The River Between Culture by Jananee Y https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom en-us 2019-04-10 23:04:11 UTC 2020-04-09 06:18:37 UTC hello@padlet.com Instructions jananee_yega https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/483610068 i. One thing that truly resonated with you from the reading.
e.g. Christianity and religion they are deeply related to one another 
ii. One thing that you were confused about.
e.g. I was confused about the use of the word dichotomy 
iii. One new piece of information that had not occurred to you prior to the reading.
e.g. Joshua was the first person to come into Christianity – This was interesting as it led to the idea that it is probably why he lacks proper guidance on what Christianity entails 
Iv. One piece of information that affirmed what you already knew.
e.g. Christianity is described as a negative subject in the novel as it is a tool for the White men exploit the Gikuyu people and producing extremists like Joshua to negatively impact the story. However, the practice of the religion is misguided and alters what is supposed to be good, into a negative one 


]]> 2020-03-31 06:30:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/483610068 meiling https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497830719 i. i strongly agree with a part of the reading which describe joshua's misinterpretation towards christianity 'her father joshua whose conversion to an alien faith makes him blind to the politico-economic, social and cultural implications of christianity.'

ii.  i am confuse about the use of word 'ambivalent' used  to describe the character of waiyaki

iii.  muthoni's circumcision - her circumcision did not only result to her death but also aggravated the tensions between kameno and makuyu. so in a sense, muthoni is the first person to start the disbelief in unity

iv. that waiyaki's obsession about education would not bring the two ridges together. which true enough let him to his isolation on both the ridges.]]> 2020-04-08 01:19:08 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497830719 arpita https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497852594 i. the river between sheds light on the importance of love, education and the need for reconciliation between the antagonistic beliefs represented by Christianity on one hand and indigenous beliefs on the other
ii. other than the separation of the Christian and tribal beliefs, what other things does the the two ridges symbolize 
iii. the white men's education didnt just weaken the hold of tribal customs and rituals on the minds of the young but it also made the idea of disobeying authority(no matter how unjust and oppresive) repugnant to them
iv. since both muthoni and waiyaki are unable to 'pick a side' as they arent keen for a completely traditional tribal life nor do they want a modern Christian life, and this eventually leads them both to a tragic end as they frustrate extremists like Kabonyi and Joshua by their attempts to bring together both sides.]]> 2020-04-08 01:46:57 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497852594 maia https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497856174 i. how waiyaki's obsession with education throughout the novel reflects the whole generation of the african population's personal faith in education

ii. if the christians viewed muthoni's death as a punishment from god, thus hardening their conservative outlook on gikuyu customs such as circumcision, then how did the members of the tribe view it, and why do they continue the tradition

iii. the western system of education makes people pliant to authority and the idea of disobeying this authority is unheard of to them. this has influenced waiyaki as well since we was educated by the white man. when he hears of muthoni running away and disobery, it shocked him.

iv. how muthoni and waiyaki are the only characters caught in between a traditional way of life, and a modern, christian way of life

]]> 2020-04-08 01:51:58 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497856174 claral https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497860871 i. I resonated with the different interpretations of Christianity.  People can learn different things based on their interpretations of the bible. eg, Joshua and his views on Kikuyu customs, Waiyaki and how he used it against the white men. 
ii. I was confused about whether the education Waiyaki learned from going to the missionary school really aided his mission in protecting them from being colonialized. It may have even be part of the reason why Waiyaki became so obsessed over education. 
iii. Both Waiyaki and the white men had learned from Christianity but both only interpreted it based on how the teachings could benefit them, which is probably why their interpretations were so different. 
iv. Waiyaki also stood managed to view Christianity and the white men separately instead of them being one entity and constantly concluding ]]> 2020-04-08 01:58:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497860871 mei shuang https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497862547 i. One thing that resonated with me from the reading was the theme on colonialism and how chaos is created from the clash of people when they actually have the same roots.
ii. One thing I was confused about how Ngugi showed an ambivalent attitude towards Christianity although Joshua holds extremist views is used to represent Christianity, putting it in a bad light.
iii. One new piece of information that had not occurred to me prior to the reading is Waiyaki's sense of guilt about various tribal rituals and customs which Ngugi attributes to his education at Siriana.
iv. One piece of information that affirmed what I already knew is the symbolism of various natural things like the Honia river and ridges in showing the two sides as antagonists.

]]> 2020-04-08 02:00:36 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497862547 changyi https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497878954 i. one thing that resonated with me is that the seminal issue in the river between is the significance of land. the land has spiritual connections within both holistic groups. in the eyes of the tribe, due to the colonialism that was enforced by the white men, the people of the tribe feel that something is lost from them which they could not distinctly identify. hence blaming the existence of the more modern way of living: believing in christianity, which is partially true as it was falsely manipulated by the white men to steal their land for resources. however, waiyaki went to a missionary school at siriana, he could not correctly identify the pivotal reason of the separation between the ridges, as he thought it was due to the deprivation of education.
ii. i was confused that waiyaki had ambivalent attitude. from what i know, waiyaki seemed to hold strong roots to his own tribe and the white men's education did not change his ideology to a great extent. he loved nyambura but christianity did not seem to be involved.
iii. the disintergration of a traditional kenyan society under pressure is tragic for people like muthoni and waiyaki who are neither rigid abiut a totally traditional way of life nor keen about a totally modern, christian way if life.
iv. that joshua's aversion for his tradition and culture only sub serves the grand design od the colonizers who had deliberately put the bait of christianity in their bid to persue the policy or political and economic domination.]]> 2020-04-08 02:19:12 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497878954 charlize https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497879075 i.  one thing that resonated with me from the reading is how the Honia river is so significant in the novel as it is where both ridges celebrate life. circumcision and baptism. 
ii. was the reason why Kabonyi left Joshua really because he knew he cannot be a much better preacher than Joshua? or did he just did not agree with the teachings?
iii.  why is the Kiama a secret society?
iv. that Nyambura had qualms and reflect on whether she should or should not rebel against Joshua after Muthon's death as she isnt sure if. Christianity is truly for her. ]]> 2020-04-08 02:19:23 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497879075 jananee_yega https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497889389 2020-04-08 02:31:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/497889389 De Leon https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/499753449 i. One thing that resonated with me was the fact that the traditional people who governed the clan were refusing to move towards modernization.
ii. Why did the people who governed the clan insist of not going into modernization as there seems to be only benefits.
iii.  I onlky realised that  Muthoni’s sacrifice further aggravated the tensions between Kameno and Makuyu. Instead of making the people realize the need for unity and integration, her death eventually hardened their conservative outlook. 
iv. I already knew that Muthoni death was said that it was caused by joshua. the evidence which supports this is," The people of Kameno blame it all on Joshua who they believe must have put a father’s curse on her. "

]]> 2020-04-09 02:09:54 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/499753449 james https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/499819393 i. What resonated with me was that the colonists purposefully used Christianity to lure the tribal people and win over the political and economic domination over the country. This was very manipulative of them and harmed Kikuyu by dividing its people for their self gain.

ii. the use of the word 'martyrdom'. Are there any other characters that are considered to be a martyr to further develop the understanding of the meaning of martyrdom?

iii. Ngugi was once a devout Christian and some of his stories and characterisation are related to his own experiences, thoughts and feelings.

iv. Waiyaki being absent from the ridges while studying in Siriana would be a part of his downfall as he would feel 
disconnected from the tribe and may not have the trust of some of the elders after acquiring the white men's knowledge.]]> 2020-04-09 03:45:23 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/499819393 Aaron https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/499820350 i. It resonated with me how Waiyaki is so obsessed education that he fails to see other important aspects as well. He proceeds to sets up schools without considering all the other things that the Gikuyu people might need such as their freedom from the white man. 
ii. i was confused about how Western education has made people so plaint that the very idea of rebelling is so repugnant.
iii. That the story was based on what had happened in Ngugi life
iv. How Waiyaki would soon meet an end similar to one of Muthoni as he tried to connect the tribal way of life and the modern way of life similar to what Muthoni had done. ]]> 2020-04-09 03:46:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jananee_yega/lnzybo5gcrom/wish/499820350