Quotes
“But it was like a window through which he saw a magical new world. And he was happy.” Which story is this from?
Chike's School Days
The young boy excited to learn
Chike
Chike’s school exposes him to what new language and ideas?
English / Western knowledge
How does Conrad often portray Africa in Heart of Darkness?
As dark, uncivilized, or dangerous
The story in which a young boy discovers a “magical new world” through schooling.
Chike’s School Days
“It is the desire — one might indeed say the need — in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil to Europe…” What does Europe need Africa to be?
A place of negation or the opposite of Europe
The people Chike is compared against in social hierarchy.
The Osu
Chike begins to feel differently about what due to his schooling?
His own culture or traditional roots
Marlow’s view of Africans is mostly seen through whose perspective?
European/colonial perspective
The European journey in Heart of Darkness that explores the Congo River.
Marlow’s expedition
“Now all that had changed… an Osu child could even look down his nose at a free-born.” What does this quote reveal?
Colonial education changes social hierarchy and perceptions
The European narrator in Heart of Darkness.
Marlow
How do Osu children react socially after receiving colonial education?
They assert superiority over free-born classmates
What is Africa compared to in the Dorian Gray analogy?
Europe's flaws
What was the community's reaction when Amos declares himself an Osu.
They are shocked; it is “unheard of”
“The neighbor was full of rage, but she controlled herself and only muttered under her breath that even an Osu was full of pride nowadays, thanks to the white man.” What does this quote reveal about how colonial education affected social dynamics in Chike’s School Days?
It reveals that colonial education gave previously marginalized groups (the Osu) confidence and status, changing traditional social hierarchies and creating tension within the community.
The person who makes himself Osu in Chike’s School Days, surprising the community.
Amos
What role do teachers and the school environment play in shaping the values and attitudes of Chike and his classmates?
The teachers and school environment model European norms and ways of thinking, which influence the children’s behavior, ambitions, and understanding of the world.
Why does Achebe criticize Conrad’s depiction of Africa?
It ignores African humanity and presents them as objects or scenery which dehumanizes them. He believes him to be a racist.
In Heart of Darkness, what does the European use Africa for in his storytelling?
As a backdrop, symbol, and foil to European moral identity