Things Fall Apart Essay Example for Free

Things Fall Apart Essay Chinua Achebe’s novel â€Å"Things Fall Apart† tells the story of Okonkwo, an ambitious man from the Igbo village of Umuofia, in modern day Nigeria at the onset of the Colonial era. Okonkwo is a rising member of the society until he inadvertently kills a kinsman and must flee for seven years to his mother’s clan so as not to offend the earth goddess of the village. During this time, British Colonialism reaches the Igbo people and quickly alters their traditional way of life. Through this tale of the Igbo Achebe seeks to illustrate the complexities of African societies and how deeply these African societies were affected by Colonialism. Many Europeans entering Africa during the colonial period viewed African society as â€Å"primitive† and lacking the depth of western society. Achebe’s novel seeks to illustrate that far from being unstructured and chaotic, African society was very complex. Umuofian society was not parceled into different spheres of practice but instead maintained a delicate balance in which all aspects of society, from religion to gender roles, are intertwined in order to keep the society running smoothly. The village was lead by elders or men â€Å"of title† who earned their status mostly through personal achievements rather than inheritance (Achebe, 7). Achievements, wisdom, and age all merited respect. Essentially, this respect was a type of social capital that the man could exchange for political capital in a informal power structure. At times this leadership structure was stronger than others. Sometimes the elders of the village were distinguished in their position of authority, such as the times they perform religious tasks for the community. However, even when the role of the village leaders if defined they feel a responsibility to the community, as the only members of the society qualified to fill such prescribed roles. These social responsibilities did not officially come with their titles. Umuofia seemed to function on a consent basis, meaning that each person had to choose to keep society running smoothly. It was not uncommon for all the men to be called together to make a collective decision. For example, all the men of Umuofia were called to one large corporate meeting to decide a course of action when a neighboring village murdered a woman from their village. At this meeting, the elders of the community had no official political distinction, however, the respect accorded them by their social position helped their voices to be heard. Consent and collectivity were major facets of the Umuofian society that allowed for informal leadership. For example it is said that the â€Å"the village [collectively] imposes† a fine on anyone who lets his cow loose (Achebe, 68). The reason that Igbo society could function with such informal structure was the importance and knowledge of traditions. These traditions were taught to the children and young adults so that they would be able to participate in the script of village life. It is almost as if these formal traditions allowed for the informal leadership structure by tacking the role as the backbone of society. Nearly all aspects of life in the village were run by such formal traditions. For example, upon receiving a visitor, the owner of the house always presented a Kola nut, which they ate together as a sign of hospitality. The meeting of all the men is an additional example of this tradition because it was organized by a system of drums and â€Å"callers† under the expectation that the people would be able to interpret the call (Achebe, 8). There is social power in knowledge of these traditions. Kinship was an additional level of social control in the village of Umuofia and had two social consequences. Kinship was traced through patrilineage, with great respect given to the eldest male members of the family. This familial hierarchy reproduced the traditions that dictated social interactions by instilling these customs in the younger generations. The second consequence was the ties of kinship that connected the nine Igbo villages. While descent and clanship was traced through the father’s line, intermarriage among the villages created ties to the mother’s village and connected multiple clans. In this way, the Igbo society maintained nine autonomous, though interlinked, villages without a direct formal hierarchy of social or political power such, as a head chief or king between them. The greatest of all elders were the ancient ancestors and founders of Umuofia. These ancestors essentially filled the highest political roles in the village. They resided as judges over disputes and gave advice in troubled times. In this way it was not necessary, and would in fact have been an insult to the ancestors, for a man to fill the highest political role in the village because the ancestors had the final power anyway (Achebe, 55-57). It was said that â€Å"the land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestor† and that â€Å"a man’s life from birth to death†¦brought him nearer and nearer to the ancestors† (Achebe, 73). The deep complexity of Umuofian society meant that colonialism’s effects were devastating to the village’s way of life. The British administration which colonized the area did not understand the Umuofian traditions and instead decided to treat them like children who needed to be taught the proper ways of society (Achebe, 109). The beliefs and practices of the Christian missionaries were especially in contradiction to the traditions and beliefs that structured Umuofian society because the missionaries considered the ancestors to be false gods. They preached against them and effectively left the society without leaders. The colonial administration always saw situations from their perspective. As Achebe says â€Å"they had built a court where the district commissioner judged cases in ignorance† (99). For example, the British punished the elders of the clan for destroying the missionaries’ church because they thought they had the responsibility to keep order in the colony, while the clan leaders had thought they too were keeping order in the community by avenging the death of an ancestor and had the right to do so because it was their community. To compare the political structures of these two cultural groups, in Britain one person had ultimate political power, and society enforced this power, while Umuofian society required cooperation of all members and thus, I believe, showed a greater level of social integration than Britain, which relied heavily on its chain of command in order to function. Because of the intricacies of Umuofian society Britain was able to destabilize the whole of Umuofian society simply by affecting certain aspects of the society. Inversely the Umuofians would have had to dispose of the Queen of England to bring down the colonialists.

Ticonderoga and Crown Point :: essays research papers

The immediate object of the attack on the British Forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point on May 10 and 11, 1775 was first to capture the forts themselves, but also to obtain a cannon and supplies to use for the impending seige of Boston. Washington, who assumed command of the American forces on July 2, 1775, could not attempt this attack without heavy artillery, which was procured by Colonel Ethan Allen, Colonel Benedict Arnold and Colonel Seth Warner with Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys. Green Mountain Boys, was the name of a group of soldiers from Vermont led by Allen, Warner and Arnold. They took their name from the Green Mountains in Vermont. The Green Mountain Boys were originally organized by Ethan Allen before the revolution to protest the claims of the New York government to Vermont territory, and were later joined by Seth Warner and Benedict Arnold. Seth Warner, was born in Connecticut and later moved to Vermont, where he was declared an outlaw in 1771 for forcibly resisting a New York claim to the area, and had a reward offered for his capture. Under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, he participated in the seizure of Fort Ticonderoga and led the force that took Crown Point the next day. Later that year, he was elected lieutenant-colonel commandant of the Green Mountain Boys. Ethan Allen was also born Connecticut, moving to Vermont in 1769. He became involved in the struggle between New York and New Hampshire for control of the region, just like Allen was. The New York authorities rejected an appeal that the region be established as a separate province, and Allen organized a volunteer militia, called the Green Mountain Boys, to resist the New York cause. Volunteers were raised by the Committee of Correspondence. They recruited fifty men and three hundred pounds to set up the Green Mountain Boys. Allen too, was declared an outlaw by the governor of New York. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Allen and The Green Mountain Boys offered to fight against the British. Arnold was born in Connecticut and enlisted in the militia during the French and Indian War. Later, as a militia colonel, Arnold joined with Allen and The Green Mountain Boys to take Fort Ticonderoga .

Transportation in the Philippines

About 14 percent of the 158,810 km (98,110 mi) of roads in the Philippines are paved, this is in spite of the difficult mountainous terrain. In Metro Manila, there are many modes of transportation available. Buses, jeepneys, LRT, and taxis are readily available for use in getting around the city. Buses are available with air-conditioning or without. The price for riding in air-conditioning is about double what you would pay for riding without and use certain main routes. There are also charter bus lines available for those wanting to travel outside Manila. The most popular mode of transportation in Manila is the jeepney. As the name implies, it is basically a colorful jeep that looks like those used by the Americans during World War II. They have regular stops, as do buses, but will also stop if they are flagged down. Taxis are air-conditioned and can be found practically anywhere in Manila. On occasion a driver will say his meter is broken, if so, traveler beware! It is time to get out and find another taxi, as you will probably get overcharged by this scam. If a person traveling to the Philippines wishes to travel by car, but not in a taxi, they can rent a car, but need to have a valid international drivers license. For travelers staying in deluxe hotels, many offer limousine services. The LRT (Light Rail Transit) is the best way to get downtown and get around in Manila. It's relatively inexpensive and is very fast. In addition, the PRN (Philippine National Railways), which run by the state, is also an option for those traveling out of Manila. Railroad tracks cover about 1,060 km (660 mi) of the Philippines, and is limited due to its being mainly on Luzon. An option for traveling between the islands is to use ferries. For travelers not wishing to be on water, airline travel is another option since there are over 40 major provincial airports. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is just a kilometer from the Manila Domestic Airport and is about 7 miles from the center of Manila. NAIA also has many amenities from a medical clinic to banks and postal service in addition to duty-free shops, souvenir shops, tourist information centers and more. The airport in Cebu, Mactan International Airport (MIA), is about 45 minutes from the city's center and has duty-free shops, tourist information centers like the major airports in Manila. Roughly a fourth of the airports in the Philippines have paved runways – out of 262 airports, 75 runways are paved. PAL, the Philippines Airlines, is the national air carrier and serves Manila with links to 12 cities in 7 countries. It also has daily routes to 17 local cities. Major airlines from other countries also serve Manila. In addition, Cebu has chartered flights from Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. For chartered travel to smaller locations, there are several carriers available – Cebu Pacific, Asian Spirits, Mindanao Express Airlines, and SEAir, Incorporated. Cruise ships are served by Manila, with inter-island ships connecting Manila to other major island ports. The busiest seaports are Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga which are a part of the 3,219 km of waterways and seaports.

The Effects Of Journalism On Today s Media - 916 Words

There is no doubt that journalism has changed from what it was in the past. The new form of journalism has its benefits, but many journalists would argue that there are major problems with today’s media, especially in its news coverage, that would negate the benefits of this new era of journalism. The biggest problems with today’s media coverage are the emotion driven bias of news articles and the struggle to report the truth to the general public. Emotion is, and always has been, an easy tool to exploit throughout journalism’s existence and today’s media coverage takes full advantage of that fact. In the article â€Å"Taking Sides in Ferguson†, journalist Noah C. Rothman describes the shameful events of the Ferguson riots that took place in August of 2014. After the shooting of an African American teen by a local police officer, the town of Ferguson formed peaceful protests and eventually, riots. The riots swelled into chaos resulting in destructio n of both the town’s infrastructure and local businesses including â€Å"[a] local QuickTrip convenience store [that] was burnt to the ground†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Rothman 19). Reporters and journalists, instead of reporting solid facts and keeping distance from the riots, â€Å"became part of the unrest itself.†(Rothman 20). Not only the reporters became emotionally invested in the riots, but also the threat of the hostile actions of police consumed the readers of the printed news articles. The whole situation was an act of passion instead of what it should haveShow MoreRelatedEssay on How Sensationalism Affects Eve1135 Words   |  5 Pages How Sensationalism Affects Everyone Involved In today ¡Ã‚ ¦s society journalism is under close scrutiny and is losing its credibility. Sensationalism effects both those who receive it in addition to those who report it. 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