As a part of a Bronx Zoo exhibit in 1906 Ota Benga from the Batwa people who lived in the Belgian Congo was locked in a cage to live with the monkeys to be viewed by the people. He was brought to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 with several of his people, but after the fairhe went back to Africa and all of his people were dead so he decided to come back to the U.S. After he was put in the cage he became very popular and everyone would go to the zoo to watch him, but also mock and laugh at him.
After Ota was released from the exhibit he was sent to live with several foster families. He spent of his time in the wood and wilderness because it seemed that he really missed Africa. So one day Ota borrowed a gun from his host family at the time, went to the woods built a bonfire and shot himself, committing suicide. He believed that by dieing his sole would go back to Africa.
If you think about it you can compare this to when Romeo was banished from Verona and wasn't allowed to enter the city almost as if he was an animal locked in a cage not allowed to have his freedom, so he couldn't be with his love. Ota Benga was the same way he was locked in the cage like an animal with no freedom. It was also the same thing with Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird, he was wrongly accused of rape and was jailed and also held captive like an animal in jail before he was killed. Tom Robinson and Ota Benga were both treated as if they were property and they were set in front of all society to be mocked and laughed at. All three of these stories are very similar and somewhat sad.
To learn more about Ota Benga's click here. Also to see more about Ota's story and hear peoples interviews about his story on a national radio broadcast click here. If any of you agree with my post or even disagree please comment me back, Thanks!
3 comments:
These stories are really pretty depressing and they relate in many ways. It's not fair to these people that they can't have what they want, especially freedom.
Wow I never thought about it like that. I guess that you are right, about the how Romeo being banished had anything being in a cage. You are right being in a cage takes away your freedom and being banished also takes away from you freedom.
~SUSIE
Just thinking how I would feel being locked up in a monkey exhibit at a zoo, and just be watched. That just seems terrible to me! I don't understand what man would just think that was right? To me it just seems insane!
Post a Comment