Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Essay Example for Free

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Essay This is the story of Okonkwo, a renowned warrior and wrestler, who lives in the Ibo village of Umuofia in Nigeria, Africa. Respected by the elders of his clan, he hopes to become an elder himself someday. Due to his relationship with his father, Okonkwo has a hardened heart and thus, his actions throughout the novel are governed by anger and fear. Okonkwo, (per African tradition), has three wives and many children. He is prosperous and successful at the beginning of the story, but his heart does not soften. As a result, he makes many mistakes and is eventually exiled from his clan for seven years. While Okonkwo is away from Umuofia, white missionaries settle in his clan’s village and begin to preach Christianity. The tribe begins to change, especially its younger members, and when Okonkwo returns from exile, he sees the changes and attempts to reverse them. He struggles against the new laws of the white man and relations between the clan and the whites deteriorate until things finally reach a crescendo. Okonkwo’s fear Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a story of a man whose life is dominated by his fears. There are many subtle themes throughout this book. One theme that cries out over the rest is Okonkwo’s, the main character, fear of weakness as seen through his childhood, his oldest son, and eventually his death. Since his childhood, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father, â€Å"In his day he (Unoka) was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow†(p.4). By the standard of his clan, Unoka was a coward and squanderer. When he was a child, a boy called Okonkwo’s father an agbala. This word means â€Å"woman† as well as a man who has no title. His carelessness left numerous debts unpaid at his death. Ashamed of his father, Okonkwo worked hard and fought well to gain a reputation of high status and influence in his clan. He acquired three wives, one whom gave him his first son. Okonkwo’s first wife, whose name is never mentioned, gave birth to his first son, Nwoye. Okonkwo saw Nwoye weak and lazy from an early age. For this, Nwoye was beaten constantly. Okonkwo was highly demanding of his family because of his obsession not to be like his father. He mistook this behavior as masculinity. He wished his son were a promising, manly son like his friend Obierika’s son, Maduka, who was also a great fighter. One night the town of Umuofia was told that someone in Mbaino had killed one of their â€Å"daughters†. The woman was Ugbeufi Udo’s wife. The blood price for the murder was a virgin and young man to Umuofia. The virgin was given to Ugbeufi Udo as his wife. They did not know what to do with the young boy, Ikemefuna. Okonkwo was asked on behalf of the clan to take care of the boy. Secretly, Okonkwo grew fond of Ikemefuna, â€Å"Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy-inwardly of course. Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger†(p.28). Ikemefuna lived with Okonkwo and his family for three years until the time came when the Oracle said that Ikemefuna had to be killed. Okonkwo was warned not to have any part in killing the boy who called him father. He ignored this and upon returning sank into a deep depression which kindled the affliction inside of him. Not only the death of Ikemefuna, but also the accidental killing of Ogbeufi Ezeudu’s son, which gets Okonkwo and his family exiled for seven years, aides in his depression. To atone for the killing of his clansmen’s son, Okonkwo and his family were cast out of Umuofia and were forced to go live with his mother’s clan in Mbanta. In their second year a group of six missionaries traveled to Mbanta and tried to persuade the people from their false gods of wood and stone to the one true God. They captured Nwoye and he later joined their congregation. When Okonkwo was informed of the news he strangled Nwoye in anger. He questioned how he could have fathered such a weak son. At the end of the seven-year exile, Okonkwo was able to return home. However, the church had taken over Umuofia also. Nothing was the same. Okonkwo refused to integrate with the new visitors. He thought that the clan’s failure to remove them was â€Å"womanly†. Almost happy again, Okonkwo began to accept the new Umuofia. Then the leaders of the clan, including Okonkwo, were taken for ransom by the church. Deeply angered by what was happening, Okonkwo killed one of the leaders at a meeting. The pacification of Okonkwo’s clan is what depressed him. He knew his clan would not go to war. This desire to act violently all goes back to his father’s lack of desire. In the end the violence settled on Okonkwo, when he hung himself. In conclusion, all these aspects: his childhood, his first son and Ikemefuna, and his death contribute in explaining Okonkwo’s fear of weakness. Okonkwo’s life was controlled by his fears. He valued the success of his family and the community with his own success. If Nwoye was weak it was because he had failed as a father. The pacification of the town was a reflection of Okonkwo’s failures, he thought. Not being able to control those events, Okonkwo, out of desperation or either out of the pride in his manhood or perhaps both, killed himself. In spite of Okonkwo’s beginnings in poverty and misfortune, he has risen as one of the most respected elders of the clan. Yet others remark on how harshly he deals with men less successful than himself. For example, at a meeting to discuss the next ancestral feast, Osugo—a man without titles—contradicts Okonkwo, who in turn insults Osugo by declaring the meeting are â€Å"for men.† When others at the meeting side with Osugo, Okonkwo apologizes. Okonkwo’s hard-earned success is evident because the clan chooses Okonkwo to carry the war ultimatum to their enemy, the enemy treats him with great respect in the negotiations, and the elders select Okonkwo to care for Ikemefuna until they decide what to do with him. Once the young man is entrusted to Okonkwo’s care, the rest of the clan forgets him for three years. At first, Ikemefuna is very unhappy—he misses his mother and sister, he tries to run away, and he won’t eat. After Okonkwo threatens to beat him, Ikemefuna finally eats, but then vomits and becomes ill for twelve days. As he recovers, he seems to lose his fear and sadness. Ikemefuna has become very popular in Okonkwo’s house, especially with Nwoye and the other children. To them, he seems to know everything and can make useful things like flutes, rodent traps, and bows. Even Okonkwo has inwardly become fond of Ikemefuna, but he does not show affection—a womanly sign of weakness. He treats Ikemefuna with a heavy hand, as he does other members of his family, although he allows Ikemefuna to accompany him like a son to meetings and feasts, carrying his stool and his bag. Ikemefuna calls Okonkwo â€Å"father.† During the annual Week of Peace just before planting time, tradition permits no one in the village to speak a harsh word to another person. One day during this week, Okonkwo’s youngest wife, Ojiugo, goes to a friend’s house to braid her hair, and she forgets to prepare Okonkwo’s afternoon meal and feed her children. When Ojiugo returns, Okonkwo beats her severely. Even when he is reminded of the ban on violence, he doesn’t stop the beating. Because Okonkwo’s violation of peace can jeopardize the whole village’s crops, the priest of the earth goddess orders Okonkwo to make offerings at his shrine. Although Okonkwo inwardly regrets his â€Å"great evil,† he never admits to an error. His offensive breaking of the peace and the priest’s mild punishment are talked about in the village. After the sacred week, the farmers of the village begin to plant their harvest. Okonkwo allows Ikemefuna and Nwoye to help him collect, count, and prepare the seed-yams for planting, though he continually finds fault with their efforts. He believes that he is simply helping them learn the difficult and manly art of seed-yam preparation. Soon, the rainy season begins and the planting takes place, followed by the intense period of care for the young plants. During the resting time between planting and harvest, the friendship between Ikemefuna and Nwoye grows even stronger. Reference * Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

HMOs Failing State Standards :: social issues

HMOs Failing State Standards New Yorkers may be covered by one of the nation's most comprehensive health consumer protection laws--but insurers routinely flout it, according to a report released yesterday by New York City Public Advocate Mark Green. Posing as prospective clients, Green's investigators called 12 of the region's health maintenance organizations, including some of the largest on Long Island and in Queens, to get information about their complaint records, lists of covered prescription drugs and medical procedures, and policies on confidentiality and experimental treatments. Although New York's new managed care bill of rights requires health plans to provide the information to both members and potential members, all of the HMOs flunked the test most of the time, with representatives either unwilling or unable to answer the questions. "Five out of six times the HMOs refused to tell one of our callers whether a drug was covered by the HMO," Green said. "Not to know whether the HMO you might join will cover a drug you use monthly is like a computer store refusing to tell you the memory of the computer--or an auto dealership refusing to give you the miles-per-gallon of the Pontiac." "Our callers got extremely frustrated, and their health wasn't even at risk," Greensaid. The survey was conducted in July and August, just months after the New York law went into effect in April. Kevin McGrath--a spokesman for Wellcare, the small plan that had the worst score--said that although he hasn't seen the full report, he is "suspicious" of the survey's methodology because the results were so extreme. "From the results, it looks to me that the survey may be flawed," he said. "The results are hard to believe." [CURE Comment: Not to MCL subscribers, Kevin.] Even Cigna HealthCare of New York, which scored highest on a point system devised by Green, complied with the law only one-third of the time, according to the report. Other top performers were NYLCare Health Plans of New York, which complied 15 percent of the time, and United Healthcare and Oxford, which both complied 14 percent of the time. Prudential HealthCare, MagnaCare/MagnaHealth and WellCare ranked at the bottom of the list, complying less than 5 percent of the time, Green's office said. Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, Aetna/US Healthcare and Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield ranked in the middle, complying 20 percent, 16 percent and 13 percent of the time, respectively.

Building a ‘Beauty Brand’ Veet India Essay

Building a ‘Beauty Brand’ Veet India – Beyond Hair Removal Executive Summary The solution attempts to address the transition of Veet from a hair removal brand to a true beauty brand. Starting with a study of the depilatories market in India and Veet’s growth over the years to create a platform, the results of the primary research have been presented. The primary research was a combination of questionnaire based research and PAPIs (paper aided personal interviews). The brand awareness of Veet was measured through both recognition and recall of the brand. The salience for the competitor brands like Anne French and Fem were also analyzed. Responses were gathered to identify the preferred usage locations of hair removal products. The product attribute associations, both positive and negative, were measured. An assessment of the brand personality was also undertaken by means of projective market research techniques. A combination of the strong functional values along with the emotional benefits was used to identify the key categories that were suited for brand extension. Elimination of product categories were based on reasoning related to inappropriate associations as well as data on market dynamics achieved from secondary research. Finally, three extensions in two phases have been proposed with a market potential study for each. Highlights of the communication strategies have also been proposed. The recommended strategy aims to initialize the transition of Veet as a true beauty brand in the coming years. Contents Executive Summary2 Introduction3 Hair Removal Market in India3 Veet in India6 Veet – Brand Image6 Primary Research & Data Analysis7 Research Overview7 Data Analysis8 Brand Equity, Brand Personality & Possible Extensions12 Brand Equity12 Brand Personality Model12 PossibLe Extensions13 RoadmaP & Positioning16 Brand Extension plan16 Positioning In New Segments17 Conclusion19 Introduction Personal care sector covers segments like hair care, body care, baby care etc. In India this sector is currently valued at around INR 320 billion and is posting robust growth year-on-year. Veet is player in the niche depilatories segment within this market. Hair Removal Market in India Hair Removal or depilatories segment in India is relatively niche segment. It is valued at around INR 4 billion which means its contribution to the personal care market is a modest 1. 27%. While the market size is small the segment has tremendous potential and has been seeing robust growth year on year. As seen above, the segment was a ‘late bloomer’ showing exponential growth in 2004-05 and in 2006-07. Over the past few years year on year growth has stabilized around 19%. To better understand the nuances of this segment one must look at target consumer segments as well as the competing brands in this space. Brands in Depilatory Segment The brands dominating this segment are: Anne French dominated this category as the first mover and the only player for almost 4 decades. Anne French’s product positioning was primarily functional showing usage and highlighting product attributes. The entry of Veet in 2004 changed the face of the market with player moving from product centric, functional adverts to emotional benefits. Veet’s entry and new positioning strategy also explains the 60% y-o-y growth spurt in 2004-05. Currently Veet is the market leader in hair removal creams with a market share of around 34. 1%. Fem is the market challenger with its presence in hair removal creams and bleaching products. Target ConSumer Segments The penetration of hair removal products is relatively low with the young, single, educated and urban women being the prime users. * With a 68% category penetration there is enormous untapped potential in the segment. However this potential can only be realized with category expansion. * Increasing urbanization and more women entering the main stream white collar work force Growth in consumer base is on the cards

Symbolism And Charm How Poe Accomplished His Peculiarity

Strangeness and Charm: How Poe Accomplished his Peculiarity Though Poe s fame rests primarily on his brilliant short stories, he is also a primary figure in the field of literary criticism. His story-bound ingenuity is met by his theoretic advances, which not only supplied a reasoning for his creation of the genres of science fiction and the detective story, but also endeavored to form a tradition of uniquely American literary criticism that would free the American literary world from its colonial dependence on England. In 1846, Poe wrote an essay titled ‘ The Philosophy of Composition, ’ which was printed in a publication of Graham’s Magazine. Traditionally, Poe was a man of limited words; he tried to write as concisely as possible. This proved accurate in this critical essay, as it is not very lengthy. It does, however, correctly depicts Poe s message; he wanted to explain to fellow writers his theory of how it is that acclaimed writers compose well. According t o Poe, there are four essential theories regarding the writing of literature: single effect, a melancholy tone, dark settings, and mentally unstable and/or unreliable narrators and characters. Edgar Allan Poe s central dictum of the short story is that it must contain a singleness derived from pattern and design throughout the narrative, an arabesque, as it is labeled, that follows what one critic calls the principle of redundancy and repetition. Furthermore, since the speakers of many of his stories are