Struggle in The River Between Essay - 917 Words

Struggle in The River Between In the book The River Between we find traditional values of the tribe challenged by tribal members who had converted to Christianity. The novel focuses on the struggle between two conflicting interests: First there was the interest to convert Africans to Christianity, and the second was the tribe trying to keep their traditional values in the midst of Christianity. The most contrasting characters in the story were Waiyaki and Joshua. Waiyaki was a strong influence on the people of the land, and his father, Chege, was a man who had powerful visions of his sons future: Salvation shall come from the hills ... Arise. Heed the prophecy (Pg. 20). Waiyaki’s father put the burden of this prophecy†¦show more content†¦some good, some truth shone through it (Pg. 141). Joshua instead believed in rooting out all pagan traditions and rituals: He renounced his tribes magic, power and rituals. ... his people worship the Gikuyu god the Prince of darkness (Pg. 29). All the tribe’s customs were bad. That was final. There could never be a compromise (Pg. 84). As is true in every religious movement there are those who become fanatical and try to push their ideas. Many people will not understand what your beliefs are, and so they will be fearful and most likely reject anything that you say. Fanatics come out when they think they know better than the people they are trying to convert, as is true in Joshuas case. Joshua, and a few others grasped the Christian ideas and fully took hold of the beliefs. He, Joshua, went as far as judging everybody around him who would not convert to Christian ideas: There is none righteous, no, not one. ... for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Pg. 84). Both of these characters become different when faced with Western ideas. Waiyaki takes to heart the idea of education in helping his people, and the need to learn like the white people do. In the case of religion he knew that some of the teachings were beneficial, but he also knew that if they gave up all their traditional rituals their society would disintegrate. WaiyakiShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Swimmer711 Words   |  3 Pageswater. Every human mind is different, and we all have our own fear and struggles. The short story â€Å"The Swimmer† (2011), written by S.J. Butler, is a story about a girl ´s fear of life and her effort to overcome it. The theme of fear in the story is expressed by the main character ´s development. Even the smallest decision, can change you for the rest of your life. The story takes place in the middle of the nature, by a big river with many trees around it. The weather is extremely warm and everythingRead MoreGay Fathers And Their Children1300 Words   |  6 PagesDANIEL WINUNWE RIVERS. Radical Relations: Lesbian Mothers, Gay Fathers, and Their Children in the United States since World War II. (Gender and American Culture.) Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2013. Pp. xii, 296. $32.50. Recent representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families in mainstream media, exemplified by the long-running sitcom Modern Family, and the 2015 United States Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, may lead some to believeRead MoreThe River Between By Ngugi Wa Thiong1549 Words   |  7 PagesIn the novel The River Between, Ngugi wa Thiong’o expresses a strong moderate nationalist sentiment displayed in various ways. The subject of this novel, is a meaningful portrayal of how the theme of colonization is at the heart of most African literature written in English. The River Between was Ngugi’s first work to be published in his own language, Gikuyu and then translated into English. His radical shift from the use of the European languages to the use of an indigenous African languageRead More Heritage and Identity in Pat Barkers Regeneration1563 Words   |  7 Pagescompound the problem even further, when England entered t he war, most Russian Jews refused to serve, which angered both the Christian and Jewish community (105-108). References to Jews in Barkers novel begin on page 35 in a conversation between Dr. Rivers and Siegfried Sassoon where the reader learns that Sassoon not only lost his father at a very early age, but also missed a large part of his heritage, his past, which kept him from understanding himself. Sassoon feels disconnected from his fatherRead MoreChange over Time Essay: Mesopotamia from 2000 Bce to Current Day1078 Words   |  5 PagesBCE to Current Day The earliest civilization in Asia arose around 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia meaning land between the rivers because of its convenient location between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This river valley regions rich soil and access to waterways made early civilization thrive on agriculture and trade. Although much has changed since its beginnings, the Mesopotamian River Valley has continued to grow and develop as a civilization to this day. During the time period 2000 BCE to presentRead MoreThe Struggle For Land And Palestine : What s The Problems Ahead?1698 Words   |  7 PagesThe Struggle for Land in Israel and Palestine: What’s the Problems Ahead? Abstract The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a continuing conflict, which is a part of Arab-Israel conflict and the Middle East war. This paper mainly explores the conflicts which caused the struggle for land in Israel and Palestine. Why Is It So Hard to Stop Struggling For Land? The land struggle between Israel and Palestine have never ended for almost a century. Today, though there are a lot of agreements, the conflictsRead MoreLesbian Identity Politics and Associated Organizations Essay936 Words   |  4 Pagesidentity politics – a movement very much its own amongst its predecessors. One sect would come to be coined the â€Å"lavender menace† of feminism – a group of mostly Caucasian lesbians – followed later by the black lesbian feminist group, The Combahee River Collective. The infamy and separation these â€Å"menaces† were ascribed from feminist colleagues – as well as respective male colleagues on the Gay Liberation and the Civil Rights fronts – very much set them apart from other movements. And yet, despiteRead MoreA River Runs Through It753 Words   |  3 Pagestwo children growing up in rural Montana with a strict Minister father. Their father not only taught them the word of God and to put all th eir faith in their religion, but he also taught them to fly fish. Several times it is mentioned that the line between God and fly fishing was usually blurred or hard to find. Norman Maclean is the eldest son, he also appears to be the protagonist. The movie is in his point of view with an older version of himself providing voice overs as he reflects. The story startsRead MoreThe Nile River Essay1578 Words   |  7 Pageseveryone in the world knows, the Nile River. What most do not know is that the Nile originates from two separate locations, with two major tributaries. The tributary in the east, the Blue Nile, begins from Lake Tana in Ethiopia and the tributary in the west, the White Nile, begins in Uganda. Both travel hundreds of miles until they reach their confluence in Khartoum, Sudan, where they merge into the mighty Nile River. Similar to this idea of two smaller distinct rivers forming one larger and more recognizableRead MoreThe Great Mississippi Flood of 1927981 Words    |  4 Pagesfailure and the limits of human control over the river. The beginning of the flood, from the initial crevasse, poured out â€Å"468,000 second-feet onto the Delta that triple the volume of a flooding Colorado, more than double a flooding Niagara Falls and the entire upper Mississippi ever carried† (pg 203). The flood of 1927 â€Å"shifted perceptions of the role and responsibility of the federal government†¦ shattered the myth of a quasi-feudal bond between Delta blacks and the southern aristocracy...accelerated