Analysis of Things Fall Apart Essay -- Chinua Achebe

Different countries have people that hold many different views and beliefs. In Nigeria the Igbo area is located in the southern area of the country. And within this area is Umuofia, which is where the Ogidi tribe lives. These people have beliefs that rest strongly on religion and faith in god. "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe takes a look at the life of an African tribe that has been isolated from the outer more technologically advanced world where science has become a part of religion proving that certain things live sickness are not caused by evil spirits. But the African tribe has no knowledge of this and they live in a society where there traditions, beliefs and there forms of communication differ from are own. In Umuofia, traditions are an important part of their lives. They celebrate festival that has been celebrated by their people for hundreds of years. ?The feast of the New Yam was held every year before the harvest began, to honor the earth goddess and the ancestral spirits of the clan?. They beliefs were that if they prayed to the earth goddess she would give them a good season to grow their crops. They had other traditions in their tribe, like the process you must follow to marry. After coming to the ugi they would bid for the price of the woman in broomsticks because they felt that talking with cowries was insulting to the woman because it was like buying something at the market. ?. Akueke?s bride price was finally settled at twenty bags of cowries?. This tribe believed that the groom must pay to have his wife, which is how they had always done it. To be successful in Umuofia you want to, have many wives and many kids and have many barns full of yams and have titles with the clan. Okonkwo was one of the w... ...e had such a temper he would beat them. And because of his pride he would never stop until he was done beating them. Okonkwo had a very tough personality and was known through out the land as being a fierce fighter who had claimed five heads of his opponents. This culture really varies from ours in many ways because of the ways they communicate is so different from how we would ever consider doing here. The Igbo tribe has values beliefs and ideas that are strongly rooted in the gods. The way in which they communicate and interact shows a lack of respect towards woman and they are treated like slaves to men. Achebe?s novel ?Things Fall Apart? gives a good insight into the aspects a of a culture that before him had never need explored, and it gives the reader a good look at what the beliefs, values and the way the members of the community communicate and interact.

Community vs. Individualism

Community vs. Individualism Individual and community are two words whose meanings contrast each other. An individual is one who is self-sufficient and not reliant on outside forces to get whatever task complete. A community however, is a group of individuals whose sufficiency is intertwined with one another, and therefore can rely on each other. In her narrative essay, â€Å"Community and Diversity†, Rebekah Nathan unveils the individualistic society that was her college experience. She describes life as a freshman from her own point of view and examines the characteristics of the student population at her university.She uses her own experience as a microcosm of university life throughout the country, but her account does not represent all schools appropriately. She says, â€Å"They (students) genuinely want to have a close community, while at the same time they resist the claims that community makes on their schedule and resources in the name of individualism, spontaneity, f reedom, and choice†(Nathan 233). Her description exposes the student body as being largely individualistic, which is not always the case.In this essay, I will argue that not all campus life in universities today is individualistic, because there is still a great deal of community amongst the student body. To begin with, saying that campus life is geared towards being an individual is not always true. Students go out of their way to join clubs and participate in study groups and review sessions. They want to come together and form an alliance for academics or just to be social. In her essay, Nathan claims that our nation as a whole is becoming an advocate of â€Å"individualism†.While this may be true, it in no way means that university life is affected by this. People come to college to not only further their academic quest, but to expand their horizons and to network with their peers. For example, an incoming freshman has the capability of joining a learning community related to their interests or what they think their future major might be. If a business major wants to get involved outside the classroom, there are a number of options available to them, such as an academic service learning program, or joining a business fraternity.The variety of choices one has is overwhelming, and these programs and clubs would not be available if they were underused, they would simply turn over. Equally important, is the fact that in today’s classrooms, group work is often either encouraged or required. Professors expect classmates to get along and collaborate (just not when their teaching), either during an assignment in class or for a project assigned to work on outside the classroom. How so then, as Nathan puts it, are students getting more and more individualistic? In his essay, James Surowiecki explains that there is power in the form of the small group.He says â€Å"small groups have the opportunity to be more than just the sum of their parts† (441). This means that a group can outperform even the smartest of its individuals on their own. That said it isn’t hard to see the benefit of community values in an academic workplace, rather than individualism. A good example of this is if you were to put five students in a group to complete a series of math equations. If it took the smartest individual thirty minutes to complete twelve problems, it would likely take much less time for the group, including that same individual, to finish the task.For this reason, privatizing the campus experience is not beneficial to the learning process, rather it is harmful. Integrating students from group work keeps them from building social skills that they will need in the real world after college, and it additionally gives students an absence of the cognitive diversity one could discover while working in small groups. Moreover, if an institution wants to inspire a common education goal amongst its students, there are several ways i t could initiate it.For one, the university could instill living learning communities into the student housing. This allows students with the same majors or interests to live in the same suites, as well as giving them the some of the same core classes. Consequently, students can share information about classes and even form study groups without even leaving their dorms. Another way to instill a sense of academic community throughout the campus is to organize free events such as study sessions and reviews for certain classes.For example, offer a math tutoring session available to all students with refreshments, or maybe even ice cream, would be a great way to attract people and get them involved with not only in their studies, but with the campus as well. A university could even go as far as providing incentives for good work, such as raffling off high end electronics and skateboards. The cost of the raffle ticket: â€Å"A† papers. On the other hand, Nathan argues, â€Å"Rath er than being located in its shared symbols, meetings, activities, and rituals, the university for an undergraduate was more accurately a world of self-selected people and events† (237).This cannot be said for American universities as a whole. Many if not most colleges have strong on-campus communities starting at the roots of student living; the dorms. Every week you will find a plethora of activities and events going on no farther than the students’ downstairs lobby. From events like â€Å"Residents Fest†, where the different dormitories face off in multiple competitive events, to comedy shows and entertainers that come to the campus auditorium and perform live for the students, free of charge and welcome to everyone on campus.At the same time, there is still room for individualism in a functional community. Any given community that is profiecient needs individuals to lead operations. In our everyday society, we rely on politicians and small businesses led by h eadstrong individuals. But the individualism that is essencial for these people is also essencial for the community as a whole, much like that which is found in university life. Resident Assistants or, â€Å"RA’s†, are hired in order to not only control the students living in on-campus housing, but to bring them together as one solid body.It is not uncommon for RA’s to request input of those students living on their floor during floor meetings. For example, most RAs give each room on their floor living agreement forms. Nathan remembers, â€Å"After pizza, M&Ms, and yet another icebreaker game, the RA introduced our charge of creating a joint compact and handed out cards and pens, asking each person to write down something in the way of a rule or a ‘don’t’ that she would like to obtain for the hall† (234).On it, residents are allowed to make rules for their specific suite to make sure everyone gets a say in what goes on in their living space. They want everyone involved with the building they are living in, but also to know that the RA is ultimately the one in charge over them. Interestingly enough, Surowiecki points out, â€Å"One of the real dangers that small groups face is emphasizing consensus over dissent† (444). This concept could lead floor members to agree more readily with the majority, rather than be the black sheep to stand out and argue against it.Without doubt, college campuses around the country display a strong sense of community. In the classrooms students display cooperation with each other in the form of groups and in-class discussion, and review sessions before tests are no rare occurrence. There are a variety ways to get students involved, and it seems that many are eager at the opportunity to gather and strive for academic improvement. From learning communities to social events and clubs, there is no lack of student involvement on campus for many universities.Although Nathan says †Å"The university community was experienced by most students as a relatively small, personal network of people who did things together,† this is simply not true everywhere across the country (237). While there are hints of â€Å"individualism† in the student body, it is overwhelmed by the power of the community that is found in most universities across the states. This is good thing, because an emphasis on â€Å"individualism† could affect the development of cognitive diversity which is a valuable characteristic in society, especially on a college campus.Surowiecki states, â€Å"Diversity of opinion is the single best guarantee that the group will reap benefits from face-to-face discussion† (446). By this, he is saying cognitive diversity sparks a flame in the classroom, whether it through arguing or open discussions with classmates and teachers. If students were not exposed to such diversities in the classroom, they would be unprepared to face them in the real world. Besides, giving students a strong sense of community is almost always more effective than the alternative.Works Cited: 1) Surowiecki, James. â€Å"Committees, Juries, and Teams: The Columbia Disaster and How Small Groups Can Be Made to Work. † Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers. Ed Barclay Barrios. Boston, MA. Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 439-452. Print. 2) Nathan, Rebekah. â€Å"Community and Diversity† Emerging: Contemporary Readings for Writers. Ed Barclay Barrios. Boston, MA. Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 439-452. Print.

Behind the ‘Battle Royal’

A visage of violence, uprising, gullibility, and realization – Ralph Ellison’s short story â€Å"Battle Royal† depicts a different story that embroils the philosophical depths behind concepts of racism and suffering. It is about pleasing people that results to losing your own identity. It is a foreshadowing historical tragedy as the narrator attempts to transport his readers from idealism to realism and finally relating to the true meaning one’s social identity.In the beginning of the story, a nameless, first-person narrator instinctively intimates that for the first twenty years of his life, he has looked at others to answer questions of self-definition. Identity issues could instantly be implicated as he discovers that it is only him who can figure out who he really is. In order to do this, the narrator must first â€Å"discover that [he] is an invisible man! † As the story unfurls, it transfixes a scene in which he muses that it’s not only him who’s â€Å"blind† but also, those who abuse the narrator by belittling him as mere stereotype and erasing his individuality and human dimension.The primary objective of the narrator in the story is just to deliver a good speech. Uneasy about it, he was really worried. While blindfolded and being beaten in the â€Å"Battle Royal†, he is still going over his speech inside his head. Symbolically, he’s blind to the attackers that he must fend off. This is a stark depiction of the narrator’s utter blindness to racism happening around him and the all the dehumanizing acts that he is forced to participate in. Then, the narrator is softly remembering his grandfather’s death. The narrator overhears him imparting some words to his father.Those words haunted the narrator’s psyche for years to come. On his deathbed, the narrator's grandfather gives him a rather disturbing advice. The old man said: Son, after I’m gone I want you to ke ep up the good fight. I never told you, but I have been a traitor all my born days, a spy in the enemy’s country ever since I gave up my gun back in the Reconstruction. Live with your head in the lion’s mouth. I want you to overcome them with yeses, undermine them with grins, agree them to death and destruction, let them swallow you till they vomit or bust wide open. Learn it to the young ones.Using personification, Ellison represents the lion as the white man, who will roar throughout the duration of the story. The men roared as the narrator will struggle for the coins on the electric rug. When he tries to pull a white man onto the rug, the man raise up roaring with laughter and kicks him in the chest. During the narrator’s speech, the men yell for him to repeat the polysyllabic â€Å"social responsibility† and the room fills with the uproar of laughter. Clearly, the narrator’s question of identity could be traced back to the weary lives of his gr andparents who were born as African slaves and freed years before.Rhetorically, this freedom bestowed unto them and made them part of a â€Å"United† States. But in the closer analysis, in the social circles during their time and as what the narrator experienced, African-Americans are still separated from whites; it is somewhat like the separate â€Å"fingers on the hand†. Ellison descriptively used animals to symbolically represent people because in the course of history white men traditionally treated the black people as animals. In the first place, they were slaves. Also, when white men see naked white women as sexual objects, ironically the white men transform themselves to animals.One instance in the story depicted a man who watches the woman dance and holds his arms up like an intoxicated â€Å"panda†. Although the symbolism of the animal imageries is not very obvious, how Ellison showcased these symbolism reinforced his themes. It adds up to the life and vitality of mental pictures demonstrating the vividness of Ellison’s storytelling. Works Cited Ellison, R. W. Battle Royal. In Literature: Reading, Reaching, Writing. Compact Fifth Edition by Kirszner & Mandell, p. 174 -185.

Free Essays on Amusing Ourselves To Death

In Amusing Ourselves to Death Neil Postman declares â€Å"we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.† The decline of the Age of Typography and the ascendancy of the Age of Television have generated a great media metaphor shift in America, with the result that much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense. â€Å"Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice.† The time period from the early-eighteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century is identified by Postman as the Age of Exposition. During this period the printing press governed discourse in America. As he believes the form in which ideas are expressed affects what those ideas will be, discourse was generally coherent, serious and rational; unlike the shriveled and absurd discourse generated by television. Postman argues that typography amplified many of the characteristics we associate with mature discourse: â€Å"a sophisticated ability to think conceptually, deductively and sequentially; a high valuation of reason and order; an abhorrence of contradiction; a large capacity for detachment and objectivity; and a tolerance for delayed response.† Postman points to the middle years of the nineteenth century as the time when the telegraph and the photograph came together and laid the foundation for the Age of Show Business. The telegraph saw to it that space was no longer an inevitable constraint on the movement of information. It â€Å"erased state lines, collapsed regions, and, by wrapping the continent in an information grid, created the possibility of a unified American discourse.† Unfortunately, according to Postman, the telegraph also attacked typography’s definition of discourse, introducing on a large scale â€Å"irrelevance, impotence, and incoherence.† â€Å"To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowin... Free Essays on Amusing Ourselves To Death Free Essays on Amusing Ourselves To Death In Amusing Ourselves to Death Neil Postman declares â€Å"we are a people on the verge of amusing ourselves to death.† The decline of the Age of Typography and the ascendancy of the Age of Television have generated a great media metaphor shift in America, with the result that much of our public discourse has become dangerous nonsense. â€Å"Our politics, religion, news, athletics, education and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice.† The time period from the early-eighteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century is identified by Postman as the Age of Exposition. During this period the printing press governed discourse in America. As he believes the form in which ideas are expressed affects what those ideas will be, discourse was generally coherent, serious and rational; unlike the shriveled and absurd discourse generated by television. Postman argues that typography amplified many of the characteristics we associate with mature discourse: â€Å"a sophisticated ability to think conceptually, deductively and sequentially; a high valuation of reason and order; an abhorrence of contradiction; a large capacity for detachment and objectivity; and a tolerance for delayed response.† Postman points to the middle years of the nineteenth century as the time when the telegraph and the photograph came together and laid the foundation for the Age of Show Business. The telegraph saw to it that space was no longer an inevitable constraint on the movement of information. It â€Å"erased state lines, collapsed regions, and, by wrapping the continent in an information grid, created the possibility of a unified American discourse.† Unfortunately, according to Postman, the telegraph also attacked typography’s definition of discourse, introducing on a large scale â€Å"irrelevance, impotence, and incoherence.† â€Å"To the telegraph, intelligence meant knowin...

Torture Is Never Justified

Torture Is Never Justified Torture through the History The concept of torture is at the base of many conflicts that take place throughout the country. In fact, it began in ancient times with the Romans and Greeks forcing their prisoners to participate in some of the worst forms of torture we’ve ever known. Since that time, countries around the world have used everything from ‘the rack,’ tar and feathering, stoning, waterboarding and much more to torture others whether for the purpose of gaining information or simply as a method of slowly killing a prisoner. For any purpose, however, torture has never been able to be justified, at any point in our history and most definitely will not be at any point in our future. Torture Is Often Useless Many claim that torture can be justified because it comes down to the safety of the people. They believe that torturing someone in order to gain information that could potentially save lives is acceptable or even reasonable, however, this is not the case. In fact, torture is often used on those labeled as ‘traitors’ for this very purpose but is not often as effective as many would have us believe. This is because those who are being tortured, those who may know something that we would want them to divulge, are also highly trained to ignore the torture and to fight through it as long as they need to until death. As a result, the torture is being done on an individual for no purpose but perhaps a level of sadism on the part of the captor. Despite what we may be told, there is little if anything to be gained by the process. Yet another problem that arises with the concept of torture is at what point does it end? In many countries, torture is allowed for different types of crimes. In the United States, only those accused of being terrorists or prisoners of war are allowed to be tortured, yet only the accusation and not actual proof is needed. In other countries, crimes less than terrorism can be punished by torture and in still others, a crime is not even needed to enact torture on the basis of a simple belief. How could it be possible to even for those who believe in torture in some instances to say that torture is allowed in all  instances per justice? And this is where the struggle begins. Because the more that torture is defended and allowed in one situation, the more others will clamor for it to be allowed in all situations. After all, every criminal situation is looking to help people, to protect people. Want to know more? Go here: When Is Military Force Justified? Single-Parent Children Behaviour Causes of Human Errors in Aircraft Accidents Human Dignity   Sample Essay about Happiness What Is the Value of Human Life? The truth of the matter is that it is not only the government that participates in torture. There are also many instances of vigilante justice where the people of a country or area will join together to enact some type of vengeance on a person they perceive to have done something wrong. These individuals could be tortured with no more evidence against them than public opinion and yet, by attempting to justify torture in some senses, we are opening the door to these types of torture in any sense. The most important matter, however, that arises in this question, is that of human life. The value of human life, of human wellbeing, is written into the Constitution of the United States, ‘the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ The life and ‘pursuit of happiness’ for all people is important to us and has always been. But through torture, we strip individuals of their life and their liberty and their pursuit of happiness with the thought that, because we believe them to have done something bad, they are somehow less human. When viewing this issue of torture it is important to remember that there have been changes to it throughout time. Originally, very little was needed in order to implement torture on anyone. Over time, we have narrowed down the reasons and this is a step in the right direction. However, we have not eliminated the process altogether and this is an important next step for us to take. Torture cannot be allowed to continue in any nation that would call itself civilized because, despite what we may be told, there is no justice to be found in torture.

Examples of Chemical Suspensions

Examples of Chemical Suspensions In chemistry, a suspension is a mixture in which the solute particles- whether liquid or solid- do not dissolve. Most of the suspensions you encounter in everyday life consist of solid particles in liquids, but suspensions can also form from two liquids or even from a solid or liquid in a gas. One key way to identify a suspension is that the components typically separate over time. Mixing or shaking needs to occur to form a suspension. Given time, suspensions usually separate on their own. Mercury Shaken in Oil Mercury is a metallic element that is liquid at standard temperature and pressure. Because of its liquid properties, the element can be mixed with oil to produce a suspension. The mercury particles will disperse throughout the oil when the solution is shaken, but the particles will never dissolve. If left to sit, the two liquids will eventually separate. Oil Shaken in Water Water molecules, because of their polarity, are highly attracted to each other. They exhibit a stickiness that can be seen by slowly moving two water droplets toward each other. Oil molecules, on the other hand, are non-polar, or hydrophobic, which prevents them from joining together with water molecules. Oil shaken in water will produce a suspension as the oil particles are momentarily scattered. Left undisturbed, however, the two elements will separate from each other. Dust in Air Dust in the air is an example of a solid-gas suspension. Dust- tiny particles that include pollen, hair, dead skin cells, and other materials- is lifted by wind and ventilation systems and scattered throughout the air, producing a suspension. Because the particles of dust are solid, however, they will eventually return to earth and form a fine layer of sediment on the solid surfaces below. Soot in Air Soot- which takes the form of black smoke- is made up of carbon particles released through the combustion of coal and other carbon-rich energy sources. When it is first released, soot forms a solid-gas suspension in the air. This can be seen in fireplaces, power plants, and vehicles. Like dust in the air, soot eventually settles, blackening chimneys and other surfaces.

Discuss the meaning of the word of God as treated in the Old and New Essay

Discuss the meaning of the word of God as treated in the Old and New Testaments - Essay Example According to the traditional principles of Christian religion, the writings and the principles of their selection were controlled and inspired by the Holy Spirit, performing the words of the Lord to lead His followers to the truth. The Christian Church needed to know what books of the collection were divinely inspired. The Gospels, containing the information about Jesus, his doings and lessons, couldn’t be jugged as having less importance than the Old Testament. The Acts and Epistles comprising the teaching of the apostles are also regarded as created under His control. Thus, the teachings of the apostles were treated with the same respect as the ancient prophetic writings. The Church then broke with Judaism and rejected the authority if the Old Testament, but regarded it as the Word of God, taking Jesus and His disciples as example. The New Testament consists of twenty-seven writings, referred to eight authors. Six of them are believed to be apostles – Jude, James, Peter, Paul, John and Matthew, and the other two are their direct followers, Luke and Mark. If these books are regarded from the point of view of the literature and from the historical point of view, they would be observed as didactic books including Epistles, prophetical book, that is Apocalypse, and the books on the historical topic – Gospels and Acts.(2) The date of the origin of the Old Testament is referred to 2500-3500 years ago. It is assumed that it was made by the people with a culture and traditions quite different from the nowadays society. Inspite of the strong traditional links, which the Christian Church keeps within the ages, the Word of God, being read by a modern reader is judged differently compared to perception of the readers of the Medieval, and of course, of the authors, created the writing. Our interpretation and understanding of an ancient text