Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart :: essays research papers

"[Trembles] with hate, unable to utter a word... in a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwo's machete descended twice and the man's head lay beside his uniformed body." (204) This is a graphic illustration of Okonkwo?s desperate last attempt to reassert his manhood and to make a statement to the tribe. Regrettably for Okonkwo though it was a failure, and Okonkwo knew that the tribe would never stand up and fight, like he wanted them to. This incident is directly related to Okonkwo?s obsession with not looking weak like his father. Some people might say that Okonkwo was just trying to protect the tradition and cultural of his tribal village but in actuality this is far from the truth. When Okonkwo cut down the guard, he made the swift assumption that his clansmen were as passionate about fighting colonialism as him and would follow him into war. When he found otherwise, he could not understand what had happened to his village. The next place he was seen was hanging from a noose in a selfish show of hypocrisy. In the end, Okonkwo's status among his tribe counted for nothing because his own despair over the colonization of his village led him to kill himself. His whole life Okonkwo strived to not to look weak like his father, but in the end he took the cowards way out, suicide. Suicide was a great sin against the Earth. Because he took his own life, Okonkwo, a great leader of Umuofia, had to be buried by strangers. All of his work and perseverance amounted to nothing because of what he had done. Another claim that people might make is that he is justified because he was just finishing what the white people had started by imprisoning him and his fellow villagers. This may be true, but is revenge a very good justification for murder suicide? Though the corrupt court messengers were in the wrong for what they had done, Okonkwo had no right to do what he did either. Okonkwo failed to realize that two wrongs don?t equal a right, he thought that he could solve every thing with brute violence and war but he paid for his mistake with his life. Okonkwo made a fatal mistake by being so quick to war and to diplomacy. Okonkwo?s life mission was to be every thing his father wasn?

Ancient Chinese Inventions

Ancient Chinese Inventions It is well known that China has an ancient and glorious history, from the feudal periods ending in 222 BC through the three Imperial and Intermediate Eras, up to the Modern era – over 4000 years of dynastic reigns. It may also be well known that China is the source of many wonderful and useful inventions from spaghetti to gunpowder. This list, however, will take a slightly different slant of the topic: Chinese inventions and developments that were not known to or adopted by the Western (European) world for many decades and sometimes centuries after they were common place in China.Some you may be familiar with, others perhaps less so. First on the list is Row Planting, which is from Feudal period through 6 century BC. The Chinese begin planting crops in rows sometime around 6 century BC. This allows the crops to grow stronger and a lot faster. It allows more efficient planting, weeding, harvesting and watering. There is also proof documented that they realized that when the wind travels over rows of plants it causes less damage to the crop. This development was not introduced in the western world for another 2200 years.A Chinese man by the name of Master Lu wrote in the â€Å"Spring and Autumn Annals†: If the crops are grown in rows they will mature rapidly because they will not interfere with each other’s growth. The vertical rows made for skill, the horizontal rows must be drawn well, for if the lines are straight the wind will pass gently through. Along with the above we have mechanical clock mechanisms. This was invented around 725 AD. This clock operated by dripping water that powered a wheel, which made one full revolution in 24 hours. A bronze and iron system of wheels and gears made the clock rotate.Accurate mechanical clocks were developed because of a belief in the form of astrology. This was based upon the moment of conception rather than the time of birth. In ancient years retainers would listen outside of royal bedrooms to record the possible times of conception of royal children. This event was important enough that considerable effort was devoted to developing accurate timing mechanisms. Next on the list would be the compass, which was developed around Feudal period through 4th cent BC. The Chinese developed a lodestone instrument to ndicate direction which is known as the compass. Upon development the compass were only south pointing and were primarily use for land as divination tools and direct finders. It was written that lodestone makes iron come or it attracts it. Spoons were used to point the direction, while mounted on plates. The spoons were made from lodestone, while the plates were of bronze. Later in year of 1040 thermo-remanence needles were produced for mariners. The common use of this was recorded around year 1119. The thermo-remanence technology is still in use today.Then we have deep drilling, the Chinese invented a tool used for deep drilling boreholes. This wa s invented around circa 202 BC through 220 AD. It is listed that some of these boreholes would reach the depths of 4800 feet. This technology would be easily recognizable to a modern engineer. The Chinese would stack rocks with center holes which were tube or doughnut shaped from the surface to the deep stone layer as a guide for their drills. In the search for salt wells the Chinese developed a technology of driving bamboo poles deep into the earth.In addition to brine this drilling also often tapped into reservoirs of natural gas. The natural gas was captured in barrels and used as fuel to evaporate the water from brine to produce salt. They used the gas to boil sea water which separated the salt allowing it to become drinkable. The Chinese also invented gun powder; this was invented around 850 AD. An enterprising alchemist mixed 75 parts saltpeter with 15 parts charcoal and 10 parts sulfur. This mixture had no discernible life-lengthening properties, but it did explode with a fla sh and a bang when it was exposed to an open flame.What is noted in text from the era is that smoke and flames result so that hand and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burned down. Then we have something that is widely used and appreciated throughout countries, cities and societies, the commonly used paper. This was invented around 105 AD and was made from a suspension of hemp waste in water, washed, soaked and beaten with a wooden mallet. A paper mold, probably a sieve of coarsely woven cloth stretched in a four sided bamboo frame, was used to dip up the fiber slurry from the vat and hold it for drying.Initially it was used for clothing rather than writing material. It was used to make body armor for soldiers. Now we have the ancient Chinese great unique invention of porcelain, which was invented around 16 century BC. In very ancient times the Chinese discovered that with the right choice of clay and firing techniques pottery could be made so thin that is was translucent. Such porcelain became universally known as china. Last but definitely not lease we have the known Chinese invention of a fabric that is soft to the skin. This fabric is called silk, which was invented around 3000 BC.For more than two thousand years the Chinese kept the secret of silk altogether to themselves. It was the most zealously guarded secret in history. The Chinese discovered that the cocoons of silk worms could be unwound and the filaments used to weave an especially light strong and beautiful cloth. All of these inventions were invented by original everyday pioneers. The saying goes everyday people do extraordinary things. Out of all of these wonderful inventions that were discussed, the invention of silk, paper, row planting and the mechanical clock mechanism would be the choice of the most important.Let’s briefly go over the reasons why these four would be the most important inventions. The invention of silk has paved the way for cent uries of fabric wearers. In the ancient years a person could distinguish who was royalty by the silk garment that was worn. Silk is 100% natural fabric and is healthy for your breathing due to the fact that silk is naturally hypoallergenic. The invention of row planting allowed more efficient growth of produce for farming which allowed more and better food to sell and to eat.The invention of the mechanical clock mechanism has evolved in time to be a much needed daily device called the clock. A clock is an instrument use to indicate, keep and coordinate time. A clock refers to any device for measuring and displaying time. This clock mechanism invention has involved into personal time keepers like a wrist watch, pocket watch etc. The invention of paper would be one of the best great inventions due to the fact that paper is used for everything in daily life. Paper was used to spread information that was on hand written letters. Paper is also used for drawings and painting.Not to mentio n that paper is used for books, newspaper and lets not forgot paper is used for making what we all love to spend money. Of all of the inventions listed above if there were one invention that would be listed as a must have invention would be the invention of paper. The invention of paper has evolved into the making of paper money. Paper money consists of 1, 5, 10, 20 dollar bills and etc. Money is something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a unit of account or a store of value. The first advantage to having money is that fact that stuff costs money. If you want things you have to have money to pay for them.Vary rarely do people just give their stuff away, they want something for it and money is the universal trade item. You can trade money for almost anything in the world. If you want a lot of stuff you need to have a lot of money. We now know that we owe a whole lot to the ancient Chinese for inventing so many things that are of important value to our lives. Makes you won der if they knew back then how important these inventions would become to be. References â€Å"About the Collection. † About the Collection. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. ipst. gatech. edu/amp/collection>. CHINESEA   INVENTIONS. † Chinese Inventions. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. vhinkle. com/china/inventions. html>. â€Å"History of Silk. † History of Silk. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. silk-road. com/artl/silkhistory. shtml>. â€Å"Natural Gas Exploration. † Natural Gas Exploration. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. explorations. org/natural_gas_exploration_cont. html>. â€Å"Origin of Chinese Porcelain. † Origin of Chinese Porcelain. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www1. chinaculture. org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_37884. htm>.

A short story – The tranquil night wind

The tranquil night wind whistled gently, puffing though the strands of my hair as I slept. The luminous amber streetlights outside twitched as they projected a silhouette of tall, lofty trees prancing in the serene wind through my windows onto me. The sky was clear and the stars were easily visible as they twinkled through the night. After a day of unbearable heat and hard work done, I was in a very satisfying sleep but had awoken through instinct where I had felt that something was irritating me. I felt like I had forgotten to do something and my brain wouldn’t stop reminding, but what was it reminding me? That’s the question. I tried to ignore it but my mind wouldn’t stop sensing a feel of discomfort. I finally decided to get up and try to resolve the matter and investigate what was going on. I approached my door and just before I went to grasp the door handle I felt a slight shock run through the palm of my right hand. I abruptly pulled away and froze for a minute. It was dark and gloomy in my room so I decided to turn on the lights. With caution I flicked on the light switch and was surprised to not feel any more shocks. the luminous light bulb from the ceiling of my room glistened so luminously that I went blind for a few seconds and I just stood there rubbing my eyelids as they couldn’t cope with the sudden illumination of the room. Feel quite dizzy, I continued to attempt to open the door. I vigilantly stretched out to reach for the door handle again and this time I successfully held it firmly without any shocks. Maybe it was just my mind playing up with me? I mean, it was 3am in the morning and I wasn’t feeling too bothered as I investigated what felt wrong. I twisted the door handle but it didn’t open. I tried to twist it open again but it didn’t seem to open. At this point I was furious; I took a deep breath and pinched myself to make sure this wasn’t just another horrid dream, unfortunately it wasn’t. I took a big step back away from my door and charged towards it whilst I firmly clutched the handle and dragged it mightily. It still didn’t open. I roared in fury. I screamed for my parents but I got no reply. I repeated but this time for my siblings but I stood there without a response. No words could explain the rage I was in. I shrieked once more and I irately jolted my door which countered with a massive bruise to my foot . I fell to my feet with my head on the ground, tears recklessly flowing down my face. This wasn’t the day for someone to mess with me, not at all. I got back up on my feet and as I loomed towards the window, I heard a whisper which said â€Å"it’s just you and me† in a sonorous demonic voice followed by an awkward cackle. I brusquely stopped and jumped with fear. I hastily dived under my bed and snatched the broad metal pole I had hidden under there. I got back up and spent 2 or so minutes inspecting my room looking to see if by any chance it was anyone. Was it my conscience? Was it something outside? Or was it really some sort of spectre really talking to me? I scuttled to my open window and took a pro longed gaze outside to see if anyone was out†¦there was nobody. It was an opaque, pitch black night with the white stars twinkling above. The roads were ever so quiet. Who would be out at this time? I guess I did hear something after all, 3am in the morning and my mind seems to be playing with me; I couldn’t even open the door to go and get some water or anything else refreshing. I turned away from the window to retry the door again†¦and I heard a really deafening thump. I jerked in fright and my heart was thumping so hard that I could see it beating out of my t shirt. I gradually rotated myself towards the direction of the noise with my heart in my hands. All four windows in my room had pounded shut. Coincidence? I’m starting not to think so. I stood there in awkward silence for a good 5 minutes. Why me? I stepped foot to approach the windows and the lights flicked off. I squealed worse than those in an intense horror movie; this wasn’t no movie this was reality and I don’t know what was happening. I couldn’t see anything but a slight shadow of something behind me, shortly after that I felt a cold, icy hand on my shoulder. As I turned around, my vision instantly went blurry and I couldn’t see much but I could see something similar to a white spirit with gleaming red eyes. I fainted.

In recent years Essay

In recent years, the selective and mobility promoting function of education has become more important than its socialising function` Do you agree? Explain I agree with the opinion that in recent years, the selective and mobility promoting function of education has become more important than its socialising function. While both these functions retain their importance, the selective and mobility one has received greater prominence. In the US, education has always been a gateway to professional life and a vehicle for social mobility. In a sense, this is a great advantage of the US society compared to those with traditionally rigid social structures since promotion to upper classes through education opens the way for those from low-income families to move up in their socioeconomic status relatively quickly. With years, however, educational institutions became a tool for sorting school graduates into those who qualify for professional careers and those who do not. Reliance on standardised tests has turned the US system of education into an institution that selects those fitting into the standards and gives them chances for social mobility. At the same time, the socializing function has become less important. Modern adolescents still seek to make new friends, to have cheerful college years. Their professors remind them that socializing is also important for social mobility, prompting them to build a network of acquaintances that will later contribute to their career. Thus, even socializing has been turned into a vehicle for social mobility. Students increasingly view their educational experience as a step toward career progress rather than a chance to gain friends or broaden their world outlook. This is visible, for instance, in graduate students’ aspirations to get into top MBA programs that many see as a gateway to high-salaried executive world. The main advantage of the top programs as compared to the rest, in the eyes of a large part of student body, is that they have sifted through applicants at the beginning, chosen the best ones and sent them off to high posts in business organisations. Socializing takes a second place in these considerations because students are mostly interested in career ambitions and see education as a way to realize them.

The history of Ottoman empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The history of Ottoman empire - Essay Example The Empire was founded by Osman I. In 1453, following its capture from the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople, modern stanbul, became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire under the name 'Kostantiniye'. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire was among the world's most powerful political entities, with the powers of eastern Europe constantly threatened by its steady advance through the Balkans and the southern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its navy was a powerful force in the Mediterranean. On several occasions it even invaded central Europe, sieging Vienna, in its attempts to conquer the Habsburg domain, and was only repulsed by coalitions of European powers. In this period, the discussions among the elites of Ottomans on how to organize a new state constitute the most important detail. The location of this movement gave it access to many different cultures and experiences. Given the historical facts of other great empires, Ottoman elites believed that the power of the sword was not enough to build and maintain a powerful state. Swords must be wielded by men. It was important to find strong and capable men and bind them together in willing cooperation to conquer large sections of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It was also important to organize and govern their conquests in a fairly satisfactory fashion, and to establish a structure which would take great effort to dismantle. Ottoman elites gave precedence to the political ideas that constituted the life of the empire, which became their ruling institution. Only with these ideas was it possible to attract a great body of men from many directions and races and unite them in a common effort. The ideas and culture that were shaped during this period took three hundred years to decay and be destroyed. While it is arguable the empire had injustice, violence and destructive forces involved in the development of its structures, these must be considered within the context of their eight centuries of history, during which Turks began to drift southwestward away from the declining Saracen Empire Even though the Ottoman state existed before Osman I, he is regarded as the founder of the Empire, having given it its name and being the first bey to declare his independence. He extended the frontiers of the empire towards the Byzantine Empire, while other Turkish beyliks suffered from infighting. Under Osman I, the Ottoman capital moved to Bursa. He published the first coin under his name, demonstrating the trust he built. The economical structure of the Empire was defined by the geopolitical structure. The Ottoman Empire stood in between West and East, thus blocking the route eastward forcing Spanish and Portuguese navigators set out in search of a new route to the Orient. The Empire was holding the same path that Marco Polo once used. Ottoman studies imply that the change in politics between Ottomans and Central Europe did depend on the opening of the new sea routes. It is also possible to see the decay of the Ottoman Empire by tracing the loss of significance of the land routes. Decay is a very relative term, in reality while central Europe is moving forward, Ottoman were holding on to their traditions. The pragmatic thinking of Ottomans that once helped to reform the systems left behind by Roman Empire was once again giving out the same signs

Define and evaluate the major geostrategic challenges the EU will face Essay

Define and evaluate the major geostrategic challenges the EU will face in the coming decade - Essay Example 67). However, the EU member countries are fighting to alleviate the union from these challenges. The members’ main concern is the economic, security, and power balance challenges. The union intends to resolve its economic challenges by boosting trade through sharing the gross domestic product as well as to increase trade and investment and finally developing defense and aid spending on areas that they will feel affected. Nonetheless, other than the unions own intended resolutions, the essay will also suggest, at different points, the possible solutions to the highlighted EU’s geostrategic challenges. EU’s problems are associated with the growing differences in the political ideologies and foreign policies among member countries. These elements have led to geostrategic challenges including hierarchy of nations, fall or collapse of the EU economic power, power of populations, leadership issues, political ideologies, war threats, dwindling unity, Security and welfare, maritime security challenges, cyber domains and the maritime environment, and balance of management power on fundamental of EU’s assets. Other challenges include continued fall, fail, and collapse of the Middle East states, increasing trend of recruitment of the terror group, transnational crime, and Environmental security. The geopolitical analyses are concerned with the political dynamics that tends to interfere with the international relations. Some member nations are considering themselves more economically and politically powerful than other member nations (Howorth, 2007; Pg. 126). This has swayed nations’ capacities and attributes that have led to hierarchy of nations among the EU members. The â€Å"great power† notion that emerged in the ninetieth century has since made some nations within the EU powerful in terms of policy formulation, decision making, and

Evolution of Purchasing in Supply Chain Research Paper

Evolution of Purchasing in Supply Chain - Research Paper Example This technique gave many business organizations the motive to venture into diverse money-oriented activities that aim at simplifying arbitrage, reducing agency cost, improving the price-to-value relationship, leveraging the money spent in an organization and implementing contracts that homogenize terms and condition across the company or organization. As a result of strategic sourcing, customers could get their products at the right time, at right quantity, at the right quality, at the right price, in the right place from the right supplier. Although strategic sourcing provided almost everything that an organization requires for quick and higher profit gain, other values were not obtained, and supplier relationship management (SRM) become the succeeding evolution in purchasing. This concept involved the supplier and the customer establishing an interpersonal relationship with middle persons. The companies would then use the relationship or any organization involved to maximize their benefit from that interaction. It requires careful collaboration with the primary suppliers to realize and uncover new benefits while reducing all the risk involved in the operation. With all these concept being embraced in business strategies, the current activities is being supplied with integrated innovation and business intelligence capabilities that aim at addressing the changing continues customer demands. In conclusion, purchasing in the supply chain has evolved even more to a greater level.