Things Fall Apart free essay sample

The women stay at home cooking and cleaning, only to be sold off as brides to their husbands and bear children. Men are active and aggressive, fighting wars and providing financially for the family. They have the power to physically beat their wives if they’re behaving unsatisfactorily. In the book, the old Ibo proverb â€Å"Mother is Supreme† is portrayed when Okonkwo gets exiled to his motherland. This proverb shows that no matter what happens between a child and their father, the child can always run to one’s mother. This holds the truth that mothers are the loving caretakers of the children in Ibo culture. The gender stereotypes divide the men and women in the society, creating separate spheres. Given the mother is supreme proverb, it is ironic that the Okonkwo society harshly oppresses its women. â€Å"Mother is Supreme† is the idea that one can always run to their mother where they are safe from their troubles. We will write a custom essay sample on Things Fall Apart Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When Okonkwo was exiled, he went to Mabanta, his Motherland, and was accepted with open arms by Uchendu, his uncle. This point was exemplified when Uchendu explains why mother is supreme, â€Å"A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland† (134). The mother is there to protect the child unconditionally against the father. Mother is supreme because she is the protector, the adult the child can always depend on. When Okonkwo gets exiled from his fatherland, Mbanta, his motherland, welcomed and cared for him. Also â€Å"Mother is Supreme is shown when after Okonkwo told Nwoye that Ikemefuna was leaving, â€Å"Later, Nwoye went to his mother’s hut and told her that Ikemefuna was going home. She immediately dropped her pestle with which she was grinding pepper, folded her arms across her breast and sighed, â€Å"Poor child. † (58). When Nwoye received the news, he fled to his mothers hut to be comforted. The Mother Supreme proverb stands in stark contrast to the way women are treated in the Ibo society. Both men and women work together in the Ibo culture cultivating produce and participating in the government. In the growing season the women weed and plant other produce while the men farm yams. â€Å"As the rains became heavier the women planted maize, melons and beans between the yam mounds† (33). The women still help with planting but in a smaller way than the men. â€Å"Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed† (33). Here, the men are cultivating the yams but not only were yams an important staple in their diet, a mans success depended on the number of yams he could produce. Also both genders played a role in the government. Chielo, the priestess, was the advice giver of the town and the other main leaders of the community were men. â€Å"The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan† (89). This respected group is made up of nine male leaders, called the egwugwu. Different than normal women in the Ibo society, Chielo is a powerful authority, representing the feared Oracle. In both these instances, women and men are put into separate spheres, but both are critical in supporting their community. Although the men play a large role in providing for the family, they dominate the household with force. The men provide for the family by planting and harvesting the yams. They freely discipline their wives without recourse as shown in the texts, â€Å"when she returned he beat her very heavily† (29). Okonkwo beat his wives into submission and in their society it goes unpunished. Even when they don’t do something wrong, â€Å"As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive. Okonkwo’s second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it † Okonkwo, being hot-tempered took out his anger on Ewifiki after thinking that she destroyed the tree. He doesn’t even respect her enough to engage in a debate with her to listen to her side of the story. He just smacks her â€Å"without further argument†. These examples show Okonkwo’s dominance over his wives, ruling his house with a heavy hand. If they make a mistake, he takes his anger out on them and make sure they remember not to do it the next time. â€Å"He trembled with the desire to conquer and subdue. It was like the desire for women† (42). In this passage, it portrays that Okonkwo only values women as something to â€Å"conquer† or â€Å"subdue†, not as equals. In contrast, women in the Ibo society are expected to submit to their husbands. They are lower in society, in submission to whomever they are married. â€Å" Agbala was not only another name for a women, it could also mean a man who had taken no title† (13). This exemplifies that it is an insult for a man to be called Agbala, another name for a female. During the bride price, the brides are thought of as mere pieces of property, not as human beings. â€Å"Her suitor and his relatives surveyed her young body with  expert eyes as if to assure themselves that she was beautiful and ripe† (71) They are looking at â€Å"the soon to be bride† with objective eyes, keeping in mind the clothes she is wearing and her figure. They determine the price by her beauty and once that is decided, her husband now rules her. This point is also shown at the town hearing between Odukwe and Uzowulu. â€Å"The law of the clan is that you should return her bride price† (91). They are fighting over the woman as though they would fight over money. The Ibo women are also not always welcome are communal ceremonies and are thought of as outsiders. â€Å"It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men† (87). The women are clearly portrayed as being inferior to men. Chinua Achebe’s book depicts the separate spheres of genders in a culture like Okonkwo’s. Each plays a specific part in the community that was changed when the whites came to colonize. The arguable point of â€Å"Mother is Supreme† is overruled with the harsh treatment of women. While they are given some privileges, like contributing to the government and planting, the men plainly control them. They live in separate spheres and each have the stereotypes of their gender to up-hold.

An Overview of the Economy of Brazil

Question: Discuss about the Overview of the Economy of Brazil. Answer: Introduction Brazil, a country that is mostly covered by the amazon, is the fifth largest economy in the world and the largest in the Latin America. It has a population of over 200 million people, who live mostly along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. The economy is bigger than that of all the countries in South America because it has established large and well-developed sectors that include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and service provision sectors. Furthermore, its working middle class is expanding at a fast rate(Ellis, 2012). The presence of Brazil in the international market has been expanding rapidly. Due to the steady improvement in the stability of its economy, Brazil has experienced macroeconomic growth characterised by increase in foreign reserves and reduction in foreign debt by relying more on the domestic borrowing. In fact, in 2008, Brazils debt was awarded the investor grade and Brazil is now considered a net external creditor. Context Between 2003 and 2014, Brazil experienced social and economic growth that resulted in reduction in inequality and more than 29 million people were elevated from poverty(World Bank, 2017). During this period, income for the entire population grew steadily by a rate of 4.4%. In real terms, income attributed to 40% of the poorest people in the economy grew by an average 7.1%. Despite these steps, since 2015, the economy has stagnated in reducing poverty and inequality levels remain high. The nation achieved universal coverage in elementary education but is now facing challenges in improving the quality and productivity of the education system. These challenges mainly affect both the lower and tertiary levels of education. Brazil is undergoing a deep recession now. Its economic growth rate has been reducing consistently since 2010. In 2006, the country had a strong growth of an average annual growth rate of 4.5% up until 2010. However, in 2008, the global financial crisis hit the economy hard. Global demand for Brazilian exports fell and eternal sources of funds dried up. In 2010, Brazil recovered from the crisis and was among the first emerging economies to begin recovery. Investors and consumers revived their confidence leading to the GDP to grow to a rate of 7.5%. This has been the highest rate the country has been able to achieve in the past 25 years. However, this rate fell to 2.1% by 2014. In addition, the GDP has been reducing in the past two years. In 2015, the GDP fell by 3.8% and was followed by another decline of 3.6% in 2016. Several factors have led to this decline. These factors include high inflation rates, low productivity that is characterised by high costs of operation, depending heav ily on raw commodities exports, and high, persistent inflation rates, and low investment levels ("Brazil Economy - overview - Economy", 2017). With its population of over 200 million, the last records of the GDP per Capita in brazil were at $7627.67 in 2015. This GDP per capita equals to 88% of the global average. Brazil achieved an all-time high of $11797.45 in 2013(World Bank, 2017). Unemployment is continually increasing in Brazil. The unemployment rate was at a high of 11.9% in 2016. This translated to an increase of 33.1% from 2015. Unemployment is worst in the capital Rio de Janeiro forcing the public employees to rely on government handouts. Currently, the unemployment rates in Rio are at 11.7%, while that of the entire nation is 11.4%. Most of the sectors that have been largely affected by the unemployment are agribusiness, manufacturing, construction, and professional services including finance and real estate (Rapoza, 2017). In 2015, the government implemented tight monetary policies and elevated the interest rates in a bid to ease inflation. It realigned prices and passed through the depreciation of the exchange rate causing the inflation rate to peak at 10.7% in December. This was way above the upper limit of the governments target of 4.5 2%. Presently, the inflation rates have decelerated. The rates fell to a low of less than 6% in 3 years. This made the bets on the market stronger hence a high reduction of interest rates by 75 basis points by the central bank. It is expected that by June 2017, the inflation rates should have gone to the governments target of 4.5%. This will enable policy makers to reduce the target for the first time in more than 10 years ("Brazil Economy - GDP, Inflation, CPI and Interest Rate", 2017). Monetary policy is the main tool used to ease inflation in the goods and service provision sector. After President Dilma Rouseff was impeached in August 2016, the vice president Michel Termer took office and directed the policy makers to look for monetary and fiscal adjustments that would restore investor confidence and ensure that the environment was conducive for investment. This move has however faced challenges and opposition. The difficult political environment and a rigid budget has undermined the modifications on the fiscal policy. There is no way to reduce public expenditure because of the rigidity of the bind by the constitution and other legislation. This imposes a burden of payment on the subnational government exposing them to a risk of insolvency. International trade is of great significance to the economy of Brazil although trade and investment face challenges in bureaucracy and regulation. The sum total of the value of imports and exports accounts for 27% of the GDP. The government applies an average tariff of 7.8%. The government plays an important role in the diverse and competitive financial sector and 50% of funds in the private sector are financed by public banks ("Brazil Economy - GDP, Inflation, CPI and Interest Rate", 2017). The economic crisis that Brazil is facing has led to major changes in the BOP current account. In response to the reduction of the GDP in 2016, the current account deficit fell to 1.6% of the GDP. This was a significant fall when compared to the 4.3% deficit that was recorded in 2014. By the end of 2015, 135% of the current account deficit was funded by direct foreign investments thus accounting for 4.2% of the GDP. Brazils Economy Outlook Putting in place growth enhancing changes the success of the adjustments that have been put in place will determine the outlook of the medium to long-term economic advancements. The drivers of growth have been stunted in the past. These drivers such as expansion of labour and commodity boom, and consumption that is fuelled by credit availability are important for the advancement of the economy. It is important that the government increase investment and gains from productivity in the effort to raise competitiveness and achieve growth in future. The government is seeking to reinforce the economy and the workforce in particular in the long run. To do this, it has imposed local content and made it necessary for foreign businesses to transfer technology. In addition to this, further research is being done in energy, healthcare and technology, with further investment in education through programs such as Bolsa Familia and the Brazil Science Mobility Program(World Bank, 2017). Conclusion Brazil has undergone a turbulent economic time in the past. The global financial crisis, economic recession, the political crisis in the country, and a fall in the prices of commodities has made the economy to contract sharply. These events reduces the confidence of the investors and consumers in the economy. High inflation rates, a wide deficit in the budget and balance of payments accounts, and political paralysis have compromised the fiscal and monetary policies in the country leading to a heavy burden of public debt. There is an excessive interference by the state on the economy coupled with poor and inefficient service from the government. Despite these challenges on the economy, the future looks bright if the reforms are successful. References Brazil Economy - GDP, Inflation, CPI and Interest Rate. (2017). FocusEconomics | Economic Forecasts from the World's Leading Economists. Retrieved 9 April 2017, from https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/brazil Brazil Economy - overview - Economy. (2017). Indexmundi.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017, from https://www.indexmundi.com/brazil/economy_overview.html Brazil GDP per capita | 1960-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast. (2017). Tradingeconomics.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017, from https://www.tradingeconomics.com/brazil/gdp-per-capita Brazil Overview. (2017). Worldbank.org. Retrieved 9 April 2017, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/brazil/overview Ellis, H. S. (2012).The economy of Brazil. Berkeley, Calif: University of California. Rapoza, K. (2017). Forbes Welcome. Forbes.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/12/29/brazil-record-unemployment-rate-rises-by-33-rio-de-janeiro-hangs-like-a-loose-tooth/

Cory Richards Scholarship Essay Samples

Cory Richards Scholarship Essay SamplesThese Cory Richards Scholarship Essay samples are filled with examples of essays, as well as quizzes, that are perfect for college students who need help writing their own assignments. All you have to do is turn your computer on and read through these samples, try to find the one that is right for you, and then make sure to send your answers in on time. But more importantly, have fun with it and make it something you will be proud of for the rest of your life.Cory Richards Scholarship Essay samples can also be found in various websites, where you can find free scholarships and give them out. These can also help in teaching your child how to write a good essay. By taking these samples, your child can also begin the process of learning how to use a word processor and then begin writing their own scholarship essay. So whether you choose to do it yourself or if you take advantage of free samples, there is no better way to learn how to write a winnin g essay than this.Cory Richards Scholarship Essay samples are created for students to help them write for the AP tests and are perfect for college level writing. They are created to help students improve their vocabulary and skills, making them more comfortable with the English language. They also come with a set of questions that help develop the ability to find proper grammar.Cory Richards Scholarship Essay samples are written in a way that is easy to understand for students, and they make perfect practice for high school students. The level of difficulty is one thing that differentiates between these samples and other samples. It should also be noted that the material presented is also meant to be challenging, so if you were to take these samples and then attempt to write for college-level essays, you would be better off writing the essay from scratch than trying to pass the Cory Richards Scholarship Essay samples.Many students have benefited from this scholarship's sample. Many individuals have even received scholarships from the program. Some of the most notable individuals to receive scholarships from the program were Pulitzer Prize winning writer George Plimpton and actress Brigitte Bardot. Both of these individuals gained scholarships for this program.Cory Richards Scholarship Essay samples can be found at websites that offer free samples. There are other sites that offer samples for a fee, which is nice, but not if you are looking for examples of an essay, a test, or a quiz. However, it is not really that much money, especially if you were to search online for a site that offers free samples.Cory Richards Scholarship Essay samples can be found online for free, by simply searching on the internet. By searching a couple of websites, you will be able to find samples of an essay, a test, or a quiz. By taking these samples, your child can improve their spelling and grammar skills, so make sure that you choose to write your own essay by using one of these s amples.Cory Richards Scholarship Essay samples are also great when taken online, by simply visiting websites that provide examples. You can also find free samples of an essay, a test, or a quiz by visiting websites that offer samples of these materials. The internet is a great resource, so you should always have at least a few free samples of samples to use when writing your essay.

Failure Of Gun Control Laws Essays - , Term Papers

Failure of Gun Control Laws Americans are faced with an ever-growing problem of violence. Our streets have become a battleground where the elderly are beaten for their social security checks, where terrified women are viciously attacked and raped, where teen-age gangsters shoot it out for a patch of turf to sell their illegal drugs, and where innocent children are caught daily in the crossfire of drive-by shootings. We cannot ignore the damage that these criminals are doing to our society, and we must take actions to stop these horrors. However, the effort by some misguided individuals to eliminate the legal ownership of firearms does not address the real problem at hand, and simply disarms the innocent law-abiding citizens who are most in need of a form of self-defense. To fully understand the reasons behind the gun control efforts, we must look at the history of our country, and the role firearms have played in it. The second amendment to the Constitution of the United States makes firearm ownership legal in this country. There were good reasons for this freedom, reasons which persist today. Firearms in the new world were used initially for hunting, and occasionally for self-defense. However, when the colonists felt that the burden of British oppression was too much for them to bear, they picked up their personal firearms and went to war. Standing against the British armies, these rebels found themselves opposed by the greatest military force in the world at that time. The 18th century witnessed the height of the British Empire, but the rough band of colonial freedom fighters discovered the power of the Minuteman, the average American gun owner. These Minutemen, so named because they would pick up their personal guns and jump to the defense of their country on a minute's notice, served a major part in winning the American Revolution. The founding fathers of this country understood that an armed populace was instrumental in fighting off oppression, and they made the right to keep and bear arms a constitutionally guaranteed right. Over the years, some of the reasons for owning firearms have changed. As our country grew into a strong nation, we expanded westward, exploring the wilderness, and building new towns on the frontier. Typically, these new towns were far away from the centers of civilization, and the only law they had was dispensed by townsfolk through the barrel of a gun. Crime existed, but could be minimized when the townspeople fought back against the criminals. Eventually, these organized townspeople developed police forces as their towns grew in size. Fewer people carried their firearms on the street, but the firearms were always there, ready to be used in self-defense. It was after the Civil War that the first gun-control advocates came into existence. These were southern leaders who were afraid that the newly freed black slaves would assert their newfound political rights, and these leaders wanted to make it easier to oppress the free blacks. This oppression was accomplished by passing laws making it illegal in many places for black people to own firearms. With that effort, they assured themselves that the black population would be subject to their control, and would not have the ability to fight back. At the same time, the people who were most intent on denying black people their basic rights walked around with their firearms, making it impossible to resist their efforts. An unarmed man stands little chance against an armed one, and these armed men saw their plans work completely. It was a full century before the civil rights activists of the 1960s were able to restore the constitutional freedoms that blacks in this country were granted in the 1860s. Today's gun control activists are a slightly different breed. They claim that gun violence in this country has gotten to a point where something must be done to stop it. They would like to see criminals disarmed, and they want the random violence to stop. I agree with their sentiments. However, they are going about it in the wrong way. While claiming that they want to take guns out of the hands of criminals, they work to pass legislation that would take the guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens instead. For this reason the

Defining the active voice - Emphasis

Defining the active voice Defining the active voice You might have heard its a good idea to favour the active voice in your writing – its generally tighter and more dynamic than using the passive voice. But what exactly do we mean by active and passive anyway? The active voice puts the doer of the action described (in grammar terms, the agent) first. This tends to sound natural and clear, and it leaves no information hidden. For example: The cat had stolen the dogs dinner. Here the doer (the cat) is stated before the action (had stolen). Now look at this sentence: The dogs dinner had been stolen by the cat. This is the passive voice: the action comes before the doer. In fact, the sentence would still make sense if you removed by the cat, which would leave everyone wondering who had stolen the poor dogs food. The passive voice can be used cynically to disguise who performed an action, which can produce a somewhat opaque and suspect piece of writing. And be careful not to use it habitually – doing so weighs down writing and makes it sound a bit bureaucratic and dull.

CritiqueThe Article Marketing Myopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CritiqueThe Article Marketing Myopia - Essay Example Companies should satisfy customers through inventiveness and skill. The dry cleaning industry is currently an industry that is in turmoil. Innovations such as synthetic fibers and chemical additives have cut the need for dry cleaning. Utilities may be natural monopolies now, but in the future the rise of renewable energy sources such as solar can replace the need for the electric grid infrastructure. The supermarket industry is extremely competitive and has many participants. Market changes can alter the longevity and profitability of an industry. According to Levitt (2004) there is no such thing as a growth industry since there are only companies organized and operated to create and capitalize on growth opportunities. The oldest growth industry is the petroleum industry. The population myth is the belief that profits are assured by the expanding and more affluent population. In an expanding market companies often fail to apply imagination in its decision making. The petroleum indust ry is an example of an industry that has become complacent in its business practices due to the fact that the petroleum industry’s efforts have focused on improving the efficiency of getting and making its product, not really on improving the generic product or its marketing. This has cause innovation to be stagnant among industry participants. The development of superior alternative fuel has come from outside the oil industry. The oil industry is convinced that there is no substitute for its major product, gasoline. The most important innovation that had a great impact on the demand for crude oil was the invention of the combustion engine. The combustion engine created the demand for gasoline. An industry that is competing with the oil industry is natural gas. Natural gas serves as a substitute product of heating oil. The U.S. production of petrochemicals accounts for 2% of the demand of all petroleum products. The industry is growing at a rate of 10% per year. There is no g uaranteed for obsolesce of a product in the future. When companies focus too much on production their marketing efforts get neglected. Unit costs decline as production increases. Mass production creates greater pressure to move the product. Marketing oriented companies try to create value-satisfying goods and services that customers want to buy. The seller is supposed to get input from the buyer to determine what goods the seller should offer to its customer base. The automobile industry spends millions of dollars annually on consumer research. The Detroit auto industry has not been doing enough to satisfy the needs of the customers. Some of the weaknesses of the U.S auto industry are point of sales, automotive repair and maintenances. The mentality of the Detroit executives is that marketing is a consequence of the product instead of vice-versa. Henry Ford is the most brilliant and senseless marketer in American history. A concept discussed in the article that I believe is extremel y important is the emphasis on customer orientation instead of product orientation strategy. Focusing on the customer has become more important than ever in order to improve the customer retention rate of the enterprise. Competition is tougher than ever in virtually every industry. Today American companies face major competition from foreign companies. An advantage of the globalization movement is access to a large supply of

How Has Architecture Developed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How Has Architecture Developed - Essay Example Studies have, however, revealed that the first structures that incorporated architectural designs with respect to beauty and outlook were the worshipping places (Watkin, 2005; 43). The prevailing cultures and religion greatly influenced the type of structures which were constructed in a particular region or place (Ching, 2006; 89). Geography also dictated the type of buildings designed and put up. Today, architecture is no less than science. It is due to the development skills of those in the field of architecture that some huge structures are seen today. The tall and strong buildings, huge bridges and complex structures are attributed to the creativity architectural experts (Hugh, 2000; 20). Architecture was an important discipline in the ancient times and its importance continues to be seen today. All the existing designs are a proof that the field has been developing. The growth and development is still ongoing albeit being influenced by some factors like geography, religion and societal