“Palm Wine” is a story of an anthropologist named Bertrand that traveled to Senegal on a graduate fellowship to collect proverbs from its people (McKnight 35). The miscommunication, lack of understanding, and appreciation for the people of Senegal caused alienation between them and Bertrand. I believe that if Bertrand went to Senegal with an absorbent mind frame and stuck to his academic responsibilities, he would have fulfilled his purpose and came out of this journey with a new found respect and some proverbs.
The language barrier between Omar, Bertrand and Doudou caused indifference between them. I notice that when you don’t like a certain person you tend to tune them out and only pick up a portion of what is being stated. Even though Omar’s “English was relatively poor” it was clear that Bertrand “didn’t really like him” (McKnight 36). Doudou felt offended to be studied like rats in a laboratory without being asked. He and his people felt disrespected and felt as if people of Bertrand’s profession “steal from them” (McKnight 40).
In a sense, I think they mean that they steal their culture by writing in books what they perceive and not what the culture of traditions are really about.
Bertrand was already behind “because of a lengthy bout of malaria” (McKnight 35). Knowing this, he should have been more prepared and geared up to collect the Wolof proverbs. He was caught up in this idea and desire to acquire this palm wine. A yearn that he obtained from reading “The Palm-Wine Drunkard in college” (McKnight 35). Bertrand knew that his intentions on getting a hold of some proverbs were low on the list compared to getting some palm wine. He stated, “I took my pad, pencils, and tape recorder along, knowing I wasn’t going to use them” (McKnight 35).
I feel that Bertrand did look at anthropology as being “the study of primitive cultures”(McKnight 39). He didn’t appreciate it as a culture rich in tradition but as a place yet to be civilized. He wasn’t taking in the people and their customs and way of life; he only wanted what they could offer that could calm his thirst which was the palm wine.
Once he attained the palm wine and realized that this wine that the Drinkard “soujourns through many cruel and horrifying worlds to in order in try to retrieve” (McKnight 35) is an “acquired taste” (McKnight 39).
In the very first page of Letter I, Leonora Sansay gives insight on the reason for her arrival in Haiti. “The society of my fellow-passengers was so agreeable that I often forgot the inconvenience to which I was exposed. It...
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Alcoholism is the addiction to the intake of alcoholic liquor or the psychological illness and neurotic behavior resulting from alcohol dependency. There is a time and place for alcohol consumption in every culture. It’s a growing problem in America’s society and culture today. Revenge and trust are an issue in this short story. In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor symbolizes Poe’s alcoholism, whereas Fortunato represents himself, the man who is trying to reach satisfaction and eventually gets imprisoned by his minute habit. He is attempting to get revenge on someone else because of the insults he had been given. Revenge, trust, and alcohol are all apparent in today’s society, even though this was over 150 years ago, America’s population can still relate to it.
It is not unusual for the house servant, Christophine, to use rum to treat her friends or family. She even gave Rochester some coffee with a shot or white rum to provide relief from his unpleasant symptoms. She does the same thing for Antoinette. “There are mornings when she can’t wake, or when it’s as if she still sleeping. I don’t want to give her any more of- of what I give. So- I let her have rum instead. I know that won’t hurt her” (Rhys, 140-141). Christophine’s attempt to fix Antoinette at her time of need is logical due to their long history together, but she is unaware that it is doing the opposite of fixing. This constant use of alcohol to relieve stress and “illness” compile to an unhealthy amount of alcohol intake and Antoinette would be considered an alcoholic today based on these facts. This gives more acceleration to the dwindling of her sanity and weaken her ability to handle difficult situation on her
Nigel Barley’s The Innocent Anthropologist explores the lives and culture of the Cameroonian Dowayo tribe. The book follows Barley’s fieldwork gathered during his stay amongst the tribe, affording insight into their ceremonies, language, social norms, and beliefs. Barley’s book stands out in the highly personal tone with which he recounts his time spent with the Dowayo, acknowledging bureaucratic troubles and, oftentimes humorous, misunderstandings. With a translator, Barley embarks on his attempt to immerse himself into the culture of the Dowayo, not hesitating to participate in their festivals (to a certain degree) and incorporate himself in their daily lives. Barley regals the audience with the entire experience of his fieldwork in West Africa, making sure to include how more modern technological and political inventions, such as voting and refrigerators, are regarded by the Dowayo. Barley writes with emphasis on the difficulties of the language, which is tonal and consists of multiple dialects, the Dowayo’s fondness for
the "Quality of wine" when he says "this wine is really awful, " unlike the poet,
“Cultural appropriation refers to picking and choosing elements of a culture by a member of another culture without permission” (O’Reilly). For example, white people steal certain parts of African American culture. They exploit it, misuse it, and whitewash it. “Exploiting a culture deprives the culture of the credit they rightfully
The character Marlowe Marlowe is known for his constant need of liquor, especially scotch. Throughout the story, there are different times and places that the author, Chandler, makes sure that the reader acknowledges that Marlowe has a bottle at all times when in need of a shot. Frequent alcohol users use alcohol for various
Denis Diderot describes the manner in which Europeans came to Tahiti and savagely exploited the people for their own benefit. He argues that Europeans came to their land, that the Tahitians did not attack them nor plot attacks against them with other natives. The native people did not ask or plead for European intervention. They wished to live their lives with nature as they had always done. All people are children of nature, therefore they are all brothers. Everyone born human is equal in the eyes of the natives. The Tahitians did absolutely nothing to the Europeans, yet they were chosen to be attack, enslaved, and ‘civilized’. What does civilized even mean? It is entirely subjective, no one country is better or more cultured than any other. Diderot writes in the perspective of an elderly Tahitian man trying to persuade Europeans into leaving them to their ways. That their lives have been based on necessity and non superfluous needs. Just because the Europeans saw the tribal people as different, they had assumed they were unintelligent and inferior, using this as justification for the forceful takeover of the land and its
These people believe that the definition of culture should be given to them, the elite, in order to come to an exact definition of what culture actually is. But Williams argues that culture doesn’t have one exact definition. That these peoples’ culture is no better or no more superior than others’ culture. That there is no high culture or low culture. That culture cannot be bound by a single rounded definition. What Williams accuses the “Kept Men” of, is dismissing an entire mass of people just for appreciating different things than
run around and do what any other twelve year old would do. Not a very physically
“My own grandmother used to tell me one about my grandfather. It was well-known that he had a close relationship with the whiskey bottle, especially after a hard day’s work in the fields. When supper was eaten, he would take himself off to the local pub for a few rounds with friends.
In attempts to retrieve a deceased tapster, the protagonist of The Palm-Wine Drinkard, sets out on an archetypal quest. From the age of 10, the palm-wine drinkard is accustomed to consuming 250 gallons of palm-wine daily given to him by his trusted tapster. One day his tapster, while at work, faced a tragic death. Unable to find a replacement tapster able to produce enough palm wine to satisfy him, the palm wine drinkard sets out on a quest to retrieve his deceased tapster from the Land of the Dead. This quest, supernatural in nature, encompasses three defining stages for the protagonist; his departure, initiation, and return. Throughout the quest the protagonist faces challenges; success in these tests are imperative in proving himself extraordinary.
the culture from which that writer has come, and/or the culture for which their text is
however i remember feeling frustrated with the language barrier this understanding of the importance of communication and my interest of French and Spanish culture has inspired me to study French and Spanish at university. at least if one day i would become a mother i wish that my children will speak English and French.