Things Fall Apart Okonkwos Tragic Flaw English Literature Essay

Things Fall Apart Okonkwos Tragic Flaw English Literature Essay Things Fall Apart is a tragic story about a man who comes into conflict against himself to prove himself worthy of his tribe. A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy that normally makes a mistake and ends up defeated. The four main criteria for a story to have a tragic hero would be that the main character has a flaw but has some goodness, he is the protagonist of the story, he is noble or exhibits wisdom, and he suffers a reversal of fortune in the end because of his tragic flaw. A tragic flaw of a character is the flaw of the main character that will eventually bring him down. The main character, Okonkwo, meets each of the four criteria to be a tragic hero. His flaw would be that he is violent but he does have some good. He cares for his family; he wants his son Nwoye, to be tough and hardworking like him. Moreover, he wanted his daughter, Ezinma, to be safe. He is a protagonist of the story because he is the main character, he is a hero, and in addition, he is tough. Okon kwo also exhibits wisdom because he is a leader. He is a great warrior and everyone looks up to him to keep them safe. In the end, Okonkwos flaw of violence and overconfidence got out of control. He became too violent when the church took over. The people of his tribe turned to the church instead of following him so he decided to take action and kill a messenger. The commissioner of the church came after him but he had already hanged himself. Therefore, Okonkwo, meeting every rule, is a tragic hero (Wikipedia.org). Okonkwo is an impatient, violent person. When things do not go the way he wants them to go, he cannot just talk it out with someone, he turned to violence whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, and he would use his fists. He had no patience with unsuccessful men (Achebe 8). He is arrogant and attributes excessive pride; he feels that everyone should listen to him and that he rules his whole clan and even his family. He also beat his wife during the Week of Peace, when she returned he beat her heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace (Achebe 31). Okonkwo also had some goodness in him. Ezinma became very ill and shivered in the night, Okonkwo makes a medicine for her and she gets better. He cares for his family even though he does not want to show it. He hopes for his son to grow tough and strong and not end up like his lazy father. Ikemefuna was a boy from Mbaino who was sent to Umuofia because his father had killed a woman fr om Umuofia. He was to stay with Okonkwo for three years then was to be killed. Okonkwo treated him like he was his own son, they respected each other and Ikemefuna was a hard worker. Okonkwo liked this about him; he was not like his father or his own son Nwoye. The second main rule to be a tragic character would be that he is the protagonist of the story. A protagonist is the main character in a literary work who is a champion of a cause or course of action. Okonkwo is the protagonist of the story because he is the main character and he is the hero of the story. In the first chapter of Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe describes Okonkwo as a great and fierce warrior. He was a great, famous wrestler and his fame had grown a lot over the years. There was another great, undefeated wrestler called Amalinze the Cat that Okonkwo threw in a fight, which was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town (Achebe 7). Okonkwo was a tough, young man and was afraid to show any weakness. Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being caught weak (Achebe 59). Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna before the other man could because he was taking too long and he wanted his people to think he was fearless for being the first to kill him. The tragic hero of a story must exhibit wisdom or be noble at birth. Unoka, Okonkwos father, was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow (Achebe 8). He resented his fathers failure and weakness; resented means that Okonkwo was angry and embarrassed of his fathers laziness. Ever since he was young, he wanted to be the opposite of his father. Okonkwo was ruled by one passion- to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved (Achebe 17). Okonkwo is a great leader of his tribe. Many people looked up to him because he is so intimidating to others. While exiled into his motherland, the church and their religion began to take control over all of the tribes. Okonkwos own son, Nwoye, turned to the church. He became fascinated with the poetry. Okonkwo declared a war against them but most of the people in his clan turned to the church. He finally leads the rest of his clan to go burn down the church. This example shows he is a great leader and sticks to his own beliefs, therefore he is a tragic hero (Dictionary.com). The last rule of a tragic hero is that the main character suffers a reversal of fortune because of their flaw. Okonkwo, with his flaw of anger and violence, got out of control one day; he decided to take control, with or without his clan, and kill one of the three church messengers. The villagers, all in shocked and speechless let the other two messengers go. The district commissioner goes to Okonkwos obi so he can take him to jail, but Okonkwo had already hanged himself because he wanted everyone to see how dedicated he was to his clan and know how much the church had separated them all. This flaw of overconfidence of getting his clan back to the way it was reversed his fortune and now he cannot do anything more to help them. In conclusion, a tragic hero would be one who involves the notion that such a hero would make an error in their actions that leads to his or her downfall. This tragic hero must be a character with flaws but with some goodness, which brings them down in the end. They are typically hubris, which is ones own self-confidence and excessive pride. They are the protagonist of the story and they are noble at birth. The final rule for being a tragic hero suffers a reversal of fortune because of their tragic flaw (Wikipedia.com).

Coke vs Pepsi Fighting for Foreign Markets :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Coke vs Pepsi Fighting for Foreign Markets Introduction The soft-drink battleground has now turned toward new overseas markets. While once the United States, Australia, Japan, and Western Europe were the dominant soft-drink markets, the growth has slowed down dramatically, but they are still important markets for Coca-Cola and Pepsi. However, Eastern Europe, Mexico, China, Saudi Arabia, and India have become the new "hot spots." Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are forming joint bottling ventures in these nations and in other areas where they see growth potential. As we have seen, international marketing can be very complex. Many issues have to be resolved before a company can even consider entering uncharted foreign waters. This becomes very evident as one begins to study the international cola wars.

Opinion of Shared Governance Essay

What is your opinion of shared governance? â€Å"In shared governance, as in nursing, the primary resources for practice are the providers themselves. Thus, to control practice, nurses must have influence over themselves as a professional group,† ( Hess, R. 2011. P.3). I believe when shared governance is actually thoroughly exercised, nurses claim the power they can have by utilizing leadership and optimal practice. I strongly believe this mindset can greatly improve job satisfaction and patient care outcomes. List short-term and long-term advantages and barriers to this type of model. Short-term: sense of empowerment, nurses can influence the processes, staff becomes accountable for their actions Long-term: improves communication and cooperation/teamwork, promotes compromise, since everyone is involved staff learns to listen to other viewpoints. Compared to other types of organizational structures, is a shared governance model better for nursing? I do believe that shared governance is a better model for structure in nursing. This model promotes democracy and teamwork while others tell you what your goals are; shared governance encourages staff to brainstorm their own goals which fosters pride and compliancy. â€Å"Shared governance is collaboration, whether in scheduling staff, educating new staff, or implementing evidence-based practice. It involves teamwork, problem-solving, and accountability, with the goals of improved staff satisfaction, productivity, and patient outcomes. It is working together to make decisions that affect nursing practice and patient care. It is working with other disciplines for the good of the patient. It is collaborating to improve nursing practice,† (Bonsall, L. 2011. p.1) How do Magnet hospitals fit into the shared governance model? Magnet hospitals and shared governance share many characteristics including excellent teamwork, low nurse burnout/turnover rates, and optimal patient outcomes. Each encourages the nurse to express opinions and listen to others’ as well. Open mindedness is coupled with high standard of practice. These two are highly motivational. Resources: Bonsall, L. (2011). What is Shared Governance? Nursing’sCenter in the Round. Retrieved from

Arguments Against Horse Racing

Death and injuries are not uncommon occurrences in horse racing, and some animal welfare advocates argue that the sport can be humane if certain changes are made. To animal rights activists, the issue is not the cruelty and danger; its about whether we have a right to use horses for entertainment. The Horse Racing Industry Horse racing is not just a sport, but also an industry and unlike most other sports arenas, horse racetracks, with few exceptions, are directly supported by legal gambling. The form of gambling at horse racetracks is called parimutuel betting, which is explained as: The entire money bet on the event goes into a large pool. The holders of winning tickets divide the total amount of money bet on the race (the pool), after deductions for tax and racetrack expenses. The money take out is similar to the rake taken out by the pot in a poker game played in the card room. However unlike the small rake in poker, in the parimutuel pool this â€Å"rake† can amount to 15 – 25 percent of the total prize pool. In various U.S. states, bills have been considered and sometimes passed either allowing racetracks to have other forms of gambling or protecting racetracks from competition from casinos. As gambling has become more accessible in recent years through new casinos and online gambling websites, racetracks are losing customers. According to a 2010 article in the Star-Ledger in New Jersey: This year, the Meadowlands Racetrack and Monmouth Park will lose upwards of $20 million as fans and bettors have migrated to tracks in New York and Pennsylvania with slot machines and other casino games. Pressure from Atlantic City casinos have prevented the racino model from taking hold here, and the tracks have suffered. Daily attendance at the Meadowlands routinely hit 16,500 in its first year. Last year, the average daily crowd was below 3,000. To counter these losses, racetracks have been lobbying to be allowed to have slot machines or even full-blown casinos. In some cases, the slot machines are owned and operated by the government, with a cut going to the racetrack. One might wonder why a government body would be concerned about supporting racetracks instead of allowing them to perish like other outdated industries. Each racetrack is a multi-million dollar economy, supporting hundreds of jobs including everyone from breeders, jockeys, veterinarians, farmers who grow hay and feed, and blacksmiths who do the horseshoeing. The financial forces behind racetracks are the reason they continue to exist, despite concerns about animal cruelty, gambling addictions, and gambling morality. Animal Rights and Horse Racing The animal rights position is that animals have a right to be free of human use and exploitation, regardless of how well the animals are treated. Breeding, selling, buying and training horses or any animal violates that right. Cruelty, slaughter and accidental deaths and injuries are additional reasons to oppose horse racing. As an animal rights organization, PETA recognizes that certain precautions can reduce deaths and injuries, but categorically opposes horse racing. Animal Welfare and Horse Racing The animal welfare position is that there is nothing wrong with horse racing per se, but more should be done to protect the horses. The Humane Society of the United States does not oppose all horse racing but opposes certain cruel or dangerous practices. Cruel and Dangerous Horse Racing Practices According to PETA, One study on injuries at racetracks concluded that one horse in every 22 races suffered an injury that prevented him or her from finishing a race, while another estimated that 3 thoroughbreds die every day in North America because of catastrophic injuries during races. Pushing a horse to his physical limits and forcing him to run around a racetrack is enough to cause accidents and injuries, but other practices make the sport particularly cruel and dangerous. Horses are sometimes raced when they are under three years old and their bones are not strong enough, leading to fractures that can lead to euthanasia. Horses are also drugged to help them compete with injuries, or given prohibited performance-enhancing drugs. Jockeys often whip the horses as they approach the finish line for an extra burst of speed. Racetracks made of hard, packed dirt are more dangerous than those with grass. Perhaps the worst abuse is one that is hidden from the public: horse slaughter. As a 2004 article in the Orlando Sentinel explains: To some, horses are a pet; to others, a living piece of farm equipment. To the horse-racing industry, though, the thoroughbred is a lottery ticket. The racing industry breeds thousands of losing tickets while looking for its next champion. Just as farmers cannot afford to care for spent egg-laying hens when they get old, racehorse owners are not in the business of feeding and keeping losing horses. Even winning horses are not spared from the slaughterhouse: Decorated racers like Ferdinand, a Kentucky Derby winner, and Exceller, who won more than $1 million in purse money, were retired to stud. But after they failed to produce champion offspring, they were slaughtered. While there are rescue groups and sanctuaries for retired racehorses, there are not enough. Horse breeders argue that horse slaughter is a necessary evil, but it wouldnt be necessary if the breeders stopped breeding. From an animal rights perspective, money, jobs, and tradition are powerful forces keeping the horse racing industry alive, but they cannot justify the exploitation and suffering of the horses. And while animal advocates make the ethical arguments against horse racing, this dying sport may pass away on its own.