Postcolonial Novel Essay Example for Free

Postcolonial Novel Essay To fully understand Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart, one must not fall for the idea that there is one main purpose for the novel. Simply stated the story is much too rich and complex for that. The themes of Okonkwo’s life, and the Ibo culture, are twofold: it is the relation of the conflict between an individual and society, and also the description of the conflict between the larger forces of cultures clashing. Support for this dual thesis is overwhelming. To begin with the text itself demands that interpretation. Things Fall Apart clearly begins with a focus directly aimed upon the main character of Okonkwo. It is going to revolve around his life. However, at the very same time, the protagonist is not mentioned even one time early on without being connected simultaneously with thoughts of both his home village and the larger culture of the Ibo people. This cannot be ignored. One could argue that rather than being a larger purpose book Things Fall Apart is just a novel of the life and growth of one man, but this is rather silly and simple. The title of the book puts one right on the path to refuting this, giving context to a larger meaning. It is clearly encouraging one to look at larger ‘things’ as opposed to a person. This is coupled with the basis for the title itself, quoted on the flyleaf: The Yeats’ poem The Second Coming: Turning and turning in a widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. (Quoted in Things Fall Apart). Therefore given the context of a large chaotic world it would be more than naive to assume a different interpretation, that of a more concentrated work based upon an individual. To best prove the ambivalent statement of purpose about Achebe’s novel it is vital to review critical and popular commentary. This book has struck a highly resonant chord with readers in the fifty years since its first publication. It unabashedly describes an African culture in such a way that the power of the society is shown, and the power of the African individual is also demonstrated. Naturally, all minority groups and oppressed people can find inspiration within the pages. As a result, as may be expected, strong opinions have been catalogued as analysis over time. This paper reviews two such supports for each purpose stated in the thesis. The first part deals with the conflict between individuals and society. The primary source naturally is the book itself. Briefly paraphrased Okonkwo is a well known warrior. He is extremely self centered and important at the beginning of the novel. This has as its roots a severe cynicism regarding the life and experiences of his father Unoka. In a world where the society of Ibo is stronger than the individuals, this lack of respect seeps into Okonkwo’s world. The foible is too much and eventually pits him at odds with his society. Charles H. Rowell held a conversation regarding this aspect of Things Fall Apart with the author himself. What resulted was a fine understanding and awareness of this thesis through the words of Achebe. One example of his thought process and the workings of the story of Okonkwo on a personal level is this answer. â€Å"People are expecting from literature serious comment on their lives. They are not expecting frivolity† (250). Or as Rowell comments, the creation of Achebe’s stories such as Okonkwo’s are not made just to entertain. They are to connect with readers about their own experiences and then instruct them from there. Rowell’s interview shows an awareness of the importance of the social story. His questions aim to reveal this oft overlooked aspect of writings such as Things Fall Apart. It is tempting, he relates to merely dismiss (if this is even fair wording) the book as commenting only on the larger theme of Ibo society and what happens when an established social realm is invaded by foreigners. Instead he and Achebe through the discussion point to the power of a narrative surrounding the conflict that one can have on a smaller, more concentrated level: the conflict that occurs when one runs counter to their own society’s expectations. When Okonkwo becomes too heavily involved on a personal level with the sacrifice of the neighboring Mbaino culture, he runs into direct opposition to the world directly around him. That and his character traits create early conflict and show to the world a story based upon that – an important revelation to readers across the spectrum that may find themselves sometimes in this predicament. The biography of Achebe by Ezenwa-Ohaeto reveals this purpose to be true as well. And this comes from a treatment of just where Achebe was in his own personal life and the moods and hopes that he possessed while writing the book. He was working as a controller at the time in Eastern Region when he first began attempting to introduce Things Fall Apart to the publishing world. At this time, he ran into the sort of direct conflict with his own society, ironically, that he would develop in the story of Okonkwo. There was great objection to a book about Africans by Africans at the time. The 1950s were not exactly a compassionate moment for the words of Africans. Independence was on the horizon for many countries, but there was also a great deal of fear. This desire of many to not rock the boat, so to speak, put those who would speak out in a path of intersection with their own society (65). This only encouraged Achebe to produce a vision of that for his protagonist. There must be the strong character trait in one that wishes to change his social culture for the better, he reflects in his novel. The experience of Okonkwo is the experience of an individual in conflict with his society and the results that may come, unexpected or not, from that. The second section concerns itself with the conflict inherent when two cultures clash. This is the broader perspective, necessarily, compared to the experience of the individual. This also is the more basic and popular understanding of the novel. It is very easy to see all of the reasons why. Again, a look at the primary source of the novel is the starting point for any discussion. Commentary on the book will never quite serve the reader as well as the book itself. And what does it indicate? Most of the second section of the story is examining what happened to the Ibo people and their culture when the white culture insidiously worked their way into it. It broke the home culture into pieces. Things did, indeed fall apart. Consider this quote directly from the book: If we fight the stranger we shall hit our brothers and perhaps shed the book of a clansman. But we must do it. Our fathers never dreamed of such a thing, they never killed their brothers. But a white man never came to them. So we must do what our fathers would never have done. (Achebe 203). There is no better analysis of this second theme of Achebe’s work. Two cultures clash. Chaos results. And yet that is only the superficial layer of the problem, as this quote clearly shows. The problem that occurs when cultures come into contact and then conflict with each other is the assimilation effect. There will always be faction that fall prey to the invaders and their attractive ideas. Sometimes that is enough for them to forget the values of their peoples. This conflict then with their own home society can cause open resentment and actual warfare. Then the culture falls into shambles even worse as shared societal values are discarded. In the end there are not only two social cultures left: the home and the invaders. There are three: the home culture, the invaders, and the home culture that is infected by the invaders. None of them are true allies and only further conflict can be expected. Chapter three of John Ball’s book Satire and the Postcolonial Novel (79-114) examines this issue and the breakdown that results from it. He takes the even larger view that is used often as well when looking at the clashing of the Ibo with the whites that have come into their world. He reviews this setting of Things Fall Apart to be a criticism and revelation of the greater issues of colonialism in Africa (and other parts of the world, for that matter) as seen through one African author’s eyes. Rather than look too thoroughly at the early parts of the novel, he focuses rather on the part of the book in which the two cultures come into contact. This is the point of departure for this second theme. It is accurate to say that most of the pages from that spot and onward deal with this cultural clashing issue. I think, too, that it is accurate that this does work as a satire. That is to say that I fully believe that Achebe is trying to achieve this effect. Only too well did he personally understand what happens when two completely variant cultures meet. His hope and the hope of the Africans around him was that if treated peacefully, the foreign culture would come in and only benefit them, but he also saw the harsher side of the realities. This is how Things Fall Apart deals with the situation. Ball is not the only one who could see this expression in the novel and in other works by Achebe. It is a strong defense of the idea that one of the two main themes of the book is that of what happens when two cultures clash. A final proof would use is Isidore Okpewho’s commentary on Achebe in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Casebook. She sees too this problem with assimilation, cultural conflict and resultant expectations. These are all the values and stories of Things Fall Apart. Seen from the outside she has several comments and thoughts about how these topics are addressed by connecting them to the outside world at the time of the writing. She describes the authorship of this book as being a â€Å"succession of forces controlling his [Achebe’s] development as a writer† (5). This is a great assessment. It sets the stage for understanding the direction of his landmark work Things Fall Apart. It is indeed this stage that the book concerns itself with. There is a succession of forces, to use Okpewho’s words, that are acting upon the Ibo culture. These control the development of the world of that African region and create mass conflict between the two cultures. The assimilation effects, she continues, were strongest in the Ibo part of the world. This is accurately reflected, too, in the sinister ways in which the foreigners crept in with their influences. That is the warning cry of Okonkwo with the text. He sees that the policy of indirect rule is only designed to place one group of people into opposition with another group of their own people. This splinters and fragments the strength of the initial cultures. It created enemies where there weren’t any other, as reflected in the quote concerning the killing of brethren, used above. This was the white way. It is no surprise then, that this theme would find its way so strongly into Things Fall Apart. The topic is addressed as a cautionary tale. Achebe had already seen this happen in his own world. He saw the sad results. He knew how destructive the penetration of home cultures could be. All of these can be found in Part Three of the book. â€Å"It is already too late,† said Obierika sadly. â€Å"Our own men and our sons have joined the ranks of the stranger. They have joined his religion and they help to uphold his government† (176). It is the despondent tone of the theme describing the clash of cultures. All of the above commentary from several sources, combined with a close and analytical reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart reveals the thesis to be strongly supported. Of the novel’s purpose, two things then are true: it aim to relate an expression of conflict between an individual and society, while concurrently exploring the description of conflicts resulting from the larger forces of cultures clashing. References Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print. Ball, John C. Satire the Postcolonial Novel: V. S. Naipaul, Chinua Achebe, Salman Rushdie. New York: Routledge, 2003. 79-114. Print. Ohaeto, Ezenwa. Chinua Achebe: A Biography. Oxford: James Currey, 1997. Print. Okpewho, Isidore, Ed. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Casebook. Oxford: UP, 2003. Print. Rowell, Charles H. â€Å"An Interview with Chinua Achebe. † Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Casebook. Ed. Isidore Okpewho. Oxford: UP, 2003. 249-272. Print. Conversations with Chinua Achebe. Ed. Bernth Lindfors. Jackson, MS: UP, 1997. Print.

Reaction to Beloved :: essays research papers

Reaction To Beloved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie Beloved was a tale of a woman who is so devastated by the evil of slavery. Therefore she is willing to kill her toddler daughter rather than allow her to be taken back into the horror. This murderous act proves itself to be a choice, which only further enslaves her soul as her daughter’s ghost haunts her life. The movie was set in the 1800’s. Sethe is a pregnant slave on a Kentucky plantation named Sweet Home. She was under control by a violent slave master. To me there is no reason or excuse for this kind of evil. The enslavement and brutal treatment of our fellow human beings is a spiritual scar.   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‚  When Sethe gives birth to Beloved and is reunited with her children in Ohio. The happiness of this reunion is turn into a tragic event as she sees her former master riding up to the house with the local sheriff. Sethe knows that he is coming back to take her children back into slavery, she runs into the shed, cuts the throat of her two year old daughter, Beloved, and hits her sons’ heads with a shovel. Her sons didn’t die but beloved did. Soon after the tragic event the spirit of Beloved haunts Sethe’s house. The scene of seeing Sethe kill Beloved is very disturbing to witness. The ghostly tantrum of Beloved comes back over and over again to disrupt Sethe’s home. Her two sons become very scared by the haunts of Beloved. Sethe’s younger daughter, Denver becomes calm with her mother and the ghost, and she never leaves the house and yard. Sethe also becomes ok with the ghost presence in the house. She keeps denying that she did anything wrong by killing Beloved. So she feels that she doesn’t need any help.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is often the way evil take over our lives. Rather than having the courage to face the evil we suffer , as Sethe did she affected her own children with this violence. Sethe became in denial with her responsibility. She accepted the pain of her guilt and shame with a lie towards her dignity. She felt everything was right and didn’t want to ask for forgiveness and victory over the evil. But soon a physical form of Beloved comes to Sethe’s house. The girl who act as Beloved is real and demanding like a spoiled child.

Job Description of School Counselors

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook, in the broadest sense, counselors assist people with personal, family, educational, mental health, and career decisions and problems. Their duties depend on the individuals they serve and on the settings in which they work. In school settings-elementary through post secondary these professionals are normally called school counselors. Their role is to work with students, including those considered to be at risk and with special needs. They advocate for students and work with other individuals and organizations to promote the academic, career, and personal and social development of children and youths. School counselors help children and youth understand and deal with social, behavioral, and personal problems (U.S. Dept. Labor, 2005). Vocational counselors, also called employment or career counselors, primarily provide career counseling. These individuals are located both within and external to the school setting. Their main focus is supporting individuals of all ages and backgrounds with their occupational decisions. Vocational counselors explore and evaluate the client's education, training, employment history, interests, talents, and personality traits, and arrange for aptitude and achievement tests to assist in making career decisions (U.S. Dept. Labor, 2005). Marriage and family counselors are trained to support individuals, significant partners, family groups, couples, or organizations to resolve emotional and psychological conflicts. They work toward altering people's perceptions and behaviors, enhancing communication and understanding among all family members, and helping to prevent family and individual crises. Depending on their specific concerns, individuals who have mental or physical disabilities may see any of these counselors for support or else respectively mental health and rehabilitation counselors. Mental health counselors work with individuals, families, and groups to analyze, address and treat mental and emotional disorders and to promote optimal mental health. They are trained in a variety of therapeutic techniques required to address a broad range of concerns such as depression, addiction and substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, stress management, self-esteem issues, ageism, occupational problems, educational decisions, and relationship problems. Mental health counselors often work closely with other mental health specialists, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, and school counselors (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2005). Rehabilitation counselors support people who must cope with the personal, social, and vocational effects of disabilities. They counsel disabled individuals who are coping with birth defects, illness or disease, accidents, or daily stress. They evaluate the strengths and challenges of these individuals, offer specialized and vocational counseling, and arrange for medical care, training, and job placement. Rehabilitation counselors meet both with disabled individuals as well as their families, evaluate school and medical reports and make suggestions, and confer and plan with physicians, psychologists, educators, occupational therapists, and employers to determine the capabilities and skills of the individual. Conferring with the client, they develop a rehabilitation program that frequently consists of training to help the person develop job skills. Rehabilitation counselors also work toward increasing the client's capacity to live independently (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2005). The article â€Å"Vocational attainment of adults with CF: success in the face of adversity† (Burker, 2005, 22) discusses the unique needs of those suffering from Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a fatal inherited disease found in industrialized nations that affects multiple body systems but has the greatest impact on the lungs and pancreas. The article reports that despite the fact that there has been an increase in the number of working-age individuals with CF in the past two decades, research on career choice, work status and work disability of individuals with this disease has received very little attention. Information about the vocational potential for individuals with CF indicates limited expectation for vocational success. The researchers, who studied the vocational status of 183 adults with CF, provided information about this group's vocational potential. Important findings were: (1) the majority of participants were either working or in school; (2) those employed were working in professional, technical, managerial, clerical and sales occupations; (3) the jobs held varied in physical demands and strength ratings, and; (4) patients with skilled jobs were more likely to have maintained their positions than those with unskilled jobs. The researchers concluded that: these numbers are impressive given that the majority of these individuals were sick enough to be evaluated for their candidacy for lung transplant. These data suggest that, as with most people, vocation is an important part of life, and many individuals with CF go to school and achieve in careers and work despite their declining health. Rehabilitation counselors should consider people with CF as viable candidates for successful job placement. In other words, the differences between the CF and non-CF candidates in regards to vocational counseling needs may not be as different as expected. There is a greater overlap in their counseling needs. Each generation, depending on the present society and its issues, will have varying concerns. Due to the war in Iraq, increasing numbers of men and women are seeking help from counselors due to post traumatic stress syndrome. The journal report, â€Å"The prediction of levels of post traumatic stress levels by depression among veterans with disabilities† (Martz, 2005, 56), found a high correlation between this syndrome and depression. The researchers thus concluded that if a veteran with a disability shows some form of depression, then mental health professionals should also seriously consider the possibility of the simultaneous existence of post traumatic stress symptoms. Such knowledge, as found in this above study, can provide counselors with more information and understanding about their patient's psychological status. Rehabilitation counselors can utilize this information to aid in a more effective recovery. Such findings also demonstrate the importance of increased communication among various forms of counselors and the need for counselors to expand their knowledge about the changing psychological and emotional support of their patients.

Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost Practice Question