Much of the chapter focuses on a conflict between Ramatoulaye and her wealthy brother El Had’ji Mabigue. Describe the conflict and explain what you see to be its larger significance.
Much of the chapter focuses on a conflict between Ramatoulaye and her wealthy brother El Had’ji Mabigue. Describe the conflict and explain what you see to be its larger significance.
February 17, 2009 at 12:30 am |
The central theme of the conflict appeared to be over hypocrisy. I noted that Ramatoulaye’s brother is an El Had’ji, meaning that he’s taken his pilgrimage to Mecca. This is supposed to connote a level of personal quality. However, Mabigue lies to his sister and does not try to help her get food. I think that it was this hypocrisy, not just the fact that he refused to help her, that made Ramatoulaye so outraged with her brother. I think this is noteworthy because the book might be setting up a theme of having the people who should be the most morally right being in fact the most wrong.
February 19, 2009 at 4:49 pm |
The conflict between Ramatoulaye and Mabigue is an inner familial one. To me this conflict is a microcosm of the division that seems to have plagued these people since the introduction of Western culture into their land. It is also significant because Mabigue is the leader of the district, yet he is not doing anything to help his own people. Not only he is failing to to help his community which is his responsibility as district leader, but he is also failing to help his sister which is his responsibility as her family member. This highlights the changes that have overcome the society since the introduction of the Europeans to the area.
February 20, 2009 at 6:29 pm |
I think that their fight about food and credit is one of the first times we see a real divide between family members since the strike. It seems like Ramatoulaye and her brother have always had problems but the strike is pressing the divide between them even further. Also it shows the more equal role of women in society now like we discussed in a previous post. Ramatoulaye is the one in charge of finding the food and feeding her huge family. So the fight also shows the more equal grounds that men and women are standing on in result of the strike.
February 21, 2009 at 4:54 pm |
The argument between Rama and Mabigue represents the division that the strike has caused between the Africans. Although Mabigue is Rama’s own brother, he cruelly refuses to give her food. This refuses signifies his extreme disapproval of the strike, in fact he says, ” All this could probably be arranged, if the men would just go back to work” (44). The strike has caused a separation between everyone and this quarrel between Rama and Mabigue best represents this.
February 21, 2009 at 7:04 pm |
Ramatoulaye and El Had’ji Mabigue do not seem like siblings; they seem to be in very different situations economically and at first in their conversation Mabigue is very polite. Ramatoulaye is in search of food and water for the women and children on the side of the strike. Mabigue is the well dressed cheif of the district, he is also very involved in Islam. Mabigue is very manipulative and we learn this when Ramatoulaye says he stole her allotment by saying she was an illegitimate child. from what we know about african culture, family is very important. Also Ramatoulaye is known as an “encyclopedia of every family in the district,” demonstrating her interest in bloodlines and lineage. Ramatoulaye is on the side of the strike and Mabigue is against it. On a greater scale their relationship represents the family of africa being torn apart by exterior influences. Now, a brother will refuse to help feed his sister and her children because of differing political views. It represents a mix up in the order of priorities Africa once had. Family love, respect or if nothing else blood connection obviously used to mean something or Ramatoulaye would not expect anything from her brother.
February 22, 2009 at 5:31 pm |
Ramatoulaye is the wife of a poor man who is on strike, and Mabigue is one of the wealthy men who works in a higher level of the railroad business, so he is not negatively affected by the strike. Ramatoulaye has no money to feed her family. Although Mabigue is rich, he won’t help her because he doesn’t support the strike and her role in it. When they accidentally meet in the street he tries to convince her to force her husband to stop the strike. This is significant because it represents the conflict of people in the same community: some people who work on the railroads support the strike and others who are in higher positions oppose it. There is a lot of strife between the two groups in the same community, like the conflict between these siblings.
February 22, 2009 at 6:36 pm |
It is clear that this strike is no longer a small situation and has gone far enough to seperate families. Mabigue believes the strike is non sense and should stop the only problem is that his sister Ramatoulaye is very involed in the strike. Her husband is very involed in the strike. So when she asks her wealthy brother for food and help he simply denies her. It is clear that his involement with not wanting to be in the strike has to do with his position as a district leader. He ofcourse doesnt have to deal with working for low pay, therefore shares no sympathy for his sister nor her family. This strike shows much more than a simple fight…it goes to show how divided a commmunity can become.
February 22, 2009 at 7:07 pm |
I believe the conflict between Ramatoulaye and El Had’ji Mabigue is an essential moment in the book. Though this fight among the two siblings show a division in their own family, I think it shows a great aspect of independence within the people of the community and how the European has a greater impact on their judgments. This passage of Mabique not giving food to his sister Ramatoulaye illustrates that the display of the (sharing, kind, and respectful) African culture is on the verge of diminishing. Although the strike is dividing two separate arguments, it is also tearing the community and the families of the people.
February 22, 2009 at 7:55 pm |
The argument between Ramatoulaye and Mabigue brings light to two different bigger conflicts. The first being again the corruption within the community, because the argument is between family members it shows the continuing theme of disagreement between the people, and therefore shows again like in all other books how the foreign influence of the Europeans is causing corruption within the Africans. The second conflict that this scene emphasizes is again the roles of the genders. Like Ria talked about, because Ramatoulaye is the one now having to provide food as the woman, yet is being denied by her own brother because of the strike. It seems as though each little change that has been brought upon because of the Europeans is causing a chain affect of events that is deteriorating the Africans.
February 23, 2009 at 1:19 am |
The conflict between Ramatoulaye and her brother El Had’ji Mabigue was significant to the story as it showed that the strike had become a great division between the people of Dakar. While Ramatoulaye was struggling immensely because of the strike, her brother didn’t seem to mind, he only thought of the strike as being unnecessary—as he was a wealthy worker for the railroad. When they met accidently in the streets, she begged him for money for food, only to have him completely deny her, while he still asked her to talk her husband into ending the strike. The extent of the division of people in Dakar was what was most significant—that even siblings were on bad terms with one another, showing just how momentous this strike was affecting everyone.
February 23, 2009 at 6:35 pm |
The conflict between Mabigue and Ramatoulaye shows two different sides which are both being affected by the strike. The siblings at first talk as family members, Mabigue making a point that he had to talk to his sister and couldn’t simply ignore her, but the conversation soon moves to a larger conflict between the two and seems to stress two different beliefs. Ramatoulaye sees the strike as a problem dealing with the men and the women should not have to suffer from starvation over this. However, Mabigue believes that the toubabs are in power because God has given it to them, proving that Mabigue believes himself also to be a head power because of his pilgrimage. While both do not agree with the strike, underlying themes of why they don’t become eminent. Overall, the strike has affected everyone in the cities, tearing even families apart.
February 24, 2009 at 1:10 am |
This conflict signifies the inner struggle that the european control has started within families. Mabigue is partialy believs that the French have a right to be there because they are more superior in the eyes of God, however Ramatoulaye see the French occupation and the rsulting strike as the cause of several conflicts within the community. It is a matter between the “brainwashing” effect of colonialzation, and the utter stance of fighting the oppression that the europeans had placed upon the Africans.
February 24, 2009 at 11:22 pm |
Ramatoulaye is struggling to find food for her family. She pleads with a shop owner but he is too afraid of the white man’s power to sell her anything on credit. Ramatoulaye then approaches her brother Mabigué for help because she knows that he has some money to spare her. Their argument ends with Ramatoulaye swearing never to speak with her brother again.
This conflict shows how the strike has changed the Africans in this community. The strike has affected people in such a way that their desperation has turned into anger and has started to pull families apart. This is a serious issue because family is such an important part of the Africans’ lives.
February 26, 2009 at 6:07 am |
I believe this chapter shows us how strong some of the divisions (political, economical, and culture) can become due to dire situations or lack of food. El Had’ji Mabigue refuses to give his OWN sister Ramatoulaye food for her children. It is clear that he is only concerned with looking out for himself in this situation. The lack of food has caused many people to enter a sort of “Darwinian” (survival of the fittest, or wealthiest mode), I feel this can be seen through El Had’ji Mabigue’s neglect for his own sister and her family.
March 15, 2009 at 4:40 pm |
The conflict between Ramatoulaye and her brother seems to be representative of a much larger conflict between the Africans who are supportive of the strike and who are doing whatever it takes to survive, and between the africans who find themselves superior to the rest and dissaprove of the strike like Mabigue. When Ramatoulaye confronts him with evidence of his lying and deceit he just says “i am also an El Hadji, and i must ask you to remember that i have made a pilgramage to mecca and to use my proper title before pronouncing my name.” the tone of this is very condescending and reveals his and in a larger sense some of the more fortunate african’s false feelings of superiority.