Colonialism and Independence in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart :: Things Fall Apart essays

Things Fall Apart - Colonialism and Independence "Turning and turning in the widening gyre The Falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." ~W.B. Yeats, "The Second Coming" This excerpt is almost a summary of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Things Fall Apart is a novel about nineteenth century Nigeria, before colonialism and the granting of independence. It is a story of a great wrestler and elder of a Nigerian clan comprised of several villages. It tells about his life from start to finish in great detail. Towards the end of the novel, the reader is introduced to colonialism. This colonialism is what the anarchy is the above quote is referring to. The falcon represents the young generation of the clan; the falconer represents the elders. This is a story of how things really do fall apart. The story is centered around Okonkwo, a great wrestler and elder of the clan. He is the son of an indolent man, who was constantly in debt. Okonkwo's father was often referred to as a woman, which was a great insult. Growing up, Okonkwo develops a phobia of becoming his father, and does everything is his power not to. With this phobia came an abominable stubbornness. His first step in becoming a "real man" (opposed to his father) was to prove his strength, in doing so he became the great wrestler of his clan. Doing so earned him a lot of accolades and honours. He earned a lot of land, and married three different wives. However, with all of his fame and fortune, he was unable to escape his internal conflicts due to his stubbornness and his becoming frustrated easily. One example of this was when a young male warrior and a young virgin girl were sent to Okonkwo's village in exchange (as a sacrifice) for a heinous crime committed against his clan. This was a crime that otherwise would have resulted in an all out war; a war which Okonkwo's clan and village would have earned an easy victory. The young boy is sent to live with Okonkwo and his family for quite some time. During this time Okonkwo becomes very attached to him, so attached that it seems as if the boy is one of his own.

Communication Methods Essay

There are many groups, which the organisation must communicate with such as internal groups and external groups. A type of communication that may take place would be an oral communication. There are many advantages and disadvantages, an advantage would be that oral communication tends to be faster than written forms this allows interpretation and further discussion. A disadvantage would have to be that it lacks the permanent nature of written communication this means it cannot be stored and referred to later. Oral communication includes a face-to-face meeting like interviews. An advantage of this would be that that it’s quick and saves time than writing out forums. A disadvantage would be oral communication depends on the person listening skills. If the listener is not proactive, the communication exercise fails. Oral communication also includes formal meetings; most face-to-face communication is very structured. Most business meetings are often formal and follow a set agenda. Meetings may have a chairman who decides what will be discussed and who will talk. Often a specific person will introduce a point on the agenda. An advantage is that everyone will know what is going to be discussed in advance. A disadvantage is that formal meetings take time to organise. Another oral communication is interviews were there is a formal question and answer session. They can take place in many different situations. They may be used when applying for jobs. Interviews are normally face-to-face communication. Advantage is both sides can ask questions and detailed questions can be asked. A disadvantage is that information given is not always truthful and interviews sometimes do not always show if the applicant can do the job. Another type of communication would have to be a written communication. An advantage of this type of communication would have to be that it would provide ready records and references. Another advantage would be that it is a permanent mean of communicati on. A disadvantage would be there would be too much paper work and e-mails involved and written communication does not save upon the costs. Written communication includes writing letters, and handing out notices, this includes reports. One type of written communication is letters; this is a very formal way of communication. Advantages of this would be that they are confidential, and provide a hard copy. Disadvantages of this would be that it takes time to write letters and takes time for them to arrive and  for replies to be received. Another type would be a memorandum this type of written communication is a simple note from one person to another. In business it is often written in a formalised way. It will be used when someone wishes to send quick messages to one or more people. Advantages would be that they are very quick to write and send and can also be kept as a record. Disadvantage would be people that is not intended for and cannot be useful for long or complicated information could read it. Another type is notice; these are used when a message needs to be sent to a number of people. Notices are formal, most times they are informal. They give information about social events. An advantage is that everyone can see the message, and many people can receive it at the same time. A disadvantage would be it is not confidential and most people may not bother to read it. Records are used to give information about something that has been researched or investigated. They are used in different situations. An advantage would be the formal way of presenting reports means that the reader can easily follow the points being made. Disadvantage would be that they take a long time to research and write. One last type of communication would be electronic communication. This kind of communication could lead to quite a few problems; such as the system could be hacked into therefore important information would be lost this would be a disadvantage. There are advantages of this kind of communication they are simple to use and more and more people are beginning to use the e-mailing system etc. E-mails are the process of using computer networks as a postal system. Data is created on one computer and then is transmitted. An advantage is it can be used to send a wide variety of types of message. A disadvantage is that the sender and receiver must have computers and software that is compatible. Public address is a system that uses microphones and electronically systems to warn about fires. An advantage would be staff could usually hear the message wherever they are in the building. A disadvantage is that if they are used to often staff will stop paying attention. Telephones have been used in business for internal communication. An advantage of this would be that the communication is very quick and telephones allow people to talk to each other. A disadvantage of this would be there is no written record, although telephone conversation  can be record. Another disadvantage would be cost of mobile phones are very high. Fax machine converts pictures and text into electronic pulses which are then transmitted by telephone to another fax machine. Fax machines are less popular because emails can be used instead. An advantage of this would be communication is quick and documents can be sent and received. A disadvantage is it is slower compared to emails. Tele-conferencing is when large business operates on different sites around the country. It’s difficult to get together so they make video calls; this allows them to talk to each other. An advantage would be its much quicker and usually cheaper than bringing people together. An disadvantage wo uld be that these systems are expensive to set up, meeting are more difficult to control because people are in different places.

Essay on Poverty and Income Inequality in China - 1348 Words

Another Inquiry on the Economic Welfare and Poverty in China The trade-off between economic growth and redistribution has become one of the major notes concerning the emerging economies of post-Cold War world. Adding to this struggle the urge to integrate into the international system while keeping the balances right at home has been another macro-level concern. In conjunction such liabilities not only necessitates the examination of fiscal and structural reforms but also the international trends as well within an historical framing. For that matter the case of China is fascinating in terms of blending these elements of economic and political changes in the last 30 years. However this attempt is not without a cost. This paper aims to†¦show more content†¦The decreasing role of the state in economic activities seems to be the major cause of this unbalanced trend. These changes cover a decrease in state-owned enterprises, the increasing number of laid-off workers and the structural deficiency of the government to provide anti-poverty pr ograms . On the international scale Fulong Wu Ningying Huang argue that the industrial shift from labor-intensive to very competitive capital and technology-intensive sectors was another reason for China to fail achieving the balance between growth and redistribution . The consequences of these changes are the increasing rates of unemployment in the late 1990s and the inability of the working class to rapidly adapt to the demands of the employment market. The rapid economic growth was perceived as an airbag against the threat of urban poverty. However the gradual alienation of a particular segment of the unemployed alarmed the officials about the irreversibility and respective social tension in the society. Fulong Wu Ningying Huang defines those as the â€Å"outsiders† of the Chinese society who are living in the poverty line of $1 (PPP) as determined by the World Bank. Those outsiders have no hope of returning to the labor market. For that matter there is defined a new urban poverty in China that could even impede the economic growth if remained neglected. In such circumstances withoutShow MoreRelatedPoverty Inequality And Economic Growth1466 Words   |  6 Pagespurpose of this essay is to investigate the extent in which poverty, inequality and economic growth are related. These three dimensions are regularly perceived as indices of the complex and multidimensional concept of ‘economic development’. This term i s not black and white however: it is a concept that is more than just merely income analysis. Poverty can be broken down into two separate definitions: absolute and relative. 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