A River Between By Ngugi Wa Thiong

A River Runs Through It is a story about family, religion, and fly fishing. This story is a semi-autobiography set in the early 20th century, written by Norman Maclean. That was a time when fly fishing and religion were far more relevant to the average American. Norman spends most of the story describing fishing and fish neither of which are very captivating to me, as well as most people within 30 years of my age. Even though fly fishing takes up most of the story, A River Runs Through It is an incredibly emotional and melancholy story.

Everyone has a desire, something that they want to achieve or obtain for them. Whether it is ethical or immoral, having desires is almost inevitable. Sometimes these desires make people go through tough times. Tragic occurrences such as death and broken relationships shape the lives of people positively or negatively. In the following essay, “Many Rivers to Cross” and the short stories, “Two Kinds” and “Everyday Use”, the protagonists of these texts struggle to achieve their desire, but because of those struggles the main characters do eventually come to a revelation.

Novels and plays often depict characters caught between colliding cultures-national, regional, ethnic, religious, institutional. Such collisions can call a character’s sense of identity into question. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, there is a cultural collision that takes the form of the missionaries coming to Umuofia and forcing their religion upon the people. Different people react differently to this clash of cultures, ranging from simply conforming to going as far as killing somebody.

Change is a reoccurring theme throughout history. It destroys and creates. It displaces and introduces. It can cause death and life. The movement of imperialism in Africa brought great change to the native tribal life. Forcing the indigenous people to turn away from their century-old traditions caused violent rifts between the European settlers and the tribes, as well as internal problems between once amiable members of the Ibo culture. With the introduction of the foreign Western Society in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the tribe’s life and ideals are drastically altered as the new ethics and principles collide with the old traditions and laws, causing the members of the society to either adapt or be crushed underneath the foot of colonialism. Achebe’s character, Okonkwo, was impacted immensely by the cultural collision, as his previous way of life was pulverized before his eyes, and he found no reason to live any longer.

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, presents the result of colonization of the Ibo people by the European missionaries. The Ibo culture is threatened to change by the European influence. Villagers are divided between resisting a new lifestyle or embracing it for better opportunities in society. The struggle to keep Ibo traditions alive is reflected in Okonkwo and Obierika’s relationship to one another. Okonkwo represents the resistance of change by keeping traditional values in high regard while, Obierika signifies the openness to opportunity by questioning the current Ibo values. The arrival of European missionaries persuades the exchange of traditional Ibo methods, customs, and community for Christianity, resulting in the community to fall apart.

In the memoir The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the chapter titled: On the Rainy River has a central idea of resentment, embarrassment and eventual acceptance to change. The author creates this central idea with the use of a regretful tone, man vs society conflict, and dreary imagery. The theme of this chapter contributes to O’Brien’s intentions for the book because it demonstrates the struggle, shame, and or confusion each man drafted into the war experienced.

In the section “On the Rainy River” from the novel The Things They Carried, author Tim O’Brien describes his difficulty in choosing between going to war or going to Canada. O’Brien implements many different rhetorical and stylistic strategies to express his dilemma. His use of juxtaposition, rhetorical questions, and somber diction enhance his frustration of his two choices. O’Brien uses juxtaposition to compare his option of running away to Canada with what he would rather do: live his life. O’Brien describes a scene he has imagined of himself running away.

Reading the book, The Other Side of the River, by Alex Kotlowitz, the author writes about the relationship between two towns in Michigan, and the death of a young boy named Eric McGinnis. The two towns, Benton Harbor and St. Joseph, are called the “Twin Cities”, but are ironically not related in any way. St. Joseph is 95 percent white, while Benton Harbor is impoverished and is 92 percent black. Throughout the book Kotlowitz questions the residents from both towns and how they are affected by the environment around them. The author also starts with the climax on the first page of the book – the death of Eric, and uses this as an technique to tell the story of the disagreements between the two towns.

The Gulf Between was wrote by Andre Siegfried. It had a big purpose during the time it was written. The Gulf between was created to talk about the “new society” that America has created. Siegfried was a Frenchman who has been to America numerous times, and made the comment that the life in America has changed. The Gulf Between tells the reasons why American society has been changing and why they are now in a new society. The audience for this section of the book could be for European natives, American natives, history majors, or anyone who is wanting to learn about American and their new society.

The Return is story about Kamau, a man returning home after spending many years away in prison. Kamau has both survived the Mau Mau and being put in prison. The Mau Mau had cost many Black Nationalist’s lives, and had seen many more put away in jails. The story begins as Kamau is released from jail.

In the spring of the year both Jesus and John the future Baptist, cousins (cousins, not brothers), had reached the age of seven. The boys wandered far from Nazareth and along the Jordan River just south of the big lake, they decided to play ‘Let My People Go’ featuring Moses and Pharaoh. Little Johnnie the Baptist as Moses, cried out in a loud, raspy voice, “Let my people go!” spraying spit as he spoke. And Jesus, as hard-hearted Pharaoh, replied in a harsh voice, “You mangy dogs, you slaves! No, no, no! Pharaoh has spoken, so let it be done.”

When children need their mother’s help, she promises and prioritizes to be there for them. Shuntaro Tanikawa, author of the poem “River,” is a passionate poet and writer, although he despised schooling or attending college. Tanikawa’s poetic imagination revolves around western influence, but he writes his works as a search for “universal consciousness.” The “universal consciousness” emphasizes values, such as ones for money, family, or life, and Tanikawa focuses this poem with the value of relationships. Tanikawa utilizes symbolism and imagery to emphasize the significance of community bonds by comparing them with the river and the things around it.

To begin with, the story is told chronologically by Camara Laye. He is telling the story in a first-person point of view. For example, the story starts when he was five or six years old when he saw his father’s spirit guide and how he continually grows up to learn more wisdom from his family and friends. The structure of the book fit its topics because his life continually changed throughout the story which he had to learn and adapt to the environment. For example, he visited his relatives in Tindican which they had different expectations of him. His relatives wanted him to become farmer and he had adapted to the simple life of the community.

William James, a famous American philosopher, once stated, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives”. This quotation effectively illustrates how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives. This concept is clearly demonstrated throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, authored by Chinua Achebe, by establishing a connection through the development of its characters and the change in traditional African tribal villages seen in the Nineteenth Century. It will be established how various characters demonstrated by the author throughout the novel exemplify how change

Waiyaki is a young man who tackles the responsibility of mending the two ridges of Makuyu and Kameno that separated because of the religious of Christianity. The River Between, written by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, captures the ramifications of the white men religions and its effects on the two mountain ridges, that is separated by the Honia river, while the story surrounds around Waiyaki as he blossoms. In the story, Waiyaki, also known as The Teacher, is a strong, gallant young man that believes in the old ritual ways of the original tribe; however he conjointly intermingles with the white man’s teachings. Waiyaki attempts to bring learning of the white men, not their religions, into the old tradition way and fails miserably. Overall, the people