In the increasingly odd book, Brave New World, I
found that the latter half, starting at part two, had a plot quite similar to
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The fact that they have very similar themes suggests that
this matter is pressing, important, and needs to be addressed.
For those who did not take Mr. Eastham
English class, Things Fall Apart tells the story of Okonkwo, an African man
forced to deal with the invasion of “civilized” European people. With them, the
Europeans bring foreign concepts that reshape the lives of people from
Okonkwo’s land. He is unable to adjust to the more powerful and dominating
culture, and the differences result in an extreme action.
In Brave New World, someone from the
Savage Reservation, a piece of undesirable land reserved for the “uncivilized”,
is brought to London, the major “civilized” place in the book. He too does not
mix well with the culture and activities of the dominating civilization. The
people treat him like a circus monkey, thinking of him as nothing more than a
source of entertainment. Just like Okonkwo, his beliefs are disregarded and
mocked. He too takes extreme action because of this.
If it has not already, it could easily
become a problem in reality again. More powerful civilizations have to be
careful to not be so self-righteous as to impose their culture upon those with
the lesser guns. Although the type of the imperialism the Europeans used may be
dead, a new type has already spawned and must be kept in check.
I've never once thought about the connections between Brave New World and Things fall Apart but once you pointed it out, it makes a lot of sense. You said this could also happen in society today and I completely agree with you. I have no doubt in my mind if we discover a group of people who haven't been touched by our civilized ways, they would be seen as savages for the way they live without modern technology or the rules we have today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your premise that a new form of imperialism is rising and should be kept in check; however, are the efforts to aid modern day Africans not the same thing? These people have primitive technologies, cosmic views, and ways of life and could be classified as a "savage", yet I do believe that these people are better off then if we had not intervened. Though even these attempts should be kept in check as there will always be people like the savage John in BNW who wish to cling to their familiar way of life.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in both Brave New World and Things Fall Apart, England seems to be the strongest leader in the world that controls,dominates, and imperializes the weaker civilians. In Brave New world the victims are the citizens themselves whilst in TFA, the Africans are the ones being taken away from their beliefs.
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