Beliefs

Not too long ago, I read a book Things Fall Apart. I enjoyed this book very much because you can see a lot of things going on in a different culture than my own. This novel is based on a tribe in Africa. The people there are very strict on their culture. The elders are always respected, the men are judged on their character and not the character of their father. The women don't do much besides cook and clean. The members of the tribe that the novel focuses on is surrounded by many strong men. However, unlike my religion, the members of the tribes believe that many things are bad luck, such has having twins for example. If a woman has twins, the babies are immediately thrown into the Evil Forest, where all the other evil spirits are kept. The members of the tribe also believe that the men should be in charge and that they should protect the women. In my opinion, I feel that this is all wrong. We are at that day in age when women are able to protect themselves and work to get things done. During the time that the novel was based on,the men did all the work and some men still feel that way today. But women have come a long way. We are strong ad wise, we are able to get things done, and we can do anything a man can do. Women are surgeons and pilots and fighting for our country. Men are nurses and dancers and stay-at-home parents. Depending on ones culture will determine how they feel about the subject, but it is my belief that we can keep some of the old habits, like respect our elders is obvious, and allowing some changes to be made. And some of the tribes beliefs were just plain ridiculous. Throwing a pair of twins into an 'Evil Forest' seems cruel because they are ending a life before it even begins. But I can see where they come from, that they believe that it is a sign of evil, but in today's society. I don't know if this would still happen, I am hoping that it would not, but you never really know until it happens.