Cell One raised an interesting question in my mind: to what extent is the police/military force overreaching their bounds in countries like Nigeria?
Well, to answer that question we must look to the moralities of characters in short stories like Cell One, as well as real life examples. The story establishes from the beginning that the system in Nigeria is set up in a way that victimizes characters like Nnanambia, but we cannot put the blame completely on this system. We know for a fact that Nnanambia knows right from wrong, despite his decisions to choose wrong. And while Adichie makes it clear he chose wrong when stealing from his parents, we don't know for sure if Nnanambia chose wrong when he was thrown in jail for "cult activities".
But we do have the old man as a prime example of injustice. The old man has committed no crimes, yet still bears the suffering that is life in the jail. Nnanambia, knows this is wrong, but decides to defend the old man, even knowing the consequences of cell one.
I've come to the conclusion that Nnanambia has made some unsavory choices in his past, but is subject to punishment that overreaches his actions. This is a part of the injustice of military force in countries today. A modern day example of this is drug trafficking. A drug smuggler might face incarceration in a country like the United States, but in some countries, such as Indonesia, Singapore, (to name a few), drug trafficking leads to the death penalty. So why must one suffer indefinitely for an act (or lack of act in the old man's case), while the other gets an alternative punishment? Will the world ever come to a consensus about what is an acceptable punishment for a particular crime?
Mike, I like that you brought this up. Punishment in the story was portrayed as very harsh in the country. I think in real life, a lot of the punishment in countries like Nigeria stems from old ways and values more than a person's actual offense or crime. I don't think the world will come together and talk about what is a good punishment and what is not. That's not really a feasible option. I do think countries will become more progressive over time and with that, there will be reform for the types of punishment in those countries.
ReplyDeleteI like the point you brought up and think it is kinda similar to my point. I feel like certain police forces all over the world overstep their bounds, as is shown in "Cell One". As for countries coming to a consensus on punishments for crimes, I think that is near impossible given differing cultural values, among other things.
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