Matigari by Ngugi Thiong’O is a tale of a man trying to bring peace to his land and people after being exploited and ravaged for so long. Ngugi inserts many allusions to the Christian bible and depicts the main character, Matigari, as a Christ-like figure. Matigari embarks on his quest for truth, ignoring the threats of violence and death that surrounds him as he leaves his Eden in the woods. In the beginning of the novel, we find Matigari living a peaceful life in a place where there is no cruelty or sin, much like the Eden where Adam and Eve were given by God. Like Adam and Eve, he also left his Eden and delved into the real world, which is uprooted with sin and corruption. Matigari had been away for so long that like Adam and Eve, it was as if he was an innocent child again, not knowing the true nature of the outside world since all he knows is his blissful paradise of solitude. This new atmosphere of disparagement builds the foundation of the struggle of the people to live up to his vision of redemption and purity. His full name, Matigari ma Njiruungi, translates to “the patriots who survived the bullets”, which is a nod to his past and how he fought against imperialism and drove Settler William, the previous antagonist, out of his village (Gumah 170). The translation of his name can also point to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who technically survived his penance of being nailed to the cross, since he rose three days after his supposed death. Both actions, those of Matigari and of Christ, were meant to absolve the people of sin and corruption. This sacrifice of oneself for the benefit of their people is not unlike what happens to Jose Arcadio Buendia in One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Jose Arcadio Buendia is also a man wi...
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...tigari and philosophies. This rejection of ideals is the final piece of evidence that convinces Matigari that the people have fallen so far from his expectations. Matigari then has no choice to but to resort to violence and ends up ripping off his belt of peace turning the AK 47 he vowed to bury forever on the state officials. He fails, and ends up sacrificing himself for the village, with his blood spilling into the roads and asking the citizens, “"What other deed do you need that is greater than the blood I shed?" (Ngugi 150). Matigari gives his life for his people, just as Jesus did, in a last ditch attempt to rescue them from their sin filled lives which they have allowed to be controlled by the government. Matigari is forced to take the actions he does because the citizens of the village can not live up to the hopes that are expressed by him, the Christ figure.
The book, Hamakua Hero by Patsy Iwasaki, and Berido is a book based on true stories, and depicts a man named Katsu Goto, a Japanese man who wanted to explore the world in the 1800’s. The base of the story is Katsu and his pursuit of the American Dream, and the Dream is exemplified in this through the sacrifices, and struggles Katsu goes through, and the outcome of his predicaments.
Being a relative neophyte to medieval Japanese history I found Conlan’s State of War to be an enlightening series of chapters about the changes that developed out of the Nanbokucho experience. With the requirement for compensation, rewards being imperative for service, and the often times capricious nature of loyalty; Conlan demystifies the Japanese warrior, revealing them to be no gods or buddhas, rather by and large merely pragmatists.
The story “Salvation” found his genesis from Langston Hughes ' childhood about the struggle to reconcile adult concepts with a childish mind. The metaphor applied in this narrative short story was “to bring the young lamb to the fold”. Other of symbolism was used in this short story as well like simile. The setting of this narrative story was a church, a revival, the
By seeing the honorable actions of loyal people going unrewarded, Hosseini teaches readers that blind loyalty towards another without the thought of repercussions can lead to serious consequences, causing readers to question whether their loyalties are sensible.
Our protagonist is a narcissistic mayhem loving juvenile who, with his not so faithful “droogs,” participates in delinquent acts throughout the novel. It appears that our protagonist has no remorse for his actions such as rape, theft, destruction of property, assault, and ultimately even murder. Once Alex is imprisoned for his murder, he turns to the bible and befriends the priest. His fondness for religion in his new surrounding seems to be a constructive outlet for Alex; however, we are soon shown that Alex fixates on the violence within the bible when he mentions that he could see himself as a roman soldier, in the height of fashion, beating Jesus as he carried his cross.
...nse against the Earth, and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen” (Achebe 207). Unfortunately, the aggressive, eminent hero of the tribe met his death by committing one of the greatest crimes against his people.
...ered is that Marji’s character totally acts on her own free-will. She is a play-thing of the forces of influence which has deeply penetrated her young mind. Her culture determinations are mostly influenced by the environment that she is exposed to. As a result, Marji’s moral control is guided by her free will. Of course, I will not deny that Marji’s desire for a better and free life underpins her moral controls. I do not wish to belittle her efforts for a life of freedom, liberties, and equality. However, I wish to draw attention to the fact that Marji’s identification with, either, the eastern or western cultural values are guided by her thought tendencies and her necessities. She is easily moulded or repelled by the environment she is exposed to. Because Marji has the experience of, both, eastern and western cultural values, she is caught in-between these values.
In the novel The White Tiger, the protagonist Balram is a victim of the oppression of society. The oppression Balram suffers from leads him to sacrifice his values and relations. He is forced to follow the way of the society to survive. He is forced to obey his master’s command, even when unjust things happen to him, such as being scapegoated for a crime. The society also forces Balram to sacrifice his morality by stealing from his master and ultimately leading him to take his master’s life. He sacrifices his family by leaving them and living with his new master in order to make money.
...he lives in England the more he realizes that he doesn’t belong here, but he has lost so much of who he was that if he goes back to India the ways will be foreign to him, he has assimilated to much and realized he is “in a place where you are never welcomed, only tolerated. Just tolerated…you belong nowhere” (336). The Hutus belong nowhere; they are outsiders in their own land awaiting death for years. In Rwanda the people are trying to piece back together their lives, to digest what has happened to them. One day they are friends with their neighbors and the next day their neighbors are trying to brutally chop them up with a machete out of hatred, out of fear.
When they fall short of his expectations Papa goes above and beyond to make sure his children know that what they had just done was not okay. Papa has very high expectations of his kids, and expects them to be nothing less than the better than everyone. After not coming first in her class Kambili says, “I was stained by failure” (39). Papa made his children believe that if they lacked perfection, they might as well be considered a failure. Instead of praising his children, and making them have confidence in themselves, he sets extreme expectations so when his children fall short of them, they believe that their father now looks at them with the eye of failure. Kambili has a great amount of fear towards her father, and wants nothing more than to make him proud. She says, “I carried a bigger load- the worry of making sure I came first in the term” (52). Kambili helps demonstrate the amount of pressure Papa puts on his kids, along with the fear factor of letting their father down, often resulting in physical abuse. Not only did Papa use emotions to bring his children and wife down, he would even use physical abuse. Scolding his kids daily, preserved the kids fear. (gerund) After his wife had disobeyed his wishes he beat her so badly that she lost the child she had in her stomach (34). Later, his wife yet again disobeyed him and this time he beat her so badly that “Mama was slung over his shoulders like the jute sacks of rice” as he carried her out of their bedroom leaving a trail of blood behind (33). He would punish whoever disobeyed him or his wishes (noun clause). Although to the community Papa might be viewed as a “family man”, all the emotional and physical abuse at home helps contradict that theory, proving that sometimes people act differently behind closed doors than they do
Now this lucky man is prosperous, has a loyal, kind, and loving wife, and has a daughter. All of his family members were involved in the genocide. He was told by one of his friends, who happened to be in the militia, that the persecutors were going after his family next. That night, his family and himself, stayed at a friend’s house. The next day, they traveled back to their house, and the entire thing was looted. The enemy eventually advanced on them, and they had to defend themselves. So, the whole population and the militia fought with all the spirit they could muster. They used machetes, sticks, clubs, and grenades. Some, but not many were able to escape. Jean Louis Mazimpaka, one year later, went back and was reminded of what he saw that previous year, appalling him
House Made of dawn by Scott Momaday is about a Native American named Abel who struggles throughout his journey, always wanting to belong to his tribe, but his failure to immerse himself with his own culture as well as struggle with modern life leaves him devastated. This causes Abel to develop an alcohol problem and communication problems, with his tribe and also causes him to distrust Caucasian men around him. The novel portrays the identity crisis that Native American’s suffer, through Abels search for identity as he struggles to cope with the two very different worlds he is forced to live in. The novel also portrays the struggle of Native American tribes trying to maintain their culture in a modern America.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when the word “art” is presented? Is it a magnificent painting, such as the Mona Lisa? Perhaps it is a pop song that is heard on the radio. Perhaps it is an orchestral combination that unites with an operatic solo to create the symphonic finale of a Broadway production. Maybe it is a poem or a story. It could be a grand display of architecture, a pencil sketch of this display, or a photograph of a glorious sunset on a mountain range. It may possibly be a flawless plot line in a Hollywood production. It could even be a public address presented with excellent communication skills. There are so many different types of art. The varieties in which it comes are endless. Though some art forms are similar
The town square at the time was decorated with crimson flags that had gods painted onto them. When Tadi got there Zuma was quivering all over. Then Zuma told him very horrid news. “Tadi there was a massacre at the great temple and the people who claimed they were gods killed them.” Tadi gasped. “How do you know this?” asked Tadi. “I was traveling there when I heard screams so I hid behind a rock and I saw the so-called gods walking away with heads of Moctezuma’s citizens on their spears and blood gushing out the door of the temple. I was almost caught by some guy that was smart enough to check for survivors. He saw me but I turned around and ran all the way here to tell Moctezuma,” replied Zuma. “Wow,” said Tadi who was now also quivering all over. “You need to tell Moctezuma right now.” “Okay,” said Zuma. “but can I come too by any chance?” asked Tadi. “Sure,” replied Zuma so they walked to the palace
Chinua Achebe’s short story “The sacrificial Egg” illustrates the life of a young African native Julius Obi, and the arising conflicts between two cultures. This short story takes place in a very small village in Africa, called Umuru in the mid 1900’s. This young African Native, although no native of Umuru finds himself trapped between his own culture, beliefs and the westernized culture. Although Julius has embraced the western culture, after certain events he eventually finds himself coming back to his own beliefs. Achebe, uses these two very different cultures to demonstrate the clash it produces in this young men’s life and, how no matter how hard he has embraced the western culture he was always going to go back to his own beliefs.