I felt Lawino's strong emotions throughout the poem. I was able to sympathize and empathize with her. Her husband feels that since he is educated, he should not be with a woman like her who is not educated. He wants her to be that "white educated woman" of the western society. She repeatedly says "you laugh" (referring to Ocul), and as readers we are allowed to empathize with her because we know how it feels to be laughed at. We feel degraded and we feel that we are lacking intelligence. Ocul loves Clementine because she resembles a white woman which is something that he desires. Lawino continuously describes Clementine as looking sickly and pale. Clementine is taking medication which is damaging the skin on her face. I assume that she is bleaching. She is also described as this modern woman, and Ocul calls himself a modern man.
My first question is, how can Ocul can be seen as a impotent male in his society?I see Ocul as having low self esteem. I see Lawino as a potent female because she has not forgotten where she has come from. Lawino states that she does not despise the foreigners' customs, and she wonders why her husband would despise his own. She is unaware of this modernized world, but she knows that this is what have caused her husband to change. She hasn't forgotten her culture. I don't think she thinks low of herself, she does not try to be like Clementine. She has a certain level of confidence in herself.
Can we see the theme of colorism throughout this poem? What are some examples?
In today's society, do you think that it is realistic for a man to leave his wife because she is not educated? What does this say about the man? What does this say about society?
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ReplyDeleteI think That in today's society, it is more likely for a woman to leave her husband/boyfriend because he is not educated. Women in today's world are more independent and I think this is mainly because we have education. Education makes us stronger and I think we take advantage of the education system more so than men. This is not to say that men are not intelligent or that women are smarter than men. I'm not trying to bring up that endless battle :). However, in today's society, there is a greater possibility of a women leaving her husband because he is not on the same level.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that in today's society educated women are romanced to believe that an uneducated man is not good enough to have a relationship with, marry or even have a child with. Society’s mentality is that an educated women should have an equally educated man in order to be truly happy and financially comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that women are more likely to leave a boyfriend/husband solely because of their education. I believe it's because they have a choice to and that choice is accepted by society. Society will tell you "he's not good enough for you", "leave him....your going to make more money than him". “He can’t provide for you”. Society rarely encourages an educated women to empower a man regardless of his education as long as he is willing and able to be devoted to her. The focus of a relationship should not be based on education levels. It should be based on true love and commitment. If you truly love and are committed to one another, your are willing to deal with the differences together. If an educated women decides to accept a man with minimal education, it’s not fair to the man that she later decides to toss him aside because she is no longer stimulated by him.
Song of Lawino
ReplyDeleteIn response the question about whether it is realistic for a man to leave his wife because she is not educated. In the case of Lawino, she is thoroughly educated in the customs and traditions of her village and understands the natural treasures of Africa. She is astute in the ways that herbs heal the body. She also acknowledges that Western medicine and natural remedies cannot cure all diseases.
The problem is that Ocol is miseducated by Western scholars. He has allowed his mind to be poisoned with misinformation about African traditions and history. On the other hand, Lawino is so firmly grounded in African culture that it is more difficult to soften her will. She questions the appeal of “white man’s food: For cooking the tasteless Bloodless meat of cows That were killed many years ago And left in the ice To rot.” (58)
Acoli women “are not easily browbeaten” and Lawino is constantly questioning the words of the missionaries. I believe that if the white man's teachings made sense to Lawino, she would have become a "modern" women. But nothing made sense to her because she is seeped in African traditions.
But Ocol has let go of the anchor that tied him to Africa. This new information has transformed Ocol from a “free man” whose “heart was still his chief” (113) into “a dog of the white man.” (115) What also interesting is that Lawino says that Ocol has become “a woman” (113) because of Western civilization and progress. Lawino reminds Ocol of the Africa that now shames him because he is looking at his life through the eyes of foreigners.
Ocol may feel impotent because he can’t solve Africa’s problems. His miseducation has weakened his optimism about the future of Africa, which he sees as crippled by disease and famine. He believes that they way to save Africa is to start with a clean slate. Since life in Europe seems like paradise, why not save Africa by westernizing it inside and out.
Gender roles in this African text doesn't seem as clearly defined as in Western traditions, in which men are the dominant force. Maybe this is what Ocol is seeking -- unchallenged dominance?
I think if we are to talk about the role of education in "Song", we need to clearly define what is education is. Similar to Natalie, I saw Ocol's education as nothing more as westernization in its purest form. However, I think if we consider Ocol as miseducated, then we are making the same types of judgments that form the backbone to “Song”. Hailing one culture over the other forms the almost hysterical sensationalism that some of Lawino’s claims have. If we were to consider Ocol’s absorption of the west and Christianity as “education”, then that automatically realigns Lawino and her proud African culture as ignorance.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wanted to see if anyone else noticed the epic quality to “Song of Lawino”? Similar to the epic poems of Home, “Song” is complete with a catalogue of names and items (all of which bear cultural relevance to the home culture) and the intervention and praising of gods. I find it of worthy note to recognized that though “Song” works to denounce and implore colonization and westernization, at its very core, its poetic form still aligns itself to markers of a “western” epic.