There is an underlying theme of change in the novel. Comment on one of the following two examples from this chapter:
- The relationship between the African and the machine as described in the paragraph that runs from the bottom of page 32 to the top of page 33.
OR
- The relationship between men and women as shown in the novel so far and suggested in the chapter’s last line: “And men began to understand that if the times were bringing forth a new breed of men, they were also bringing forth a new breed of women” (34).
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February 12, 2009 at 6:42 pm |
In the passage on page 32, I think the machine is literally the train and other technology, but I also think that the machine represents the Europeans and the Africans who work for them. “They realized that an age had ended-an age their elders had told them about, when all of Africa was just a garden for food.” The age that the narrator is talking about was the age before imperialism, when Africans ruled themselves; they were more natural and meant for the land, while the Europeans bring in their unnatural machines and ruin their culture. By stopping work on the machines, the Africans realize their dependence on Europeans and their new culture.
February 13, 2009 at 1:20 am |
Ousmane uses the metaphor of the railroad and industry to illustrate the suffocating influence of imperialism. At first, when he says, “they became conscience of their strength” he is sending a message of hope in numbers. However, he then quickly illuminates a gloomy realization of the loss of the African identity when he says, “it was they who belonged to it.” He is pointing out the possibility to revolutionize because they have the numerical advantage, but at the same time he signifies the crushed, demoralized spirit of the African.
February 14, 2009 at 9:27 pm |
The question about the “new kind of woman” reminded me of something we talked about with Things Fall Apart. We identified a “catch-22″ that the Ibo were in. They were unable to resist the white people without altering their traditional ways. It seems like the people in God’s Bits of Wood are in a similar situation and that is what is being describe with that passage. However, a difference between the two books is that the change being forced upon the Africans seems, in my opinion at least, like it could be positive. As to what this “new kind of woman” will be like, I imagined that Ad’jibid’ji as sort of a prototype. These women will be able to be potent members of their cultures and no longer need the traditional wisdom,
February 18, 2009 at 4:53 pm |
To me, like Maddie said, the machine seems to be the railroad company but also the relationship between the Europeans and the Africans. The Europeans have many Africans employed by them, but there are no personal relationships, and the Africans are seen by the Europeans as wholly replaceable. “…the trains began to run again. The locomotives were driven by mechanics brought from Europe…” (33). This signifies how easily the Europeans replace the Africans, like cogs in a machine designed to ravage Africa of all the resources the French can get their hands on. To me, the machine parallel underscores the goal of the Europeans in Africa–to impose their culture on the Africans and to take advantage of all the resources in Africa. The machine, I believe, also draws a parallel to the culture of industrialism in Europe, in which the business is glorified above the individual. This attitude is the opposite of the attitude in Africa before the encounter with the Europeans, and it is part of what transforms Africa.
February 18, 2009 at 9:33 pm |
I think that the new role of men and women will be one of being more equal. I agree with Joey in what he said about the “new kind of woman” being sort of like Ad’jibid’ji. I think what really stood out for me as a changing point was one of the last lines of the chapter which had a woman saying, “Today, I will bring back something to eat” (34). The women are starting to take on new roles in society along with men who are also changing as well. Some of the traditions are beginning to decline as survival becomes more important and with this survival comes change.
February 20, 2009 at 11:13 pm |
When the Africans go on strike, the trains stop. This gives them a moment to see their land in the absence of smokey trains. Only the older Africans remember a time when they were self-sufficient. The dependency they realize they have on the machines is a sad. They have no means of buying food without work and they no longer grow enough to sustain themselves so they just wither away. “It did not belong to them; it was they who belonged to it.”(33) This is a striking sentence and its meaning becomes clear when European workers come in and start the trains up again. It demonstrates that the machines don’t belong to the Africans and thus they can refuse to work but they have no control over who takes over in their absence. It is almost as if the earth itself has become a owner-less machine and it’s veins, the trains, are pumping without the help of its original people. The africans can have control over their own specific destinies but they have lost control over their country.
February 21, 2009 at 12:46 am |
In African societies there seem to be a sense of male superiority, and often women are below men in the social fabric of culture. However, in this chapter, women have important roles in the society. In times of hardship and devastation, the women step up and look for food so that their hungry children can eat. What’s more, they are strong and they carry themselves well in the midst of destruction. Maimouna is an example of a strong women. Although she had badly bruised and emotionally weakened, she continues to look for her child (who’s actually dead). When men are occupied, women are the helpers. Women are the foundation of the society.
February 22, 2009 at 5:38 am |
When Ousmane talks about the Africans and the machine, it shows the power a machine can have over a country that had no western influence until now. I agree with Chris when he says the machines are a symbol of imperialism. It also shows how out of control fighting about this railroad can be like a never ending battle. One, the africans are very much apart of. When i think of this paragraph it reminds me that little things such as railroads or guns can bring so much danger to a whole country. It is described in this passage as an uncontrollable issue.
February 22, 2009 at 6:54 pm |
Ousmane describes the “Machine ” as the train, but he also contrast’s and describes this machine as the forefront for Africa’s new beginning. “When the smoke from the trains no longer drifted above the savanna, they realized that an age had ended-an age their elders had told them about, when all of Africa was just a garden for food.” This quotation is symbolizing when the Africans were independent and unified as a whole, but also, Osumane is saying that it Africa can’t be just as it was before because of the colonization and the reform of imperialism. I think that this the most important them Osumane is telling the readers, but another thing it could be, is he is showing how western civilization technology had a major impact in Africa
February 22, 2009 at 7:39 pm |
The comment that compares the men and women brings up an issue that has been in both other books we have read. The difference between the two genders for example in ‘Things Fall Apart’, for the Africans was more of a difference; a reality while we saw it as sexism. I think it’s important to note that in the sentence at the end of 34, Ousmane puts it in the perspective of men, and makes it as though the men had to accept this change in roles because of the change in times. Regardless, it is a step for the society I think, and simply the act of the woman saying she will be the one to provide for her family holds symbolic meaning. And, although to us this change in roles for women might be looked at as ‘modern’, for them it signified a change of times and another step further away from the traditions that the older generation try desperately to hold on to.
February 22, 2009 at 11:12 pm |
On page 32, Ousmane uses the last paragraph to illustrate the railroad worker’s realization of the destruction of their African culture from imperialism. When the trains stopped, the workers could look at the world around them without the use of the machine. They had only heard of how African culture used to be from their grandparents because the workers had been born into a society already invaded by the white missionaries, and as a result learned to grow and depend on the train for trade and work. Once this had stopped, they were left with nothing and could only think of how life used to be before the French had arrived. As a result, the African workers realized they had nothing without this train, an invention of the white men, and to survive they needed this to bring work, and ultimately food for survival. In this moment, the Africans realize that their old culture has not existed for several generations now, and on top of that, they have become slaves for the white missionaries goals.
February 22, 2009 at 11:31 pm |
As people have said before me, the relationship between men and women in this book are changing, where women’s roles are changing to be more independent and as Joey and Ria said earlier, Ad’jibid’ji is a good example of the “new kind of woman”, where she didn’t stick to the traditional values and standards that her grandmother kept pressing to her.
February 24, 2009 at 11:21 pm |
The strike affects the society in many ways. One major change in the function of the community is the relationship between the men and women. The men and women both have preconceived responsibilities in the society, ones that have been unchanged for many generations. When the men stop working this relationship within families shifts in different directions. The women still need to find a way to bring food home to their families, but because the money has stopped flowing this proves to be a difficult task. The “new breed of women” that emerges from the community is determined, frustrated, angry, and protective of their families. Ramatoulaye shows these characteristics during her struggles of gathering food and water, and in her conflicts with Mabigué.
February 26, 2009 at 5:58 am |
There is more commentary on the newly westernized generation of African women. The women had to be more independent (Similar to Ad’jibid’ji), For instance “One morning a woman rose and wrapped her cloth firmly around her waist and said , ‘Today, I will bring back something to eat.’ I feel that this quote is very symbolic of this new generation of women seeking independence and seeking to become the breadwinners for their families. This is seen throughout the book: Ad’jibid’ji, N’deye, Ramatoulaye.
March 15, 2009 at 4:21 pm |
This theme of change described on 32 is more of a change of mindset and understanding then an actual change. The men of the strike had been dependant on the machine and had been essentially ruled by the machine but had never had time to stop and think about it because of their everlasting work with it. The strike gave the men a chance to rethink their relationship with the machine and they became “conscious of their strength, but also conscious of their dependence.” They began to understand how fundamentally they had changed from the previous generation