Achebe Trippen

Disclaimer: Before I begin I would just like to say I am not fond of talking about race or racism. As a multiracial person I’m really over it. I have no tolerance for it. No one should be told they are “too white” or “not black enough” to have their opinion. Unless you’re flat out rude about something. Then you can exit to the right. That being said I look forward to the day when race won’t be a problem and everyone can live their happy little lives.

Chinua Achebe made an argument against the author of Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad. He charged Conrad with being a racist in his novella and having such a Western view of Africa he could not fully capture what Africa was really about. Now before I roast this man’s soul I would like to define a racist and what racism is. A racist is a person who believes one race is superior to another and racism is having or showing the belief that one race is superior to another. Achebe’s problem with the novella was it showed “white racism against Africa is a normal way of thinking.” He analyzed the way Conrad described both Africa and the natives there and how he believed it differed from the way Conrad described the Europeans. Achebe’s speech really got me hot. I didn’t agree with almost everything he said.

To start Achebe begins with how Conrad portrayed Africa as “other world” and it was likened to “travelling back to the earliest beginnings of the world.” Okay but…it’s true, is it not? Unfortunately, some parts of Africa have always been underdeveloped and the way the natives were living, from an imperialist viewpoint, was like being in the early days of civilization. I don’t believe Conrad was being purposely malicious in his description. This was this man’s first time encountering Africa and experiencing the native’s society and culture. Of course he would say or do something offensive. To say he was being racist is far-fetched. Conrad was in new surroundings.

Moving on, Achebe points out Conrad’s “fixation on blackness” giving us the example “A black figure stood up, strode on black legs, waving long black arms” going on to  say that we the readers “might expect a black figure striding along on black legs waving white arms.” If you don’t stop. Yes that example shows Conrad’s fixation, but does it show he’s being racist? No, he was just describing and being in awe of what he was seeing. Conrad did not write that part thinking to himself that his readers would expect people to have black legs and white arms. What sense does that make? It doesn’t.

Let’s just skip to the part where I was 3000% done. Achebe went in on the discussion of how the West has put Africa in a negative and stereotypical light or as he put it “a reflex action to downgrade the discussion to the level of Africa.” He referenced an article on the learning problems with bilingual children. To him “out of the blue sky” came this observation that “in London there is an enormous immigration of children who speak Indian or Nigerian dialects, or some other native language.” Achebe gets defensive and says sarcastically “language is too grand for these chaps, let’s give them dialects!” MY. BRAIN. Honestly, is he forreal? Maybe it’s just me and I like to give people the benefit of the doubt before writing them off as racists. Again this writer was not thinking language was too “grand” or advanced whatever you want to call it for these countries. There are dialects in different parts of India and Nigeria. It’s not that language is too much, they have languages, and the writer was pointing it out as fact. Wait a minute…wasn’t Achebe from Nigeria? Hm interesting.

That’s all I have to say about this subject.  

Why Othello Is to Blame

     

Even though I believe that Iago is most to blame for the tragedy that happened in Othello, I want to switch it up and argue Othello himself was most to blame. Othello had three things that contributed to his downfall: being overly trusting, jealousy, and his unstable relationship with Desdemona. All these put together are the reason Othello is to blame for his own tragedy.

To start, Othello is very trusting with his friends which leads him into trouble. Iago is the one he trusts the most repeatedly calling him "Honest Iago." Iago takes advantage of this trust and makes this revenge plan against Othello. However Othello fell for it and was not wise enough to see the calamity he would bring upon himself.  The trust Othello had in Iago also made him believe his wife was being unfaithful to him. After Iago first tells Othello of his suspicions of Desdemona being with Cassio, Othello expresses his distrust by saying "I do not think Desdemona's honest." Othello has too much trust in those around him. Over trusting in someone can also cause them to take advantage of you, which is what Iago did. Othello is to blame because he trusted too much and was not shrewd to protect himself from what was to happen.

            While Iago gets his plan in motion and becomes more detailed, he decides to play on Othello's weakness. He says if he cannot get Desdemona to sleep with him that he will put him into a "jealousy so strong that judgment cannot cure." Jealousy is Othello's tragic flaw. He loses the "immortal part" of himself and becomes "bestial." The immortal part of Othello is his reputation that includes Desdemona. Losing her would cause him to turn animal-like. Jealousy caused Othello to believe that Desdemona gave Cassio the handkerchief. He couldn’t stand the thought of someone else being with her. He began acting bestial when he planned to kill both Desdemona and Cassio for the affair. Othello is at fault for this because he first lost trust in his wife and the enraged jealousy he had was the effect of the unstable marriage he was in.

            The biggest reason Othello was to blame for his tragedy was his relationship with Desdemona. He did not have a strong marriage with her, and it crumbled quickly. The relationship he had was not based on anything real. Desdemona had pity on Othello for being in war. He in turn loved her for this. There was no real basis for their love for each other. Their marriage was also done in secret. This poses a problem for them since they clearly felt they could not tell anyone about it or maybe they had wanted to get married and be together quickly and make it official. Either way this is not any way to start a solid marriage. The marriage did not last long either, only a few days. Being together for a short time did not give them a chance to work through any problems they had. Othello created problems in his own marriage by losing trust in Desdemona and becoming jealous. He lost trust in her because he believed she would be unfaithful to him. the jealousy he had over this caused him to murder his innocent wife. Othello would have saved himself so much heartache and trouble if he had talked to his wife about what was going on. To a degree he did, only interrogating her about where his handkerchief was. He did not handle himself well as a husband and let his “friends” and emotions ruin his marriage and caused him to kill.

            Othello is most to blame for his tragedy because he trusted in others too much. This trust caused him to be taken advantage of and believe whatever they say. What they say caused him to become jealous and lose his mind and kill his wife. All because Othello did not have a stable relationship with his wife in the first place. It could’ve lasted and not have been a tragedy if he had a foundation for his relationship. Thus Othello is at the most fault for his tragic ending.