Osiris Rising and King Leopold’s Ghost

Introduction

Osiris Rising is a novel that was written in the year 1995 by Ayi Kwei Arma. He novel narrates a story about an African American woman named Ast, who travels to the African continent after getting her PHD to search for heritage. A Number of current issues affecting have been discussed in the novel. King Leopold’s Ghost is a novel written by Adam Hochschild, and examines terror, greed and heroism as seen in the colonial Africa. The story particularly explores the treatment that the Congolese received during the era of late 1800s.

Discussion

One of the key ideas that relates to both novels is the fact that their story lines revolve around countries in the African continent. The novel, King Leopold’s Ghost examines the attempts made by King Leopold II to transform an African country, Congo into a colonial empire. The king conquers the help of one of the most popular explorers of the time, Henry Morton Stanley, which a complex scheme of corruption, political interest and propaganda. He finally gets the international recognition for his colony via the Berlin Conference and other diplomatic efforts. Eventually, the king forms a forced labor system that enslaves the Congolese (Hochschild, 1999).

Osiris Rising examines a number of current issues that face Africa and some of the issues include the hypocrisy of African Americans, limiting of African culture by residual colonial institutions and the expatriates who try to assist Africa as well as the thought of the meaning of African culture and history. The setting of the novel is in an unnamed modern country in West Africa. From the novel’s title implications, there is transposition of the traditional Egyptian, Osiris by Armah, into the current or modern African continent (Armah, 1995).

Both novels encompass certain historical elements. King Leopold II was a European leader who ruled Congo between the late 1800s and the beginning of the twentieth century. The history of the contact between Europe and Congo dates back before even the king himself realized a sense of interest for the country. The section of early history is always quite relevant and monotonous in such historical works. Osiris Rising attempts to gain an understanding of the African history.

Another element that is worth noting in both novels is the extensive use of symbolism. Symbolism is a stylistic device whereby, events or characters are used to represent certain significant elements or contemporary issues. In King Leopold’s Ghost, King Leopold II, the main character is a perfect epitome of the great tyrants of history. He represents tyranny, which was prevalent in the colonial Africa. During the colonial era, majority of the leaders were led by greed, corruption and were only interested in taking advantage of the continent with the hope of gaining the continent’s rich resources. These leaders were also hypocritical since they pretended to benefit the continent and its people while in real sense; they had ill motives (Hochschild, 1999).

Many Congolese died under the rule of King Leopold. It is however, difficult to figure out Congo’s death toll during his rule due to the fact that there were no accurate records. Additionally, majority of the records that existed were destroyed by the king deliberately briefly prior to the Belgium government taking Congo out of Leopold’s hands. Leopold can therefore be characterized as a greedy man who was only interested in gaining a territory. By doing misleading humanitarian activities with the aim of possessing a certain place, Leopold works his real intentions and motives. He freely materializes corruption acts, political interests and propaganda, with is genuine political methods to lure other leaders such as Henry Morton Stanley (Hochschild, 1999).

The use of symbolism in Osiris Rising is first of all evident in the book’s title which represents the traditionally known myth of Egyptian Osiris. This is further reinforced when each chapter is named by the use of Egyptian words. The primary movers of the myth closely coincide with the main characters. One of the characters is called Osiris, who is associated with a transforming Asar. Another character is known as Isis, who is revealed as a companion to Asar, Ast. Finally, there is Soya who symbolizes set (Armah, 1995).

Another symbolism that is worth noting in the novel is the relationship between Asar and Ast. This relationship symbolizes unity that joins both the native African and the African American. The African American has no ethnic tribe while the native African can be identified with one village. This also symbolizes a form of relationship similar to that of African women and Afro-Caribbean man. The importance of the relationship outlined in the novel is to strengthen Armah’s message concerning the push for cooperation of pan-Africanism. Ayi Kwei Arma has used a character named Sheldon Tubman who symbolizes a Diaspora hustler, who pretends to return to Africa with beneficial intentions but instead makes use of the fake tradition for his own benefit. It is thus clear that both novels have made use of characters to represent certain aspects or issues in contemporary Africa (Armah, 1995).

Another idea that comes out in the novels is the idea of change. In Osiris Rising, the so much desired change is towards unity between the native African and the African American. These two parties differed in one way or the other in terms of culture and even language. While the African Americans lacked an ethnic tribe, the native African had an ethnic tribe that enabled them to lives as a single community. There was thus, the need to find a common aspect that would unite the two parties. The sense of Pan-Africa was known for uniting the native Africans and the African Americans (Armah, 1995).

King Leopold’s Ghost examines the colonial era, which was characterized by tyrannical leaders who were corrupt, greedy and selfish. King Leopold represents those tyrannical leaders. Hence, the change that Africans were fighting for is that of attaining freedom and being free from such leaders. This change is finally achieved when the Belgium government takes Congo out of Leopold’s rule. Freedom was very much desired in most African nations during the colonial regime. Africans had the desire to be free of colonialists who were only there for personal gain. It is clear that eventually, the much needed freedom and independence was attained by virtually all African countries by the end of the twentieth century (Hochschild, 1999)..

The stories presented in both nations could refer to any African country today. This is due to the fact that the issues that the novels present affect majority of the African countries either directly or indirectly. One key theme that is presented in Osiris Rising is the theme of education, which is seen as an empowerment tool for Africans. Currently, education is among the key issues that are emphasized upon in Africa. A great importance is held in the education of an African child. It is believed that education would lead to development of competent leaders who can steer the continent towards progressive growth and development. The themes of love and unity are also essential for progression of the continent. With love and unity, the various conflicts and disputes, common in the continent would be greatly minimized (Armah, 1995).

The story presented in King Leopold’s Ghost could also apply to majority of current African nations. It is evident that poverty is among the leading issues affecting the African continent. Among the primary contributors of this phenomenon is inherent greed and corruption among political leaders. Most political leaders are only in power for personal interests and gain. This is the main reason why most of the leaders are extremely wealthy while their subjects and suffering and dying out of hunger and poverty. To make the situation worse, the same leaders are dictators who are determined to rule for a series of terms without stepping down. They are often willing to condone any illegal acts with the aim of retaining their political posts (Hochschild, 1999).

In conclusion, both novels highlight various issues facing the African continent in the past, present and even the future. They seek to explore answers to those contemporary issues.

References

Armah, A. K. (1995). Osiris rising: a novel of African past, present and future. Per Ankh

Hochschild, A. (1999). King Leopold’s ghost: a story of greed, terror, and heroism in Colonial Africa. Houghton Mifflin

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