The use of context

It is impossible to look something impartially. You will always have an opinion on the matters at hand.That is why it is so important to understand the context of creation, and the context of reception. The latter is how the text is received based on your particular set of circumstances. It is important when reading and interpreting a text to be able to put yourself the context of the time. Without the ability to do so, the text loses most of its meaning and purpose. That being said, learning about the context of creation help me significantly in understanding several moments in the text.

The greatest example of this was Ikemefuna’s final moments. In chapter seven, page forty four, “’My father, they have killed me’ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his matchet and cut him down.” When I read this for the first time, I put the book down and walked away, on the brink of tears. When it came up in class no else seemed to share my reaction. It occurs to me now that I put that scene into my own context, not that of the book. By making the scene similar to the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, Achebe sought to soften the blow, make it seem as though Okonkwo was trusting a higher power. In my case, when the scene occurred in both instances, my reaction remained constant. Weather this is due to my beliefs I cannot say. However, I did not grow up reading the stories in the bible.

Another instance where the context of the book was necessary to understand was the locusts. In chapter seven, page forty, “’Locusts are descending’ was joyfully chanted everywhere…” Personally, I hate bugs. So needless to say the fact that they caught and ate them was revolting at the time. Though I still would not eat them, I actually understand why they did what they did. Throughout the rest of the book, you see very little variety in the food. So when this new and exotic food goes to sleep all over the village, it makes sense that they decided to eat them.

Page 98 presents yet another mystery to modern thinking. In it, we see the family of Okonkwo’s uncle, and Okonkwo himself, unable to say why “Mother is Supreme”. Now, women have an equal role is society. So saying something along those lines is common place, not only that, it is widely believed.  So their inability to express why mother is supreme, or even important, is shocking. However, where many may see sexism, is present only ignorance.

The final example was the twins. On page 144 it mentions several of the less desirable peoples of the village joining the church. The concept of the undesirable is understandable to a degree. Though you cannot contract their luck from them, several ailments that go along with poor nourishment and poor living conditions can. However the fact that they are considered this because of who they are makes no sense, unless taken in the context of the culture. They have neither land nor title, and they do not act as society says they should. Sounds familiar? The gays went through something similar. Bu they were able to overcome the adversity, not these people in the book. So they sought refuge in faith. What makes even less sense is the people reaction to twins. They believe them to be evil, one is a demon the other the real child. Instead of risking getting the demon, they throw them out. Until you realize that this is what they believe, their reaction is completely uncalled for.

In conclusion, in order to really understand a text, you must look at it in its context.