Unoka's Honour

     For all my life, I've loved music. I'd much rather wield a flute than a sword. When I'm with my flute, I feel like I'm in paradise. And paradise is all I want to be in. I don't wanna fight for titles like other men, or toil in the flaming sun for the demanding king. I know I am not the definition of a successful man, and I owe every neighbour some money, but, my son, I believe I was successful in bringing you up to be such a great man. I have great hopes for you. I want you to become what your father couldn't be, become one of Umuofia's most revered men. You know, in this life, I haven't many regrets. Actually I only have one. I don't regret shamelessly borrowing money from my neighbours. I don't regret not planting my yams when the time was right. I don't regret eating and drinking away my days. But, my son, what I do regret is not being able to provide you with a better home to grow up in. And I'm sorry that when I'm gone, you'll not have inherited a barn from me, like other young men. But enough of that; let me tell you, son. A man must honour his tradition and the spirit of his ancestors. Even more so should he honour his gods. In the future, do not let anything sway you, even when your peer succumb to betrayal of their beliefs, lest your faith prove to be weak. Be just like me [smile]. All my life, my family and friends have been trying to dissuade me from my dream of music. But, I believed playing my flute would be what is good for me, and so I did not crumble to their desires. Therefore, even when I'm dead, I am to be buried with my flute. Even if I am to be left for dead in the Evil Forest, I must take with me what I have loved my entire life.

A Mountain Unmoved by Faith

My mind is in great turmoil right now because before spring break, I believed Okonkwo was not a hero. However, now that I have finished the book,although the rational part of me still hates the side of him that is violent and emotionless, there is an irrational part of me that sympathizes with his dilemma. Okonkwo was a man who had strong beliefs, a strong sense of tradition, and unwavering loyalty to his gods. I cannot honestly say that that is not admirable, because while many of his peers and clansmen were being swayed by the promises of Christianity, he stood his ground and believed firmly in his tradition. In circumstances like these, it is easy for one to simply be swept away by the stream of peer pressure, but what I believe makes Okonkwo heroic is that he stood up for what he believed in to the end. He did not cowardly bend his standards to adjust to changes that were occurring around him like some lesser men would have done, he solidly stood his ground for what he believed was right. In the end he took a stand for what he believed was wrong in his own way, by taking his own life so that he would not see the changes he believed was wrong; he remained loyal and unwavering in his beliefs until the end.

More Racism

    The central conflict for Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner is man vs society, which also causes the man vs self conflict. The protagonist, Amir, is faced with the ethnocentrism of Pashtuns whenever he and his servant Hassan, who is a Hazara, are in public. Pashtuns are believed to be the pure race of Afghanistan, and Hazaras, who are of Asian ancestry, are seen as inferior. This can clearly be seen when Assef says to Amir, "I'll ask the president to...rid Afghanistan of all the dirty, kasseef, Hazaras" (44). This Pashtun ethnocentrism is what pulls apart the friendship between Amir and Hassan. This conflict serves as the basis for the entire story. Because Amir is a Pashtun, which is a superior race, and Hassan is a Hazara, which is an inferior race, Amir is caught between the pressures that attack him inside and out. For example, Assef pressures Amir into being ashamed that Hassan is his friend when he asks him, "How can you talk to him (Hassan), play with him, let him touch you?...How can you call him your 'friend'?" to which "[Amir] almost [blurts], He's not my friend! He's my servant!" (44).

    The conflict is resolved completely after Amir returns to Afghanistan after the takeover of the Taliban at the call of a dying Rahim Khan, his father's friend, who informs him that Hassan is dead. Amir is hit with the pain and guilt of his betrayal once again, but this time he is struck by the fact that he has no way to make things right again. Rahim Khan tells Amir than Hassan has a son, Sohrab, and that he wants Amir to bring him to safety. At first Amir is reluctant, and he asks Rahim Khan, "Why me? Why can't you pay someone here to go? I'll pay for it if it's a matter of money" (233). Rahim Khan angrily rebukes him, "It isn't about money, Amir!...I'm a dying man and I will not be insulted! It has never been about money with me, you know that. And why you? I think we both know why it has to be you, don't we?" (233). Amir decides to return to Kabul, his home town, and find Sohrab. Eventually, he finds Sohrab in the home of Assef. He finally stands up to Assef after many years of fear for Sohrab, who symbolizes Hassan, and fights Assef. At the end of the story, after Amir brings Sohrab to live with him in California, the Pashtun superiority is finally overturned when Amir's father-in-law (who is a Pashtun) asks him, "People will ask...why there is a Hazara boy living with our daughter. What do I tell them?" (380). Amir takes a stand for Hassan, Hassan's bloodline, and tells his father-in-law that Sohrab is his nephew. And he says, "And one more thing, General Sahib [that's his father-in-law], you will never again refer to him as 'Hazara boy' in my presence. He has a name and it's Sohrab" (380). When he stands up for Sohrab, that is when Amir's struggle with himself ends. He realizes he is not ashamed about the fact that Sohrab is a Hazara, and that he never should have been ashamed of Hassan.

    This story's racist conflict is a central issue in many other stories, Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli is one of the most prominent which come to mind. The conflict here is man vs society; the story is about a white boy who runs away from home and lives in the "black" part of the city. The problem is, the boy is "colourblind"; he does not see the difference between white people and black people. In fact, he does not even believe that they should be called "white" and "black", because when he looks at their skin colour, there is not a defined "white" or "black". In both The Kite Runner and Maniac Magee, the protagonists are faced with the problem of racial segregation. In both stories, the problem is solved by the main characters facing this racial segregation, and showing that there is in reality nothing to segregate.

Post-colonialism: AKA Racism

    Today, no matter where you look, countries everywhere have been affected by European colonialism. Modern North America is a result of European colonialism. And, wherever there is colonialism, there is assimilation, because there is the belief that European culture is better in every way. And wherever there is Eurocentrism, there is post-colonialism, which is racism against the indigenous peoples of colonized countries. Post-colonialism developed as a result of European behavior against the natives of colonized countries. It consists of the belief that European mannerisms and culture are superior to those of the assimilated races'.

An example of post-colonialism in media is the following advertisement:

     Here we have a "white" child talking to a "black" child. The black child is dressed in rags, poor, and is standing in a shy, position with his head tilted down. The white child is well dressed and wealthy. This conveys the message that black symbolizes poverty, inferiority, and shame, while white is superior and godlike. The question on the advertisement asks, "Why doesn't your mamma wash you with fairy soap?" This makes the black child seem dirty, while the white child is made dreamlike, a fantasy, because he is washed with "fairy" soap. The advertisement discloses the message that to be like the white child, clean, well dressed, wealthy, your child must be washed with this "fairy" soap. The advertisement also discreetly inserts the assumption that everyone wants to be like the European white child, that the "black" look is unwanted. Ultimately, the advertisement announces that "white" is good and "black" is bad.