News, announcements, and commentary for the students and families of GAMP.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Is he Not in Congoland?
Was this
method useful for deciphering “Is he not in Congoland?” What do we learn about Africa from this traveler's log? What story of Africa and Africans does it tell (Remember: single story)
The method we used to decipher “Is he not in Congoland” really helped me understand the article. Breaking it down into smaller sections, then defining hard words and notating the sections made it seem less overwhelming.
We learned a lot from reading this traveler’s log, like about how the Europeans dislike the African food they ate because it had less variety then their own food, back home, and how the African people were bribed with food in order that they would get on the steam boats. The Europeans took advantage of the natives (their resources) by taking them along during their explorations.
We also learned by reading “Is he not in Congoland?” about the dangers the Europeans faced while visiting the African villages. One particular example is when a traveler comes down with an illness after he sits out with wet clothes at night. An interesting thing about that was when he was being taken care of by an African attendant, he is shocked and can’t believe that in any way, an African can nurse him back to health.
The single story that this traveler’s log tells about Africans is that they are incompetent people, less of a human being than Europeans. The Europeans won’t accept the fact that the Africans were just as strong, intelligent, and meaningful as they are.
Breaking down and summarizing into smaller section definitely was useful for deciphering “Is he not in Congoland?” Doing this method made the article easier to read and more understandable.
In this traveler’s long we learn about Africa and how water was very important to the natives. For example, a young European was thirsty and the natives gave him wine because no wanted to give him the precious water that they had preserved. We also learn that the Europeans had bribe their way through Africa during their expedition. For example, day by day the Europeans supplied food to the Africans and the Africans started to trust the Europeans and not longer thought they were dangerous.
The traveler’s story tells a single story about Africa and Africans which is that they are incompetent. The Europeans thought because the Africans didn’t have the same culture as they did that the Africans were beneath them as a whole person.
I think that deciphering "Is He Not In Congoland?" helped me comprehend the article way better than I did the first couple times I read it to myself. Looking at hard words, breaking down sentences into the more modern way of speaking helped it function in my head much better. What we learned from this article was how the Europeans kind of took over and modernized Africa while the Africans saw their land change in front of their eyes. It basically spoke about the food, water, cargo, health, and the river itself. By reading this text we were able to get a glimpse into the past, what the Africans were feeling like at the time and what they went through. In the text a man was ill and was being nursed by an African American. None of the doctors were familiar or even thought that and African could take care of someone because of the color of their skin. That relates to a single story. Another way this text was relevant to a single story was because of how Africans were labeled as "barbaric" or "dark" even as people with no culture or religion which was all completely incorrect. African Americans were very diverse in cultures, and also in religion. They weren't barbaric and they're life style was almost the same as the Europeans' lifestyles. Later, the Europeans discovered this.
The method we used to decipher "Is he not in Congo land?" was really useful. It broke down the words we did not understand and helped us piece together the Traveler's Log. What really helped me to understand the piece was knowing whose point of view each section was in. We learned about Africa's people and land and customs. We learned that, despite what most Europeans thought back then, the natives of Africa were not aliens. They had a way of life, foods they ate, clothes they wore, things they traded with. The people of Africa, were just that, people. The natives were not heathens or barbaric, they were just different. They had a different way of doing things from the Europeans and , because they were different people thought they were evil or bad. People though they were devoid of religion, people though they had no social systems, people thought they led demonic lifestyles, but they didn't. That's just what what they early Europeans perceived them as, because they led a different life, but it was what was normal to them. Their whole reputation and the reputation of their country tarnished by a single story.
By deciphering "Is he Not in Congoland?" was very helpful for me. It made me understand more about Africa and Africans. Defining the hard words and summarizing the sections made it easier to understand.
I learned that the Africans have a different variety of foods from others. Also, I learned that they treasure their water and don't like to waste or share it because of it's value.
I also learned that while in Africa, explores may not have the same immune system as Africans and are not resistant to the sicknesses. One explore had fell ill while traveling to Congoland and had to be nursed to health.
The travelers logs tell that Africa and Africans lack the abilities to have or do certain things. The Europeans looked down on the Africans and judged them critically.
The method that was used in class to decipher "Is he not in congoland"? was beneficial to me.It made me realize that by briefly breaking down the traveler's log to simple pieces and anylyzing it closer can make the reading simpler. I learned the ways Europeans thought about Africans and a visual of how ancient Africa looked. The single story the traveler's log emphasizes is that Africans were not as advanced as the Europeans.An example is when one of the Europeans were ill and he was amazed that an African nursed him back to health.
The method used for deciphering " Is he not in Congoland? " was very useful.It helped understand the article better.Summarizing the article and defining hard words made it easier to read.
We learned about the scenery of Africa , how Europeans didn't like African food and how their meals were different. We also learned how the natives were being bribed.
Because the Africans were different , the Europeans judged them and made a 'single story' of them.
By using the method we used deciphering "Is he not in Congoland" helped me understand the article much better. By us breaking down each of the sections giving brief summaries on each gave me more of a picture and idea of what was actually going on.
From the travelers log we learned many different feelings and emotions that were coming from the Europeans. For example the Europeans complaining about the types of food they were given to eat by the Africans.
The stories of Africa that explained would be able to relate to a single story. It would be able to relate because by the Europeans not knowing they thought the Africans weren't as smart or strong as they were. The Europeans looked at the Africans as if they were dumb and slow, but all along they are just as smart as them.
I think the method used to decipher "Is he not in Congoland?" was very useful. It allowed me to breakdown the article more and understand each section better, thus gaining an understanding on the whole thing. From reading this traveler's log I learned about the way Africa was viewed in the eyes of many Europeans. They believed all Africans are poor and not equal to them. An example of this was when the traveler did not want the African to nurse him back to health because he believed she did not know what she was doing. This relates to the "single story" because the traveler classified all Africans by the way he saw one.
The method we used to decipher "Is He Not in Congoland?" helped me understand the text a lot better. Initially i was very confused about not only the story's plot but also the perspective from which it was told. I tried reading it a couple of times and relating the general topic of our course to the text to try and somehow relate them. I found it a lot easier when we paraphrased and summarized the texts in smaller sections and did a group analysis. Being split up into groups by sections of the text made it easier to focus on one aspect of the article rather than being confused by the entire thing. Overall the method we used to decipher "Is He Not in Congoland" was effective and very easy to do.
The method we used for deciphering Is He Not In Congo Land helped me understand the article a lot better. In the beginning I was very confused. I read it several times and I still did not understand until we broke it down section by section.
From the article we learned the Europeans were skeptical of the Africans. For example, the Europeans did not like what the Africans would feed them. They often complained.
The single story relates back to Is He Not In Congo Land because Europeans judged the Africans. They did not realize all the things the Africans were capable of doing. The Europeans looked down on the Africans when in reality the Africans were just as smart and adequate as the Europeans.
Separating the article into sections and reading each section as the article while keeping track of challenging vocabulary was brilliant thinking on Mr. Jobs part. I really feel that I now have a grasp on the concept and influences of "Is He Not in Congoland". It is quite interesting have a peek at one of the early developers of the single story. It perplexes my mind still at how people viewed each other and life that they did not yet understand. We were so quick to tell lies or "stretch the truth".
Using Mr. Jobs deciphering method I now know what Congoman is about. It is the Europeans traveler's journey through the Congo. The explorer was greeted by the native Africans, who might be perceived as being confused by the steamboats,at shore. The Explorer went around the Congo with bribed Africans as navigators. They were soon bored by Africa's scenery. Besides the congested Forest and the river of which living creatures indulged everything looked the seem and the explorer soon felt ennui (bored). The Europeans had to adapt to the Africans' food and and thus a little of their lifestyle. The narrator tells of the hardship of the experience as well as a fellow man falling sick and not trusting their African caretaker to do exactly that-take care of him. A pity really considering death was possible but highly preventable. The explorer painted such a dark picture of the Africans. He brought to light Africans that were mind numbly dull, lesser companion if at all the same species. That is the story he brought to the develop country and that is one of the single stories that have narrowed society's and much of the developed world's mind of Africa, culture and evidently race.
Using the method of deciphering really help me understand the article "Is he not in Congoland?" We broke the article down into a smaller sections, define the difficult words,then summarize the small section,finally putting all puzzle together.
In this traveler's log I learned that water is a very valuable to the Natives.One young European was thirsty but the Natives offered him wine instead of water.I also learned that Europeans were not used to the African food, and the verity was not enough.
The traveler's log is similar to the "single story" because the Europeans never met/seen Africans before so they though Africans are very strange and different,not as intelligent as them.but the fact is African and Europeans are both human being but just different color, they as both intelligent and strong.
I found the method for deciphering "Is he Not in Congoland?" to be extremely helpful. Not only did it make learning difficult words alot easier but from just the titles of our ideas, we were able to infer what Congoland was about without even reading it. It compiled all of our ideas into one one piece. So it was also extremely organized.
From the traveler's log we learned that there is little to no technology in africa before the Europeans came. We learned that they hold water to be very precious. The Europeans were not to fond to the food they had in Africa because there was little variety.We can also infer that the Europeans didn't have certain immunities to some of the diseases in africa.
The single story that this traveler's log tells us about Africa and its african inhabitants is that they are (supposely) less intelligent than the Europeans. It also tells us that the Europeans thought of themselves as higher than the Africans because of the differences in culture and by what type of supplies they had.
Since I was absent on the day we had to write about how we deciphered "Is He Not In Congoland" as a class, I can write about how we deciphered the piece as a group. I think putting us in different groups and letting us decipher small sections together really helped because we all read the article and contributed our ideas so we can all get a feel on what's going on. It helped to know what others thought was happening while reading it and what you thought so you can compare and contrast answers.
The importance of "Is he not in Congoland" is looking at how the Europeans see Africa, it's people, it's food, etc.. The Europeans disliked the food and it seemed as though they missed their food so much, they couldn't help but describe it vividly in the travelers log. How they saw Africans as lesser than humans, not intelligent, unreliable barbaric half humans. In a way they know that Africans are good and complete human beings yet they seem as though they don't want to accept it. How the African nursed back the European and the doctors were shocked because they wouldn't let their selves believe that an African can really nurse back an ill man.
In a way this relates to the single story and it shows that yet again Africans are victims of the single story. In the past they were known as less then humans, 'dark', monstrous, barbaric beings when they were none of that. They were people with culture and life and religion who were seen as one thing or seen in one way.
Reading and then analyzing each line certainly gave me a more in depth understanding of the text and the events that occurred within it. I have a better sense of what Congo Land was about and the authors intent in writing it. Not much factual information can be gained from reading Congo Land being that all the descriptions pertaining to Africa its inhabitants were very one sided like that of a "single story". The author blurred the lines between fact and fiction by riddling the text with exaggerations and opinions, his opinions to be more precise. This in turn made it harder for me to get a clear visualization of the text. From this traveler's description of Africa and Africans one can easily infer that Africa is truly a "dark continent". The the traveler views Africa, and specifically the Congo Land as foreign and uninteresting making statements like " Taken as a whole, the scenery of the Upper Congo is uninteresting; perhaps the very slow rate of ascent has left that impression.... We sighed for change ... we are menaced with ... ennui...". From reading Congo land one can also infer that Africa is also a place of unbearable heat and suffering he states "after the ship drops anchor in Banana Creek, an uncomfortable quantity of perspiration exudes through the pores of his skin, and the flannels that were endurable at sea become almost intolerable.". One of his men are described as " a water-jug covered with wet flannel such as we sling up in the tropics as a water-cooler." He uses crafty sarcasm to illustrate the African's ignorance and cluelessness saying " for there were several Wanyamwezi, Waganda, and east coast men who would not believe that there was anything more wonderful than the Lady Alice.". This travelers log is a perfect example of a “single story”.
Nghi Pham 3rd Period The method was useful for deciphering "Is He Not In Congo Land?" because we break the document down to help us understand the document better so that the document actually makes more sense than the first few times we read it before we break it down. The things that we learn about Africa from this traveler's log is that Africa is a continent that has lots of different foods and the climate there is very hot. We also learn a little bit about how the European and the African interacts with each other. This document tell us about a European perspective about Africa and Africans.
I personally liked the method we used but it was not really as helpful as i wished it were for me and my notes. I am a very slow writer and we worked at a very fast pace. I found myself left behind and not understanding in multiple occasions.
I learned that when the Europeans arrived at Africa they saw the natives as abnormal creatures. They were of a darker complexion because of the land they live in. They also did not know much about medicine and health. Instead of giving the sick traveler water and proper attention they gave him wine.
It basically makes Africa and Africans look bad. It makes it sound like a dull boring place with creatures unknown to "man".
The method we used to decipher " Is he not in CongoLand?" because it helped me understand the article better. When you read the story over a couple times, you don't know what their specifically talking about. But breaking it down into smaller sections helped a lot. With breaking the sections down we listed the hard words and looked up the definitions.This made it easier to understand the article more. We learned alot about reading the traveler's log, for instance the river in Africa was murderous but it looked innocent. It killed so many people but it still was helpful in numerous ways. Also how the Europeans didn't like the Africans food. They weren't used to the smaller proportions,so they really didn't like it. This story was a single story and it tells us what the Europeans think of Africans. While going threw Congoland they felt they weren't up to par with everything they did. They felt as though the were nothing and their just to be their. The Europeans think that since their not used to seeing African doctors there either going to kill him or make him worse.
using deciphering to break down "is he not in congoland" helped me better understand "in depth" of what the author intentionally wanted me as the reader to understand. breaking it down, piece by piece made it alot easier to comprehend in terms of not focusing so much on language but message and theme.
by using the traveler's log,at first i didnt understand how it tied in. i didnt understand the purpose of it until the point of working in small groups and deciphering came up. also, in the travelers log i learned how the europeans were kind of minipulative and didnt really care about what they were destroying but how the africans stayed united caring for eachother and treating the europeans like the outsiders they were.
"is he not in congoland" and the travelers log portion shows the single story of how africans were treated as herds of animals rather equal human beings and of how they were thought of as the way under classmen of little to no wealth or power and inability to care or run their country on their own.
I agree with Cassidy K. deciphering the article made it 10x easier even though it took 10x as long. You have to be a very patient person to use this method in my opinion because a lot of kids believe looking up words is stupid but context clues don't always give the answer. you have to be willing to dig deeper.
I personally have learned a lot from this traveler's log, such as how little respect the Europeans had for the natives. how they disliked the food because it was as what we would say good as their food was. Like hoe they bribed the Africans and used them basically.
Another thing I learned was the dangers the Europeans faced... Such as, harsh living conditions, little food to eat but just enough to haggle with. The conditions were so poor one man got sick, and do to the harsh circumstances and the infamiliarity of the doctor and assistant the chances of him making it were slim to none and... he died.
The single story this traveler's log tells is that the Europeans believed they were of greater value than the natives. They were in denial about the truth that the natives were just as smart and strong as they were maybe even stronger than they were so they had to demean the natives and make them feel weak and useless.
Natajah Haynes , period 3 The method for deciphering "Is he not in Congo Land?" was surprisingly useful to myself. I wasn't necessarily expecting to get much of an understanding on the story. In the text it states "..the river tries to look innocent when it killed so many people including my friend." Therefore, we learned that things aren't always what they seem no matter if it's good or bad. Based on the traveler's log, I've learned that the food they eat is apart of their culture. Also that it very hot and humid in their continent. In addition, the Europeans were unappreciative and very judgmental based on the fact that they would criticize what the Africans fed them. Furthermore the text "Is he not in Congo Land?"is similar to a single story because of the stereotypes and judging manner that the European's have looking down on African's.
By deciphering "Is he not in Congoland" help me understand the article and what the travelers was thinking of Africa. Based on the article, the traveler tell that Africa is a hot place with different type of food. Also, they have little experience with other people and their health. The article also tells that the African have to work hard to survive
I think this method was very useful for deciphering "Is he Not in Congoland?" because after reading it the first time I barely understood what the entire thing was about. After analyzing and making connections to previous questions we were asked in the unit, I began to gradually understand the log and its purpose.
In this traveler's log we learned about the hardships and dangers of Africa. We learn that African's food was in short supply, so they had to eat European food , which they disliked. We learned about the young European traveler's death because of malnourishment and sleeping in wet flannels in the cool air of the night. we also learn briefly about the many lives that were lost in the Congo river.
I completely agree with Cassidy Klement when she says that the single story told in the log was that "Africans are incompetent people." the Europeans didn't believe that the Africans measured up to them and their capabilities.
Was this
method useful for deciphering “Is he not in Congoland?” What do we learn about Africa from this traveler's log? What story of Africa and Africans does it tell (Remember: single story)
27 comments:
Period 7
The method we used to decipher “Is he not in Congoland” really helped me understand the article. Breaking it down into smaller sections, then defining hard words and notating the sections made it seem less overwhelming.
We learned a lot from reading this traveler’s log, like about how the Europeans dislike the African food they ate because it had less variety then their own food, back home, and how the African people were bribed with food in order that they would get on the steam boats. The Europeans took advantage of the natives (their resources) by taking them along during their explorations.
We also learned by reading “Is he not in Congoland?” about the dangers the Europeans faced while visiting the African villages. One particular example is when a traveler comes down with an illness after he sits out with wet clothes at night. An interesting thing about that was when he was being taken care of by an African attendant, he is shocked and can’t believe that in any way, an African can nurse him back to health.
The single story that this traveler’s log tells about Africans is that they are incompetent people, less of a human being than Europeans. The Europeans won’t accept the fact that the Africans were just as strong, intelligent, and meaningful as they are.
Breaking down and summarizing into smaller section definitely was useful for deciphering “Is he not in Congoland?” Doing this method made the article easier to read and more understandable.
In this traveler’s long we learn about Africa and how water was very important to the natives. For example, a young European was thirsty and the natives gave him wine because no wanted to give him the precious water that they had preserved. We also learn that the Europeans had bribe their way through Africa during their expedition. For example, day by day the Europeans supplied food to the Africans and the Africans started to trust the Europeans and not longer thought they were dangerous.
The traveler’s story tells a single story about Africa and Africans which is that they are incompetent. The Europeans thought because the Africans didn’t have the same culture as they did that the Africans were beneath them as a whole person.
I think that deciphering "Is He Not In Congoland?" helped me comprehend the article way better than I did the first couple times I read it to myself. Looking at hard words, breaking down sentences into the more modern way of speaking helped it function in my head much better.
What we learned from this article was how the Europeans kind of took over and modernized Africa while the Africans saw their land change in front of their eyes. It basically spoke about the food, water, cargo, health, and the river itself.
By reading this text we were able to get a glimpse into the past, what the Africans were feeling like at the time and what they went through.
In the text a man was ill and was being nursed by an African American. None of the doctors were familiar or even thought that and African could take care of someone because of the color of their skin. That relates to a single story.
Another way this text was relevant to a single story was because of how Africans were labeled as "barbaric" or "dark" even as people with no culture or religion which was all completely incorrect. African Americans were very diverse in cultures, and also in religion. They weren't barbaric and they're life style was almost the same as the Europeans' lifestyles. Later, the Europeans discovered this.
The method we used to decipher "Is he not in Congo land?" was really useful. It broke down the words we did not understand and helped us piece together the Traveler's Log. What really helped me to understand the piece was knowing whose point of view each section was in.
We learned about Africa's people and land and customs. We learned that, despite what most Europeans thought back then, the natives of Africa were not aliens. They had a way of life, foods they ate, clothes they wore, things they traded with. The people of Africa, were just that, people.
The natives were not heathens or barbaric, they were just different. They had a different way of doing things from the Europeans and , because they were different people thought they were evil or bad. People though they were devoid of religion, people though they had no social systems, people thought they led demonic lifestyles, but they didn't. That's just what what they early Europeans perceived them as, because they led a different life, but it was what was normal to them. Their whole reputation and the reputation of their country tarnished by a single story.
By deciphering "Is he Not in Congoland?" was very helpful for me. It made me understand more about Africa and Africans. Defining the hard words and summarizing the sections made it easier to understand.
I learned that the Africans have a different variety of foods from others. Also, I learned that they treasure their water and don't like to waste or share it because of it's value.
I also learned that while in Africa, explores may not have the same immune system as Africans and are not resistant to the sicknesses. One explore had fell ill while traveling to Congoland and had to be nursed to health.
The travelers logs tell that Africa and Africans lack the abilities to have or do certain things. The Europeans looked down on the Africans and judged them critically.
The method that was used in class to decipher "Is he not in congoland"? was beneficial to me.It made me realize that by briefly breaking down the traveler's log to simple pieces and anylyzing it closer can make the reading simpler. I learned the ways Europeans thought about Africans and a visual of how ancient Africa looked. The single story the traveler's log emphasizes is that Africans were not as advanced as the Europeans.An example is when one of the Europeans were ill and he was amazed that an African nursed him back to health.
7th Pd.
The method used for deciphering " Is he not in Congoland? " was very useful.It helped understand the article better.Summarizing the article and defining hard words made it easier to read.
We learned about the scenery of Africa , how Europeans didn't like African food and how their meals were different. We also learned how the natives were being bribed.
Because the Africans were different , the Europeans judged them and made a 'single story' of them.
Aaliyah Bullock pd.7
By using the method we used deciphering "Is he not in Congoland" helped me understand the article much better. By us breaking down each of the sections giving brief summaries on each gave me more of a picture and idea of what was actually going on.
From the travelers log we learned many different feelings and emotions that were coming from the Europeans. For example the Europeans complaining about the types of food they were given to eat by the Africans.
The stories of Africa that explained would be able to relate to a single story. It would be able to relate because by the Europeans not knowing they thought the Africans weren't as smart or strong as they were. The Europeans looked at the Africans as if they were dumb and slow, but all along they are just as smart as them.
I think the method used to decipher "Is he not in Congoland?" was very useful. It allowed me to breakdown the article more and understand each section better, thus gaining an understanding on the whole thing.
From reading this traveler's log I learned about the way Africa was viewed in the eyes of many Europeans. They believed all Africans are poor and not equal to them. An example of this was when the traveler did not want the African to nurse him back to health because he believed she did not know what she was doing. This relates to the "single story" because the traveler classified all Africans by the way he saw one.
The method we used to decipher "Is He Not in Congoland?" helped me understand the text a lot better. Initially i was very confused about not only the story's plot but also the perspective from which it was told.
I tried reading it a couple of times and relating the general topic of our course to the text to try and somehow relate them.
I found it a lot easier when we paraphrased and summarized the texts in smaller sections and did a group analysis. Being split up into groups by sections of the text made it easier to focus on one aspect of the article rather than being confused by the entire thing. Overall the method we used to decipher "Is He Not in Congoland" was effective and very easy to do.
Alea Davis period 7
The method we used for deciphering Is He Not In Congo Land helped me understand the article a lot better. In the beginning I was very confused. I read it several times and I still did not understand until we broke it down section by section.
From the article we learned the Europeans were skeptical of the Africans. For example, the Europeans did not like what the Africans would feed them. They often complained.
The single story relates back to Is He Not In Congo Land because Europeans judged the Africans. They did not realize all the things the Africans were capable of doing. The Europeans looked down on the Africans when in reality the Africans were just as smart and adequate as the Europeans.
Period 7
Separating the article into sections and reading each section as the article while keeping track of challenging vocabulary was brilliant thinking on Mr. Jobs part. I really feel that I now have a grasp on the concept and influences of "Is He Not in Congoland". It is quite interesting have a peek at one of the early developers of the single story. It perplexes my mind still at how people viewed each other and life that they did not yet understand. We were so quick to tell lies or "stretch the truth".
Using Mr. Jobs deciphering method I now know what Congoman is about. It is the Europeans traveler's journey through the Congo. The explorer was greeted by the native Africans, who might be perceived as being confused by the steamboats,at shore. The Explorer went around the Congo with bribed Africans as navigators. They were soon bored by Africa's scenery. Besides the congested Forest and the river of which living creatures indulged everything looked the seem and the explorer soon felt ennui (bored). The Europeans had to adapt to the Africans' food and and thus a little of their lifestyle. The narrator tells of the hardship of the experience as well as a fellow man falling sick and not trusting their African caretaker to do exactly that-take care of him. A pity really considering death was possible but highly preventable.
The explorer painted such a dark picture of the Africans. He brought to light Africans that were mind numbly dull, lesser companion if at all the same species. That is the story he brought to the develop country and that is one of the single stories that have narrowed society's and much of the developed world's mind of Africa, culture and evidently race.
Using the method of deciphering really help me understand the article "Is he not in Congoland?" We broke the article down into a smaller sections, define the difficult words,then summarize the small section,finally putting all puzzle together.
In this traveler's log I learned that water is a very valuable to the Natives.One young European was thirsty but the Natives offered him wine instead of water.I also learned that Europeans were not used to the African food, and the verity was not enough.
The traveler's log is similar to the "single story" because the Europeans never met/seen Africans before so they though Africans are very strange and different,not as intelligent as them.but the fact is African and Europeans are both human being but just different color, they as both intelligent and strong.
I found the method for deciphering "Is he Not in Congoland?" to be extremely helpful. Not only did it make learning difficult words alot easier but from just the titles of our ideas, we were able to infer what Congoland was about without even reading it. It compiled all of our ideas into one one piece. So it was also extremely organized.
From the traveler's log we learned that there is little to no technology in africa before the Europeans came. We learned that they hold water to be very precious. The Europeans were not to fond to the food they had in Africa because there was little variety.We can also infer that the Europeans didn't have certain immunities to some of the diseases in africa.
The single story that this traveler's log tells us about Africa and its african inhabitants is that they are (supposely) less intelligent than the Europeans. It also tells us that the Europeans thought of themselves as higher than the Africans because of the differences in culture and by what type of supplies they had.
Since I was absent on the day we had to write about how we deciphered "Is He Not In Congoland" as a class, I can write about how we deciphered the piece as a group. I think putting us in different groups and letting us decipher small sections together really helped because we all read the article and contributed our ideas so we can all get a feel on what's going on. It helped to know what others thought was happening while reading it and what you thought so you can compare and contrast answers.
The importance of "Is he not in Congoland" is looking at how the Europeans see Africa, it's people, it's food, etc.. The Europeans disliked the food and it seemed as though they missed their food so much, they couldn't help but describe it vividly in the travelers log. How they saw Africans as lesser than humans, not intelligent, unreliable barbaric half humans. In a way they know that Africans are good and complete human beings yet they seem as though they don't want to accept it. How the African nursed back the European and the doctors were shocked because they wouldn't let their selves believe that an African can really nurse back an ill man.
In a way this relates to the single story and it shows that yet again Africans are victims of the single story. In the past they were known as less then humans, 'dark', monstrous, barbaric beings when they were none of that. They were people with culture and life and religion who were seen as one thing or seen in one way.
Reading and then analyzing each line certainly gave me a more in depth understanding of the text and the events that occurred within it. I have a better sense of what Congo Land was about and the authors intent in writing it. Not much factual information can be gained from reading Congo Land being that all the descriptions pertaining to Africa its inhabitants were very one sided like that of a "single story". The author blurred the lines between fact and fiction by riddling the text with exaggerations and opinions, his opinions to be more precise. This in turn made it harder for me to get a clear visualization of the text.
From this traveler's description of Africa and Africans one can easily infer that Africa is truly a "dark continent". The the traveler views Africa, and specifically the Congo Land as foreign and uninteresting making statements like " Taken as a whole, the scenery of the Upper Congo is uninteresting; perhaps the very slow rate of ascent has left that impression.... We sighed for change ... we are menaced with ... ennui...". From reading Congo land one can also infer that Africa is also a place of unbearable heat and suffering he states "after the ship drops anchor in Banana Creek, an uncomfortable quantity of perspiration exudes through the pores of his skin, and the flannels that were endurable at sea become almost intolerable.". One of his men are described as " a water-jug covered with wet flannel such as we sling up in the tropics as a water-cooler." He uses crafty sarcasm to illustrate the African's ignorance and cluelessness saying " for there were several Wanyamwezi, Waganda, and east coast men who would not believe that there was anything more wonderful than the Lady Alice.". This travelers log is a perfect example of a “single story”.
Nghi Pham 3rd Period
The method was useful for deciphering "Is He Not In Congo Land?" because we break the document down to help us understand the document better so that the document actually makes more sense than the first few times we read it before we break it down.
The things that we learn about Africa from this traveler's log is that Africa is a continent that has lots of different foods and the climate there is very hot. We also learn a little bit about how the European and the African interacts with each other. This document tell us about a European perspective about Africa and Africans.
Isabella Hoyos 3rd period
I personally liked the method we used but it was not really as helpful as i wished it were for me and my notes. I am a very slow writer and we worked at a very fast pace. I found myself left behind and not understanding in multiple occasions.
I learned that when the Europeans arrived at Africa they saw the natives as abnormal creatures. They were of a darker complexion because of the land they live in. They also did not know much about medicine and health. Instead of giving the sick traveler water and proper attention they gave him wine.
It basically makes Africa and Africans look bad. It makes it sound like a dull boring place with creatures unknown to "man".
Period 3
The method we used to decipher " Is he not in CongoLand?" because it helped me understand the article better. When you read the story over a couple times, you don't know what their specifically talking about. But breaking it down into smaller sections helped a lot. With breaking the sections down we listed the hard words and looked up the definitions.This made it easier to understand the article more.
We learned alot about reading the traveler's log, for instance the river in Africa was murderous but it looked innocent. It killed so many people but it still was helpful in numerous ways. Also how the Europeans didn't like the Africans food. They weren't used to the smaller proportions,so they really didn't like it.
This story was a single story and it tells us what the Europeans think of Africans. While going threw Congoland they felt they weren't up to par with everything they did. They felt as though the were nothing and their just to be their. The Europeans think that since their not used to seeing African doctors there either going to kill him or make him worse.
using deciphering to break down "is he not in congoland" helped me better understand "in depth" of what the author intentionally wanted me as the reader to understand. breaking it down, piece by piece made it alot easier to comprehend in terms of not focusing so much on language but message and theme.
by using the traveler's log,at first i didnt understand how it tied in. i didnt understand the purpose of it until the point of working in small groups and deciphering came up. also, in the travelers log i learned how the europeans were kind of minipulative and didnt really care about what they were destroying but how the africans stayed united caring for eachother and treating the europeans like the outsiders they were.
"is he not in congoland" and the travelers log portion shows the single story of how africans were treated as herds of animals rather equal human beings and of how they were thought of as the way under classmen of little to no wealth or power and inability to care or run their country on their own.
I agree with Cassidy K. deciphering the article made it 10x easier even though it took 10x as long. You have to be a very patient person to use this method in my opinion because a lot of kids believe looking up words is stupid but context clues don't always give the answer. you have to be willing to dig deeper.
I personally have learned a lot from this traveler's log, such as how little respect the Europeans had for the natives. how they disliked the food because it was as what we would say good as their food was. Like hoe they bribed the Africans and used them basically.
Another thing I learned was the dangers the Europeans faced... Such as, harsh living conditions, little food to eat but just enough to haggle with. The conditions were so poor one man got sick, and do to the harsh circumstances and the infamiliarity of the doctor and assistant the chances of him making it were slim to none and... he died.
The single story this traveler's log tells is that the Europeans believed they were of greater value than the natives. They were in denial about the truth that the natives were just as smart and strong as they were maybe even stronger than they were so they had to demean the natives and make them feel weak and useless.
Natajah Haynes , period 3
The method for deciphering "Is he not in Congo Land?" was surprisingly useful to myself. I wasn't necessarily expecting to get much of an understanding on the story. In the text it states "..the river tries to look innocent when it killed so many people including my friend." Therefore, we learned that things aren't always what they seem no matter if it's good or bad.
Based on the traveler's log, I've learned that the food they eat is apart of their culture. Also that it very hot and humid in their continent. In addition, the Europeans were unappreciative and very judgmental based on the fact that they would criticize what the Africans fed them.
Furthermore the text "Is he not in Congo Land?"is similar to a single story because of the stereotypes and judging manner that the European's have looking down on African's.
Chhengfarn Inne pd 3
By deciphering "Is he not in Congoland" help me understand the article and what the travelers was thinking of Africa.
Based on the article, the traveler tell that Africa is a hot place with different type of food. Also, they have little experience with other people and their health. The article also tells that the African have to work hard to survive
3rd Period
I think this method was very useful for deciphering "Is he Not in Congoland?" because after reading it the first time I barely understood what the entire thing was about. After analyzing and making connections to previous questions we were asked in the unit, I began to gradually understand the log and its purpose.
In this traveler's log we learned about the hardships and dangers of Africa. We learn that African's food was in short supply, so they had to eat European food , which they disliked. We learned about the young European traveler's death because of malnourishment and sleeping in wet flannels in the cool air of the night. we also learn briefly about the many lives that were lost in the Congo river.
I completely agree with Cassidy Klement when she says that the single story told in the log was that "Africans are incompetent people." the Europeans didn't believe that the Africans measured up to them and their capabilities.
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