Consciousness vs. Rationality

Notes From Underground has led me to contemplate the difference between the importance of consciousness and rationality. The underground man thinks that consciousness is more important than rationality because, "Once you have two times two makes four, here is nothing left to do or understand" (Dostoevsky 32). He believes that once you have realized something through rational thought, a man would be restricted to contemplating the fact.

Rational thought is the ability to make decisions for ourselves and believe that we have made the right choice. On the other hand, consciousness allows us to perceive what consequences our actions have. I agree with the underground man because without consciousness, discovery, inventiveness, and knowledge would seem useless. The urge to discover is what pushes me to work hard throughout my life. Although I view the value of consciousness differently from the underground man, who thinks that, "corporal punishment is still better than nothing" (Dostoevsky 33), I also believe that it supersedes rational thought.

The ability to realize the implications and analyze them is all that keeps me sane. The underground man's audience think that rational thought will lead them to a utopian society of crystal castles. The underground man satirically mocks them for thinking that there could ever be a perfect society. I agree that like wind moving around the world from high to low pressure, the status of the world consistently shifts and will never settle evenly. Rationality would allow for the world to settle like so, because if everyone had "correct" morals and true rationality, everyone would have the same opinions to better the world and themselves. Consciousness allows us to be aware of ourselves and our personal needs and to have the drive to better ourselves.

Telling Their Own Story - TFA Essay

Chimamanda Adichie, Nigerian author and speaker, describes how a stereotype can, “make one story become the only story” (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story). Kay Olan, a Native American oral storyteller, and Chinua Adichie, author of Things Fall Apart, strive to shed light on all angles of Native American and African culture. Olan tells stories about her culture through the symbols provided by nature such as trees and animals. Olan and Achebe use the art of storytelling to provide a more equitable portrait of their people. They tell stories about the other side of stereotypes such as brutality and abuse, juxtaposing them with prosperity and independence.

Although the people of Ibo and Native Americans have moments of war and brutality, calling them brutes would be misleading and untrue. Once the missionaries had disturbed the peace in his village, “[Okonkwo] had brought down his war dress, which he had not touched since his return from exile” (Achebe 199). Achebe shows that Okonkwo has not used his war dress in almost a year, but “He had shaken out his smoked raffia skirt and examined his tall feather head-gear and shield” (Achebe 199), showing that he takes great care and respects the war culture of his village. Similarly to the way Achebe tells all sides of the story, Olan shares that “There were times when there were conflicts, some of them were small some of them were big, but… there was a great deal of sharing, our networking systems ran far and wide” (Olan). She shows that the intricate culture, language, and art of the Native Americans is often overlooked because of their more exciting war stories. The colonists and missionaries created the single story of brutality among these native peoples upon arriving in their homeland and Achebe and Olan express the story from a new point of view.

Contrary to the popular single story, Native Americans and Ibo people were prosperous and productive in daily life and over the course of their history. Every night, “[Okonkwo] uncover[s] his second wife’s dish and beg[ins] to eat from it. Obiageli [takes] the first dish and return[s] to her mother’s hut. … Nkechi [comes] in, bringing the third dish” (Achebe 45). Okonkwo’s hard work allows him and his family to live in a large compound and eat three meals each night. Also, he even has, “two barns full of yams” (Achebe 8). Achebe uses the excess of food to show Okonkwo’s, wealth and prosperity. Achebe creates Okonkwo’s prosperity along with his meager beginnings to display social mobility and possibility for success. In the interview, Olan shares that “[Native Americans] have ceremonies that go on throughout the year, and when we have these ceremonies, we come together to give thanks, appreciation, and love” (Olan). Olan notes that the Native Americans have measured their prosperity in a spiritual light, rather than material like the yams of the Ibo people. Olan and Achebe dispel the stereotype of brutality with evidence of the survival of Native American ceremonies and the success of Okonkwo.

Olan and Achebe use abuse to show a complete, realistic story of their native people. In the Ibo tribe, when a man beats his wife, he is not reprimanded whatsoever. Many citizens, although distraught when, “without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping” (Achebe 38), no one stopped Okonkwo, or even spoke up about the event. The Ibo people believe in a strict hierarchy within the family, and will do whatever it takes to keep that tradition. In her interview, Olan acknowledges that some reservations are plagued with domestic abuse, like some homes in the Ibo villages, and a look of shame comes to her face. She feels that some of her own people have tarnished the reputation of Native Americans with a few instances of domestic violence, and that they aid the people who created the single story of Native Americans. The authors believe that these small stories of abuse must be told in order to appreciate the full story.

The Ibo and Native American people take pride in their independence, and in both cases the independence allowed their native roots to survive in spite of oppression. An Ibo man asks one of the Christian missionaries in defiance, “What is this god of yours, the goddess of the earth, the god of the sky…” (Achebe 146)? Achebe uses the anonymous man to stand for the skeptics and the traditional people of Ibo. They have a strong identity with their natural gods because of their dependence on the harvest and the rainy season. Olan shows that the Native Americans have retained a strong identity when she insists that, “Many people do not realize that we are still here, that we know who we are” (Olan). The native people of both civilizations have endured great hardship, and even through the tempest of deportation and destruction, their independence and identity stand.

Achebe and Olan verify or dispel stereotypes about their people by telling their own stories of brutality, prosperity, abuse, and independence. Olan defends her culture to preserve it for herself and her loved ones. She wants to make sure that her people are not left for the history books. Achebe knows that, at the time he wrote this book, many of his readers would have no knowledge of the sophistication and civility of the people that he wrote about. He had to create a new story to oppose the stereotypes of savage, uncivilized people. Achebe and Olan create a full and clear depiction through storytelling in which they can articulate all angles through characters and the places themselves.