Journal 12

Achebe once famously said, "If you only hear one side of the story, you have no understanding at all."

1. How do you think this quote connects to Achebe's decision to present these two drastically different missionaries?
2. What purpose do they serve in the story?
3. What purpose do these two perspectives serve in the broader historical context of colonialism?

Mr. Brown was the missionary who was more laid back than Mr. Smith, and Mr. Smith was the missionary who was more strict and serious than Mr. Brown. This shows that the story is always different since Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith are like the opposite of each other.

• More than one story for the reader
• Destruction
• Mr. Smith
• Diffusion
• Mr. Brown
• Shows that ultimately, cultural transformation is the goal
• Manipulation
• Temptation
• Another story with Brown
• Stereotypical vs. gradual
• Destruction & diffusion
• Diffusion becomes destruction
• Portray one as less chaotic