Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart - 1636 Words

Things Fall Apart was written in 1958 by the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart follows the life of Okonkwo and his village of Umuofia and how everything changes as Christian missionaries come to spread the word of God. Chinua Achebe wrote this novel using stories and tales he heard growing up that were based on true events. Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart because he wanted to people to understand and see what indigenous Africa was like before the missionaries came. He wanted to capture what is like for the people in these villages as these outsiders changed their whole world. He also wrote this novel to critique and praise the Igbo culture. He acknowledges that there are many downfalls in the society and he displays them through Okonkwo and his beliefs and how they lead to his tragic end. He also recognizes the many positive things about the culture such as community, the values and their responsibility of themselves. Achebe wanted the world to see that Africa wa sn’t the uncivilized place that many writers make it out to be, he recognizes that it has its downfalls and that things needed to change but he also represents the good things about the culture. One of the biggest themes throughout the novel was the constant struggle between old and new. Once the missionaries arrive in Umuofia, Okonkwo can tell that everything is changing and a lot of people are embracing the change but Okonkwo cannot let go of the past. Before the missionaries the strong men inShow MoreRelatedChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1719 Words   |  7 PagesThings fall apart is a classic novel written around the turn of the century, the novel focuses on the protagonist who we can also call a hero, Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a wealthy and respected leader within the Igbo tribe of Umuofia in eastern Nigeria. Strong individual with a passionate belief in all the values and traditions of his people. Chinua Achebe presents Okonkwo as a particular kind of tragic protagonist, a great man who carries the fate of his people. Okonkwo is a man who is inflexible andRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1033 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Chinua Achebe is a famous Nigerian novelist in worldwide. Things fall apart is Chinua Achebe’s first novel published in 1958, the year after Ghana became the first African nation to gain independence. And this novel is one of the first African novels to gain worldwide recognition. (Phil Mongredien, 2010) This novel presents people a story of an African Igbo tribal hero, Okonkwo, from his growth to death. The fate of Okonkwo also indicates the fate of Africa caused by the colonizationRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart883 Words   |  4 Pagesdehumanize the native population and convince themselves that they are helping. Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart attempts to correct these misguided views of African societies by portraying a more complex culture that values peace, and the art of conversation. Achebe also tries to portray the idea that not all European people they come in contact with are aggressive, and misconstrued in their view of the African societ ies. Achebe tries to show us the value of his society through repeated views into conversationsRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1410 Words   |  6 PagesTeddy Manfre Ms. Blass ENG 209-001 April 24, 2017 Things Fall Apart In 1958, Chinua Achebe a famous Nigerian author publishes one of his most famous novels Things Fall Apart. The novel takes place in a Nigerian village called Umuofia. During the time that this novel is published Nigeria is being criticized by the Europeans for being uncivilized. In response, Achebe uses his brilliance in this novel to express the valued history of his people to his audience. His focus in the novel is on the pre-colonizedRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1015 Words   |  5 PagesIn his novel Things Fall Apart, author Chinua Achebe utilizes his distinctive writing style in order to accurately capture the culture and customs of the Igbo people despite writing his story in a foreign language. Five aspects of Achebe’s style that make his writing unique is the straightforward diction present in dialogue, the inclusion of native parables convey Igbo life authentically, the inclusion of native Igbo words and phrases, detailed descriptions of nature and the usage of figurative languageRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1702 Words   |  7 PagesTitle: Things Fall Apart Biographical information about the author: Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He had an early career as a radio host, and later became the Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nigeria. After moving to America, he became an English professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Achebe has won numerous awards for his poetry and fiction, including the Man Booker prize and Commonwealth Poetry Price. He currently teaches at Bard College. Author: Chinua AchebeRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart Essay1347 Words   |  6 PagesCulture is an Important Element of Society Chinua Achebe is the author of when Things Fall Apart while Joseph Conrad authored Heart of Darkness. Conrad and Achebe set their individual titles in Africa; Achebe is an African writer whereas Conrad is Polish-British. The authors draw strength from their backgrounds to validity the authenticity of their fictional novels. Conrad writes from his experiences in the British and French navies while Achebe uses his African heritage. The theme of culture isRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1248 Words   |  5 PagesChris Lowndes Ms. Cook A.P.L.C. 21 October 2015 We Are Family: Hardships in One s Family in Things Fall Apart Specific attributes correlate with each other to help create or not create the ideal strong family. However, through those attributes arise conflicts and major disputes. This issue of trying to achieve and create a strong family is of immense importance in one’s life, especially in Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, a milestone in African literature. For instance, the father leaves his legacyRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart Essay1682 Words   |  7 Pagescertain degree of the priest class, libation, holidays, creation stories, divine systems of punishments and rewards. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a story of tragic fall of a protagonist and the Igbo culture. Achebe demonstrates different examples and situations of where an African culture, in the instances of tribal religions, did certain things because of their tradition is and the way they developed into. African cultures pondered life mysteries and articulated theirRead Mo reChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1314 Words   |  6 PagesChinua Achebe masterpiece â€Å"Things Fall Apart† (1959) is the classic story of Okonkwo, a young man who strives to be revered by his village and family but because of his own internal character flaws meets his own demise. In the Igbo culture, family traditions are an important narrative throughout the novel. Okonkwo, the protagonist character of this story, begins with many attributes of what would be concluded as a hero with his cultural society. He is hard working, a material provider, feared and

Review Of O Conner - 1350 Words

Although we read multiple stories by Flannery O’Conner, there are many similar qualities in the works. O’Conner pays special attention to the realistic detail and finds the truth that lies beneath the surface of language and self image. She often uses violence that shocks the reader to uncover this truth. Although different in each work, she is able to incorporate a moment of grace in A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People, and Everything That Rises Must Converge. O Connor consistently produced fiction having an implicit, if not a totally explicit, religious world view as an integral element of each work. Even though O Connor was, according to all available evidence, a devout Catholic, she did not let her religious conservatism†¦show more content†¦At one point during the drive, the grandmother accidentally kicked her feet, which startled the cat and caused Bailey – the driver – to lose control of the car and they end up in a ditch. The c ar that stopped to help the family ended up being The Misfit and two other men. These two men take John Wesley and Bailey into the forest where they end up shooting them. When they come back to the car they take June Star, the children’s mother, and the baby and kill all of them as well. The grandmother pleads for her life – although she never once asked for her family to be saved. After The Misfit and the grandmother talk about Jesus and religion, the grandmother claims that he is â€Å"one of her own children† (433) and then he shoots her in the chest three times. At the end, The Misfit says the grandmother could have been a good woman if there was always someone there to shoot her and then claims that life has no true pleasure. Throughout this story, there is a theme of the unlikely recipients of grace. Despite their sins and flaws, both the grandmother and The Misfit receive grace in the end. The grandmother believes she is morally superior and that she ca n judge other people. She lies, she manipulates, and she does not have any self-awareness. She tells The Misfit to pray yet she herself cannot formulate her own prayer. The Misfit does not seem like he deserves grace, as he is an unrepentant murderer. However, as unlikely as it is,

How Does Harper Lee Portray Atticus Finch as a Good Parent Free Essays

Mufasa, the father of Simba, from Disney’s The Lion King is a perfect example of many desirable qualities. Whenever Simba needs someone to comfort him, Mufasa knows what to do to make Simba feel better. Likewise, when Simba acts out of hand, Mufasa knows when he should reprimand Simba and when Simba is just being a goofy cub. We will write a custom essay sample on How Does Harper Lee Portray Atticus Finch as a Good Parent? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Mufasa comes off as strong, brave, wise, patient and, most importantly, a model of a respectable parent. Just like Mufasa, Atticus Finch also possesses many desirable qualities such as patience, understanding, and bravery. In TKaM, Harper Lee uses the character of Atticus Finch to illustrate the qualities of good parenting. Atticus realizes that losing his temper with Jem and Scout over small incidents is not part of the qualities of good parenting because, throughout TKaM, he does not lose his patience with his children. While on the other hand, there is suspicion that Bob Ewell does the opposite by beating Mayella Ewell, his daughter. From the beginning itself, Harper Lee makes it clear, through a conversation between Miss Maudie Atkinson and Scout, that Atticus does not treat his children like Bob Ewell does. Miss Maudie explains to Scout that most people have split personalities; one for at home and one for in public. Scout cuts her off by saying, â€Å"Atticus don’t ever do anything to Jem and me in the house that he don’t do in the yard† (46). Scout defends Atticus because she gets into trouble quite a lot, but, even then, Atticus would never lift a finger against her or Jem. Not only does Atticus rarely ever have a fit over Jem and Scout, but he also can maintain his composure and patience with them. Scout, like most young children, always wants her opinions heard until she either receives an explanation or has her way. An example of this would be Scout’s first day of school where she finds herself frustrated from her teacher constantly reprimanding her. When she gets home, Scout recaps the day for Atticus and tells him that her teacher does not want Atticus to read with her at home. She channels her anger by complaining about her distaste for school while Atticus patiently hears her out and replies by calmly saying, â€Å"If you’ll concede the necessity of going to school, we’ll go on reading every night just as we always have. Is it a bargain? (31) Atticus could have easily lost his temper with Scout, but, instead, he appealed to her interests. This shows that Atticus likes to make his children happy and that, as a parent, he knows when he must be angry, and when he must show compassion. Showing Atticus as a father who does not lose his patience with his children over silly things is just one of the many ways that Lee portrays Atticus as a good parent. Atticus wants Jem and S cout to grow up with good morals, and one way he does this is by exposing them to an important quality, bravery. An example of this is when Atticus goes against the townspeople’s beliefs by accepting the case of Tom Robinson. This results in negative comments towards Atticus’ family, and his children have to put up with it. One insult from Mrs. Dubose makes Jem so mad that he destroys her Camilla bushes, and his punishment is to read to her for a month. Old and addicted to morphine, Mrs. Dubose wants to try to overcome her addiction before she dies. Sadly, Mrs. Dubose passes away shortly after Jem’s punishment ends and, in an attempt to explain why he made Jem read to Mrs. Dubose, Atticus says, â€Å"†¦I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea the courage is a man with a gun in his hand†¦Mrs. Dubose won†¦ She was the bravest person I ever knew† (112). Atticus, as a respectable parent, wants Jem to see that true bravery is facing up to life’s problems and fixing them in the best way possible. In the same way, Atticus shows his children the meaning of bravery when he turns the other cheek to Bob Ewell. Even though Bob Ewell has won the case, he wants to make his distaste for Atticus clear. So Bob Ewell spits in Atticus’ face and says that he will get him, even if it takes him the rest of his life. The children hear of this incident through Miss Stephanie and are concerned about Atticus’ safety. When they question Atticus about it, Atticus does his best to comfort them by saying, â€Å"We don’t have anything to fear from Bob Ewell, he got it all out of his system that morning† (218). Knowing that Atticus, their parent and example, can be brave at a time like this gives Scout and Jem the encouragement to let go of their worries and not let the tension in town affect them. Lee has Atticus expose his children to true bravery through Mrs. Dubose and Bob Ewell to show that Atticus does have good parenting qualities. Through Atticus Finch, Harper Lee illustrates the qualities of good parenting in TKaM. Such as when Scout explains to Miss Maudie that Atticus would never raise a finger against either her or Jem because he does not act differently in public than at home. Also, when Scout whines, Atticus does his best to please her because he understands that losing his temper will not help the problem. In addition to that, Atticus exposes his children to true bravery through Mrs. Dubose by showing them to face up to their problems. In the same way, when Atticus turns the other cheek to Bob Ewell, he teaches his children to be brave and not let anything negative affect their lives. Atticus Finch, just like Mufasa from The Lion King, is a patient, wise, and brave father, and he definitely does portray the qualities of admirable parenting. 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Living Wage Shelter and Food

Question: Discuss about theLiving Wagefor Shelter and Food. Answer: Introduction Living wage is refer to the minimum income which is sufficient for a worker to ensure his basic needs, the needs are shelter, food. Clothes, provision for bad time etc. (Pollin, 1998). Though the definition of living wages are different according to different people and different countries. The first living wage campaigning had been seen in 1990s in US due to increased poverty. The workers and their families were facing poverty, so they came up with their demand of living wage and the community had won their living wage (Glickman, 1999). The living wage is different from minimum wage. Minimum wage means the minimum income is needed for subsistence for a worker and his family. The needs are only food cloth and shelter. In a country the minimum wage if fixed by the government of that country consulting with the business organizations and the trade unions. Living Wage-New Zealand In New Zealand the first living wage rate was $18.40 that was decided in February 2013. In this year the living wage rate of New Zealand has been increased to $19.80 an hour and it has been working from july1 2016. A research work has been conducted by Charles Waldegrave from Family Centres social policy research unit with the help of Dr. Peter King to calculate the wage rate of New Zealand (King Waldegrave, 2012). According to the Annie Newman, the convenor of living wage movement in New Zealand, it is very important to update the living wage rate time to time so that the workers can earn enough income and they can lead a spontaneous life with their families in the society. Business Strategy-Living Wage If the living wage is adopted by a business house instead of minimum wage then there are some changes can be observed in their business strategies. The living wage has both pons and cons. After adoption of the living wage the business house has got some benefits like less absenteeism, decreased turnover rate, less recruitment and training cost, increase in morality and loyalty and apart from this recognition for responsible employers (Adams Neumar, 2005). In an organization when the employees are doing their jobs spontaneously then the productivity of the organization is automatically increased. The management dont need to think about the motivation of the employees. There is no need for separate training and motivation strategy for the employees. The recruitment strategy of the organization is also changed. There is no need to recruit new employees frequently. Apart from this due to the increased productivity the marketing strategy of the organization is also changed. The STP (Segm entation Targeting Positioning) strategy is also changed to increase the sale of the product (Kotler, 2012). In New Zealand in this year the living wage rate has been increased from $18.40 to $19.80 so if the living wage is adopted by an organization in New Zealand then their business strategies are also changed. There have some disadvantages of living wage adaptation. Due to increase in living wage the salary and the wages are increased and the operation expenses are also increased. Then the organization have to increase the price of their products to recover the increased labour and operational cost. The pricing strategy of the organization is changed. It is difficult for management to rearrange the pricing strategy of the organization. Apart from this due to the increase in price some people are not willing to buy the product. Employee Motivation Due to increase in living wage employees are automatically motivated to do their jobs spontaneously because with the increased income they can lead a standard life in the society with their families. . They become more efficient and loyal to the organization (Milkovich et al., 2002). As a result less absenteeism can be seen in organization and the organization productivity is increased day by day. But there are some disadvantages of adopting living wage. The working employees of the organization become more motivated and more efficient to their work due to living wage but on the other hand, the organization dont need to recruit more employees. As a result unemployment is occurred. Many people of the society become unemployed and they have to face poverty. Where the living wage can help the workers to get rid of poverty on the other contrary some people become unemployed so they and their families are not able to lead a standard and spontaneous life in the society. Decision The effectiveness of living wage depends upon the market type where it is applied. Mainly in the monopsony market it is effective. Monopsony market is referred to that market structure where many would be seller are present of a particular product and only one buyer, who does interaction with them (Boal Ransom, 1997). Among Kiwifruit Industry in New Zealand Zespri is not the single seller of Kiwifruit. Poverty level and unemployment level of the society should be taken in consideration to take decision about the adaptation of living wage. In New Zealand unemployment percent was 5.3% in December 2015. It fell from 6.1% to 5.3%. But 28% of children are facing poverty. Almost 305,000 children are now present in below poverty level. The children are living in cold, they have not any work clothes, they are living in a crowded place, and they are not getting food, proper education (Adamson, 2012). So it will be helpful for them if the earning persons of their families are getting more inc ome. So if the business houses in New Zealand adopt the living wage instead of minimum wage they will get more motivated, efficient and loyal employees. So if the business houses have got the proper knowledge about the market and the social status of the country then they can take decision about the adaptation of living wage instead of minimum wage. Conclusion In this year living wage rate in New Zealand has been increased. The workers are more willing to do work in living wage system to get enough income for a standard living in the society. So the business houses can adopt this living wage system instead of minimum wage to increase their productivity. References Adams, S., Neumark, D. (2005). Living wage effects: New and improved evidence.Economic Development Quarterly,19(1), 80-102. Adamson, P. (2012).Measuring child poverty: New league tables of child poverty in the world's rich countries(No. inreca660). Boal, W. M., Ransom, M. R. (1997). Monopsony in the labor market.Journal of Economic Literature,35(1), 86-112. Glickman, L. B. (1999).A living wage: American workers and the making of consumer society. Cornell University Press. King, P., Waldegrave, C. (2012).Report of an investigation into defining a living wage for New Zealand. Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand. Milkovich, G. T., Newman, J. M., Milkovich, C. (2002).Compensation(Vol. 8). T. Mirror (Ed.). London: McGraw-Hill. Pollin, R. N. (1998). The living wage: Building a fair economy. Kotler, P. (2012).Kotler on marketing. Simon and Schuster.