Devil on the Cross was written by Ngugi while he was imprisoned. He was held without trail by a government that tried to silence him. The out come was a book that was “One of the century’s greatest novels” by the Tribune. In the following passages I plan to explain the meaning of four characters that are affected by capital class. The speaker of the passage “She sat down on a box… .” is the gorgeous protagonist; Jacinta Wariinga.
Jacinta Wariinga is a young beautiful black woman who easily stops “men in their tracks.” She is like Thanksgiving dinner, a feast for the eyes. Jacinta moves with grace when she is without self-conscious. Underneath all her beauty, she is a suicidal person who hates her blackness. Jacinta truly hates her blackness because she uses “skin-lightening creams.” The skin-lightening cream rejects her skin color because the cream knows “that which is born black can never be white.” She clearly suffers from Cultural Imperialism. cultural imperialism has wiped out the music, culture and art many. The military has taken over lands for their own personal use, economic stability can not be reached between classes because the gap between the rich and poor has increased and political power is the only thing of importance.
The people are of no importance because if they were better living conditions and necessary items would be more accessible. Jacintas’ color coated thinking has led her to believe “that her appearance [is] the root cause of all her problems.” Jacinta analysis’s her many problems with a small mirror. Jacinta is using a small mirror for petty problems when she needs to be using a mirror like the one in my room, 7 feet tall by 5 feet wide. With that mirror she can examine all the cultural imperialism flaws and not just her materialistic problems. The small mirror depicts her problems to be petty. If Jacinta truly wanted to analyze all of her problems she should a use a mirror like the one in my room, 5′ by 7′, she can clearly notice all of her flaws.
The Essay on Examining The Problems Surrounding Cross Cultural Communication In The
Introduction In business, successful communication is the key to success, and being able to relate to a customer is the best form of communication. This is why cross-cultural communication is so important as the business world continues to globalize itself. Unfortunately, "A lack of awareness about the culturally prescribed rules and norms of communication behaviors can cause public relations ...
Ngugi, clearly tried to show that her problems are petty because the size of the mirror. The speaker of the passage “Have I been on the road all this time… .” is Robin Mwaura the “rapper.” Robin Mwaura is a false artist. He is a trickster, a con artist, in today’s society Robin Mwaura would is considered a rapper, a great one at that. Mwaura would be an excellent rapper because he would appeal to the masses with his lies of riches and fame. There would be “no song that [he] wouldn’t [sing].” Take new main stream rap artist 50 cent.
He was considered the king of underground rap. Now by his own people that voted him the king of underground, he is despised by them. His titled stripped away and called a sellout by his once loyal fans. Where his raps were once about stealing from the rich rappers and giving to the poor, the oppressor, the injustice system that holds the little person back, now raps about the cars, sex, drugs and money. He has bit off more then he can chew because he has added himself to the list of rich rappers. Just like the once fans of 50 cent, Nugui feels that the modern trickster is a worthless character and is only about manipulation.
The problem of art is that on the surface it is a lie. A false artist like Mwaura uses art to cover up the truth. Robin Mwaura is a catharsis. He feels free of all repressed emotions because he sides with the cause, if the cause “bends, [he] bends with it…
if it grows; [he] grows with it.” Educationally Mwaura is not very intelligent. The trickster character which he plays is a character that comes out of an oppressed population. He is the books comic relief. Mwaura is just like 50 cent, both lie to get the audience to side with him even though they won’t help them because they ONLY like doing things for themselves. The speaker of the passage “The human heart… .” is none other than Muturi or Nugui speaking to us himself.
The Essay on Oral traditions
Many ancient scholars believed Africa had no history prior to colonialism because there was no documented evidence. Professor A.P. Newton, who was a distinguished British historian in the early 20th century, believed that there was no African history because most of the African society was illiterate before the European intrusion. ‘History’, he said, ‘only begins when men take to ...
Muturi or Ngugi believe in oral tradition. That by telling a story one learns from it. Just as “heart makes man,” oral tradition smooth es out the rough edges one has. Oral tradition leads to the shaping of our great grand kids. “The [heart] co-operates with all the other organs of the body,” unlike the upper class that only tend to work with themselves, the middle and lower classes work together like the heart. By the middle and lower classes working together their heart is shaped with courage and love.
Anything from the heart is authentic; language, art and symbolism. All language is a symbol of humans, which in the end becomes unique to oneself. The heart stands for; courage, love, life, empathy, spirit etc which shape the heart. Also, “humanity [which] we fashion with our hands, aided by our eyes…
.” is the other part of the heart. From the image we convey a meaning. That meaning is transformed into a symbol, which is then express in oral tradition. Just like the heart which “pumps blood into the arteries and veins,” oral tradition is spread everywhere. Cultural imperialism tries to stop oral tradition, but it fails to succeed because the heart is shaped to endure such road blocks. “By indirections we find directions out” a quote from Hamlet by Polonium we shape our heart with those that want to help us.
Professor Gatuirira is the speaker of “my ambition and dream is to compose a piece of music… .” Professor Gatuirira suffers from color coated thinking. He thinks that because he is dark colored he has this curse that won’t let him write his national anthem. He is trying to write a national anthem, but is failing because he doesn’t understand that which he studies the most. He thinks he does, but in reality he doesn’t. Professor Gatuirira is trying to create a lie, but he doesn’t know he is.
The Essay on Native Americans And Oral Traditions
Ethnocentrism is the belief of superiority in one’s own personal ethnic group. Many people into today’s society may not realize that ethnocentrism occurs everywhere around the globe and every day in life. Ethnocentrism plays many roles in oral literary traditions. This impacted the Native American community dramatically. It was an affect that changed their way of oral tradition forever. When ...
Music can create art “for many human voices” when it is true. The art the professor is trying to create is false. It is a cross over from American culture to African culture. He has “yet found the tune” because it is all white wash.
Nothing that the professor studies to create his national anthem is relevant to his current situation. Even though he thinks it is right to create a national anthem, there is a flip side to this. That reality that the professor fails to see includes factions and class struggle. Africa is plagued by gender and sexism. It makes it difficulty for women to find jobs.
The exploitation of middle and lower class by the upper class is selfishness. The selfishness leads to high corruption because everyone is trying to get rich. Nothing of what the professor wants the people to sing is true. Devil on the Cross shows the affects of the capital class.
The age of Enlightenment dealt with reason and progress. Where the capital class tries to roadblock the ideas of the age of Enlightenment, it is up to the people to pick up the ball and succeed!
