The Character of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay

The Character of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart What makes a successful man? This, in itself, is a culture bound question because it can vary from culture to culture. However, in the perception of Okonkwo, the main character in Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, the measure of a man's success is based on two elements, material acquisition and growth, and physical prowess. This is ironic for Okonkwo since his people's typical idea of success seems to be constructed of a complex, strong spiritual culture, seemingly able to deal in traditional ways with any challenge in nature and human experience. (Ravenscroft 9) Although Okonkwo is undoubtedly an important member of Umuofian society, he is not a typical representative of that society. (Taiwo 115) It is this basic dichotomy between Okonkwo and his own culture that directly lead to the tragic fall of Okonkwo, and ultimate disgrace. I feel that it is important to note at this time that Things Fall Apart is a tragedy, and Okonkwo is a tragic hero. For TFA to be a tragedy, it must follow the following pattern... "A tragedy .. is the imitation of an action that is erious, has magnitude, and is complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in the various parts of the work; in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish it catharsis of such emotions" Aristotle, Poetics Okonkwo is a tragic hero because he is superior to the regular people of the tribe, "Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villa... ...up perfectly in the last lines of the book when an entire culture, all of its oral traditions, customs, ceremonies, lives, the very essence of the Ibo people merited a "reasonable paragraph" in the white man's book, The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. BIBLIOGRAPHY Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1986. Aristotle. Aristotle: The Poetics. "The Longinus: On the Sublime." Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1960. Ravenscroft, A. Chinua Achebe. Great Britain: Longmans, Green & CO LTD, 1969. Serumaga, Robert. "A Mirror of Integration." Protest and Conflict in African Literature (1969) 76 Taiwo, Oladele. Culture and the Nigerian Novel. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1976.

Muhammad Bio Essay examples -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Muhammad is by far one of the most influential men in the history of the religious world. Even today his teachings are still worldly known and his views on dying for a place in heaven result in our terrorist bombings, suicide, and even the world trade center disaster. To understand the fundamentals and the reasons why Islam is a violent religion you have to divert back to the teachings of Muhammad and his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Muhammad was born around 572 B.C to his father Abdallah and his mother Amina. Both of Muhammad’s parents died when he was quite young, but he stayed with his grandfather for two years. Soon after he stayed in the care of his uncle Abu Talib and was soon put to work in the caravans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While working in these caravans he met the owner Kadijiah. He married her when he was 25 and she was 15 years older than him at 40. They later had seven children but that did not settle him down for he married several other women to gain political power or compassion from the widows he married. It was also a rumor that he arranged the deaths of the women he married.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was ...

Analysis of Biff in Death of a Salesman

Camilla Tanzi Year 12 An analysis of the character of Biff. Biff Loman is portrayed as the root of Willy’s mental illness and instability. He is also the only member of his family who acknowledges his own failures in life. On the whole, Biff Loman stands out as the most intriguing and strong character in â€Å"Death of a Salesman. He is not a successful man and never will be, he is however able to admit this, even in a harsh society as the one of the 1960s America. Biff knows he is a â€Å"nothing† and tries to make his father see that he is â€Å"no good.I am a dime a dozen, Pop, and so are you. † He begs for Willy to communicate with him and accept him for who he is. Although Willy is forced by Biff to see some of his own failures, he never accepts that Biff will turn out the same way. At the end of the play, Biff seems to have developed a strength of his own; he has faced and accepted the truth about himself and his father. Now that he acknowledges his proble ms, there is a hope that he will be able to reach his potential. If â€Å"Death of a Salesman† offers any hope, it is only through the character of Biff. Also read: Expressionism in Death of a SalesmanMiller implies there is a chance that he will one day be able to live a normal life, away from the shadow of Willy Loman. Biff stimulates reactions out of his father’s lunacy and is portrayed as the main cause of Willy’s problems. We understand that Willy has been a bad influence on his son and in spite of this; he has big ambitions for Biff and does not want to admit that he will never reach the goals he wishes for him. Being Willy’s oldest son, Biff seems to be the perfect child to his father.However, as the play develops and especially when it shifts from Willy’s dreams to the reality, we see a change in his attitude towards his son. When Biff was the star rugby player, the only thing that mattered to Willy was his success in the sport. As a matter of fact, when Bernard informs Willy and Biff about the possibility of him being â€Å"flunked in math†, Willy’s reply is stiff and arrogant:  "Don’t be a pest, Bernard! (To his boys) What an anaemic! † The use of the word â€Å"anaemic† is a perfect example to show what the man’s morals are; he considers Bernard a teenager who lacks vitality, boring.The author could possibly be implying that Willy is actually envious of Bernard and even though he doesn’t want to admit it, his is just jealousy when he shows aversion towards him. Willy has different ambitions for his sons’ futures than most people had for theirs at the time; he believes that sport will be enough to help Biff succeed in the business world, make him rich and notorious; â€Å"That’s just what I mean, Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you’re going to be five times ahead of him. Arthur Miller provides us with a lot of evidence that Willy has been a bad influence on Biff. While Biff is in some ways desperate to impr ess his father, he is also conscious about the fact that Willy has failed his attempt to be successful in his career. He considers his dad’s dreams materialistic and unreachable. As a matter of fact, in the Requiem, even after his father’s death, Biff says: â€Å"He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong. † Unlike Happy and Willy, Biff is self-aware and values facts; Willy never was a successful salesman and he never wanted to face the truth.On the other hand, Biff is conscious about his failures and the weaknesses of his personality. During an argument with his father, Biff admits that his dad made him â€Å"so arrogant as a boy† that now he just can’t handle taking orders from a boss. I think this is what truly differentiates Biff from the rest of his family; he is honest and sincere about himself and would rather work on a ranch than try to be successful in a work field that he knows will never accept him. Biff is also the only character that acts as a reminder that the American Dream is not an every man’s dream.Bernard has become a successful lawyer as his father Charley, Willy and Happy try to pretend they have too, but Biff is the only one who surrenders to his destiny. Rather than seeking success and money, he wants a basic life working on ranches. He does not try to push into the crowd of people aiming for a good job and a wealthy life-style, but instead wants to be seen for who he truly is: â€Å"Happy: The only thing is- what can you make out there? Biff: But look at your friend. Builds an estate and then doesn’t have the peace of mind to live in it. In a way, Miller is trying to tell us that Americans are made victims of the country’s success. â€Å"Death of a Salesman† seems to argue that America as a whole does not value people who look for simple pleasures such as working in the countryside, and the American Dream pushes people to only aim for jobs in the industry. It is ironic how Ber nard turns out to succeed as a successful and well-known lawyer. It is ironic because during high school Willy used to mock him for studying hard and always praised Biff for not studying at all.Bernard is presented as a weak and shy character and Miller wants us to believe that Biff will turn out to be successful rather than him and not the contrary. However, things turned out differently to how both Willy and Biff expected them to. Bernard’s success irritates Willy because his own sons’ lives do not measure up to Bernard’s: â€Å"(after a pause): I’m- I’m overjoyed to see how you made the grade Bernard, overjoyed. It’s an encouraging thing to see a young man really-really- Looks very good for Biff- very (He breaks off, then) Bernard- (He is so full of emotion, he breaks off again). Once again, Biff is the cause of his father’s despair; he does not want to pursue Willy’s dreams, he wants something other than material things fr om life, and this destroys the man. Biff has learnt from his father that to be â€Å"well-liked† and attractive are the most important ingredients for success. Up to now, I have only analysed the differences between Biff and Willy, however, it is also very important to highlight the few similarities between the two characters. When he was a teenage boy, Willy’s authority on Biff was evident.We find that when the three Loman men are talking about Bernard, Biff echoes small bits of his father’s view on life when he says that his friend is â€Å"liked but not well-liked†. This implies that Biff once used to have respect towards Willy; he admired his strong personality and approved his view on the business world. Biff Loman is aware that he will not succeed as a salesman or any other job without his maths degree. On the other hand, his father is convinced he will and does not what to face the reality of facts. However, towards the end of the play we see a cha nge in both the men’s attitudes.As a matter of fact, they have switched opinions; â€Å"Biff: (horrified, gets down on one knee before Willy): Dad, I’ll make good, I’ll make good. (Willy tries to get to his feet. Biff holds him down. ) Sit down now. Willy: No, you’re no good, you’re no good for anything. † Biff is now desperate and is obviously worried for his father’s mental health and tries to encourage him to be positive in any way he can- even if this involves lying to himself about his potential. As I previously mentioned in my introduction, Biff seems to be the only character that offers any hope whatsoever in â€Å"Death of a Salesman†.At the beginning of the play, he tells the audience about his dreams of living in the south: â€Å"What the hell am I doing, playing around with horses, twenty-eight dollars a week! I’m thirty-four years old, I oughta be makin’ my future. That’s when I coming running home. And now, I get here, and I don’t know what to do with myself. † This clearly shows that biff aspires to better things, but does not know what to do in an industrial city as New York. He wants to succeed and build a future, but at the same time he enjoys the pleasures of living in the countryside and not having any stress.Here is where we understand that Biff is fundamentally lazy. He would like to have a nice and wealthy life, but he just does not have the strength or the motivation to work for it. On the whole, through the illusions that Willy believes, he cannot see Biff as a â€Å"nobody† and cannot accept that he won’t be successful as he hopes. Eventually, Biff finally sees the truth and realises that he is â€Å"no great leader of men†. He also comprehends the delusions that Willy lived on. Biff is destined to no greatness, but he no longer has to struggle to understand what he wants to do with his life; â€Å"I know who I am, kid. â₠¬ 

Martin Luther King Jr Essay

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He was born during a time when black people did not have the rights which they have today. He experienced racial discrimination when their white neighbors refused to let him play with their boys. When he was five years old his mother persuaded the first grade teacher, Miss Dickerson, to make room for him in her class. Even though he started several weeks after the other children, he soon caught up with them academically and even surpassed them before the year was over. Miss Lemon, his teacher taught him to be independent. She taught him if there was an injustice, he could rebel, but still keep his dignity and find quiet ways to resist. She inspired her students to learn about black history and take pride in their heritage. When he was 15 years old he entered Morehouse College. After two years in school he decided he could best serve others by becoming a minister. He became assistant minister of the Ebenezer Baptist church where his father was minister. The following year he graduated from college, being only 19 years old. He then attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. While he was at Crozer he began to study the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi urged people to not fight, but to protest peacefully. Martin saw this method of non-violent resistance as the answer to the unfair treatment blacks received in America. At Boston University he met Coretta Scott who became his wife. They had four children.When he graduated from Boston University he became the minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King and other leaders led a march into Washington D.C. Over 200,000 people marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. It was here where Martin Luther delivered his â€Å"I Have a Dream† message.

Why Study Ethics?

http://faculty. polytechnic. org/gfeldmeth/4. ruggiero1. pdf Ruggiero 1 Why Study Ethics? If we have laws and religion, why do we need ethics? Ethics is the study of right and wrong. Everyone makes decisions each day that are essentially choices. For some, choices are considered strictly personal and no one else’s business: Should I have a strip of bacon with my eggs? But for some, even that simple choice has ethical ramifications: Should I eat meat? Is it anyone else’s concern that I eat meat?Other choices confront us as the day progresses: Should I call in sick? Should I obey the speed laws as I drive to work? Should I answer a friend’s question honestly or lie and potentially hurt her feelings? Should I be faithful to my spouse? How does one find answers to these questions? For some, laws and religion provide the answers. But for most, those two sources are insufficient. Ethical Relativism In the past for most people and even for many people today, an objectiv e moral standard that is binding on all people for all times exists.While there might be disagreement on what the standard was, most acknowledged that there was a â€Å"right† choice. But in the last half-century, there has been considerable erosion in the idea that a standard exists or is even needed. For many, decisions about what is right and wrong are complete personal and completely subjective: what is right for me may not be right for you. This is known as ethical relativism. It asserts that whatever an individual deems morally acceptable is acceptable for that person. To judge that is often considered unacceptably intolerant.As relativism or situation ethics, as it was called by some, grew in the 1960s, some critics warned that an attitude of complete toleration would make it difficult, if not impossible to reasonably discuss ethical issues. If no one view is better than another, how can one distinguish civilized from uncivilized behavior, or good and evil. If ethical choices are essentially the same as aesthetic or taste choices, then pursuing one choice of action is essentially no different that preferring a work of art or an author or a singing group.It is all just a matter of taste and your taste is as good as mine. One result of the growth of relativism is the reluctance of many to pass judgment on an individual or a deed. If the choice is between absolutism (â€Å"that is absolutely wrong† or relativism (â€Å"in some cases, for some individuals, that action may be wrong’), many opt for relativism as it seems more tolerant, more reasonable, less black-and-white. Many civilizations in the past practiced human sacrifice in religious rituals. Is it right to judge that practice as wrong?After all, freedom of religion is a pillar of American beliefs. Should I judge another culture’s practices even if I find it abhorrent? To cite a modern example, some cultures allow marriage of girls as young as 12 years old or a husband to have multiple wives. Are those issues that should be left up to a nation or people-group to decide or are there universal principles that apply? To get even more relevant to students living in American society, is it ok to download copyrighted music or movies?How about copying and pasting a paragraph from an Internet source such as Wikipedia into a paper? If I want to do that, isn’t it my choice? Who are you to say it’s wrong? Ethics and Laws One might wonder why we need ethics if we have laws? If we have a comprehensive set of laws that are consistently enforced, isn’t that enough? Of course, we need to ask who makes 1 Ruggiero 1 the laws and how do they decide whether a behavior is criminal. Consider sexual harassment.Because a legislator or even a number of them might say â€Å"I would never commit such an act† would not be enough reason to conclude that a law should be passed preventing others from committing that act. From the perspective of an ethi cal relativist, no one has the right to criticize another’s actions. The only defensible reason for a law against sexual harassment is that the act is wrong, not just for me but for everyone. And sexual harassment was clearly wrong long before it was made illegal. So laws are not possible without ethics.For a law to be passed, a person or a group of people have to make a decision about right and wrong. That has been the case from the start of human society, whether laws were determined by kings, religious leaders, or elected legislators. It does not mean that every law is morally right but every law starts with a concept of right and wrong. In fact, laws change over times. New circumstances arise so that laws must be revised to fit them. New technologies developed the need for new laws. In addition, attitudes change over time.Women were not permitted to vote in national elections until 1920. The 18th Amendment legalized Prohibition in 1919. The 21st Amendment repealed it in 1 933. Ethics and Religion Just as laws arise from ethics, ethics arise from religion. Religious thinkers have always spoken to the greater society on issues of moral concern. Sometimes they have assumed that their position is the only acceptable one, which hinders discussion and debate. Faith does not usually provide common ground to discuss ethical issues in a dispassionate or even-handed way.Many religious thinkers are absolutists and turn to an outside authority, God or the Bible or the Koran for their authority. Of course, to say the Bible says something suggests that it is a simple book easy for everyone to interpret. In fact, it is complex and subject to many different interpretations. This is why it is important to distinguish between religious ethics and religious beliefs. Religious ethics examines moral situations from a perspective, a set of principles. It is a starting point, not a defining â€Å"right or wrong† point. Inquiries 1.Canada’s government proposed that color photographs of diseased hearts and cancerous lungs and lips be printed on the front and back panels of every pack of cigarettes sold in that country. Canada’s tobacco industry claimed the practice was illegal. What is the ethical issue in this case? 2. When a Michigan man was arrested for soliciting a prostitute, his car was impounded by the police. His wife, who co-owned the vehicle, claimed that the government’s action was improper because it punished her as well as her husband, even though she had no knowledge or part of his crime.Is her argument morally correct? 3. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) allows colleges and universities to make millions of dollars each year from the sale of tickets and television rights to games. Yet the NCAA does not permit student athletes to be paid. Is the NCAA’s position morally justifiable? 2 Ruggiero 1 4. A married couple, both drug addicts, is unable to care for their infant daughter. The cour t takes her from them and places her in a foster home for a number of years and she comes to view her foster parents as her real parents.When she is nine years old, her natural parents, now in drug recovery, ask the courts to return custody to them. The case is decided in their favor and the girl is returned to them, against her will. Does ethics support the court’s decision? 5. A Milpitas, California, boy raped and then killed his girlfriend and dumped her body in a lovers' lane gully. Over the next few days, the killer boasted to his high school friends and the word quickly spread that the girl was dead and that her body was in the gully. Carload after carload of high school students visited the gully to see the body.Some students prodded it with sticks or kicked it; one girl ripped a decal from the dead girl's jeans. Only one boy reported the murder to the high school principal, and even after the police investigation was well under way, only two students would identify th e killer or volunteer any information. Since failure to report a body or to volunteer to testify is not a crime, the students could not be charged legally. But was the behavior of any of the students morally acceptable? Why or why not? Based on Thinking Critically About Moral Issues by Vincent Ruggiero 3

The benefits of international portfolio investment Essay

The benefits of international portfolio investment - Essay Example There are numerous benefits of internationalizing the portfolio. By internationalizing, the individual or firm will be able to minimize the risk; invest in growing markets thus benefiting from their growth; hedge the prices of goods in the consumption basket; enjoy higher return than expected; diversify investments; and enjoy lower variation of return. High economic growth leads to the higher GDP and high growth level. This attract other investors from other countries in invest in the growing economies. Growing economies are determined by the World Bank as the ones which have average income levels but high economic growth levels. These emerging economies can be of Middle East, Asia, Africa or Latin America. The growth levels attract the foreign investment which further improves their economy. These economies including some of the developed ones such as Japan and Netherlands provide tremendous opportunities to foreign investors. The financial investment in these countries enable indiv iduals and firm to increase their investment by two fold within a couple of years. Hence, it is seen as a good opportunity by investors. However, the small economies are still riskier compared to developed economies. In small economies, the prices might fluctuate rapidly and in case of liquefying the investment, losses might have to be borne. Also, the emerging economies might not be too stable politically. Thus, there is a political risk involved such as instability of political system, change of policies regarding foreign investment and remittances, change in foreign exchange policy and change of property rights. These factors make the investment in emerging markets riskier compared to developed economies where there is political stability. ... (Perry) However, the small economies are still riskier compared to developed economies. In small economies, the prices might fluctuate rapidly and in case of liquefying the investment, losses might have to be borne. Also, the emerging economies might not be too stable politically. Thus, there is a political risk involved such as instability of political system, change of policies regarding foreign investment and remittances, change in foreign exchange policy and change of property rights. These factors make the investment in emerging markets riskier compared to developed economies where there is political stability. (Yavas, 2007) In contrast to this, the overall portfolio risk will be reduced because there will be less, no or negative correlation between markets which will be beneficial for the investor. On the other hand, there is a difference in taxes, potential information and forecasts. Some of the forecast made by countries might differ significantly from actual result. Thus, th e exact picture or perfect information regarding investment might not be available. The markets are seemed to have integrated over the years and are considered negatively or not at all correlated to each other. Thus, the investors benefit from investing worldwide because it one investment’s return are falling, other investment’s return might increase or remain same. Thus, the investor will be better off. However, each country has its own investing and currency exchange policy which might be a hindrance for the investor. The investor benefits from ‘pure diversification’ by investing worldwide but might face policy restrictions. (Bartram & Dufey, 2001) Factor influencing the structure of International Portfolio Investment The factors

Hello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hello - Essay Example This fact is proven by the high rates of negative outcomes for patients as well as the percentage of the population that could not afford to purchase insurance plans. Several public opinion polls have indicated that the general public is overwhelmingly in support of a nationalized health-care system, meaning that healthcare should come under the domain of the government, away from private corporations. But, in spite of this unanimous support for a universal healthcare system (that includes universal insurance), the issue never crops up during presidential debates. The limitations of the two-party democratic system are also being exposed as a result. Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are funded by private corporations during election campaigns, the health-insurance lobby being one of the major contributors to campaign funds. Given such a setup, it is only natural that the public opinion is suppressed or ignored in favor of the vested private interests. Some intellectuals argue that the United States lags behind other industrialized nations in its health-care system, due to its Capitalist economy, which puts corporate profits ahead of public interest. The Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark are recognized to have the best universal healthcare systems in place. Although the GDP and per capita incomes of these nations are relatively small, the â€Å"socialist† basis of their political systems has ensured this favorable condition. Also, in these countries the mainstream media is not heavily concentrated in the hands of a few giant corporations, which is the case in America. This makes it easy for the real public opinion to be openly discussed and debated. More importantly, it is in the democratic tradition of these nations to include public sentiments and opinions in the debates leading up to elections. But unfortunately, such open expression of public sentiment is not possible in the American mainstream