The Struggle of Mr. Smith
A loud horn bursted through the air. Over and over again, my ears struggled to absorb the sound. Then, silence and the sound of waves. I longed for that sound to shake my core for more than a month. Then, without warning I was awakened by the most pleasant sound. The boat horn once again pierced the air to welcome me to my new life.
Now, I am satisfied with my success. New children of god are blessed by the light of forgiveness everyday. The people abandoned by their own upbringing are enveloped in the warmth of acceptance due to my work. People may now be skeptical, but, in the end, they too will see the way of the righteous and join me in my quest to purge their false gods from these tainted lands. Those who do not join me will be damned to eternal peril. Their struggle will all be in vain as I... 
“What is that damned noise? It so loud it's disrupting my writing”
“It is the egwugwu reverend. They are angry at Enoch for interrupting a ceremony.”
“Who is angry?”
“The egwugwu. The elders of the clan dressed up as ancestral spirits.”
“My word! I'm going to go put end these ridiculous games.”
“Reverand! They are following me!” Enoch said,
“Why my good man?”
“I have killed their god in the name of the church. Please let me in."
“Thank you reverend.”
… The accusers of our faith came to the church later and wanted to burn down the church for Enoch’s actions...
“Tell the white man that we will not do him any harm, tell him to go back to his house and leave us alone. We liked his brother who was with us before. He was foolish, but we liked him, and for his sake we shall not harm his brother. But this shrine which he built must be destroyed. We shall no longer allow it in our midst. It has bred untold abominations and we have come to put an end to it. Fathers of Umuofia, I salute you. You can stay with us if you like our ways. You can worship your own god. It is good that a man should worship the gods and the spirits of his fathers. Go back to your house so that you may not be hurt. Our anger is great but we have held it down so that we can talk to you."
"Tell them to go away from here. This is the house of God and I will not live to see it desecrated."
… Scoundrels! Miscreants! Why must they deface the house of god? For their sins the almighty father will punish them with fire and brimstone and they will eternally suffer in the depths of hell. The time for conversion without violence has come to an end. This now falls in the hands of the District Commissioner. These infidels will be brought to justice through whatever means necessary, even actions unholy.
"Those who do not join me will be damned to eternal peril."
ReplyDelete"For their sins the almighty father will punish them with fire and brimstone and they will eternally suffer in the depths of hell."
In Yale's story, he really highlights how adamant Mr. Smith is about the superiority of his religion. In adding splices from Mr. Smith's journaling, Yale shows Mr. Smith's inner emotions, thus making the story more personal. His threats of damnation make him an enemy in this story, and but the story allowed the reader to somewhat level with the antagonist through the journal entries that make you feel closer to him. I empathized with Mr. Smith because of the blind assurance he had in his work and his religion. The childlike ignorance that Yale showed Mr. Smith to have made the story very interesting.
Yale- I thought it was creative how you wrote a mix of dialogue and journal writing in the perspective of Mr. Smith. I especially liked it when the loud Egwugu interrupted his writing. I thought it was interesting how Mr. Smith went from wanting to save the people of the village to wanting to punish them even if the punishments were unholy.
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