This was especially important to the reading because it also showed that the natives wanted to get along with the whites, but the whites were far less interested in getting along with the natives - they simply wanted to dominate and control them. It was hard not to think about this story after it was done. The Nigerians lived hard lives, but it is clear they were happy. It was hard not to wonder why the whites felt such a need to control them and take over their land and their lives. It was also hard to read...

This certainly was not a happy story to read, but it was very well written, and the images of the natural world were often beautiful. Achebe is doing more than telling a story in this tale, he is lamenting a way of life that is gone forever, and it made me sad.
References

The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Twentieth Century, 1900-the Present. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2003.