Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - 858 Words

The definition of sexism is discrimination on the basis of sex. In many cultures sexism was and still is a controversial topic. In fact, women in America couldn’t even vote until the 1920’s. The abundant masculinity in this novel is not sexism but just how the culture functions. Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is not sexist towards women; in fact, it shows that women are essential to the Ibo society and posses a great amount of strength. For example, the novel is not sexist because it emphasizes the importance of the women to the society. One of the major contributions women make is the amount of crops they harvest. â€Å"His mother and his sister worked hard enough, but they grew the women crops like coco-yams, beans and cassava. Yam,†¦show more content†¦But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say mother is supreme. (Achebe 134) This proves that women are definitely needed because without them the children would never have anyone to turn to. The quote stresses that women are the ones that provide comfort and love. Also the fact that the quote says women are supreme shows their importance, supreme means of the highest quality, degree, character, or importance. Moreover, women’s importance is made evident by the fact that there are goddesses and priestesses. The priestess of Agbala is very significant in this novel and the men listen to her. If women did not have any importance then the men would not listen to them. Their importance in the novel is displayed during the week of peace, which is dedicated to the Goddess Ani. First of all, it is dedicated to a woman and second of all when Okonkwo violates the week of peace many people are fearful of what the Goddess will do. â€Å"The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give us her increase and we shall all perish† (Achebe 30). Once a gain if women have no importance then why would the men fear what Ani is going to do or what she thinks. Another key point that expresses the importance of women is the bride price. The bride price is meant to be respectful towards women and it is often more civilized than verbal haggling like a farmerShow MoreRelatedThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1415 Words   |  6 Pagesbook Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe does just that. This book should be taught in schools because it shows the values and traditions of Achebe’s Igbo culture, persistently teaches life lessons throughout the book, and shows the darker reality of European colonialism in Africa. Chinua Achebe is known as one of the most influential and famous authors to ever write. Chinua Achebe originates from an Igbo background and he expresses that through his writings very well including Things Fall ApartRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe1324 Words   |  6 Pages Chinua Achebe chose to write his novels in English to reveal a deep response of his people to colonisation and to make that response understood to people all over the world. Things Fall Apart was written in English to teach people worldwide of the struggles he faced and the people of Nigeria faced growing up. Many authors and critics have written about Achebe’s ‘Things fall apart’ adding their valued opinion on what he was trying to say and his decision to write in English. In the followingRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Essay1203 Words   |  5 Pages who took their land for monetary gain. This was a dark period of time for Africans that live there. The U.S. Civil War and The Great Depression both can be related, in this instance, to how down their people were because of what happened. Chinua Achebe said it best, â€Å"I would be quite satisfied if my novels...did no more than teach my readers of their past...was not a long night of savagery from which the first European acting on God’s behalf delivered them†(qtd. in â€Å"Morning Yet† 45). In theRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1452 Words   |  6 Pagesassume control over the Roman Empire. However, imperialism in Africa remained a recorded element from 1750 to 1945. This paper visits how control and changes were influences over the Africans during this time period as seen through Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. (UKEssays, 2015) Europe was experiencing a few financial and political changes that forced the major European forces to investigate abroad regions to add to their resources during the seventeenth century. In order for the EuropeanRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe2361 Words   |  10 PagesThings Fall Apart Book Critique Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a historical fiction novel describing the life of Okonkwo in a Nigerian village succumbing to European ways, in order to portray Achebe’s view on imperialism. It was chosen for us to read by our teacher because it describes imperialism and its effects in an Ibo village of Nigeria. It also shows the treatment of natives by the Europeans and how the natives reacted. Things Fall Apart is useful to our course of studies because itRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1265 Words   |  6 PagesThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is markedly relevant to our current course of studies in World History, as it tells a story based on European Imperialism in Africa. Coming off the heels of our Imperialism unit, this post-colonial novel provides very helpful context on different civilizations’ perspectives throughout the Age of Imperialism; aside from analyzing death tolls, descriptions of conflicts, and names of countries, it was previousl y hard to envision what life was actually like during thatRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 735 Words   |  3 PagesThings fall apart. Achebe. Ernest Gaines once said, â€Å"I write to try to find out who I am. One of my main themes is manliness. I think Im trying to figure out what manliness really is.† Indeed, every society or culture has its own understanding of an ideal man. Even though these characteristics are different in various parts of the world, the significance of masculinity can never be overestimated. â€Å"Things Fall Apart† by Chinua Achebe is considered as one of the best examples of a riseRead MoreThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe692 Words   |  3 Pagesthe way to go. Through commercial trading Islam spread into Igboland, and this led to more Igbo people leaving the Igbo way of life for another, whether it be Islam or Christianity which divide the country in two. In the novel Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe British colonialism and the migration of Muslims to Nigeria led to the change in the faith, social and economic changes in the Igbo society. Traditional Igbo faith believes that there is only one creator or god known as ChinekeRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe897 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel, â€Å"Things Fall Apart† by Chinua Achebe the Igbo tradition revolves around structured gender role. Everything essential of Igbo life is based on their gender, which throughout the novel it shows the role of women and the position they hold, from their role in the family household, also planting women crops, to bearing children. Although the women were claimed to be weaker and seemed to be treated as objects, in the Igbo culture the women still provided qualities that make them worthyRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe Essay1851 Words   |  8 Pageschoice and styles are critical not only to the reader’s understanding of the text but to his appreciation as well. How language is effectively manipulated in their writings enhances the reader’s valuing of the works. The selected novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a representation of Igbo culture and their language. It explores the life of an Igbo tribe at the time of when colonization hit Africa. It could be considered as a post-colonial text, as the protagonist of the story and the other

Analysis Of The Book You Can See That Styron - 1553 Words

In the book you can see that Styron believes that many factors might have contributed to the onset of his depression such as being prescribed Halcion for his insomnia which is contraindicated for those living with depression, as stated on Webmd, due to the fact that it was seen to cause â€Å"suicidal obsession† (p. 71). He also hints at the fact that he was unable to grieve completely for his mother’s death, another factor he has in common with Esther who was unable to grieve for her father. This fact of depression not being due to one cause is also relevant in the bell jar. Esther not only feels inadequate and different in comparison to others but is also influenced by the restraints placed on her by societal expectations. ‘’I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor†¦ I couldn t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.† (p. 73). Esther’s sense of confusion is brought to life in her dream of the fig tree, which has so many figs, but she doesn’t know which to choose. To Esther all the choices she has inShow MoreRelatedThe taste of melon by borden deal11847 Words   |  48 PagesThe Taste of Melon B O R D E N Focus Your Learning Reading this story will help you: ââ€"   relate your own experience to the story theme ââ€"   analyse story structure ââ€"   identify changes in the narrator’s perspective ââ€"   interpret characters’ motives 130 Look Closely D E A L When I think of the summer I was sixteen, a lot of things some crowding in to be thought about. We had moved just the year before, and sixteen is still young enough that the bunch makes a difference. I had a bunch

Ode to Salt and The Sound of Silence Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Ode to Salt and The Sound of Silence. Answer: Introduction The state of total or nearly total lack of connection between the society and an individual is termed as social isolation. A person when isolated from his or her community, he or she is in the state of social isolation. The modern individual is facing problems related to social isolation where individuals are suffering from aloofness, self-centeredness, lack of concrete identity (de Jong Gierveld, Van Tilburg Dykstra, 2016). Thus, the modern individuals are socially isolated being. The purpose of this essay is to show the similarities and differences between Pablo Nerudas Ode to Salt and Paul Simons The Sound of Silence centralizing on a theme called social isolation. The thesis statement: The social isolation is the most common theme of the modernist writers. The Comparison of the Poems Based on the Themes Ode to Salt and The Sound of Silence The Latin American poet Pablo Neruda writes Ode to Salt. In his poem, the poet has illustrated the story of salt in the context of the vastness of the world, thus the salt is isolated from its root in the salt mine. The salt is confined in the saltcellar now and before that, it was in the salt mine. The salt mine is the vast family of the salt and so to speak it is the birthplace of the salt. However, the salt is taken from the salt mine and used for domestic purpose. This image is similar to portray an individuals feelings of isolation. The poet hears the solitude of the salt and the poet has been shivered by it. The poet sated, I shivered in those solitudes / when I heard / the voice of the salt in the desert. The poet is very respectful towards salt and expressed the long history and necessity of the salt. He wrote, Preserver/ of the ancient / holds of ships. The salt carries much details of the finite world, which was expressed in the last line. However, its voice is broken and i t sings a mournful song, when it is isolated from its association. The pain of isolation is expressed in the metaphor of the individuals pain in isolation. From another perspective, the poem is the representation of the glorification of the history of the salt. It portrays the importance of the salt in the history and the author is inspired by the salts history. Paul Simons poetry The Sound of Silence expresses the pangs of isolation in the modern world. The poem has been started with addressing the darkness, which is the old friend of the poet. The poet wants to talk with the darkness Within the Sound of Silence (Simon, 2016). However, the poet walks alone in some restlessness, which is the symbol of modernity. The poet might express the crowd by the restlessness. The isolation has been expressed in the lines, People talking without speaking / People hearing without listening / People writing songs that voices never shared / And no one dared / Disturb the Sound of Silence (Simon, 2016). The situation is like that where peoples interaction is meaningless, weightless and people are unable to communicate with an understanding. The songs in this world are meaningless where the oppressed voice is not shared and no one in this world is dared to write this kind of song. The silence sound of isolation is still there. Along with the representation of social isolation, the Paul Simons poem is the representation of the conflict between material world and the spiritual attraction, which transcends this material world. The voice in the poem plays a role of visionary who feels and makes caution about the lack of spirituality among modern people. The comparison The theme of social isolation is present in both the poems. Ode to Salt has represented the factor of social isolation in the metaphor of salt, The Sound of Silence has portrayed it by showing the modern mans situation where sound of silence is there, and no one is actually communicating to the others social being. The poet in his poem Ode to Salt has discussed the social isolation, though the salt shares long history with human being. The salt sung when it was in the mines, however, when it is in the solitude, the poet hears the shivering sound of the salt as isolation could make an individual sad and gloomy. In comparison to The Sound of Silence, the poet Paul Simon here has shown the social isolation in a broader way. The poet has shown the result of the social isolation among the human beings (Eajournals.org, 2017). The result is people communicates with each other without conveying the meaning, people hears to each other without understanding the meaning and the whole world is t he form of isolation where true communication has broken. Analyzing the Poems Both the poets have represented their views of social isolation in their own ways. Pablo Neruda has focused on the inanimate object and given it the essence of humanity. Thus, he has used the poetic tool of personification here. The salt is get personified and the poet heard the oppressed voice of the salt. The salt here is oppressed, as it is isolated. However, any isolated being could face a number of challenges as it is torn out from its root. The salt is isolated from the mines, thus, it is facing problems related to sadness for the rootedness. The poet has used ode form here, which highlights emotion. The relationship between the salt and the world has been expressed by the one-word lines, which are preposition (Wilson, 2014). The words are structured in a way that represents the sprinkling ways of fall of the salt as if the salt is crying. The Sound of Silence is a lyric of a famous band called Simon and Garfunkel. It also represents the social isolation in its own way. The ref rain in this poem establishes the silence nature of the sound that does not carry any meaning. The song carries itself the sound of the silence, which is the result of isolation. Conclusion It can be concluded that, as the social isolation is the pervading theme of modernity, most of the poems or songs carry the thread of this theme with them. The Pablo Nerudas poem Ode to Salt and Paul Simons The Sound of Silence has been analyzed in the context of social isolation and in this paper shown the reflection of isolation in the poems. References De Jong Gierveld, J., Van Tilburg, T., Dykstra, P. (2016). Loneliness and social isolation. Eajournals.org. (2017). Retrieved 11 October 2017, from https://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/Poetic-Vision-of-Pablo-Neruda.pdf Simon, P. (2016).Lyrics 1964-2016. Simon and Schuster. Wilson, J. (2014).A companion to Pablo Neruda: evaluating Neruda's poetry(Vol. 259). Boydell Brewer Ltd.

PART I Essays - Internet Culture, Behavioral Addiction,

PART I Welcome online!. These are often the first words many teenagers hear when they come back home from school. For the past few years, the Internets distractions to teenagers has been a major social problem, and I have read many articles on students who are addicted to the Internet. Also, I have seen many people get involved in surfing on the net, and have seen their systematic lives deteriorate with their access to the Internet. This social issue has become even more serious as the great strides in technological advancements entice teenagers with newer temptations. Because of all the attention given to this issue, I have decided to research it and learn more about how the Internet distracts teenagers, and its effects on society. I already know that most teenagers have some sort of access to the Internet. I have always thought that the Internet is only a source of information and sometimes a source of entertainment, but after reading the frequent articles that show up on the newspapers about the usage of internet, I now know that most teenagers go online mainly to play games and to chat with other friends. I also personally know some people who claim that they are stuck in the net, and I have also recently discovered that todays teenagers, like myself, spend the most time surfing on the net instead of reading books or watching television. However, I know that there are many more causes of teenagers bondings with the Internet, and I hope to find out exactly what makes teenagers to become so dependent on it. PART II The question of the Internet being a distraction to teenagers is such a broad issue, in the sense that the internet has too many ways of distracting teenagers. I will, therefore, focus on two specific questions to learn about. First, I will find out what features on the Internet lure teenagers into it. For example, I know there are chatrooms which anyone can enter to talk to other people from all over the world. Secondly, I hope to find out how this attraction to the Internet can affect ones life so much as to get them addicted to it, and how it changes peoples daily lives. PART III In the Preliminary stages of my research, I discovered that it would be much different from those I have done in the past because the base of my search would not be encyclopedias or books. Although I knew that the library would produce little information on the subject I am researching on, I could not stop questioning the credibility of the sources from the Internet, and first went to the school library in the end of December. Entertainment on the Internet being a quite recent social topic, my first look into the books at the library was fruitless. Even after looking through the magazines that were available, I only found a minimal amount of information. My next and final reaction was to look into the Internet. The week after my first attempt of gathering information, I went to a web site with a variety of search engines and typed in the words Internet entertainment. The results were overwhelming at first. Over a hundred thousand web sites were found on the topic Internet entertainment, but I soon discovered that they all led to web sites that hosted Internet entertainment. This was when I noticed that I needed to go to a search site of newspaper and magazine articles. Then I went to the school library and went to a search engine site that was called SIRS. When I typed in the same words as before, I only got two articles. From the two, only one carried the information I was seeking for, and so I had to search in other sites such as PROQUEST DIRECT, TIME magazine search, NY TIMES and SCMP search. Even after going to the biggest search sites on the Internet, I was only able to find four written sources and was frustrated because I knew that there are a lot more articles dealing with the types of entertainment found on the Internet. However, it was after the end of my search for written sources when I realized that I