The Thing Around Your Neck Essay

Chinua Achebe’s critically acclaimed novel Things Fall Apart tells the story of a decorated and powerful chief of the Igbo village tribe named Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a strong independent man who came up from nothing in his life and refused to return to earth as the same way he started, he believed he was destined for greatness. Perhaps Okonkwo’s most driving factor for this is his father died a beggar and he became disgusted how his father went out with no achievements or accomplishments to his name. Okonkwo is very prideful as a result of his humble upbringing and believes that the only way one can be successful is through Old Ways of the Igbo Tribe. As a result, Okonkwo is hell-bent

The story is written as a second person narrative. This style puts the reader in the position of the main character. We are never told the main character’s name, making it easier for the reader to relate to the character. Writing in the second person also challenges the reader, putting them in the position of the main character.

Adichie’s characters are subject to cultural suppression in several of the short stories. This is most pronounced in ‘The Arrangers of Marriage’ where Chinaza is forced by her husband to assimilate to her new surroundings by ridding herself of all signs of being Nigerian,

He never took his studies seriously because he gave himself the impression that he was surely going to travel to America. When Lilian, his close friend travelled to America. Her travelling increased his urge to travel abroad, and He began disturbing his relatives either to send him money or to help him with his travelling. However, they told him that life in America was not an easy one. When Lilian came back, she spoke to Okocha based on life and everything in America. Ever since then, he changed his view towards life in abroad, he faced his education seriously, and now, as I write he presently owns the one of the largest petroleum companies in Nigeria. If my uncle could change his view towards life in America, I do not see the reason anyone who reads Tettes article would change his or hers. In addition, Tettes article can serve as a preparatory to prepare the African youths for the challenges ahead of them on arriving here. For example, I had a close friend named Natasha I have never seen anyone like her that have longed to travel abroad. She played the visa lottery three times but unfortunately, she never won it. She eventually bumped into an old classmate of hers who helped her in travelling to abroad. Natasha sold her all her belongings and travelled abroad. When she arrived, she found out that things never worked out the way she thought. She had to work twice a day, at the funeral home in the day and in the restaurant at night. Natasha got fed up and

People who are driven by greed end up focusing on what they do not have instead of being grateful for what they do have. This is relevant in the short story “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant because Mathilde Loisel ends up losing everything she owns just because she lets greed drive her decisions and get the best of her. When receiving an invitation to an extravagant ball, she declines because she says she does not have anything nice to wear. In the beginning of the short story she says, “There is nothing more humiliating than looking poor in the middle of a lot of rich women.(Maupassant).” The reader sees how she puts value in possessions and what others think of her. After finding a dress and then borrowing a necklace that she thought

Every person has on object in their life that is very precious to the, for me, it is my pearl necklace. They are small and round and a lustrous cream color with a pink sheen. They have a tiny gold clasp that holds the necklace together. My pearls tell a story than no other personal artifact can: my heritage. The pearls symbolized tradition and womanhood in my family’s life, and they were to be worn with dignity and pride. Every holiday, the girls of the family accessorized their outfits with the pearls given by our grandmother. They were something we all had in common: the thread that linked our generations together. I recall looking down at my Nana’s casket and I could almost hear her voice whispering

Around the world, values are expressed differently. Some people think that life is about the little things that make them happy. Others feel the opposite way and that expenses are the way to live. In Guy de Maupassant’s short story, “The Necklace”, he develops a character, Madame Loisel, who illustrates her different style of assessments. Madame Loisel, a beautiful woman, lives in a wonderful home with all the necessary supplies needed to live. However, she is very unhappy with her life. She feels she deserves a much more expensive and materialistic life than what she has. After pitying herself for not being the richest of her friends, she goes out and borrows a beautiful necklace from an ally. But as she

‘The Thing Around Your Neck’, written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discovers the inclined realization from the perspective of Nigerian woman Akunna is developed through her cultural hybridist. Similarly to the isolation felt by May, Akunna the protagonist, also begins to feel secluded due to her heritage as she unpredictably discovers how she is viewed in relation to those around her. The dialogue, “Many people at the restaurant asked where you had come from in Jamaica, because they thought that every black person with a foreign accent was Jamaican. Or someone who guessed that you were African told you that they loved elephants and wanted to go on a safari”, portrayed in a patronizing tone of the American expression and cliché reveals the social and cultural assumptions that limit the protagonists’ experience of discovery and self-acceptance. The meeting of Juan, a white man, startles her prior assumptions as he treats her as an individual rather than a symbol from a foreign land. Inexpertly, Akunna begins to discover the truth of her identity beyond ‘the white men and women who muttered and glared’. “That thing that wrapped itself around your neck, that nearly choked you before you fell asleep, started to loose, to let go”, the motif of the things around your neck identifies the psychological impacts that

Anderson starts out the book by introducing the reader to her interest in African culture,and relates how she sent essays to an anthropological board so she could go to Africa to do her graduate study. She soon realised that she would be unable to do so because

In Nigeria, Aunty Uju is Ifemelu’s role model and influences her regard towards America. In this time period before America is involved in Ifemelu’s life in any capacity, Adichie’s characterization of Aunty Uju is indicative of life in Nigeria and how happy and hopeful it is for both women. There are issues, regarding Ifemelu’s family life and Uju’s financial security through The General, but ultimately they are happy with their lives and their relationship is

Chinua Achebe shows the reader the change of Africa as seen by the main character of the novel, Okonkwo. Okonkwo has the hardship of living in an ever-changing society. It is thru Okonkwo that the reader is able to visualize a society of immense cultural standing, and not as European colonizers would say, a society of savages. The main theme of culture is present in all areas of the novel, which helps to show to the reader all of its underlying themes, themes of tradition and themes of religion. Achebe sees the themes of culture, tradition, and religion in one bright light and European colonizers see those same themes in a totally different, somewhat snobbish dim light. However these themes are viewed, one thing is certain, change is on the horizon.

Fear is a powerful tool that if used incorrectly, can control how one lives. Okonkwo’s life is one that is dominated by fear. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart follows the Ibo people, set during the time of the colonization of West Africa, in the town of Umoufia. The protagonist, Okonkwo, is a strong follower of his culture’s rigid expectations and practices. While Okonkwo’s steadfast adherence earns the respect of the townsmen, many detest the cultural expectations and practices they are forced to follow. When Christian missionaries introduce Christianity to Umoufia, many of the Ibo people are quick to convert, including Okonkwo’s own son. This new religion slowly undermines the Ibo culture and religion Okonkwo firmly believes in, leading to his downfall. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s fear of weakness along with the arrival of Christianity causes Okonkwo’s downfall.

The author’s effort to display oral literature, including expressing Ghanaian English speaking and non-English speaking society, in her work reflects her own persona as a contemporary writer resembling the African oral traditions and art work. “Shall I go to Cape Coast, or to Elmina I don’t know, I can’t tell. I don’t know, I can’t tell,” (Aidoo) Language, mainly English, is promoted to throughly capture various backgrounds and events of the play. Aidoo tries to distinguish Eulalie’s American-English speech that instantly alienates her from the rest of the characters. The author also quite succeeds in reflecting Ato’s educated language with a hint of lecturing that proves he has been indeed abroad, as oppose to his Ghanaian family. It crucially exposes the impact of colonialism on communication between Africans with distinctive educational and social situations, as for instance, the married couple’s complexed struggle to not only fully accept their cultural differences but also keep and hold onto their own identities. Aidoo also catches the inflections and outcomes of oral literature by using simple songs, traditional proverbs and imagery, such as the interesting ones in the dialogue between the two old Ghanaian women. “1st W.:But you know, my sister, That my name is Lonesome. I

when she hears of her husband’s death. Although she is not stuck as many women would have

In today's world what we wear and how we present ourselves can say a lot about who we are and the stories we can tell. Without speaking a word to another person someone could decipher many things about me based on a necklace that I wear. My necklace could reveal many different aspects of who I am. it could reveal that I am close with my family. It could also be determined that I value the sentimental value over the monetary value. As a gift from my grandmother I have many personal attachments to this necklace, it will allow people to think certain things about me, and it can reveal a lot about who I am; but there are also things that it doesn't show.