Albert Chinualumogu Achebe †Things Fall Apart

Albert Chinualumogu Achebe – Things Fall Apart Free Online Research Papers Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was born on November 16, 1930 in a large village in Nigeria called Ogidi. His father was a Protestant missionary and he received an English education in his early childhood. Despite his background, he had a multicultural upbringing. This is due to the fact that the inhabitants of Ogidi still followed many ancient and traditional Igbo culture. Achebe attended the Government College from 1944 to 1947 and graduated from University College, Ibadan in 1953. While he was in college, he studied history and theology. After developing a profound interest in Nigerian cultures, he dropped his Christian name of Albert and picked up his native name of Chinua. Achebe was a founder of the Nigerian literary movement in the 1950’s. He wanted to help others learn that cultures in Africa were more than what meets the eye. He wanted to show that native Africans were not as primitive, language-less, and socially backward as Englishmen like Joseph Conrad displayed in literary pieces. In his response to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Achebe published Things Fall Apart in 1959. Things Fall Apart depicts a man named Okonwo and his family. Okonwo is a wealthy warrior who strives to uphold his manliness and not show any amount of weakness. He feels disgraced by his father who died poor and of a shameful death. His main goal in life is to gain the power and wealth that his father never had. He finds his twelve-year-old son lazy and worries that he will one day become his father. Along the way, Okonwo gains a young boy whom he admires as a son. His biological son looks to him as an older brother. The boy eventually must be killed and starts the beginning of the demise of Okonwo. At the ceremony honoring a village warrior who has passed, Okonwo’s gun accidently explodes and the elder’s son is killed. This causes Okonwo and his family to go into exile for seven years. When they return, Christians have settled into their village and converted many of the villagers. In a desperate attempt to regain the strength Okonwo once had, he kills one of the Christian missionaries. He immediately realizes that the rest of his colony does not want to go to war and does not follow his steps to kill the other Christians. Believing his future fate will be much worse and feeling like nothing more than a disgrace, Okonwo commits the greatest sin. He is found by the village commissioners after hanging himself. Throughout the story, Okonwo strives for nothing more than masculinity. His want for this trait is in result of his feelings for his father. He wants to be on top of his father’s legacy and known as a greater man. His father was against war, he was extremely poor, and had a love of language. To Okonwo, he was a complete failure. Okonwo avenged his father by becoming a wealthy warrior. He gained respect in his village by defeating Amalinze the Cat in a wrestling match. When a member of the village is murdered in a nearby village, Okonwo is sent to retrieve a virgin and a young man from the wrongful village. The young man, Ikemefuna is sent to live with Okonwo, his three wives, and eight children. The boy soon becomes part of the family and shows much potential to be a strong warrior. Okonwo is very fond of him but does not show this. Weakness is his greatest fear. For him, to be weak is to be womanly. When Okonwo finds out that Ikemefuna is to be murdered in repentance for the woman who died in his own village, he is extremely upset. Although he does not show it, he considers Ikemefuna a son and is very distraught by his upcoming fate. He is told not to take part in the murder because of the bond that they share. When it comes time, Okonwo disregards the orders in order to show his masculinity. When his son finds out about Ikemefuna’s fate, he is very upset. This breaks Okonwo down inside and he goes into a depression. He feels weak and has no desire to eat. His daughter Ezinma brings him dinners and insists that he eat all of his food. Okonwo wishes that Ezinma was a boy. He thinks she has the â€Å"spirit.† His want for his favorite child to be male shows that he has a secret desire to have close bonds with his actual sons. He does not admit this because affection is another thing that Okonwo regards as weakness. He does not want Ezinma to be a boy because of her masculine traits, but he values their bond of sympathy and understanding. Okonwo finds out one morning that Ezinma is dying and he and one of his wives must send her with a priestess to Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves for healing. They are told not to follow. His wife immediately disregards these orders and secretly follows right away. Okonwo waits a little while before following. When he reaches the cave and find that they have not yet arrived, he returns home. After checking the cave several times, he finally finds his wife. He waits to follow in order to uphold his strength as a man. Being worried right away would show a feminine weakness that he refuses to posses. During the ordeal however, Okonwo finds that his wife posses an amount of strength and bravery for defying the gods to protect her child. At the funeral of a fellow warrior, Okonwo’s gun blows up and he accidently kills the warrior’s son. Because of this, he and his family are forced into exile for seven years. One of Okonwo’s wives questions him as to why they receive such a harsh punishment for an obvious accident. This forces Okonwo to finally mourn the death of his wife’s twins and wonders what crime they possibly could have committed. This shows that Okonwo is starting to come out of his shell, so to speak. It is apparent that he is not the brute uncaring man that he pretends to be. While in exile, Christian missionaries inhabit his homeland, and his mother’s native village where they are staying. He soon learns that his son has joined them and Okonwo is outraged. By not following suit with the village’s ways, he is disregarding his masculinity and being weak. It seems that his main reason for disregarding Christianity is that he would have to come to terms with killing Ikemefuna. He would lose his religious justice in doing so. When he returns to his village, Okonwo finds that his once war-like people have changed. Many of them have converted to Christianity and those who have not, are peacefully living alongside everyone else. When his son departs the family to live with the Christian missionaries, Okonwo shows no remorse. He is still striving to get back on top of power and importance. In doing so, he continues to preach the extremely violent qualities of true masculinity. He still shows that he refuses to acknowledge aggressiveness and pensiveness as anything other than gender related qualities, even though he has experienced situations opposite of his beliefs within himself and his wife. When some problems arise with members of the church, the villagers ceremonially burn the church down. Those who took part in the burning, Okonwo included, were arrested by church officials and beaten in prison. Once they are released the clan has an enormous meeting. While it seems that other members of the clan wish to make amends with the Christians, Okonwo still want to go to war. When a messenger of the Christians comes in to tell the villagers to disband the meeting, Okonwo slays him with his machete. Realizing at once that none of his clansmen are going to support his decision, he leaves. Later, church officials come to look for Okonwo and find that he has hung himself. Suicide is one of the greatest sins to the villagers and it shows an immense amount of weakness, the one thing that Okonwo feared all along. By killing himself, he attempted to stop others from viewing him as cowardly. He wanted to die on his own terms. At the end of the story Okonwo is just as unsuccessful as his father was. He died poor, weak, and shameful. By killing the messenger, he makes his last attempt to assert his manhood. When he realizes that his attempts are obviously futile, he gives up completely. Everything that Okonwo did was based on masculinity and strength. He never wanted to appear weak, but when he realized that his life would soon end and he was horribly like his father, he could not bear to go on. All along, Okonwo showed signs of his view of weaknesses but he suppressed them. In the end they got the best of him and finally broke him. 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September Writing Prompts for Grade School Students

September Writing Prompts for Grade School Students September is a great month for teachers and students to start the habit of daily writing. Writing every day, even for a short time, can set the foundations for great achievements during the year ahead. These prompts have been chosen to highlight key holidays and commemorations during September and are great for daily warm-ups or journal entries. Month of September: Better Breakfast MonthClassical Music MonthNational School Success MonthRead-a-New-Book Month Writing Prompt Ideas for September September 1st  Theme: Nursery RhymesThe childhood rhyme  Mary Had a Little Lamb  (1830) is based on an incident in the life of  Mary  Sawyer of Sterling, Massachusetts. when her lamb followed her to school one day.What was your favorite nursery rhyme as a child? Why do you think you liked it so much?September 2nd Theme: Better Breakfast MonthWhat is your idea of a wonderful breakfast? Describe exactly what youd serve.September 3rd  Theme: Labor DayThe  first Monday in September is set aside as an annual national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. According to the United States Department of Labor website, Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.How does your family celebrate Labor Day weekend?September 4th  Theme: Classical Music MonthHave you ever listened to classical music? What is your feeling about it? Why do y ou feel that way?September 5th  Theme: Pizza (National Cheese Pizza Day)Describe your perfect pizza. Include details about the crust, sauce, and toppings. September 6th Theme: Read a Book DayThere are studies that show the positive effects of reading on social well-being. Reading fiction improves a readers ability to understand other peoples beliefs, desires, and thoughts that are different from their own.Do you like to read? If so, what type of things do you like to read: books, magazines, websites, etc. If not, why dont you like to read?September 7th  Theme: Neither Rain Nor Snow DayThe unofficial creed of the United States Postal Service is embodied in this quote found on the James Farley Post Office in New York City:Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.Describe the difficulties that you that mail carriers might face on any given day? Do you think this is a hard job? Would you want to be a mail carrier?September 8th Theme: Anniversary of the Day Ford Pardoned NixonOn September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon of any wrongdoin g associated with Watergate. Why do you think Ford pardoned him? Do you think he should have? Why or why not? September 9th  Theme: Grandparents DayWhat are three qualities that you think make an excellent grandparent? Why do you think they need these qualities.September 10th Theme: T.V. Dinner DayDo you think that it is important for families to eat dinner together at least a few times a week? Why or why not?September 11th Theme: 9-11 World Trade Center Remembrance DayYou can have students listen to former Poet Laureate Billy Collins read his poem The Names.Write a poem or piece of prose commemorating those who died on the 9/11 attacks.September 12th Theme: National Day of EncouragementWhich person do you feel has inspired and encouraged you the most in your life? Explain your answer.September 13th Theme: Scooby Doos BirthdayIf you were in a Scooby-Doo episode, who would you like to be paired up with as you hunt for ghosts: Scooby and Shaggy, Fred, Velma, or Daphne? Why?September 14th Theme: Pet Memorial DayDescribe your favorite pet, living or dead. If you have never had a pet, explain w hat type of pet youd like to have and what you would name it. September 15th Theme: National School Success MonthWhat do you think you can do to become more successful in your classes at school? Explain your answer.September 16th Theme: Mayflower DayPretend you were on the Mayflower on that first voyage to settle in America. Describe your feelings upon leaving England and then seeing your new home.September 17th Theme: Constitution DayResources on The Constitution Center website: Explore the best, nonpartisan, interactive Constitution on the web, featuring materials written by the top constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum.Journal topic: If you could only keep one of the following rights, which would it be? Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of the Press. Explain your answerSeptember 18th Theme: Childhood (National Play-Doh Day)Do you miss elementary school? Why or why not?September 19th Theme: Talk Like a Pirate DayWrite a poem or a paragraph as if you were a pirate describing all the treas ure youve plundered. Make sure to write like a pirate. September 20th Theme: Chicken Dance DayToday is Chicken Dance Day. Why do you think that many adults enjoy dances like the Chicken Dance and the Hokey Pokey? Do you enjoy them? Why or why not?September 21st  Theme: World Gratitude DayName five things that you are grateful for. Explain why you are grateful for each.September 22nd Theme: Dear Diary DayCreate a diary entry about a special day. This can be a real day in your own life or a fictional diary entry. Make sure to start with Dear Diary.September 23rd Theme: Checkers DayYouve been asked to play either checkers or chess. Which would you pick and why?September 24 Theme: National Punctuation DayWhich punctuation mark do you have the most problem using correctly? You can choose from the period, comma, colon, or semicolon.September 25th Theme: National Comic Book DayThe comic book market in  North America has reached as high as  $1 billion  annually.Do you read comic books? Why or why not?September 26th Theme: Banned BooksBan ned Books Week is an annual event first launched in 1982 that celebrates the freedom to read. According to the  Banned Books Week website:This is an effort to bring together the entire book community - librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types - in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.Do you think that school libraries should ban certain books? Support your opinion. September 27th Theme: Ancestor Appreciation DayWrite about your favorite ancestor. If you dont know if your ancestor or dont have a favorite one, tell which favorite person you wish was your ancestor. Explain your reasons for picking this person.September 28th Theme: Good Neighbor DayIn the poem Mending Wall by Robert Frost, the neighbor states Good fences make good neighbors. Explain what you think that statement means.September 29th Theme: Coffee DayAre you a fan of coffee? If so, why do you like it? What way do you like to drink it? If not, why not?September 30th Theme: Chewing Gum DayTake a stand either for or against chewing gum. Write three arguments to support your opinion.