Colonialism : Nectar in a Sieve and Things Fall Apart
Literature today has given us an inside view of the trials and tribulations that original inhabitants endure do to European colonization. Colonialism is defined as a practice of ruling nations as colonies; a policy in which a country rules other nations and develops trade for its own benefit. Colonialism also has many indirect effects such as bringing about social and economical change, in most cases under duress. Colonialism has had an immense impact on the world, therefore it being reflected in much of todays literature isn't surprising. I've recently read the books Nectar in a Sieve written by Kamala Markandaya, and Thing Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe. Both books have strong accounts of European colonialism entwined with an entrancing account of the trials and tribulations that characters such as Okonkwo and Ruku face during changing times in a once united country. A book that has such accurate and meaningful accounts of important historical events has helped me to better understand the social, economical and political effects of enforced colonialism because the consequences of an unwillingly reformed nation are better understood through personal accounts of historical events. Throughout this paper I
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya is a relatively short novel that introduces Western life in rural India and the changes that occurred during that country's British colonization. The book has many different levels of impacts from colonization. On the most basic level, it is the story of an arranged but loving marriage and rural peasant life. On another level, it is a tale of indomitable human spirit that overcomes poverty and unending misfortune. And lastly, it is a novel about the conflicts between a traditional agricultural culture and a burgeoning industrial society that's wealth in resources hasn't been utilized for their own advantage and the importance of traditional cultural practices, people's reluctance to change, and the impact of economic change. A similar book entitled Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe illuminates two painful features of African life; the humiliations visited on Africans by colonialism, and the corruption and inefficiency of what replaced colonial rule. Things Fall Apart focuses on the transition when rooted; traditional values are put in conflict with an alien and more powerful culture that will tear them apart because of the arrival of white men and their temptation to idealize another culture. The villagers in general are caught between resisting and embracing change and they face the dilemma of trying to determine how best to adapt to the reality of change. Many of the villagers are excited about the new opportunities and techniques that the missionaries bring. This European influence, however, threatens to extinguish the need for the mastery of traditional methods of farming, harvesting, building, and cooking. These traditional methods, once crucial for survival, are now, to varying degrees, dispensable. The missionaries were ruthless in pursuit of new converts. Domestic support for the missions depended in large measure upon the tangible success of their preaching, ''success'' being reflected in the numbers of conversions. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe even hints at their use of bribery and blackmail in their activities. He tells us, ''the white missionary had set up a school to teach young Christians to read and write'' (Achebe, p 126). The inference is clearly that the unconverted heathens were not given this opportunity, therefore causing an initiative for more Africans to join, again changing the Africans further from their traditional lives. Both Nectar in a Sieve and Things Fall Apart shed light on the hardship natives of both India and Nigeria endured during the colonization of their land. Both book show personal accounts of these historical events to help make the history better susceptible to the readers. There are many noticeable similarities between both of them such as the moving up social stratification, the strategies used by the colonizers to colonize each nation, and the results after the trauma that many of the natives felt. The construction of the tannery transformed the village economically and socially. Some people were pessimistic about the tannery. They recognized that it was driving people from the land and, as Ruku believed, destroying the traditional village life. The cobbler, too, felt threatened. Others were more optimistic. Kunthi, for example, saw it as an opportunity for people to acquire employment. Their were definite disagreements on this issue as shown in the discussion between Ruku and Kunthi, "If it were your land, or mine...I would work with you gladly. But what profit to labor for another and get so little in return?" (Markandaya, p67) Kunthi herself capitalized on the situation by becoming a prostitute. Her new life eventually destroyed her like it did many villagers because she avoided Ruku's advise/opinion. As a story about a culture on the verge of change, Things Fall Apart deals with how the thought and reality of change affects various characters. The tension about whether change should be privileged over tradition often involves
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Approximate Word count = 3291
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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