as the futility of Marlow's checkup. Other characters that contribute to the overall feeling of fraudulence are the brick maker, general manager, and chief accountant just to name a few. None of these men are remarkable in their talents or, for that matter, even capable of fulfilling the expectations of their jobs. It seems that Kurtz is the only real formidable antagonist and all of the others simply get by because they're never questioned by anyone.

It seems to me that Conrad is trying to illustrate the flaws and ignorance among European society as a whole...the women are naive idealists (which bothered me at times because everything else in the text appears to contain a progressive message), the professionals solely rely on the facade of their image and status in society, the colonists are completely incapable of learning anything and are too busy trying to transform Africa into their own fantasy getaway complete with all white outfits to see any of the cruelty occurring, and the others all work for Kurtz, a barbaric leader reminiscent of the European rulers of the time.

Besides the misogyny, I enjoyed Heart of Darkness and its ability to comment on society and colonialism through story telling and a complex point of view present throughout the play that ultimately serves as an objective narrator that is simply telling the things he has heard and allows the reader to interpret it however they choose.

Finished King Leopold's Ghost...

So, Ive just finished King Leopold's Ghost and I can honestly say that this book and not only life-changing content on nearly every page, but the manner in which it was written is truly exquisite. Hochschild's ability to write historical non-fiction in the style of a novel is remarkable...although I do enjoy history I would never, ever voluntarily read a "history book" so naturally I had some doubt about King Leopold's Ghost in the beginning but literally by the first 5 or 10 pages I was hooked!

Obviously the content of Hochschild's work is devastating, but I really think that because he manages to tell this story with such fluid ease, that even though the things I was reading were perhaps some of the most grotesque things I have ever read before; I still appreciated the style of Hochschild's writing as well as his respect for the African culture while he paints his all to vivid depiction of life during the colonial age.

Some aspects of King Leopold's Ghost that I loved were the pictures, and Hochschild's ability to introduce different figures in history as though they all worked together to tell this story of the past; the small details included about each character make the reader feel as though they are really getting acquainted with the life happenings of each character as well as simultaneously getting to know them on a personal level. I also really enjoyed the photos inserted about 120 pages in (right when I was starting to get tired from reading...), and they instantly reminded me just how real this colonization was. Its easy while reading Hochschild's novel to get lost in the descriptions and little anecdotes and forget how very real and horrific all of this really was as well was the impact still evident today. The photographs were a big deal to me; that's when I really started to grasp the morbid intensity of this occurrence and just how helpless the Africans were (despite any of their other skills or knowledge, it was impossible to defeat the Europeans since they had been manipulating the Africans essentially since their first encounter and on).

I really enjoyed the novel itself as well as the class discussion in Tuesday, its a really interesting experience to read this novel in a group since the content is so disturbing and basically no one knows about this event in history...I like getting to listen to everyone's thoughts and interpretations as I try to sort through my own complex feeling regarding King Leopold's Ghost.

First 100 pages of King Leopold's Ghost...

I have to admit that prior to picking up a copy of King Leopold's Ghost I had some apprehension regarding whether or not it would interest me...and contrary to what I had thought, King Leopold's Ghost has to be one of the most poetic telling of history that I have ever read.

This book is continuing to shock me with every page that I read...HOW could something like this have happened without hardly anyone noticing?? Obviously Leopold was a typical manipulating and strategizing genius and leader, but he abused his power and exploited an entire culture to the point of dessimation. After reading Things Fall Apart and Affonso's attempts of trying to maintain some kind of boundary with these European outsiders, im finally beginning to understand the shock and disbelief of the people of the Kongo. Obviously a strong leader has to be someone willing to learn yet self confident enough to know when an outside force has gone too far, however for Affonso, having these important characterisitics wasnt enough. Leopold managed to twist and distort every situation and request from Affonso to his own benefit, and even though this happened 100 years ago, the world can STILL see the devestating effects the slave trade and colonization had on Africa and its inhabitants.

Just within the first 100 pages I already feel like Im learning so much and actually empathizing and identifying with Affonso...this is a tragic yet fascinating part of the past that has been covered up by "those who write history" and Im excited to continue to dive even deeper into King Leopold's Ghost and continue learning and questioning with every page that I read.

Anti Slavery Movement in England and U.S.

The term Abolitionism pertains to the political movement of the 18th and 19th century which eventually led to slavery becoming illegal. This actually started all the way back during the Enlightenment in Europe and the United States and the anti slavery movement gained a tremendous following and became an issue that many people felt strongly towards.

Since the beginning of the 17th century enforced servitude had been done away with in Britain, however with the birth of new trading ideas and far off cultural discoveries, by the 18th century slaves were being imported from Africa and East Asia. Howver, in the beginning slaves werent bought or sold, and their legal status was unclear until 1772 ( the case of runaway slave, James Somersett forced a legal decision). Ultimately this was the first case of several that led to Lord Mansfield's (Cheif Justice of Court of the King's Bench) declaration that "Whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow from a decision, I cannot say this case is allowed or approved by the law of England; and therefore the black must be discharged." Thereby stating that the condition of slavery actually didnt even exist under English law (...i dont know how they didnt come to this conclusion a little earlier...? but I digress...). Mansfield elaborated further by stating that slavery contracted in other areas (the American colonies anyone?) could not be enforced in England.
The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage (catchy, isnt it?) was the first American abolition society, formed in 1775 in Philadelphia primarily composed of Quakers who had strong religious objections to slavery. However, because of the Revolution it ceased operation until 1784 with Benjamin Franklin as its first President. The Abolitionist Movement set in motion actions in every state to abolish slavery, succeeding in passing legislation to eventually emancipate the slaves in every northern state by 1804, however there were still some "permanent apprenctices" for some years after...but eventually slavery became completley banned by January 1st 1808.
Both Britain and the US have complex histories regarding the anti slavery mvmt, so for a more detailed timeline click on the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolition_of_slavery_timeline
I also wanted to share that during my researching endeavors I discovered that slavery is still very much a problem in modern society with over 27 million people enslaved world wide today. To learn more about this movement and what each of us can do click on the link below:
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/Default.aspx

My First Visit to the Village

Upon visiting the site for the first time I began to explore the different areas offered by the site when I came across this photograph of a masqueraded group of villages resting before a dance. Not only did this remind me of the strong influence of music as well as the drums and dancers in Things Fall Apart, but also (as we discussed in class) that the customs and ideals of the Ibo people are actually very similar to European customs and beliefs.

Looking at this photo made me want to research about the other customs practiced by the Ibo people and hopefully find some more similarities between the Ibo and the Europeans of the time...and, just as I thought, these two groups of people are very alike...

The Ibo people have these celebrations and dances during ceremonial times, besides just music there are also masks, sacrifices and other practices customary of the people. This is actually much like the great parties of Europe at the time...the only real differences are the costumes and setting of these parties. In addition to this similarity, the heads of families form a council of elders, which then shares its power with numerous secret societies; however, they may be open to any man who is rich enough to buy his way in. These societies carry great political and social influence over the rest of the tribe. They are highly hierarchical, their members passing from one level to the next, each stage marked by a specific attribute, much like the social hierarchy of the Europeans, who were similarly concerned (and/or potentially consumed) by the importance of image and maintaining a respectable social standing amongst other members of society.

Besides these social groups and secret associations of people, the importance of music is also something that both the Ibo and Europeans value. The Ibo had several different varieties of drums (the Pot drum, Talking drum and Slit drum) all used for different ceremonies, and the Europeans of the time were perfecting the Sonata form, and had such great composers as Beethoven and Chopin during the course of the 19th century.

Just from the similarities that I have discussed I think its easy to see that regardless of location or appearance, ultimately all people are really pretty similar. Such customs of music, dancing, clubs and groups are universal because of their appeal to humans on a very broad and almost instinctual level. These customs have been practiced for hundreds of years and people worldwide (whether it be tribal Africans or cosmopolitan Europeans) connect over them and still utilize festivals and music as a way of bonding and celebration today.

Things Fall Apart

Wow! Things Fall Apart completely obliterated any preconceived notions I had about the book and its subject matter...it was such a unique experience to take on the perspective of a native African versus the typical colonist narrative.

First of all, I need to discuss the social structure of the Ibo tribe, although Okonkwo's father had established a bad reputation among the other tribesmen Okonkwo was still allowed to rise in the Ibo social structure which I thought to be a surprisingly modern concept; in addition to his rise in status, Onkonkwo had it all pulled out from under him as a result of ignoring the oracle to satisfy his need for status and recognition among the other villagers. So despite his best attempts to dissociate from his father he still managed to be exiled from his village and stripped of his status. Okonkwo strives to make his way in a world that seems to value manliness, and in doing so, he rejects everything for which he believes his father stood. This proves that although Okonkwo did gain temporary success, he was never himself, but rather the manifestation of everything his father was not. As a result of Okonkwo's brutish and stubborn ways, he find himself unable to adapt to changing times as the white man comes to live among his people.
Although each of the characters contribute to the complexity of this work as a whole, Okonkwo seems to personify "the tragic hero" role the best...the reader grows with Okonkwo, first seeing his status and characteristics as an example of a strong man until a variable is added and I realized that all it took was something unknown to Okonkwo to bring about the ultimate downfall of his character. His personification of manliness with rashness, anger, and violence (all things his father did not represent)—brings about his own destruction. Although at times Okonkwo is gruff, and usually unable to express his feelings; his emotions are actually quite complex, as his “manly” values conflict with his “unmanly” ones.

Since Things Fall Apart is essentially a story about a culture on the verge of change, a substantial part of this transformation is composed of this change affects the various characters present in the work. The conflict regarding whether change should take priority over tradition seems to involve questions of personal status. Okonkwo tries to resist these new political and religious orders because he feels that theyre not manly and that he will not be manly if he agrees to join or even tolerate them... and in addition to this, Okonkwo's resistance of cultural change is also due to his fear of losing societal status. His sense of self-worth is dependent upon the traditional standards by which society judges him (and since his recognition of his father as a failure, Okonkwo has never tried to model himself after anything except the exact opposite of his father).

All in all, I loved this book and I feel as though I could endlessly continue to discuss all of the intricacies and cultural complexities found in it. It not only gave me insight into a culture that I didnt know of, but it also allowed me to learn new things in a literary aspect as well. Things Fall Apart tells of the inner workings of African tribal culture while also exploring the feelings and inner conflicts of man as a result of these social expectations.

Swahili...The Language and People

When I first chose to research "Swahili" I knew that somewhere along the way I had heard this word but didn't know if it was just a language, a group of people or some far off place that I had yet to discover but after the first few minutes of research I realized that Swahili is all of these things and more, even having its own way of telling time. "Swahili time" runs from dawn to dusk, instead of midnight to midday. So for example, 7am and 7pm are both one o'clock while midnight and midday are six o'clock.

The Swahili language is derived from a multitude of backgrounds, ranging from Arabic, Persian, German, Portuguese, Indian and English. This diverse culmination stems from centuries of trading with far off nations from all over the world, although the Arabic language has the most direct influence over the Swahili vocabulary (around 35% of the words are derived from Arabic).

Only around 5-10 million people speak Swahili as a first language, while 80 million speak it as a second language and it is the only language utilized in the African Union that is actually of African descent.

Even though this culture is so multifaceted and its language alone is conceived from several other places, no one is truely certain of the exact time and place that Swahili first emerged as a culture. It is assumed that the Swahili speaking people have occupied areas near the Indian Ocean (their present territories) since before AD 1000! In addition to this geographical history it is thought that the Swahili people actually got their name from their location near the sea, those who speak the language of Swahili call it 'Kiswahili', which comes from the plural of the Arabic word sāhil meaning "boundary" or "coast" (used as an adjective to mean "coastal dwellers") and because Arab and Persian traders are known to have had extensive contact with the coastal peoples from at least the 6th Century of the Christian Era, it is not far fetched to think that the Swahili culture was greatly influenced by these middle eastern traders.

It is slightly difficult to trace the birth of the Swahili culture, but its believed that it actually began thousands of years ago on the eastern coast of Africa (which was seen as highly valuable commercial land). Beacuse of this, many Muslims and Bantu speaking people settled along the African coast and this combination of peoples came to create a unique language and culture known as the Swahili civilization.Since the Swahili culture is diverse due to its many origins, in Swahili cuisine you will find influences from Indian, Arabic, and European cultures. There are also alterations to certain dishes due to religious reasons. For instance pork is seldom used in food because most of the Swahili are Muslim. Some food that is common in the everyday lives of the Swahili is fish, tropical fruits, and exotic spices.

About Me

My full name is Annamarie Chantel Sysling...but since I despise my middle name and Annamarie is a mouthful of a name to say on a regular basis I prefer "Anna". I've just started my second year at Western and as of right now I'm majoring in Journalism but thinking of changing my major.
I'm originally from Grosse Pointe, a suburb of Detroit, and even though a large amount of people from my high school attend Western, it's still nice to get away from the monotony of the Grosse Pointe community and chaos of my family (...there's five kids in my house and three of them are under the age of 5...).
Ideally I hope to live in New York as a Fashion Journalist, but if my current ambivalence leads me to another career path, then I'd also enjoy living along the West Coast at some point. I love being active and being outdoors, some of my favorite activities include running, yoga and rock climbing, but I'll try pretty much anything that seems appealing to me. When I'm not exercising I like to read, write, draw and listen to music...I'm kind of obsessive with books and music in the sense that I'm always looking for something new in both genres which leads to my interest in African Literature...last year I took American Lit and despite my apathy regarding most of the Puritan writers we studied I really enjoyed learning about the African writers during the Slavery/Slavetrade portion that was covered in the class, so when I saw that Western had an entire class about literature from Africa I knew I had to take it!
After I graduate I plan to join the Peace Corps and go to either India or Africa, so besides being excited to learn about the literary aspect of Africa I'm also looking forward to learning about African contemporary culture and the lifestyle that accompanies it.