This chapter focused on slavery in the Congo and the interactions/wars/rebellions between the natives and the colonizers. This is the first chapter where slavery is discusses at length and features a rare account Ilanga which contributes to the 'African Voice' sub theme within the text.
"Where There Aren't No Ten Commandments" follows a strange but understandable outline. It opens with details of Western luxuries in Congo. These luxuries are only for the whites there and is contrasted with the treatment of the Congolese. This is where the chapter starts discussing slavery. Hochschild reveals information about the 'chicotte', a whip used to punish the slaves.
Several accounts and testimonies are detailed in this chapter as well, accompanied by photos that mirror the chronological order of the information Hochschild already told the reader.
In concern to the ultimate question, I believe that this chapter mirrors much of the attitude and treatment that exists today in Africa. Exploitation and slavery may look different but the fundamental building blocks of these concepts remain the same. First world countries are still exploiting Africa and slavery still exists.
Quiz Questions
1.Why is slavery first “nakedly” addressed first in this chapter? No euphemisms or analogies.
2. Why do you think at the end of the chapter, page 139, there is a translation from French to English for the white people songs, but no African dialect for the song the Africans sang?
3. What did Congo provide for the male youth of Europe?
4. How does Lefranc’s observations/account affect our perception of life in Congo?
5. While the use of the slaves for the railroad is described, very briefly, why is there no further mention of the railroad and its progress?
No comments:
Post a Comment