...The Great Warrior Men are the back bone of a tribal society, but women are just as important in taking care of their husband’s homes and children. There is a saying where behind every successful man is a great woman, and behind every unsuccessful man is a bad woman. In the Igbo culture, women do not have much to gamble with such as the men. The women take care of the household; take care of cooking, and the children. We can see this type of behavior in many types of old cultural ways of life. The Igbo culture is known for men to have multiple wives and I view this as a blessing in many ways such as having many different children who can carry out their father’s legacy or vice versa, especially in Okonkwo situation. At the end of this beautiful story we see that Okonkwo kills himself because of the changes that have come to his people. Was it just to see someone hang himself because of this? Well let us see how this had come to be. Okonkwo feared most was failure just like his father; however in my humble opinion his father was not really a failure but more down to earth type of person with problems just like many people in modern day society. Owing people is the same as having a credit card with debt. For Okonkwo to show his manly hood, he takes a very big leap of faith in becoming a well respected man within his tribe which comes with great deal of responsibility. Again, in this case responsibility for Okonkwo is to keep up and maintain his wives and children with food and...
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...English Literature Summer Reading Things fall apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe. In the novel of things fall apart there are many characters that stand out, such as, Okonkwo, Nwoye, Ikemefuna, Mr. Brown and more. One substantial character is Ezinma - The only child of The main character Okonkwo,'s second wife, Ekwefi. As the only one of Ekwefi’s ten children to survive past infancy, Ezinma is the center of her mother’s world. Their relationship is atypical—Ezinma calls Ekwefi by her name and is treated by her as an equal. Ezinma is also Okonkwo’s favorite child, for she understands him better than any of his other children and reminds him of Ekwefi when Ekwefi was the village beauty. Furthermore, he wishes that Ezinma were a boy because she would have been the perfect son. In the novel "Things Fall Apart" there are many themes and backgrounds, such as fear, sin and traditions. But the most frequent is respect/reputation. Reputation is extremely important to the men in the novel. Personal reputation is publicly denoted by the ankle bracelets men wear, which signify the number of “titles” they have earned. Reputation is based on merit – men gain reputation through bravery in battle, skill at wrestling, and hard work as seen through the size of their yam harvest. Reputation earns men positions of power and influence in the community as well as numerous wives. Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist, is extremely concerned with reputation because he grew up with a...
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...Memorial of Rootedness “What is happening here- with these driven from their homeland no less than those who have remained?”[1] Martin Heidegger believed that man’s rootedness, or autochthony, is being threatened and lost to today’s technology and thoughtfulness. I believe that Heidegger would have been appalled by the white man’s actions towards the Ibo people in the Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Heidegger would have probably told the white men to let them be in their own rootedness. He may have not stood by all their views and traditions, but no man’s traditions should be neither superior nor inferior to another’s. As one of the characters in Achebe’s novel says, “What is good in one place is bad in another.”[2] The quote suggests that the Ibo people’s view was that of ethical relativism. This suggests that they know other cultures may view their beliefs as bad or unmoral, and they accepted this. This also suggest that the Ibo people accepted the cultural relativist view that good and bad differ from one cultural groups to another. Ethical relativism is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths in ethics and that what is morally right or wrong varies from person to person or from society to society. Ethical relativism means that there are no set ways of life. Every person has their own set of beliefs that differ from another person, even within the same society. I believe to fully believe in ethical relativism that there would have to be no judgment placed on...
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...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 the advent of European power, his novels span a series of political crisis that beset Nigeria, the collapse of...
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...The two poems successfully bring about the emotions of sadness and loss by conflicting feelings dealing with death. Both the poems are narrated from the parent’s view addressing his or her child that has died or is about to, and this brings about emotions of grief in the reader as well. The two poems set the mood and atmosphere in the first stanza. In “Refugee mother and child” Chinua Achebe says “for a son she would soon have to forget” brings about sadness and loss because she cannot do anything about it and tells the reader the poem is about a dying son she cannot save. The reader can imagine what she is going through as a mother watching her child knowing he is about to die soon. In the poem “On my first sonne” the first thing the father says is the word “farewell” and from this the reader can tell the poem is about the father bidding farewell to his treasured son. In the same way Chinua Achebe tries to bring about sadness so does Ben Johnson as they both watch what they have lost or are about to loose. ‘On my first sonne’ and ‘Refugee mother and child’ both have many bib... ... middle of paper ... ...ild” does not have much punctuation which is effective because it makes the reader think about the meanings behind these lines. Even though “Refugee mother and child” is more applicable and easy to understand for me “On my first sonne” was better, it is well written because it has many visual images. What I like best about this poem is that Ben Jonson does...
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...Things Fall Apart Political Structure Okonkwo’s plight in Things Fall Apart underscores the value of his community; he goes to great lengths and eventually martyrs himself in an attempt to keep intact his society’s way of life. His ascension to be a leader in the community is marked by success in combat and physical prowess, which renders him “one of the greatest men of his time” (8). Although the Umuofian government is militant and unremitting, it has some semblance to the United States government in that it makes decisions to better protect and serve its people. The United States government strives to protect and endow its constituency with an emphasis on equality and liberty, completely unlike the patriarchal and aggressive values that Umuofia embraces. Umuofia and America are both sovereign states that attempt to provide a “good life” to its constituents, but do so very differently. Property owning family men are the essential considerations of the Umuofian government. For these men, “it [is] right to be masculine and to be violent” (53). At ritualistic gatherings, Okonkwo “tremble[s] with the desire to conquer and subdue” (42). The expectations for aggressive and masculine society are not in place in the United States. A “good” man in American society is one that treats his family well and values everyone around him as equal. Polygamy is nonexistent in America. The government recognizes everyone’s rights as equal and nobody is deemed inferior for their gender. Women...
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... for his father was lazy and improvident. He was unwilling to help while his loving mother had died when Okonkwo was young. In the book Things’ Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a man determined to be strong, powerful, influential, courageous, hard-working, and able to provide for his family; everything his father was not, and somewhat of what his mother was like. The role of women in Okonkwo’s life seemed to be an unimportant role, but in reality, it is the key factor in running his life. Women’s role in Okonkwo’s life is huge, for his mother’s influence was able to get him a home to stay. His wives role in child bearing allows him to have children. His wives caring for the family run the household. Although Okonkwo has a rough exterior, inside he is a man determined to never be what his father was like. In his village of Umofia, Okonkwo is banished for seven years after accidentally shooting a boy, so customs stated that he pack up and leave, along with his family. Okonkwo, with nowhere else to go, went to his mother’s old village. The book states “It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land…Okonkwo was well received by his mother’s kinsman…” This means it is illegal, (a crime), to kill anyone in the village, and if a person did, they must leave in order for things to be set right again. Also, it means Okonkwo was recognized to be his mother’s son, so he could stay in his old village. If it were not...
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...Okonkwo viewed women and men similar to other characters in the story. The women in the book Things Fall Apart are all viewed as weak; they are all treated as slaves in their own homes. Okonkwo had beaten his youngest wife for not having his food ready on time. “He walked back to his obi to wait for Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily (pg29).” Okonkwo’s father was a very peaceful men, he never tried to show his strength by physically or verbally abusing his family. I think Onkonwo rebels like any other child would. While growing up kids never understand their parents and always want to act different from their parents. While growing up Okonwos father was in debt and was a very lazy man, so okonkwo became a totall different person. He wanted to be a man that his father never was. To be a total opposite from his father, he showed no emotions and only courage; even if he had to beat his kids and wives to prove it. Men in the village of Umfuofia are warriors; they are all looked up to. They have criteria men should act like. They had to be the man of the house, courageous to obey the rules of life. In the beginning of the book, Okonkwo was viewed as a warrior a person the whole village looked up for his courage and the titles he had won. As we read on, we learn that Okonkwo has many fears that he is scared of. He did not want to be weak like his father, did not want his son to become like his father and he did not want to loose his prestige in the village...
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...the Europeans. In most of Africa, there were no countries, only clans and tribes, which made the imperialization much easier as well. These imperialist nations, such as Great Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, showed African nations many new ideals and tools that spread like a cultural virus. One very well-known story of this part of history is a book written by Chinua Achebe, titled Things Fall Apart. The book tells a fantastic story of a tribe in Nigeria which becomes a victim of the European imperialists. Achebe does a remarkable job of giving the reader the vivid change from the African tribe before and after the Europeans arrived. Things Fall Apart centers around a Nigerian tribe leader named Okonkwo. Known for his strength, courage, and most of all, pride, Okonkwo is looked up to by most the people in his tribe. Okonkwo doesn’t handle the European invasion as well as others due to his large sense of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall and death. Christian missionaries were one of the main forms of imperialization used by Europeans. The two missionaries in Things Fall Apart were Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith. It is common in African communities that there are outcasts existing. Outcasts could be anyone that has a disability, a criminal, or anyone that has been exiled. These missionaries would accept anyone that is an outcast and take them under their wing, showing them very appealing tools and technology. Also, the missionaries would give these outcasts an opportunity...
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...and the paramedics come to aid him but they didn't get that far. From this point on Donnie tells his story how things were until his sisters death. Donnie’s life is protected by Karen his sister. When ever their parents would get in a fight over the most simple things like not having ice cream to complex things such as dad not coming home often because of the job he holds. They do have a family trip that brings them all together on a vacation on a lake. They share many happy moments and also bring home lots of pictures to remind them of the fun and happy times. After the vacation things fall apart. Donnie’s dad finds a new job and a new apartment provided by his job and schedules for him to come home and see Karen and himself but Donnie’s dad doesn't make it his priority. The fights start to show up again and Karen finds a new friend Amanda that live next door. Karen would always take Donnie out side to the front porch during their parents fights no matter what the weather is and is seen as Donnie’s body guard, always being there. But when Karen finds Amanda, Donnie finds him self on the porch by him self waiting out his parents fights. Though Donnie does mostly hangs out with his sister and Amanda even though Donnie has friends that treat him like garbage. But just as soon as Karen and Donnie were getting used to Amanda, Amanda move to Chicago. Karen from this falls apart and soon will be taken over by anorexia. Donnie finds Karen’s diary of food thats not that very filled....
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...Salome Sutter. English 2309-700. DR Savic savic. 06/09/2014 Like Father Not Like Son. The Saying Like Father Like Son Is Not Always True. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, we see different relationships between parents and their children. Women seem not to have so much value in leadership role since they can’t earn a title. They are married off to able men to bear children for the clan. We see the boy child being raised to take over after his father. Achebe has shown in great length the concept of father and son relationship to a deeper level. He has shown how a boy will always look up to his father for both positive and negative aspects. The grown adults have a choice to figure a path in their leadership. We mainly learn of Okonkwo the main character that hated everything about his father and chose to live his life the opposite. He put his whole energy into becoming his opposite. Unfortunately his oldest son, Nwoye who looked like his father Unoka was the opposite of him. Okonkwo is a great man in the village of Umuofia since he was 18 years old. He threw the cat in a wrestling fight. “As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino.” (Achebe, Chapter 1 para 1) We are told that he continued to earn respect among his clansmen because no one had defeated the cat in seven years. Okonkwo worked so hard to be the opposite of his...
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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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...“By comparing the 2 texts you have studied, how do they reflect the concerns of their time?” Texts are shaped by the concerns of their time and the comparison of texts provides an extensive insight into these ideologies. With the consideration of Chinua Achebe’s novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ (1958) and Niki Caro’s film ‘Whale Rider’ (2003) in tandem, the similarity in their didactic principles of the condemnation of ethnocentrism explores the impact of European imperialism upon Ibo and Maori societies. Both texts also criticise the suppression of females in the patriarchal view of the tribes, emphasizing the significance of gender recognition and together, they delineate the concerns that arise from 1900s colonialism Within Things Fall Apart (TFA), Achebe reprimands the subservience of traditional Nigerian Ibo culture through colonialism in the context of the nation’s independence in 1960. Presenting the loss of traditions resulting from imperialism, Achebe deliberately includes William Yeats’ “The Second Coming” in the epigraph to the novel as a foreshadowing of the imminent collapse of the Ibo tribe, thus immediately establishing the Greek tragedy convention. His use of proverbs where they are the “palm-oil which words are eaten” is an allegory that captures the intricacy of Ibo language, emending the European portrait of a ‘savage’ Africa which was a notion popularized at the time by Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness” (1899). Furthermore, Achebe juxtaposes the Ibo’s...
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...The short story "Dead Men's Path" is written by one of Africa’s most acclaimed writers, Chinua Achebe, who grew up in a Christian family. The main character in the story is Michael Obi, a young and energetic perfectionist who is excited about modernize everything of a traditional school after he got assigned as the new headmaster. Not a while into his job, Michael finds that along with his misguided enthusiasm, ignoring the traditions and beliefs of the villagers can have great consequences. The major theme of this story is the collision between new ideas and traditions. Society can move forward by adapting new ideas, but still maintain respect for past traditions and maintain cultural beliefs. The fact that Obi and his wife are obsessed with modernizing everything is pretty obvious in the story. After Obi was assigned the job of headmaster, he and his wife are both eager to bring new ideas and share the modern life with everyone. Chinua Achebe shows their modern enthusiasm when he writes: "We shall do our best,” Obi's wife replied. "We shall have such beautiful gardens and everything will be just modern and delightful…” (200). He also shows Obi's views of the traditionalist people by attacking their character referring to them as, "these old and superannuated people in the teaching field” (200). An unused path started the collision between new ideas and traditions. In time the gardens blossomed with beautiful red and yellow flowers. As Obi is admiring his work, he comes across...
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...ESSEX COUNTY COLLEGE Humanities Division ENG 232—African and Caribbean Literature Course Outline Course Number & Name: ENG 232 African and Caribbean Literature Credit Hours: 3 .0 Contact Hours: 3.0 Lecture: 3.0 Lab: N/A Other: N/A Prerequisites: Grade of “C” or better in ENG 102 Co-requisites: None Concurrent Courses: None ------------------------------------------------- Course Outline Revision Date: Fall 2010 ------------------------------------------------- Catalogue Description: This course examines the literary traditions of sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean through an intensive study of selected works. Negritude is explored in its own right but also in its relationship with the literature of Europe and the Harlem Renaissance. Particular emphasis is placed on the socio-cultural and political forces that shaped this literature as well as the mode of presentation. General Education Goals: ENG 232 is affirmed in the following General Education Foundation Categories: Humanistic Perspective and Global and Cultural Awareness of Diversity. The corresponding General Education Goals are respectively as follows: Students will analyze works in the field of art, music, or theater; literature; and philosophy and/or religious studies; and will gain competence in the use of a foreign language; and Students will understand the importance of global perspective and culturally diverse peoples. Course Goals: Upon successful completion of...
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