The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger

I happened to be at my cousin's house reading Things Fall Apart. Again. I don't know why. Not the entire book mind you, just the part where the tribal men brings the white man to the already dead Okonkwo. For some reason, that has such a HUGE impact on me that I'm left speechless. And the ironic part of this entire scene is that the Commissioner is walking away from the scene and is thinking about how this story is going to be part of his book. He even has the nerve to name the title: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.

I don't know about you but when I read this sentence, I actually had the urge to smack the Commissioner (even though he's in the book). Just the name makes me think of the Discovery channel. It's like he's observing uncouth animals in the wild. It seems that he has no respect for the Ibo people and you might very well think that he's making a documentary on the wilderness. He forgets that these tribal men are humans as is he. Although I knew what the word primitive meant, I decided to look it up. According to Webster, two synonyms that I found were: CRUDE, RUDIMENTARY. Those two words sums up what the Commissioner thought about Okonkwo and his kin.

It's sad really what people must put up with. A great man committing suicide because of these invaders- these white missionaries who believe that all land and power belong to them and them alone. They are the same men who came to the Americas and washed nearly 3/4 of the Native Indian population. They are the same men who captured innocent beings from Africa and forced them into slave labor. (Note: Please do not misinterpret my feelings- I do not think that Caucasians are all bad)

I cannot even tell you how much this book has impacted me and though I felt some parts were irrelevant to the story, Things Fall Apart is a compelling story of a strong man and that even the powerful cannot control the drama and turmoil that will inevitably plague someone's life.