Fa Keita makes a speech at the trial of Diara. What do you make of his speech in light of how the trial ends and what happens to him and his wife, Old Niakora, latter in the chapter.
Fa Keita makes a speech at the trial of Diara. What do you make of his speech in light of how the trial ends and what happens to him and his wife, Old Niakora, latter in the chapter.
February 22, 2009 at 6:40 pm |
The trial of Diara strengthened everyone’s willingness to continue the strike. Fa keita, the Old One, moved these people with his wise words and his experiences. His opinions regarding Diara’s treacherous acts were legitimate. And everyone agreed when he said, “I do not think that there is one among us who will be tempted to follow in his footsteps” (95). Furthermore, it is important to stress that he also acknowledges that the white mans machines, “has ground everything together this way and brought everything to a single level” (94). Before the white men there was some sort of a caste system and the white man’s machinery obliterated that which allowed everyone to be on a equal platform. Fa Keita, despite his old generation viewpoints connected with the younger generation, which is important because he is bringing the two generations closer.
It wasn’t surprising when Fa Keita was taken away. His leadership in the midst of the strike was strengthening everyones hope to carry on, and the enemies of the strike had to weaken that sense of hope. Furthermore, the events surrounding Niakora were just unfortunate.
February 22, 2009 at 9:36 pm |
The trial did bring everyone together and helped to further their motivation to continue the strike like Tiemoko hoped. Fa Keita speech helped to do this. When he quoted Bakayoko’s words he said, “When we have succeeded in stirring up people of this country, and making them one, we will go on and do the same thing between ourselves and the other people on the other side of the ocean” (94). This trial has done this by blending ideas of both the Africans and the Europeans and it has further brought people together, like Gulaid said, by Fa Keita agreeing with the younger generation.
As for what happened at the end, I was wondering if there was some sort of connection between the trial and Fa Keita being taken away or not. It was very sad when Niakoro died. This, I think, will motivate the people even more because two of the most respected people in the community are taken away.
February 23, 2009 at 4:49 am |
I thought that Fa Keita’s speech was very powerful, very uniting. It reignited the unity between the strikers that all the men had felt at the beginning of the strike but had started to die down as hunger increased and days and weeks stretched on. In his speech, Fa Keita does a good job mixing the very new concept of a tribunal with the traditional tenets of their culture. “You have struck him where every human worthy of the name is most vulnerable. You have shamed him before his friends and before the world…” ( 95). This brings into play the pride and importance of reputation and family in the culture. Tying Diara back to the original aspects of the culture has a more profound effect on the men because it drives home the shame in Diara’s actions.
Like Gulaid, I was unsurprised that the policemen come for Fa Keita. He has shown immense leadership through the strike, and as the strike continues and the Europeans feel the need to act become more pressing, I think that they will turn to the elders for help. If the elders, like Fa Keita did, continue to support the strike, they will suffer, as the Europeans will use the elders as their vessel into the culture.
February 23, 2009 at 6:45 pm |
The trial of Diara was a powerful one, many women were there and the elders such as Fa Keita had the time to speak his mind. He spoke with such graceful words no one could of possibly ignored him. Tiemoko said ” He had moved the crowd with his gentle words and calmness of his voice”(95). That was true indeed. Fa Keita showed the people that Diara was a wrongful man but it is always going to be the toubabs that messed this community up making the Africans cause a strike and such. Like Greer pointed out they have already punished Diara by having everyone here and everyone furious with him. By Diara putting his head down in shame has already proved a point. In the trial Fa Keita did an outstanding job by speaking the way he did. He showed great leadership as an elder and that is why he has so much respect from everyone. Old Niakaro shared her last days with Ad’jibid’ji somewhat in peace. Until the policemen came looking for Fa Keita which was understandable like Gulaid said. Fa Keita was a threat in their eyes. When Old Niakoro and Fa Keita are eventually taken away this can only cause more tension in the city and with the strike.
February 23, 2009 at 8:53 pm |
Fa Keita’s speech sacrificed both Diara and himself. But his speech won a sort of ancient unity, it acted as a reminder to the people present at the tribunal. Instead of using old traditions or new ways as an excuse not to kill Diara, he uses the people in the hall’s humanity. his shifting the blame from Diara to the machine made the people hate Diara less. However this shamed Diara more because it made it seem as though he had no mind of his own and that he had been completely manipulated. I do not understand why Fa Keita hides away in shame after making this speech. Although his speech ended up killing his wife and making a mess of his home, it also brings the people together under wise, calm, calculated reason. The people need to be brought together during this strike and stop pointing fingers at individuals. The hatred they feel is for the massive changes like the machine not the specific people who are influenced by it.
Fa Keita discusses a framework that no longer exists. the people used to have individual trades, now the people have become like some liquid poured into place by one machine. He understands that it is a different world now and old traditions are not as applicable. This makes him a great speaker both wise but aware and open to the new.
Niokoro’s end is fitting for her. She was already being destroyed by the new changes and to die resisting the new and corrupt police seems tragically perfect.
February 24, 2009 at 12:07 am |
The speech by Fa Keita in Diara’s trial definitely brought the people together with the same thought—to keep the strike going. But as Naomi said, it both sacrificed Diara and Fa Keita, and after the trial, Fa Keita was taken from his home by the police and was now missing, and Niakoro was killed in the process. Something that stood out for me in this chapter during the peoples confessions was when it was said by one of the workmen “But you, Diara – you are one of our elders; you should have guided us and helped us. Instead, you took the side of our enemies” (93). With this realization of Diara’s betrayal to the workers and to the women, they came together even more to make sure their battle was won in the strike.
February 24, 2009 at 12:20 am |
Fa Kieta’s speech re-instilled the passion of the early days of the strike back into the railroad strikers, who had up to this point, been suffering, ans starving horribly. He is seemingly furious about the way in which “the machine” has broken all traditions and customs in their way of life. By ‘puting himself out there,’ Fa kieta portrayes what he belives to be the only option for sucess, the unify together and fight at all costs. He believs that the French are uncivilized and immoral compared to their moral way of life and he knows that in order to gain dignity and rights the Malians must forget their petty differences. In oredr to attain this perfect unity, Fa Kieta reaches across generation gaps and touches upon envolving the everchanging customs with the old ones.
The disapperance of Fa Kieta and death of Old Niakoro would further enrage the strikers becaus ethe police have taken away a mojor part of the movement’s “soul” and inspriration. They will fight even harder in order to fill in the gap.
February 24, 2009 at 12:36 am |
Fa Keita’s speech I think speaks to more than just Diara’s trial. I think his speech is a, like everyone else has said, a way to unite the people after such tough times. People seemed to be too focused on the fact that Diara was a ‘traitor’ and didn’t look past the simple fact that he contradicted himself and went against his word, yet Fa Keita offers sympathy and reality to Diara which I definitely think is partly because of his wisdom as an elder, and that trait also makes his speech speak louder to his audience. I think that Niakoro’s death holds symbolic meaning, especially after Fa Keita’s inspiring words to the community, because Niakoro was always against the white man and almost only believed tradition and keeping the old ways of the society strong, and so her death also means the death of her ideals, which I think the author is trying to say something concerning the progress of the Africans and how they have changed. Yet also, even though she has died it is obvious that the community feels strong as one now because of Fa Keita’s speech, so that there is still hope.
February 24, 2009 at 1:27 am |
Fa Keita was able to bring the trial to a close on a successful and peaceful note. He was able to twist Tiemoko’s ideas, as Tiemoko states unhappily to himself, and present Diara as a warning to all others in the strike that this fate would befall them if they turned their backs upon the strike. Diara suffered a conviction of disgrace brought upon by the words of Fa Keita, different then what a “white man’s” conviction would have been, which he frowned upon. At the end of his speech, Fa Keita was able to instill unity in the strikers and create a stronger bond, using Diara as a perfect example of who not to become. Fa Keita’s capture in the end only seemed eminent due to his unifying decision in the court. The speech made him a target for the European police, identifying him as a head figure which everyone respected, and if taken, could only cause distress between the families in Bamako.
February 24, 2009 at 1:52 am |
Fa Keita’s speech in the present of Diara’s trial was a touching and moving moment. I felt as though he was speaking from the echo’s of the village, and trying to gain unity among the people in his surroundings. As an elder, he places himself as the forefront, and people begin to look up to him beliefing they can contiune the strike. He surpases that fact that Diara had betrayed them, and uses his wisdom to real the people into the idea of hope and survival. After Niakoro’s death, it seemed as though the souls of the people had died with them, and Fa Keita was a way he could connect back to his villagers and unite.
February 24, 2009 at 2:30 am |
I think what Fa Keita was advocating was for the goal of the trial to be protecting and improving their society, not as means to take punitive action against Diara. This seemed to be to be consistent with what Tiemoko wanted, which made me confused as to why he was angry at the end. With regard to what happened at the end of the chapter, I noticed another parallel like what happened with Ramatoulaye’s brother, El Hadji Mabigue. As a Hadji, he should have had the moral high-ground, but instead Ramatoulaye, the woman, had it. I noticed the same dynamic. The Africans took this “enlightened” idea of a trial from the French, and used it successfully. In turn, the French only reacted putatively and violently, showing that they too had lost the moral authority.
February 24, 2009 at 3:22 am |
I think Fa Kaita’s speech was more effective than anything else could have been. He was extremely effective in uniting old and young; although the younger generation did not fully understand the experiences that he was talking about, they evoked a strong sense of unity within everyone. However, he still made his point very strong and clearly. I believe that it stopped the villagers from going against the strike again, not because they were scared of anyone (which would have been Tiemoko’s tactic) but because they didn’t want to disappoint any of their fellow neighbors. He was taken away in the end by the Europeans because they were afraid of his power and how his calm could affect so many people.
February 24, 2009 at 11:23 pm |
Fa Keita’s speech neutralizes the people in the courtroom. He is able to refocus the community on the important matters of the strike and its meaning and draw them away from the specific and less important actions of Diara. Fa Keita’s speech gave the strikers new strength and determination to continue with the strike.
His ability to gather the community together and focus their strength is a valuable tool. This tool is one that can be used affectively against the Europeans. This is why the police come and take Fa Keita away. He is a strong and wise leader, a man that has the potential to harm the white man’s efforts and plans.
March 12, 2009 at 1:24 am |
Fa Keita simply sees the truth of the situation, he is able to implement his wisdom into this modern situation. I feel that he notices the irony of using a westernized tribunal to try Diara for a western crime (being a traitor). The shame of the tribunal alone is enough. Fa keita’s wisdom is significant because of his ability to implement it into the present unlike Niakaro. As all of you said, he delivers a powerful message of unity. Unlike so many of the elders he reaches out to all generations and makes a universal statement instead of simply condoning the younger generations of their actions. He exhibits true wisdom. He accounts for tradition while still keeping an open mind.
March 15, 2009 at 11:17 pm |
Fa Kieta, in his speech, voices the uniting effects of the strike, he talks about how “the machine has ground everything together this way and brought everything to a single level.” He references Tiemoko’s reading of a white man’s book as a progressive thing that he has never seen before. He also says that he is grateful for diara, because he has served as an example and will deter any more strike breakers, saying he as “the instrument of destiny” and that “it was not you who was on trial: it was the owners of the machines” I think this speech is one to culminate the wisdom and sanctity and respect of the elders before it is torn away by the militiamen later on in the chapter.