In an
effort to post blogs on a more regular basis, I’m going to try something a bit
different. I’ve got a fairly broad theme
in mind – trying to look at the world from fresh perspectives, ones that might
challenge or call into question ideas that we think of as “normal” or that we take
for granted – and I’d like to explore it through several specific subtopics. As you can probably tell from the title, I’m
calling the overall theme “Changing Perspectives,” and the first subtopic I
have in mind considers the connotations of the colors black and white.
“He saw
things in black and white.” This
expression, in one form or another, is fairly commonplace, and the expression
itself might seem relatively harmless.
It’s often just a figurative way of saying that someone places things in
strict categories of right and wrong, or of good and evil. The symbolic use of the words “white” and “black,”
or, in some cases, “light” and “darkness,” in place of “good” and “evil” can be
seen all over the place. Just think of
one of the passages that Christians read every Christmas Eve, as candles shine
in darkened sanctuaries: “In him was life, and the life was the light of
men. The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). Think of all the books and movies in which
the struggle of good and evil is portrayed as a battle between light and dark. In The
Lord of the Rings, for example, we have the black orcs, the black gates,
and the black towers of Sauron pitted against the white city, the white horses,
the white clothes, and the white hair of figures such as Gandalf and
Galadriel. Is this simply a harmless way
to add a splash of color to epic conflicts of good and evil, or could the use
of these shades have potentially dangerous consequences?
The sentence
at the beginning of the preceding paragraph was taken from a book entitled Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua
Achebe, a Nigerian author who died last year.
Things Fall Apart was Achebe’s
first novel, and most of it chronicles village life in his home area, before
the influences of colonialism. Near the
end of the story, however, white missionaries come into the picture, along with
colonial officials, and some things, well, start to fall apart. A major cause of the problem stems from the fact
that the colonizers saw their ideas as “right”, or perhaps “civilized”, while
the native people were seen as “uncivilized”, and possibly even “savage”.
In one of the last chapters, Achebe describes the
mindset of a white district commissioner using the figures of speech that we
see as commonplace, and, in doing so, he shows how such language can be
dangerous: “He saw things as black and white.
And black was evil. He saw the
world as a battlefield in which the children of light were locked in mortal
conflict with the sons of darkness.” In
this context, it becomes obvious that the expression “the children of light”
refers to the white colonizers, while the phrase “the sons of darkness”
corresponds to the Africans. As we all
know, this view of superiority, reinforced by our use of certain figurative
language, lasted for many, many years, and it has caused terrible pain in the
lives of so many. Its effects are still
seen today.
In The Economist’s obituary about Chinua Achebe,
one of the Nigerian author’s essays was discussed as a way to highlight his
impact on literature, and on worldwide perspectives. The essay focused on Joseph Conrad, the
author of the book Heart of Darkness:
“The real question,” [Achebe]
wrote, “is the dehumanisation of Africa and Africans which [an] age-long
attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world.” Re-reading “Heart of Darkness,” he explained,
it became clear that he would never be on Marlow’s boat steaming up the Congo.
He was one of the Africans Conrad described jumping up and down on the river
bank, pulling faces. He realised how wrong it was – “terribly, terribly wrong” –
to portray his people, any people, from that superior floating-past point of
view. His essay changed Conrad’s place in English literature.
For a white
person, like myself, it’s easy to look at expressions that use “white”/“light”
and “black”/“dark” to represent “good” and “evil” and to see only a colorful
figure of speech. The idea of skin color
might not cross my mind at all. But, for
someone whose skin is a darker shade, the expression might conjure up a long history
of perceived inferiority and exploitation at the hands of the supposed “children
of light”. How does it feel for the
color of one’s skin to be associated with one of the most common metaphors, if
not the most common metaphor, for
evil? Personally, I don’t know, but some
people just might. Maybe we should think
about adjusting some expressions…
P.S. – For the
full article about Chinua Achebe in The Economist, click here:
P.P.S. – I love
The Lord of the Rings. It’s just the first example of white vs. black
that came to mind…
I think you can guess my feelings on this subject. Your blog brought to mind the class colors of my high school graduating class....ironically...Black and White......accompanied by our class motto of "United We Stand, Divided We Fall". As classmates, we felt very strongly about our closeness and unity.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I agree that some of these "old" expressions should change, I doubt that we will see this occur in the near future. However,maybe we have taken small steps toward a positive change with our personal feeling that all peoples should be equal and treated fairly and respectfully, regardless of race, religion, etc.....
Love, Mom