Gods Bits of Wood Essay

History 2312

The Role of tradition in a modernizing Africa

In nineteenth- and twentieth-century Africa there are two perspectives that can be examined. The perspectives are Modern and Traditional. These two perspectives are always in conflict.

In God’s Bits of Wood, we see the conflict between the modern and the traditional. One of the main reasons is because women feel inferior to men. Due to this they do not know how to act during the strike.

In one instance a woman says “I am only a woman, and no one listens to a woman, particularly now” (Ousmane 107). Her traditional role is of a housewife. She is not used to helping her husband. It is not normal for her to be on strike. This is one example shown in the book between the conflict of being a traditional woman and a modern woman.

The problem is that after the march, the women get sick due to lack of water. By this time, the women have become stronger. Penda tells the women to shut up and encourages them.

During the march, Penda has become a new woman. She is now a leader. Her growth is shown in the book.

Another example the book gives of the conflict between the modern and traditional is with Penda. Penda is called a whore because she exercises individuality. The people in Africa do not want women to travel or be modern. The book lets us know that if a woman is an individual they are seen as a threat to the community.

Tradition as well as modernism can be seen as a bad thing. It is only seen as a good thing when one is sitting in a circle talking. When one is not sitting around, then they are seen as a threat.

Africa does not like modernism, because they are afraid of change. In Mandela people do not want change. They want to stick to tradition.

For example, they do not like it when Mandela is reading Marx. He is accused of being a communist because of this. They believe that he is taking directions from a communist.

In conclusion, nineteenth and twentieth century Africa show great examples of the...