God's Bit of Wood

1122 Words3 Pages

The Author of this book is called Sembene Ousmane, and he is a French- African that was born in Senegal. “He is assuredly one of the most prominent figures in African film and literature” (Emory). After World War II was started, he was drafted by the French Army. After the war he returned to France where he joined the French communist party until the independence of Senegal in 1960 (Emory). The Author doesn’t use chapters instead writes the book towards each cities perspective and how they were involved in this book.

The book starts off Ad'jibid'ji, the daughter of Bakayoko, sneaking into the railroad workers meeting in Bamako. Ad’jibid’iji is a very respectful character. She obviously values the opinions and views of her elders while at the same time knowing her own perspective. When Niakoro accuses her of speaking in French she is ashamed. When her grandfather asks her what she thinks of Tiemoko, She lies because she knows her father and family like him. What is interesting about Ad’jibid’iji is that inwardly she is. She listens to Niakoro’s opinions of her place in the clan as a girl but she silently disagrees. I like that she is outwardly respectful but does not let the opinions of others dictate her own. She also uses the fact that she is a harmless little girl to her advantage in pushing through the crowd; not one person stops her or tries to send her home. It seems that as a girl in this more modern world she will be accepted as she is. However, it makes sense that her elders who came from a different time completely think that some of her actions are improper.

The meeting the workers had been concerning the low wage pay and poor treatment from the employers. The workers gathered and hailed a strike “yes we must strike!...

... middle of paper ...

...cisely this show of determination from those (the wives marching) that the French had dismissed the strike. The women's march causes the French to understand the nature of the willpower that they are facing, and shortly after the French agree to the demands of the strikers. “The news has been confirmed, the strike is over” (Sembene 348).

In conclusion, the book was mostly about the struggle of the Senegal people and how they were being treated unfairly by the railroad companies. People have gone through series of unfortunate events to get to the freedom necessary for life. In this book the people’s need for change conflicted with the management’s desire for unequal rights to continue. Greed had led them to think like this, but the people prevail against all odd so they find independence from oppression.

Works Cited

http://english.emory.edu/Bahri/Sembene.html

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of George Fredrickson's Religion And The Invention Of Racism

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    “evil” shows how unfairly these black Africans were treated (93). The author further justifies the

    Read More

  • UPS Strike

    1839 Words  | 4 Pages

    This strike was a battle over several issues. One factor that escalated the strike intensity was the pensions battle. Billons of dollars in pensions were on the line. The Teamste...

    Read More

  • The White-Collar Union Organizer and The Frustrated Labor Historians

    2269 Words  | 5 Pages

    To conclude this analysis on the basis of the labor’s extensive history, Sloane & Witney (2010) propose, “it is entirely possible that labor’s remarkable staying power has been because of the simple fact that to many workers, from the nineteenth century to the present, there really has been no acceptable substitute for collective bargaining as a means of maintaining and improving employment conditions” (p.80). In the end, it is important to anticipate unions and employers presently work together to find solutions that will enhance collective bargaining strategies and practices to serve the interest of both parties.

    Read More

  • Reversing Sail Sparknotes

    431 Words  | 1 Pages

    Chapter six of “Reversing Sail: A History of the African Diaspora” is entitled “Asserting the Right to Be”. This chapter explores the rebellion of enslaved Africans and their descendants. It stresses that fact resistance against slavery and oppression have been present from the very beginning of the slavery and it has grown and evolved over time. One point in particular that the chapter discusses is the rise in the number of slave revolts in the early 1500’s. Another important topic that is discussed is the fact that people of African descent not only had to fight against slavery but they also had to fight the concept that an african ancestry was a mark of inferiority.

    Read More

  • Reconstruction After the Civil War

    1850 Words  | 4 Pages

    against their employers, employees were able to go on strike and prove a point. Some

    Read More

  • The Spread of Islam and the Slave Trade

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Segu is a garden where cunning grows. Segu is built on treachery. Speak of Segu outside Segu, but do not speak of Segu in Segu” (Conde 3). These are the symbolic opening words to the novel Segu by Maryse Conde. The kingdom of Segu in the eighteenth and nineteenth century represents the rise and fall of many kingdoms in the pre-colonial Africa. Therefore, Segu indirectly represents the enduring struggles, triumphs, and defeats of people who are of African decent in numerous countries around the world. There are three major historical concepts that are the focus of this book. One is the spread of the Islamic religion. Another is the slave trade, and the last is the new trade in the nineteenth century and the coming of new ideas from Europe (legitimate commerce). However, Segu does not simply explain these circumstances externally, but rather with a re-enactment that tells a story of the state of affairs on a personal level, along with the political one. By doing this, the book actually unfolds many deceitful explanations for the decline of West African countries in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.

    Read More

  • Segu a Novel by Maryse Conde

    1540 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the novel Segu, Maryse Conde beautifully constructs personal and in depth images of African history through the use of four main characters that depict the struggles and importance of family in what is now present day Mali. These four characters and also brothers, by the names of Tiekoro, Siga, Naba, and Malobali are faced with a world changing around their beloved city of Bambara with new customs of the Islamic religion and the developing ideas of European commerce and slave trade. These new expansions in Africa become stepping stones for the Troare brothers to face head on and they have brought both victory and heartache for them and their family. These four characters are centralized throughout this novel because they provide the reader with an inside account of what life is like during a time where traditional Africa begins to change due to the forceful injection of conquering settlers and religions. This creates a split between family members, a mixing of cultures, and the loss of one’s traditions in the Bambara society which is a reflection of the (WHAT ARE SOME CHANGES) changes that occur in societies across the world.

    Read More

  • Exterminate All the Brutes by Sven Lindqvist

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    After a journey into the dark history of Europe and Africa with Sven Lindqvist, I found myself shocked. It’s earth shattering. Ideas and historical events are presented through a journal/proposal of his unique view on racism. Lindqvist raises questions as to where racism was spurred and why what happened in late 1800’s and early 1900’s lead to the holocaust. Including religion, personal human values, advanced warfare and even societies’ impact as a whole. His travels through the Sahara and Africa in the early chapters show a more current day view of society over seas. The description of the desolate continent and harsh conditions paints a picture of what previous civilization lived through. He explains that part of the reason he has traveled to the desert is to feel the space all around him, a definite emptiness if you will. As his travels progress he introduces his own family life that pertains to the human emotion, which is also a big focus point in this book. Childhood beatings over taking the lord’s name in vain, dropped calls from his daughter that leave him torn and sad. He does an excellent job on taking the reader on a personal journey with him through his current day traveling and even his early life. Linking these personal experiences and tying in histories misconceptions of “right and wrong” is what makes this book so valuable. Lindqvist gives a relevant and educated answer to the question of how racism became such a terrible tribulation in all parts of the world.

    Read More

  • The Sans-Culottes: A Powerful Driving Force in the French Revolution

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    The peasant French women played a large role in the Revolution because of their aggression, zeal and participation in the Sans-Culottes’ protests. There was a riot police handled on February 25th 1973 where “there was a new crowd of citizens there… But we had brought along with us many armed citizens who dispersed this mob. We saw there a citoyenne… who was influencing people and stirring up trouble.” Police had to quell another riot caused by the women’s reaction to the high sugar prices when “the women, above all, were the most enraged… and the most threatening… they were real furies,” and the fact that “they didn't burn anything… was a major gain.” ...

    Read More

  • gods bits of wood

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sembene Ousmane’s novel, “Gods Bits of Wood,” gives a highly detailed story of the railway strike of 1947-48 in French West Africa. It contains conflicts of political, emotional and moral nature. Ultimately, Sembene’s novel is one of empowerment. It brings to light the tension between colonial officials and the African community among the railway men as well as the struggle of the African community to free itself from being subjected to colonial power. Frederick Cooper’s article, “Our Strike: Equality, Anticolonial politics and the 1947-48 Railway Strike in French West Africa,” helps reveal the strike’s true meaning and agenda by analyzing the conflicts present in Sembene’s novel. In fact, it paints a very different picture of the railway strike than Sembene’s novel.

    Read More

  • The Psychological Impact of Colonialism on the Victimization of Africans

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    While Collins does a succinct job of examining the economic and political factors that heightened colonization, he fails to hone in on the mental warfare that was an essential tool in creating African division and ultimately European conquest. Not only was the systematic dehumanization tactics crippling for the African society, but also, the system of racial hierarchy created the division essential for European success. The spillover effects of colonialism imparted detrimental affects on the African psyche, ultimately causing many, like Shanu, to, “become victims to the white man’s greed.”

    Read More

  • Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    Adichie portrays the persisting existence of traditional African culture through Odenigbo’s mother – who symbolizes the extreme end of traditional beliefs. When Odenigbo’s mother visits Odenigbo and Olanna at their apartment in Nsukka, she is immediately personified as the traditional Nigerian village woman. Unaccepting of modern attitudes and advancements, she “peered suspiciously at the stove, knocked on the pressure cooker and tapped the pots...

    Read More

  • Marginality, Dichotomy, and Hegemony in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

    1592 Words  | 4 Pages

    In “Things Fall Apart,” Chinua Achebe incorporates the theme of marginalization. Instead of the typical scenario in canonical works, the focus is on the tribe Umuofia in Africa:

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Role Of Women In Society Essay

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, was based on a story and the culture in Nigeria, Western Africa. Women’s roles and responsibilities have transitioned over several of years. The book arises a situation of how the Ibo women were treated and looked upon. In the Ibo culture, the women did not only suffer a great loss of their dignity, but also their pride as women. The whole role of women in the Ibo culture is different in various ways compared to the female race in modern society. The modern society in Nigeria, women are not so powerless, and also have the opportunity to work alongside the opposite gender.

    Read More

  • A Feminist and Post-Colonial Analysis of Anowa by Ama Ataa Aidoo

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    My favourite text is a play titled “Anowa” by Ama Ataa Aidoo which was published in 1969. This book was first given to me by my father on my twelfth birthday. Although I was disappointed initially because I was expecting something “girly” on my birthday, I liked it when I read it because of the moral lessons it portrayed and the language used in the play. However, I got a deeper understanding of the test after I did a post-colonial and a feminist analysis of the text. In my post-colonial analysis, I saw that in a sense Anowa represents the beauty of the formal African society which was destroyed as a result of colonialism.

    Read More

More about God's Bit of Wood

Open Document