In both Achebe's
and Desai's novels, tension and conflict between the new and the old,
traditional and modern are the strong undercurrents that move the story and the
reader into an unconscious emotional uneasiness. In both novels, the backdrop and the story
are engrossed in a struggle between two worlds, the new and the old fighting
out its battles in the characters portrayed within. Achebe makes his stand in eastern Nigeria
while Desai illustrates her point in Old Delhi.
In the first part
of "Things Fall Apart", Achebe, portrays a traditional African
culture, but one on the verge of change.
Early in the novel you can see change is already taking place. "...in the past a man who broke the
peace was dragged on the ground throughout the village until he died. But after a while this custom was stopped
because it spoiled the peace which it was meant to preserve." But traditions continued on, including
ritual killing and banishment of one of the village leaders. But then things begin to change more rapidly
with the coming of the missionaries.
When they gave them the "evil forest" to build their churches
on there was no turning back. Many of
the abused and outcast were converted when they saw that these new people
prospered in the evil lands. The people
started to revolt against their traditional gods. "Three converts had gone into the
village and boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent" They were beaten severely. With the coming of government the Christians
gained power and shook the faith of the old ways. I believe the book pivots on this statement:
"Does the
white man understand our custom about land?
How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own bothers
have turned against us? The white man is
very clever. He came quietly and
peaceable with his religion. We were
amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan
can no longer act like one. He has put a
knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart."
It is interesting
how the whole process came about. The
missionary "Mr. Brown" came in with his soft approach and gained the
respect of the clan. Then came along
"Mr. Smith" The missionary
with the black and white, hard handed approach.
It was this iron fist that was the last straw for this clan. Okonkwo, the respected leader couldn't take
any more. After helping burn down the
church and killing a messenger he hung himself.
A sin in both worlds, but the only way out for a man trapped between
them.
In Desai's novel,
"Clear Light of Day" we see
the same tensions. But unlike Achebe,
Desai weaves them lightly in and out of the story. In this tale, Bim is much like Okonkwo, trapped
between two worlds. We have the story of
two sisters and a brother, all intertwined but each with their own path. The brother Raja in his world of poetry and
heroism, but never venturing into a bold new path, preferring to follow the
paths of others. "She had not
realized that Raja's ambitions were so modest and unassertive. Far from playing the hero, he had only
worshipped the heroes of his youth.
Since he had set about imitating them and deriving from
them..." The other sister, Tara,
moving into a life of the sophisticated, is ironically rooted in a traditional
role of an Indian wife and mother. This
is a great contrast against the main character, her sister Bim. This sister is pulled between the
traditional and the modern. Bim could
have married the Doctor that took care of Raja and the aunt, but she was
petrified of going down that "traditional" road. Every encounter with this Doctor was fraught
with tension. "Oh I don't know
cried Bim in a panic...." and when he asks her to come see his mother,
"this was worse than anything she had feared." Bim went on to get a degree and teach. Just taking care of her retarded brother and
supporting them both. Independence in a
country where women are usually married in their teens. She was the leader when she was in school and
remained a leader in her family, even to the men. For example, Tara's husband: "...and gave her [Bim] an approving
look. He had always admired Bim, even if
she infuriated him often." This
was mentioned several times in the novel.
Bim was the transitional soul, always being pulled in both directions,
moving her forward "look Ma a woman [Bim] is smoking !" and keeping her rooted at the same time,
"Bim has Baba to look after... But
even this simple act has its overtones, "...she has always liked to rule
others..."
In both of these
novels the main characters have to be strong to deal with the tides between
tradition and modern culture. Their
lives are not easy, but while reading about them, maybe we can make it easier
for others to live in our world and understand those who do not wish to make
the journey of "progress". Failing
that, maybe we can at least understand our own journey through this jumble we
call life.
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