Comparing Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness - 710 Words

The Importance of Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness Todays society contains stories that model the ideal life that each individual lives each day. Stories may shape our mind in creative and positive ways that may enlighten the road towards the future. They have been examples for us to survive by and thrive on for decades: in the past, and now, continuing in the future. People around the world have been told stories that may have influenced their lives in a unique way. Children long to be enlightened by stories that fill their young and fruitful minds, allowing thoughts and new ideas to be instilled. Throughout the worlds cultures and literature, stories have influenced the actions and morals of man with their underlying†¦show more content†¦Extricating the meaning and point of the story may be easily done or become an extremely arduous task. However, individuals are given the choice to accept this moral, or point, and apply it to their own lives. In the book Heart of Darkness, a story within a story is being told. The character, Marlow, is telling the story of Kurtz to legitimize his role in the events that are taking place. A downside to this approach is that the reader only hears rumors and accounts about this mysterious figure, Kurtz, before actually meeting him. Kurtz remains an unknown and enigmatic character in Marlows mind. However, Marlow has heard so much about him through the stories that have been shared that Kurtz seems to become a distant friend. I looked at him, lost in astonishment his very existence was improbable, inexplicable, and all together bewildering. (Conrad 90) At first Marlow was speechless to finally have met this seemingly idol. Yet, after having spent time with Kurtz and getting to know his character, Marlow finds out for himself that Kurtz really was not the person that the stories had described him to be. Heart of Darkness is an accurate example of how stories can be a negative impact upon an individual. An accumulation of false information can be deceiving, as well as, misgiving- and in Marlows case, disappointing. As told in the story Things Fall Apart, in Ibo culture, male and female storiesShow MoreRelatedComparing and Contrasting Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart1346 Words   |  6 Pagespre-colonial period. Things Fall Apart is a novel worth reading because it’s eye opener for those with not-very-positive stereotypes of the continent. In fact, it has been said that Things Fall Apart was written as a response to another novel, The Heart of Darkness. This is because in the latter novel, Africa was viewed in a darker light compared to the former novel. Thus, it’s natural that there will be differences and similarities between the two novels. However, assuming that Things Fall Apart being writtenRead More Comparing the Tragic Hero in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness1022 Words   |  5 PagesThe Tragic Hero in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness A tragic hero could be considered a noble person with a fatal flaw or an opponent of society who is willing to take action that sensible people might applaud but never perform themselves. In Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conradss Heart of Darkness, two characters, Okonkwo and Kurtz, have some qualities which could categorize them as tragic heroes. However, only the readers interpretation of the charactersRead More Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Women in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness1129 Words   |  5 PagesRole of Women in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness       Women were once little more than slaves to their male betters. Some women might have been respected, but their places were limited to roles as wives and mothers. They might rule a home, but were not believed intelligent enough for any other role. This chauvinistic attitude is well reflected in the novels Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad.    In Things Fall Apart, women are praisedRead MoreThings Fall Apart And Heart Of Darkness Analysis910 Words   |  4 PagesCompare Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart with Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness In everyday life, we are always comparing, even subconsciously with even knowing it. When we compare things, we look at what the similarities are in said items such as a popular brand or a generic one. Comparing things such as two literary works, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and, Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, both have a lot of similarities that we will look at. In Things Fall Apart, it is about a man namedRead MoreTragedy in Colonial Africa by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart1159 Words   |  5 PagesDarkness. It pervades every corner of this world, casting literal and metaphorical shadow over everything. Creeping in the hearts of humans, drifting across the night sky, under the bed, darkness is a terrifying, yet quintessential concept in our human mentality. And, as such, it presents itself in cultures and stories around the world to explain the unknown and the terrifying. Through the presentation of the struggle with internal and external â€Å"darkness,† both Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness andRead MoreHeart Of Darkness By Joseph Conrad And Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe890 Words   |  4 PagesHeart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe both focus on the subject of colonialism and imperialism during the Scramble for Africa, however, Achebe’s novel is a direct response to the racism and the incomplete picture of Africa that Conrad creates. Heart of darkness is a story of Marlow, a steamboat captain, who witnesses the harsh treatment of the natives by the Belgian as he travels down the Congo River. Things Fall Apart tells of Okonkwo and his life in Nigeria andRead MoreThings Fall Apart vs. Heart of Darkness Essay1617 Words   |  7 PagesAfrican Colonization through Literature: Things Fall Apart Vs. Heart of Darkness History is an extraordinary mix of truth and fiction. The dichotomy that is bred from different historic al perspectives opens the eyes of those who study history to the semi-fabricated nature of much of humanities past. For most of recorded history, events have been recorded and retold through the eyes of the victors. Only recently have people had the opportunity to view both sides of issues. The Western practiceRead MoreHeart Of Darkness And Things Fall Apart1580 Words   |  7 PagesHeart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart illustrate the different ways of presenting Africa in literature. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad shows Africa through the perspective of the colonizing Europeans, who tend to depict all the natives as savages. In response to Conrad s stereotypical depiction of Africans, Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart through the point of view of the natives to show Africans, not as primitives, but as members of a thriving society. Things Fall Apart follows Okonk woRead MorePostcolonial Literature (Persepolis Things Fall Apart)1504 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿There are many different critical approaches to studying literature. With reference of both texts you have studied, show what you believe the value to be in using a particular critical approach. ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe and ‘Persepolis’ by Marjane Satrapi follow a postcolonial critical approach. Both books take place in a country considered politically inferior through western perspective and both texts, even though reinforce colonialists’ oppressive ideology, don’t stand completelyRead MoreComparing The Greek, Chinese, And The Christian Stories1738 Words   |  7 Pagesme and I would love to explore deeply into them through this paper. In this paper, I will be introducing their stories, giving a brief description of how the world came about in each myth, and what they mean to people and to me. I will also be comparing the myths, that the Greek and Chinese myths of creation stories came out of chaos, while for the Christian creation came out of nothing, using the Universal, Cultural, and Pedagogical methods/perspectives. The Greek story has a few versions to it

Coronary Arteries and Heart Disease

Yes to Guns! No to Gun Control! Free Essays

Yes to guns! No to gun control! Banning Guns Cannot Prevent School Shootings! Imagine yourself at the scene of the Virginia Tech shooting. You hide under the desk that you were sitting at peacefully just moments ago. Gun shots ring though the air as you sit curled up on the cold floor, wondering who the next victim of the evil rampage will be. We will write a custom essay sample on Yes to Guns! No to Gun Control! or any similar topic only for you Order Now Don’t you wish you could have had a gun in this moment? Don’t you wish you had a way to defend yourself against the murderer? Because we cannot go back in time, we cannot know how differently the Virginia Tech shooting could have turned out if one of the victims had possessed a gun. We can, however, analyze this and other school shootings to see how they could have been different. Thirty-one states currently have laws allowing concealed handguns for adults with no criminal record or history of mental disorders. The cause of concealed-carry has grown over the past decade or two. More and more people are realizing how much of a positive difference allowing guns can really make. Banning guns on campuses doesn’t protect students. Rather, the policy only endangers those who are ethical enough to follow the law. Outlaws are the only ones who will have guns if guns are outlawed. This means that criminals will have guns, and law-abiding civilians will not. Students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed handguns on college campuses. In 1997 in Pearl Mississippi, a shooter was stopped by an assistant principal who had retrieved a gun from his car. Because he was not allowed to bring his gun into the school, the assistant principal could not stop the shooting earlier. If he would have been allowed to bring his gun into the school, the lives of the shot students could have been saved. In Edinboro, Pennsylvania, in 1998, a passerby stopped a shooter who was reloading his gun by pointing a shotgun at him until the police arrived. If it were not for this civilian, the shooter would have been able to finish reloading his gun and continue his massacre. If a person bearing a gun had not been on the scene at either one of these shootings, much more damage could have been done by the shooters. Sharp-minded civilians with guns, however, were present at both of those school shootings. Without anyone even firing a shot, both of these tragedies were prevented from becoming worse. For a more recent example, consider the Virginia Tech shooting. Obviously, there was no student or teacher with a gun at the scene of the shooting. As I stated before, we cannot know if the tragedy could have turned out differently if someone would have shot the shooter. We can logically see how the tragedy could have been prevented by a student with a gun, though. Imagine if a student or teacher would have pulled a gun on and shot the Seung-Hui Cho before he began shooting people in the classroom. Dozens of lives could have been saved by that quickly-thought action. There is no possibility that someone with a concealed gun would have been on the scene, however, because concealed weapons are not allowed on the Virginia Tech campus. Almost any mass shooting could be prevented by a quick-thinking civilian with a concealed gun. Because one of the criteria for owning a concealed-carry permit is that the owner must be somewhat proficient at shooting, there is a good chance that a murderous gunner could be stopped by one bullet. Banning concealed handguns really doesn’t protect anyone. If a person is intent on killing someone, or is intent on killing a mass of people, he will do it. Someone who is willing to go against the law and kill someone, or kill a number of people, will not mind going against the law about carrying a gun on a campus. And even if a murderer does not bring a gun onto campus, there are many other ways to kill someone, such as a knife, baseball bat, or even bare hands. Guns themselves really aren’t the problem, in fact, â€Å"Guns aren’t bad things or good things. They’re things, inanimate objects, and chunks of metal with no will of their own. So if people bent on murdering will murder, people who will be the victims of the murderer should have some way to defend themselves. The best way for a person to defend themselves against an attacker is a gun, simply because it is so deadly. In a study that analyzed the relationship between concealed handgun laws and crime rates between 1977 and 1995, the effect of those laws was cl early seen. In those 19 years, states that passed laws allowing concealed-carry guns saw an 84% decline in multiple-victim shootings. In addition, after concealed-carry laws had been established for 5 years, murders decreased by at least 15%. Some people say that we cannot trust civilians with concealed handguns in mass-shooting situations because they might shoot an innocent bystander instead of the murderer. As I stated before, however, one of the criteria for obtaining a concealed-carry permit is that the owner must be somewhat proficient at shooting. There is a small chance that someone with a concealed handgun would shoot the wrong person in a space the size of a classroom. Others contend that small arguments could turn into shooting battles. I can see why some of my opponents would think this, but people are just as likely to shoot each other over small arguments as they are to strangle each other or stab each other. One of the requirements for a concealed-carry permit owner is, as I stated earlier, that he or she is mentally sound. People who are right in their minds will not attempt to kill someone with whom they have a minor disagreement. And if a person is bent on killing another, they will find a way to do it. According to Craig Medred, editor of the â€Å"Outdoors† magazine, â€Å"The problem isn’t the weapon of choice, it’s the anger. It doesn’t make any difference whether a killer has a gun, a knife, or a crowbar. Guns are used defensively 2. 5 million times every year. There has been many times over the past decades that multiple-victim shootings are prevented by civilians with concealed guns. Because there are people who are bent on killing others, the victims should have an effective method of defending themselves. Namely, they should be able to defend themselves with a gun. Banning guns doesn’t actually protect anybody, so people should be allowed to carry a concealed gun if they wish. Many lives could be saved if concealed handguns were allowed on college campuses. How to cite Yes to Guns! No to Gun Control!, Papers