Things Fall Apart- Blog #3

I have just read through chapter 18 and am going to talk about the events surrounding the missionaries beginning in chapter 15. We first hear about the missionaries from Obierika when he goes to visit Okonkwo. We learn that some of the villagers killed the missionary, an act which Okonkwo, in an act of foreshadowing, explains to the reader was stupid because it will bring bad luck. Soon, more missionaries visit the town of Mbanta, where Okonkwo is living in exile. Events take a turn for the worst when Okonkwo learns that his son, Nwoye, was seen hanging around the missionaries. Soon, more town members begin to join the missionaries, who eventually gain enough converts to build a church. They build it unknowingly in the Evil Forest and manage to survive even though the townspeople expected them to die.  People begin questioning themselves. This puts the town in an unfortunate situation. People are confused by the converts because they make them question what they have been told for thousands of years. This is going to cause people to choose sides which will in turn cause more problems. It will be interesting to see what happens to the village as the missionaries continue to try and convert people. As Abraham Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand".

Things Fall Apart- Blog #2

In his interview with The Atlantic, Chinua Achebe talks about Americanization and a Universal Culture. It is intriguing to hear what Achebe has to say because his point of view goes against that of many within the U.S. Achebe writes that contrary to popular belief, we have not yet reached a Universal Culture. This part is not necessarily contrary to popular belief, but the fact that the American-European culture, the one that is widely adopted around the world, is not the universal culture. This brings up some interesting debates surrounding globalization and Americanization, some of which I will write about here.

Although the U.S.A.'s days of colonization are (or at least on the surface appear to be) over, it's influence on the world is ever growing. As one of the greatest economies in the world, the U.S. dominates world trade. As a result, the United States sets the precedents that countries follow when it comes to trading. In order to trade with the U.S., countries are required to speak english. This has a drastic effect one that is more easily seen when a person asks someone from outside the U.S. what languages they are learning in school. The answer, more often than not, is their native language, and English. Schools around the world require their students to learn english because it is necessary for them to be prosperous economically. Many of these students grow up and leave for the United States, where they will most likely never use their native language and where many will choose not to teach their children their native language. Thoughts of the "American Dream" has long lured people away from their homelands and brought them to the United States, where many of them learn English and forget their native language. Losing a language is a devastating blow to any culture. The globalization of English effects more than just a culture's language.

Americanization causes a culture to abandon practices which it had used throughout its history. It adopts practices which deplete its natural resources in order to be more competitive in the global economy, which is dominated by capitalist societies. While capitalism has its benefits, it can and has been a destructive force in regards to culture for this very reason. There are stories of countries running out of a vital resource for the first time in its history because it began to use them at a much faster rate than ever in order to advance economically. The effects prove disastrous for the people of the country, with the exact effects depending on what natural resource they are using. A prime example is that of the diamond trade's effects on the people of Sierra Leone.

There are many, many more negative effects of globalization, and even more negative outcomes from Americanization. One can only hope that more people realize the American-European culture is not the Universal Culture

Things Fall Apart- Blog #1

In his interview with The Atlantic, Chinua Achebe states that one reason he believes his novel Things Fall Apart has become so widely renowned is that people from countries with a history of being colonized can relate to the story of the Ibo. He then remarks that even people who live in a country without such a history can relate to the book because many people have experienced dispossession or victimization in some form or another. While I have yet to experience any form of dispossession drastic enough to warrant a link between my experience and that of the Ibo, I can relate to Okonkwo in another way: the feeling of being unfairly judged for something you cannot control. The scenario that has made me feel this way is the college application process.

I am a white male, non-catholic male, who lives in a wealthy family. Prior to the application process, I had not ever felt prejudiced, or at a disadvantage, which is amplified the feeling of hopelessness that overcame me throughout the admissions process. How is it that I felt at a disadvantage in the college application process? It has to do with the complexity of college admissions.

I worked hard through high school. I took the hardest classes available to me and always tried to get the best grade I was capable of getting. I did very well academically. Although I am not incredibly athletic, I participated in a sport all three seasons. By my senior year I was on the varsity team in three different sports. Lastly, I had also discovered a passion of mine in studying Spanish. My hard work seemed to pay off, as I had the grades to apply to most of the schools that caught my eye during the college hunting process. When it came time to compose an application to these schools, I felt confident that I would get into most of them with relative ease. Unfortunately, this would not be the case.

By mid-December, the early admission decisions began to roll in and with them came shock and confusion. While some of the decisions didn't really surprise me, there were some that made no sense to me. I had nearly killed myself with stress in order to make myself a prime applicant for these schools. According to the graphs, I should have gotten in with ease. I was towards the top of the academic spectrum at the schools and I certainly wasn't lacking in extracurriculars. So why was it that I wasn't getting into these schools?

The short answer is that college admissions are not fair–at least not in the way many consider fair. The reason they aren't fair is because colleges except a certain number of people depending on their race. This makes it harder for Asians to make it into colleges. This is because Asian, on average, have higher grades than other races. Since colleges only accept a certain number of Asians, people who identify as Asian have to have higher grades than their white, black, and other counterparts. Since colleges have to fill these quotas, it makes it harder for whites to get into colleges. If a two students, with similar applications in everything but race (one student is white, one is black), the school is more likely to choose the black student. Race does not have a huge impact on the admission decision application, however it is frustrating that something I have no control over can be used against me when deciding my future. The process is unfair because no matter what you do, you may not be what the college is "looking for". This is the most frustrating part of all. I have done everything I can to make sure I can go to the college I want to, but because I don't have a special talent because I was too busy with sports and school, I am at a disadvantage when it comes to one of the most important decisions of my life, a decision that seems to be hopelessly out of my control. I can relate to Okonkwo in that we both know the feeling of despair