The Old Chief Mshlanga

Old Chief Mshlanga | World History LA: Clash of Cultures

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1. When Nkosikaas first explains where she stands amongst the rest of the people that are on “her” land, she places herself in the category of a human, and the others she views as objects or tools to be used. When she is walking her usual trail, she sees someone dressed a little differently and decides to withhold her dog from attacking him. Unlike the others that she let her dogs attack, he was someone that she might have viewed herself under. Chief Mshlanga was someone to be respected, which made her view herself as an underdog, this way she felt how it was to give respect instead of accept it. This encounter and the revealing of the cook as the next heir to Chief Mshlanga’s position changed her view point on the way that she viewed others. Her trip to the village also showed her what it was like to be in someone elses teritory and she felt what it was like to be obligated to respect others.      

1. In beginning the narrator does not think positively about the natives. She thinks that they are not really humans, merely something to please her and help her father cultivate his land. She allows her dogs to chase them up trees and tells how she throws sticks and rocks at the children. I don’t think she hates them, she simply thinks of them as far below her. The turning point in the story is when she meets Chief Mshlanga on the road; he is respectful but keeps his dignity. She then starts to think that maybe there is something more to these natives. She stops mistreating them and eventually believes that they are equal. 2. We see a clash of culture with the father and Chief Mshlanga, the father is not being considerate of how the African tribes operate. Also the English are clashing when they put the other culture on reservations and do not allow them to keep their land. Toward the end of the story the girl is embracing the African culture; she treats them well and shows interest in their traditions.

1.At first, the narrator sees the Africans as people whose sole purpose in existence is to serve European people. She says that she was taught to take them for granted and that the African race was inferior. Then the narrator meets Chief Mshlanga. Chief Mshlanga doesn’t treat the narrator as his superior; he has both dignity and pride. As the narrator reads and interacts more about the chief and his people, the African people became less remote and inferior, in her opinion. 2.In the beginning of the story, the African landscape was foreign and remote, despite the fact that she had grown up in the area. Gradually, she learns to accept the landscape as hers. The trees and hills and such became ‘clearer’ and more familiar. After meeting the chief, she gets the fleeting impression that the landscape is hostile and cold. By the end of the story, she begins to think of the landscape as beautiful. 3.Sort of. She was brainwashed (in a sense) that Europeans are superior and Africans owe her and people like her respect and submission. She is a victim of prejudice, a prejudice which was bestowed upon her. She didn’t know any better. Many people could be held responsible for her misconceptions. Her parents, who brought her up, the people in power for allowing people to treat the Africans the way they do, or maybe even whomever decided to colonize that area of Africa, for they inspired the concept of Africans as an inferior race to the Europeans. 4.Not in my opinion. He knows that the chief can’t afford to lose the goats or pay him back, so he should act accordingly. Perhaps he could form a compromise with the chief, different way of repayment. Or, if he was really generous, he could accept the fact that it wasn’t intentional and that the ruination of the field won’t kill him or mar his standard of living very much at all. 5.First of all, the narrator must think rather highly of the area of land on which the village once stood. Perhaps the description of the patch of land that especially flourished could be taken to mean that the dwellings of the villagers were decomposing so it made the soil richer. I sort of doubt this is what the narrator intended, though. I think that I am going to assume that the last paragraph shows that the narrator thinks that the African landscape is lush, beautiful and has much to offer. 8.We see a clash of cultures in multiple places throughout this story. It sounds as if many young African men move around to find work. The European folks stay put, and if they move, it is to claim land that formerly belonged to Africans. There is a slight clash n the way the two groups dress. The narrator mentions that chief Mshlanga is dressed in a blanket, while she is dressed in a dress. (Obviously, one person is a man, one is a women, so they will dress differently. What I mean is that the Africans dress in the African style, Europeans dress in a European style). These two groups live in different types of houses. The Africans appear to live in villages in small huts. The Europeans appear to live in more stately houses that stand alone. I also think that these two groups have different senses of justice. It appears that the narrator’s father is very harsh while the chief seemed to appreciate mercy. This could be an incorrect observation, though, as in the situation I am referring to the chief was under the jurisdiction of the narrator’s father. Perhaps if the situation was reversed, it would appear differently. 9.When the narrator begins to treat Africans as equals (greeting them on the road etc.) she is embracing them. Eventually, the narrator comes to love and feel like she belongs in the African landscape as well. By the end of the story, the narrator comes to embrace African culture. (Perhaps this isn’t embracing culture, perhaps this is more submitting to it, but: )Some African young men conformed to European culture when they were in the employment of Europeans.

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