Status Symbols In Things Fall Apart

In her essay McIntosh, discusses how “[p]ower from unearned privilege can look like strength when it is in fact permission to escape or to dominate” (31). Like McIntosh, my social status has allowed me to meet inspirational people who are willing to give me the opportunities I other wise would not encounter. For example, I can say with confidence that my own social ranking has allowed me to experience life with no limitations, “I could think of myself as belonging in major ways and of making social systems work for me” (31). One’s social class is determined due to several different factors. However, our economic standing is a huge part in determining the social rankings we are part of.

In the book Things Fall Apart, there are many things that fall apart. The major aspect that fell apart is the clan. There are many major foreshadowing events that showed the decline of the clan, including the locusts, the accidental death of a boy by Okonkwo forcing the exile of his family, and the arrival of the white missionaries. When the missionaries arrive, they start to oppress their religion onto the people of the clan. They are seemed to be crazy, and almost disrespectful of the clan’s customs on religion. As this is happening, Okonkwo is caught in an exile for him and his three wives and children. The exile is caused by an accidental killing of a boy by Okonkwo. After they return to Umuofia after seven years, they are blindsided by

Symbolism is when an author gives an object in a story a deeper abstract meaning that is universally understood. S.E. Hinton uses symbolism a lot in “The Outsiders” to put a deeper meaning on everything she writes about. The three main symbols I’d like to talk about is the puddle of blood, the moonlight, and lastly how the cement looks.

The archetype of the number three is used a lot in Things Fall Apart. Both Okonkwo and his Father, Unoka married three women. Also, “for three years Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo’s household,” (10). The number three can be an archetype of family, generations, time, and trinity. Each man having three wives shows family and Ikemefuna living with Okonkwo for three years represents time, and the past, present, and future.

Have you ever been told something like “you can’t hang out with him, he’s not like us.” If so, social hierarchy plays a key role in your life. In To Kill a Mockingbird there are many examples of social hierarchy. The story is set in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s. It is made clear in the book that social classes play a huge part in the lives of everyone in Macomb and affects what they say or do, how they treat others, and why they end up in certain situations.

When I was thirteen years old, I joined National Charity League of Tustin. At the time, I did not really know my place in helping the community, but I did know that I wanted to make a difference in any way possible. The first event I did for NCL was the Ronald McDonald House. That is where volunteers come to cook meals for the seriously ill children who are getting treatment, and their families. While volunteering there, I talked with and befriended some of children at the residence. Their radiant happiness made me reflect on the times when I felt that something bad was happening to me. All the “problems” I thought I had in my life could not compare to the true misfortune of others. It made me realize that if these children can stay happy even

I find this explanation to be consistent with the idea of ageism, the devaluing of the aged. I choice this topic because I found it to be relatable to my own life. I am an African American female who comes from a lower middle class family. Like the aging, I am faced with societal challenges daily to include discrimination

Human history has always contained some form of social hierarchy and structure. The Roman civilization was distinctively divided into extremely poor and extremely rich people. Early American settlements had a class structure to organize society and establish an organized society. However, even though class systems have always been present throughout history does not mean that they are great. As a result, in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald argues that class and classism are dangerous to society by indicating the benefits that the wealthy have over the poor, the consequences people must face as a result of class, and the limitations of social mobility.

According to Tommy Douglas, “Man can now fly in the air like a bird, swim under the ocean like a fish, he can burrow into the ground like a mole. Now if only he could walk the earth like a man, this would be paradise.” The use of birds have been used as different symbols in literature has been prevalent during our readings, some literature I would like to emphasis on is the film Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Birds directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, The Birds Daphne du Maurier, the musical art work of Charlie Parker Ornithology. The use of birds has been present to most of these books and film adaptations, but one film that had a lot bird-like symbols was the film Apocalypse Now.

The most crucial and influential figures of Alpha culture are those of achieved status. Status is commonly achieved by success in business, mastering a craft, skilled artists, writers and philosophers, or those who remain closest to the Great Spirit. There is recognition for mastery but the culture

When writing a novel, authors use distinct literary devices to aid in making the genre of their story apparent to their reader. Specifically, many use these literary devices to draw attention to details that establish a dystopian genre. A dystopia is somewhere where people lead dehumanized and fearful lives (Merriam-Webster). In dystopian societies, propaganda, societal oppression, and totalitarian control often elicit fear and obedience. An example of this is the novel 1984 written by George Orwell. This novel contains ambiguous symbols such as Big Brother, the God-like ruler of Oceania. Aspects such as this contribute to the nature of dystopian genres. After analyzing concepts such as the all knowing Big Brother and the telescreens that are required by the government, the reader notices dystopian aspects. To further portray this concept, the setting of the city and symbols in everyday life expand the readers view of dystopian aspects. Orwell uses literary devices such as setting, symbolism, and euphemisms in order to portray a dystopian genre through the use of Big Brother, the city Oceania and its citizens, and other concepts in the novel.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel written to highlight the intriguing lives and misconceptions that are often identified with African culture. Achebe writes Things Fall Apart from the African view, a foreign perspective that sees westerners as the outsiders and Africans as the insiders. Focusing on a clan in lower Nigeria, Achebe profiles the clash of cultures that erupts when white Christians colonize and spread their religious ideals. Achebe is able to make his book so popular to the entire world because of his expert use of symbols like drums, locusts, and fire. These common symbols in which drums represent the beat of all civilization, locusts represent invasion by an outsider, and fire represents destruction, all aid

In Book I of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that the ultimate human goal or end is happiness. Aristotle describes the steps required for humans to obtain happiness. Aristotle states that activity is an important requirement of happiness. He states that a happy person cannot be inactive. He then goes on to say that living a life of virtue is something pleasurable in itself. The virtuous person takes pleasure in doing virtuous things. The role of virtue is an important one for Aristotle. Without virtue, it seems one cannot obtain happiness. Virtue acts as a linking factor to happiness.

One of the most important themes in the novel is the important of class. Fitzgerald makes it evident that the social classes are divided by the setting, the possessions thy have and how that certain individual interacts and behaves with other people. This is shown by Fitzgerald uses powerful adjectives and verbs to portray to the reader what that character is like. I am looking at the importance of class as this is the reason for the differences in the characters.

Soldiers were part of the upper middle class and often fought in quarrels or wars and were respected in the society. The middle class was made up of skilled workers such as doctors, artisans, merchants, scribes, merchants, and storekeepers. People needed to buy things from artisans and merchants so they generally had a fair life and made money. At the bottom of the social pyramid were slaves, farmers, and servants who made up the majority of the population in Ancient Egypt. Farmers raised animals, worked in the field, and also built royal monuments.