...history etc.Among them,fiction is any narrative,whether in prose or verse,which is invented instead of being an account of events that actually happened. The voice of Africa in the world of letters tries to emancipate Africa from its literary stereotype.Africa is no longer a gloomy phenomenon,a dark continent.Chinua Achebe, the major exponent of the modern African novel,is greatly concerned with the two realities of social man –his individual and group identity,the legacy of colonialism, and the shift in the system of values of life leading to rampant corruption- moral and monetary. He is also concerned with the use of English as the medium of expression of African experience defining the relevance of colonial and post-colonial experience to the present .Achebe’s novels are dialectic tranformation of experience, a new way of looking at tradition to create a different order of reality through universalizing imagination.Though he has followed the established tradition of novel writing in English, Achebe has put few things ‘African’ and has successfully employed certain narrative techniques of narration to give authenticity and African flavour to his novels in order to attract the native audience and overseas readers as well. Chinua Achebe , the doyen of African writing, the major exponent of modern African novel.His novels evolve through the fundamental theme with which he is concerned, the loss of dignity and the tragic disintegration of the Nigerian culture.Beginning with...
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...Latria Stridiron Dr. Hendricks HIST.350.020 September 27, 2012 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe a Nigerian native wrote Things Fall Apart a groundbreaking novel as a response to European writings about Africa such as Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness and Joyce Cary Mister Johnson. Indignant at the way Africans were portrayed in those novels, Achebe looked for a way to show the world the richness of African culture, and in so doing, give his people a voice in the global society. Achebe announced that one of his purposes was to present a complex, dynamic society to a Western audience who perceived African society as primitive, simple, and backward. It was also a response to the Western beliefs that the Africans were uncivilized and barbaric. Achebe got most of his view from his own culture through the writing of Europeans. At first he related to the European writings, but as time went on, he felt they were poor caricatures and stereotypes of the actual people, and he tried to show this through his writing. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe illustrates this vision by showing us what happened in the Igbo society of Nigeria at the time of its colonization by the British. Because of internal weaknesses within the native structure and the divided nature of Igbo society, the community of Umuofia in this novel is unable to withstand the tidal wave of foreign religion, commerce, technology, and government. Unless Africans could tell their side of their story, Achebe...
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...1.)Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Nervous Conditions by…and Mine Boyby Peter Abrahams are all novels by African writers whom illustrate various cultural issues and universal issues within the dynamic continent of Africa. However, there was a focus on three major themes that contributed to the relevancy of the novels which are tradition vs. progress, gender inequality, and the “white dream”. Traditions vs. progress or change was one of the most poignant themes throughout all three novels. There have been several universal biases against Africa implying that Africa is a resilient country that opposes change and as a result of their stubborn ways suffer, living an expired life struggling in poverty and disease. As a result, the authors of the novels write in a way that demonstrates how Westerners imposing their industrialization, religion, and cultural views upon the African people have in some ways handicapped the actual African society from revolutionizing themselves. For example in Things Fall Apart Okonkwu constantly resisted change and eventually let his resistance become his demise by committing the moral crime of suicide. However the majority of his Igbo society transitioned to Christianity, denying their own culture and joining the oppressors whom mocked their culture. Nonetheless, this proves that Africa is a society that can change because of the lasting legacy of colonization in Africa. What are the postcolonial themes and concerns of the novels we have...
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...alternative of abundant life in Christ. He understood that believers living in Rome were subject to a progressively worldly perception of spirituality and sensuality, much like the world we encounter each day. The book of Romans lays a firm foundation for the children of God, teaching us about the natural world, human relationships, culture, and human identity. Very early on in his letter, Paul deliberately reminds the people that God is the creator of all things. The people of the earth, since the time of Adam, had seen his glory time and time again and had chosen to reject him. The Romans were not an exception to this unfortunate truth. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”(Romans 1:20 NIV) Paul clearly conveys here that we have always had the evidence all around us of the creator God, and warns that there is no excuse to turn our praise and worship anywhere else. The scripture says that “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the creator- who is forever praised. Amen.” (Romans 1:25 NIV) We are created to worship God and he is the only one worthy of our worship. While there is nothing wrong with marveling at the beauty of the creation around us, the creation can never amount to the matchless wonder of the creator. Human...
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...University 10 February 2014 Of Interpreters, Schools, and Courts: An Analysis of the Postcolonial Themes of Language, Education, and Power in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Through his awareness of the European literary tradition of negatively stereotyping the African natives as uncivilized peoples and putting the West in the pedestal in terms of cultural superiority and advancement (Guthrie 51-52), it can be asserted that the renowned African novelist and intellectual Chinua Achebe may had realized, at one point in his life, that in order to have a more realistic portrayal of the dynamics of Western and non-Western contact, there is a need to break such convention which undeniably favours the West. Perhaps, this is the reason why Achebe had written Things Fall Apart in such a way that it provides readers the African point of view of culture, identity and colonization thereby eradicating the dominant and unwarranted perception that the peoples of Africa are mere savages that have no customs, beliefs and traditions. Indeed, by providing a somewhat balanced approach in portraying the dynamic societal changes experienced by the Ibo people due to the conflict between their traditional culture and the foreign culture brought by their English colonizers primarily through religious and educational instruction, Things Fall Apart indubitably qualifies as a relevant and interesting novel that can be analysed through the lens of postcolonial discourse. Since the novel provides...
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...The traits that set Odysseus apart from other prototypically Greek heroes is his intelligence, wit, selfishness, and reliance on others. While Odysseus is considered by everyone to be a hero, his intelligence and wit, not his physical power as a warrior are what largely sets him apart from others, like Achilles. His intelligence and wit allow him to survive situations that could have gone badly if he had not fully thought out his “game plan.” For example, the use of the Trojan Horse in The Iliad was Odysseus’ idea. And it was a brilliant one. Had he not thought of it, the outcome of the war most likely would have been quite different. Unlike someone like Achilles, Odysseus really is not a “superhuman.” He does not have super physical strength, and instead relies on his intelligence to win....
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...The Question of Sexuality Shakespeare is known for being one of the greatest play writers of all time. Due to his clever use of language and rhyme, many people like to use his work when teaching literature or drama. He is also notorious for implying religious beliefs and suggesting themes that may not be well accepted during his time. One of these major themes in Twelfth Night happens to be the question of sexual identity throughout the play. From the beginning until the end of the play, Shakespeare shows how the idea of sexual identity can be questionable and how it affects the main characters throughout the play. As the play Twelfth Night begins, the reader gets a first glance at how Shakespeare suggests the idea of cross dressing through Viola, who poses as Cesario in order to work for Orsino. “For such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent,” here Viola tells the Captain her plans and asks him to keep quiet. Wearing her brother’s clothing, she disguises herself to be a man because she fancied Orsino and to get closer to him. In this scene Shakespeare raises the question of Viola’s sexuality because of her cross dressing. Even though the idea of cross dressing seems to be over stepping social acceptance bounds, it is also ironic considering that theatre at the time always contained cross dressing if a play consisted of female parts. Viola’s relationship with Orsino progresses rapidly in a matter of a few days which helps to understand how Viola...
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...Metaphysics Feb 5 2014 The problem of change and identity can often be explained with the story of the ship of Theseus. In this story, a man named Theseus docked his ship and over time, he and the ship, grew old and weak. Over time, the ship started to fall apart and needed new parts until eventually all the original parts were replaced with new ones. This newly renovated ship is the first ship to consider. There is also a second ship that was reconstructed from all the original pieces of the old ship that had been set into a separate warehouse and put back together. We now have two ships: the renovated ship (created by replacing the old parts with new) and the reconstructed ship (created by reassembling the original pieces that had been removed). The question is: Which ship, the renovated or the reconstructed, is the original ship of Theseus? Whenever one makes an identity claim, such that two things are the same and share all the same properties, one usually uses two different descriptions to explain such phenomena. For example, "Mark Twain is Samuel Clemmons". Mark Twain is the author that most people know for writing The Adventure of Tom Sawyer, but this was his pen name, not his actual name; thus, making Mark Twain a descriptive name, but nevertheless having the same identity as Samuel Clemmons. Back to the ship of Theseus, the problem lies when trying to differentiate which ship is the original ship based on the principle of identity. Are the two ships the same as the original...
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...The novel "Thing's fall apart" by Chinua Achebe is a complex work that masterfully establishes and develops characters through their experience with cultural collision. The way that Achebe accomplishes carefully weaving his implicit claim throughout the work is such a beautiful subtlety that it deserves to be analyzed. The Igbo's pride is constantly challenged by the colonizers as they gain increasingly more power in Africa. The idea of pride is constantly developed throughout the thoughts and actions of the novels protagonist Okonkwo. His response to the colonizers is influenced by his own views on pride and is used by Achebe to illustrate his own opinion on pride. Pride is something that must be second when it comes to potential change and...
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...The identities of an individual are communicated every day in several different ways. To begin explaining how identity plays a role within intercultural communication looking to your own social categories can help better demonstrate the different dimensions behind a person’s identity, and as an example I will explore my own ascribed and avowed identity. Then, I will discuss the role that I am most aware of during a normal day, and how it influences my perceptions. Following, we look at the aspects of my identity that are encouraged and discouraged by others. Also, language plays a major role in intercultural communication, and this will be demonstrated through my own use of language and its relationship to identity. When looking at our own identity, it is easy to feel the need to describe your personality traits and how that plays into the idea of who you are to yourself and the rest of the World. When looking into our social categories, it helps target the true meaning of identities and pinpoint different aspects of what makes you what you see yourself as, or your avowed identity, and what others around you see you as, known as your ascribed identity. My gender identity is female for both my ascribed and avowed identity. For my sexuality identity both my ascribed and avowed identity is heterosexual. For my religion, I have an ascribed identity of being Methodist, and the avowed identity of being spiritual, but questioning. My ascribed and avowed physical ability is able bodied...
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...the disguise, it still has the underlying traditional gender roles and stereotypes that Tennant tries to discourage and remove. In both Disney’s Cinderella and in Tennant’s Ever After, the male sex is ranked higher than females and has real power and social status. Kelley (2003) explains, “Males are seen as rescuers; females are more passive" (p. 651). The King and his son Prince Henry are the two highest ranking males in the film and they are shown to have ultimate power; the power over life and death. After Danielle hits Henry with apples, making him fall off the horse she thought he was stealing, she feared for her life because she assaulted royalty and the heir to the kingdom. In the same scene, in an attempt to quiet Danielle as to not cause a ruckus which may alert the royal guards, Prince Henry drops coins to the ground while sitting on horseback with the sun glowing behind him, almost god-like. This was an example of male hegemony because it showed “dominance and subordination in the field of relations structured by power” over females (Lull, p.3). The gold coins act as power and by this exchange, it transferred a sense of power to Danielle. With her new found power, she tries to use the gold coins...
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...Has your view on life or personality ever drastically changed after an influx of new ideas or knowledge? During Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, an exotic group of foreigners introduce their religious beliefs, and many of the Ibo clansmen are quick to desert their traditional faith in favor of the new and exciting alien religion. As a consequence, many of the new converts gain a new sense of identity within themselves. Due to the introduction of Western ideas and the cultural collision that follows, Nwoye becomes confident, extroverted, and overall, a more upbeat and optimistic young man. Before the arrival of the missionaries, Nwoye’s lives his life in a dreary and lackadaisical manner, similar of that to Unoka, his grandfather....
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...Christy Mondesir Mrs. Shah English 11 6 April 2015 Learning to let go of mommy’s hand: Nothing is more special than the relationship between a mother and a daughter, but nothing is more tragic than when that relationship falls apart. Jamaica Kincaid’s “Annie John” is about the relationship between a mother and a daughter that slowly breaks apart in postcolonial Antigua. Their relationship deteriorates, because Annie (Miss Annie Victoria John's daughter) is coming of age and is exposed to death at a young age, which causes her to become distant from her mother since she does not tell Annie much about death and Annie is eager to know. Kincaid shows that death, coming of age, and post colonialism are important themes that are explored throughout...
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...thesis paper using the subjects told in chapter four of Urban Fortunes titled, “Homes: Exchange and Sentiment in the Neighborhood.” In this paper I will explain the importance of exchange and sentiment, and how it has shaped the identities of not only the neighborhoods themselves, but the people inhabiting those very neighborhoods. I will go into depth about how imperative these two processes affect the way people psychologically feel about themselves and their neighborhoods. A person is a reflection and a product of his own environment and I will look to support that claim. This paper will analyze the meaning of exchange and importance of a prosperous local economy within a community and sentiment, the psychological aspects of neighborhoods. The emotional attachment to your home and neighborhood, how you feel about your neighbors, and the feelings of general day to day life within the community. Neighborhoods are shaped...
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...DISSIMILARITY The word diversity has been used to refer to so many types of differences or dissimilarities among people. It can be any attribute that a person can use to detect individual differences. Categorization based on factors such as race or gender or based on proportions such as the size of the minority have been used to define the diversity in teams. But diversity or dissimilarity has a mixed effect. It can lead to greater creativity and quality of team performance or it can negatively impact the performance of the team as well. Self-categorization, and social identity approaches tend to be a pessimistic view of diversity because similarity on attributes such as attitudes, value and beliefs facilitate interpersonal attraction and liking, since similarity in nature, tends to predict affiliation and attraction, and thus causes individual to experience more cohesion and social integration in homogeneous groups. And if this kind of cohesion or social integration are formed within the group, it brings division among the group and leads to weak and poor performance of the group. No room for creativity or innovation. Information processing approach in contrast offers a more optimistic view of diversity because it allows individuals in diverse groups have access to other individuals with different backgrounds, networks, information and skills. This added information should improve the group outcome even though it might create coordination problems. But never the less...
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