Postcolonial Paper

The True Root of Immorality

Despite growing up in inner city Baltimore and the Bronx, surrounded by drug epidemics and gang violence, author Wes Moore “Moore,” was able to overcome his environment and achieve great success. He graduated from Johns Hopkins and Oxford University, worked in the White House and on Wall Street, and made an impact with his book The Other Wes Moore. However, the “other” Wes Moore (referred to as Wes in the story) went down a very different path, eventually being sentenced to life in prison despite being raised in a similar environment. As he is interviewed by Moore, Wes admits that he was a product of his environment, which was not only made up by the people and activities around him, but also by the inherent lack of opportunity given to him as an African American. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Jumping Monkey Hill,” presents a microcosm of this effect, where the African writers at a workshop submit to a false image of Africa in order to gain greater opportunity, despite knowing it is wrong. Likewise, Adichie’s “On Monday of Last Week” presents the dilemma of betraying one’s traditional ways to integrate into American society. In all of these cases, it is clear that the discriminatory ideas and structure of western society forces Africans and African Americans to stray from what they think is “right” to improve their social and economic status, often perpetuating the “single narrative” and negative stereotypes of these groups.

In order to consciously choose to go against what is morally “right,” a person must recognize that what they are doing is wrong in the first place. The stereotype of violence, crime, and drugs often associated with African Amerians overlooks this, without acknowledging the reason many are led down this path. Despite being exposed to drugs at an early age, Wes is immediately aware of their negative impact on his brother Tony: “He knew what game this was, the same game that had consumed Tony and put a bullet or two in him. The same game Tony continually urged Wes to stay out of”(Moore 58). Yet with Baltimore’s dropout rate of seventy percent at the time, Wes’ school, nicknamed “Chicken Pen,” provided neither the resources nor the opportunities to guide him down the “right” path. Like anyone else, Wes simply needed money to tide him over until his future unfolded. He recognized that studying and exams would not help him with this, and that “all he needed was ambition. And guts… and an ability to live with constant fear” (Moore 58). Wes saw these characteristics as an alternative to vocational skills and education, something that he had that perhaps others did not. Surrounded by people who had made similar decisions, Wes was dragged deeper and deeper into the game, until the few opportunities he had initially had were reduced to nothing and he was sentenced to life in prison for murder involvement. In the end, Wes became another statistic in the stereotype, yet the main factor in his fate was not his own morality, but the cycle of neglect and failure in the Baltimore school systems, and the lack of effort to reform them.

While perhaps in a more subtle way than Wes, the actions of the African writers in “Jumping Monkey Hill” also convey an abandonment of morals in order to improve their social and economic status. Like Wes, the writers are simply looking out for their own present and future lives, and are making rational decisions based on the opportunities presented to them. When Ujunwa, a Nigerian writer, expresses her disapproval Edward, an Oxford professor of African Literature, and his ideas about Africa, the Tanzanian writer explains that “Edward was connected and could find them a London agent; there was no need to antagonize the man, no need to close doors to opportunity. He, for one, didn’t want to end up at that dull teaching job in Arusha” (Adichie, “Jumping Monkey Hill” 16). While the Tanzanian certainly recognizes Edward’s narrow and extremely flawed view of Africa, he decides that accepting it is a better alternative than a “dull teaching job.” He stresses that there is “no need” to oppose or resist Edward’s ways, demonstrating that his motives are solely rational, without any concern for emotions, or what is “right” in his mind. Similar to Wes, the Tanzanian is simply trying to set himself up for a more economically stable and successful future, and is unable to take morality into account due to his position in the hierarchical structure of society. As a result, the Tanzanian strays from his original intentions by writing about the killings in the Congo, appeasing Edward’s ideas of a violent and lawless Africa and, while indirectly, contributing to the stereotype.

In some cases, the line between what is morally “right” and “wrong” is not so clear. Such is the case in Adichies “On Monday of Last Week,” where the Nigerian protagonist Kamara deals with the decision to conform to American society. Upon arriving in America, Kamara quickly discovers that Tobechi, her husband, has changed dramatically due to societal influences. Clearly seeing this change as a negative one, “she wondered if it was even the same Tobechi, this person who seemed so eager, so theatrical, and who, most worrying of all, had begun to talk in that false accent that made her want to slap his face”(Adichie, “On Monday” 11). To her, Tobechi’s americanized behavior represents an abandonment of his old genuine personality, as he is creating a false character in order to integrate smoothly into society. Ultimately, while it may upset Kamara, Tobechi’s actions give him a better chance to improve his social status and succeed in America. Kamara, however, is unable to recognize this, and the consequences of her initial desire to hold onto her old customs are shown through her interactions with Neil, the father of the family she works for as a babysitter. For example, Kamara refers to Josh, Neil’s half-black child, as “half-caste.” Despite not knowing the connotation of the phrase in America (as it had a positive one to her in Nigeria), Neil’s response “made her certain that she had lost her opportunity for the job, and so she was surprised when he gave her the address and asked if they could meet the following day” (Adichie, “On Monday” 2). In this case, Kamara was lucky and landed the job despite her error, yet it is clear that her conscious disconnection with American culture and society has the potential to hurt her future, career, and social status. As a result, regardless of what Kamara thinks is “right,” the discriminatory structure of Western society ensures that she will face significant trade-offs if she attempts to fully reject American culture. In the end, even Kamara, who was more resistant to change her ways than both Wes and the Tanzanian writer, develops a great affinity toward Tracy, Neil’s African-American wife, showing that she is giving in (at least in part) to the ideas and practices of Americanized people.

In many countries, African people and other marginalized groups face a difficult decision: to choose their own path, often with no support from society, or to take the route society forces them toward. Wes, who was directly involved with the stereotype of crime and violence, the Tanzanian, who indirectly contributed to the image of a violent and brutal Africa through his story, and Kamara, who experienced the potential consequences of not conforming to Western culture, were all similar in the fact that they strayed from what they thought was “right” in hopes of improving their lives. Upon reflection, however, the individual is not fully at fault, as their inherent lack of options gave them few other choices. Whether it be the neglect of inner city Baltimore school systems, or the disproportionate amount of influence given to people like Edward in the area of “African Literature,” Western forces are at work that the individuals have no control over. It is easy to look at people who have made these decisions (particularly Wes), and simply accept the stereotype without second thought. In fact, many Americans would likely show great admiration and respect toward “Moore” and his great success, while looking down on Wes as nothing more than a criminal. Yet, as Moore puts it, “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” (180).