A Critique of Chinua Achebe’s An Image of Africa Essay Example for Free

A Critique of Chinua Achebe’s An Image of Africa Essay Certainly Conrad appears to go to considerable pains to set up layers of insulation between himself and the moral universe of his history. He has, for example, a narrator behind a narrator. The primary narrator is Marlow but his account is given to us through the filter of a second, shadowy person. But if Conrads intention is to draw a cordon sanitaire between himself and the moral and psychological malaise of his narrator his care seems to me totally wasted because he neglects to hint however subtly or tentatively at an alternative frame of reference by which we may judge the actions and opinions of his characters. Although Achebe recognizes Conrads use of multiple narrators, he dismisses any intention on Conrads part of utilizing the narrators to introduce psychological depth in Heart of Darkness. I believe, however, that Conrads full objective was to establish a moral and existential tone in his novella; he accomplished this by incorporating a second narrator. Conrad introduces the narrator and his surrounding characters as they navigate the Thames River. As the narrator describes Marlow and the other Seamen the reader begins to question where Marlow stands in this social hierarchy. Conrad thus establishes a tone of uncertainty in the credibility and morality of both Marlow and the narrator. The entire novella is a retelling of Marlow’s tales in Africa, years after they had occurred, which leaves the extent of Marlow’s exaggeration and embellishment of his story up for question. 2. Disagree Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist. That this simple truth is glossed over in criticisms of his work is due to the fact that white racism against Africa is such a normal way of thinking that its manifestations go completely unremarked Achebe is not reading Conrad’s work on a symbolic level rather he superficially judges parts of the novella as racist. The novella Heart of Darkness is not a racial slur, nor is it an insulting depiction of the people of Africa in any way. It is an examination of the false pretenses the Europeans held over their assumed benevolent work in Africa. The purpose of Marlow’s story was to show the adverse effects of imperialism on white European tradesmen. Conrad is thus in no way a racist, as he set out to depict the malice of Europeans during this time period. He uses his experiences in the Congo during King Leopold of Belgium’s tyranny to show the malevolence greed instills in mankind. 3. Disagree Africa as a metaphysical battlefield devoid of all recognizable humanity, into which the wandering European enters at his peril. . . . . Can nobody see the preposterous and perverse arrogance in thus reducing Africa to the role of props for the break-up of one petty European mind? But that is not even the point. The real question is the dehumanization of Africa and Africans which this age-long attitude has fostered and continues to foster in the world. And the question is whether a novel which celebrates this dehumanization, which depersonalizes a portion of the human race, can be called a great work of art. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a great work of art; is it a symbolic delineation of Western covetousness and the effects materialism has on mankind. Africa is not meant to be â€Å"devoid of all recognizable humanity.† Africa is a setting which could be moved anywhere white Europeans use phony moral objectives to carry out their greed. The novella is not specific to Africa but, is a representation of the degradation of man when he works on fake moral grounds. It is for that very reason that Conrad begins his novella with Marlow’s recount of man’s historical occupations -including Roman and British sieges- and the darkness that follows all acts of greed. 4. Disagree Unfortunately his heart of darkness plagues us still. Which is why an offensive and deplorable book can be described by a serious scholar as among the half dozen greatest short novels in the English language. Although Achebe’s defensive view is reasonable as he is of African descent and feels affronted by the opinion he believes Conrad holds, he misses the overall meaning of the novella. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is not a plague, nor should it be regretted. This novella gave insight into the shameful acts committed by Europeans in search of fame and fortune. Heart of Darkness is not a slander on the African people; it is the exposure of European cruelty and man’s madness derived from greed and feeling empowered over another. 5. Disagree â€Å"I am talking about a book which parades in the most vulgar fashion prejudices and insults from which a section of mankind has suffered untold agonies and atrocities in the past and continues to do so in many ways and many places today. I am talking about a story in which the very humanity of black people is called in question.† Humanity is questioned in Heart of Darkness but, Achebe fails to realize Conrad’s intention. Achebe focuses primarily on the depiction of the Africans in this novella and disregards the contempt Conrad holds for the imperialists. Conrad’s objective was to unmask the â€Å"prejudices and insults from which a section of mankind has suffered untold agonies and atrocities† but, not in the â€Å"vulgar fashion† Achebe describes. The humanity of Europeans is instead called in question. Conrad had witnessed firsthand how the Europeans pillaged and devastated African communities and used his experiences to illustrate the obscen ity of imperialism. 6. Disagree As a sensible man I will not accept just any travelers tales solely on the grounds that I have not made the journey myself. I will not trust the evidence even off mans very eyes when I suspect them to be as jaundiced as Conrads. And we also happen to know that Conrad was, in the words of his biographer, Bernard C. Meyer, notoriously inaccurate in the rendering of his own history. In fiction it is often the author’s idiosyncratic perspective that makes a story intriguing. Factual recounting does not arrive in a fictional book. Whether Conrad’s portrayal of imperialism in Africa was entirely accurate or an embellished version of his own existential struggles, Heart of Darkness was a landmark piece for his time period. The atrocities committed during European imperialism were not a subject of conversation but, Conrad helped to bring the issues to the surface. Conrad did not aim to offend the people of Africa; he intended to expose the Europeans of their veiled immorality.

William Blakes The Chimney Sweep and Songs of Innocence and Experience

William Blake's The Chimney Sweep and Songs of Innocence and Experience In this essay I will attempt to analyse, compare and contrast the poems 'The Chimney Sweep' from both 'Songs of Experience' and 'Songs of Innocence' which were both written by 'William Blake' in 1790-92 and 1789 respectively. These two poems were amalgamated in 1794 to create a new collection called 'Songs of Innocence and Experience'. I will be looking at what Blake says and hints at concerning the 'two contrary states of the human soul' in the two poems as well as looking at the message Blake is trying to convey to the reader. As the poems are written regarding the same subject, that is a chimney sweep, I will be looking at how they differ in their representations of chimney sweeps as well as looking at whether Blake's attitude towards them and how they are treated varies or remains constant. I will also look at the many issues the poems raise and I will go beyond the obvious one of child labour and the implications this had on society at the time. Moving away from the issues that are raised by the two poems I will also look at the literacy techniques Blake uses in both poems and how they vary from poem to poem. Blake uses a considerable amount of imagery in both poems and I will comment upon how he uses it to effect. In the late 18th century, the world was changing fast and developing rapidly. The British Empire was at its all time peak in terms of size and domination; Britain was also leading the Industrial Revolution and consequently because of this and its huge empire exports and in particular imports to Britain of precious minerals and materials from their many colonies, was very high, which had the effect of allowing t... ...ect on them at an early age. Or if the belief is held that the child is a miniature adult and so should be treated as such with out any special considerations. Heaven was seen as a reward for suffering hell on earth and this belief was perhaps used and encouraged to exploit the naÃÆ'Â ¯ve working classes, who out of fear of retribution would not question this idea as religion was a means of controlling the masses. Blake uses a range of techniques, such as imagery, to convey and express these states, I found his description of the boy in Experience as 'A little black thing among the snow', particularly poignant reflecting the futility and cheapness of the lives of working class children. Blake wanted to highlight the plight of child labour and encourage people to recognise the inequalities of social class, imagery such as this undoubtedly achieves this.

Porter’s five forces Essay

It is very important for the drug companies and supermarkets to use the five forces to ensure that they strategically position themselves in a way that they become very competitive to make sure that they remain in business and also make and maximize profits. Managers have a very important role in ensuring that they do enough analysis so that they employ strategies to make them make the best out of the business that they do. Porter’s forces can be analyzed to act as yard sticks for the supermarkets and the drug companies to position themselves so as to do a profitable business as they face a very competitive and saturated environment that is very sensitive to changes. (McGahan, 2004) The supermarkets and the drug companies should utilize the Michael Porter’s five forces analyses as a framework to guide them operate in the competitive environment. The forces that affect the supermarkets and drug companies are those that are close to them and need to be properly analyzed since they affect their ability to effectively serve their customers and also make profits. When the supermarkets and drug companies face changes in the five forces, they need to re-examine the market place and make decisions that will ensure that they remain profitable and challenge their competitors. Their management should highly depend on research and marketing intelligence to gather the necessary information that will help them make sound decisions that will help their firms since they are faced with a lot of competition from their rival competitors. The closeness of substitutes Substitutes are alternative products that have the ability to satisfy similar needs and give solutions. Substitutes in the supermarkets and drug industries reduce the potential returns since they place a ceiling on the prices offered for products. Firms that realize that products being offered bring a lot of profits look for substitutes products that can substitute so that they may also enjoy profits. Drug companies face a big challenge since scientists and researchers are coming up with products generic drugs that compete very much with the existing original products. Due to research, drug industries are discovering new products every day that are either more effective or cure the same diseases. This has become a very big challenge since the market has become open and new discoveries are welcome every time. Customers will always be tempted to try the new products to see whether they are more effective and are made to believe that the newest drugs on the market are the best since they are more new and tested. Malaria drugs for instance are changing every time and patients believe that the new discoveries can handle Malaria more strongly than those that were there before. Marketers in drug industry must constantly try to sell there drugs by marketing them all the time and assuring their markets that the drugs they have are the best. Almost all drugs have tested substitutes and it gives the sellers and the users a variety of choices to choose from and making it very hard for some drugs to be pushed. The drug industry is so concentrated and even the herbal industry is attracting a lot of audience sine they claim to have varieties and more effective drugs. (Porter, 1985) Supermarkets are facing very stiff challenges since many supermarkets are opening up everyday with better supplies from substitute goods that make them appear to be cheaper than the others. Customers will go to those supermarkets with variety of substitutes so that they may get more cheap goods that can meet their needs. In a supermarket, companies will take and buy spaces in the supermarkets and also arrange and make them more appealing than the products from their competitors. When we look at basic products like bread and flour, you will find that there are many substitutes that will be in the same supermarket and that can play the same role and act as substitutes of the other. Supermarkets face a stiff challenge from the others and therefore need to do extensive advertising, introduce new cheap products every time and increase service to the customers since there is a stiff competition from other supermarkets. Supermarkets will always try to take customers from each other by winning them with the substitutes that they offer and services that they also offer at a cheaper price. (Lovelock, 2006) The Intensity of Rivalry among Established Companies Supermarkets and drug companies face a very competitive environment that has a big concentration of rival competitors making it a very competitive venture in business. They compete with heir rivals across al levels and try all strategies to ensure that they beat their rivals and try to do extensive marketing and innovation to attract more customers every day. There are many established companies that are more organized and have better strategies than the new ones that come up and therefore have a competitive edge over the others. An established company will mean having a well developed network that has a good client base and that is supported by customer loyalty and therefore locking out the new firms that try to make an impact by trying the existing markets. The well established pharmaceutical firms give a big challenge to the new companies in the market that try to make their products known. Even though substitute products are received in drug industries, it becomes easy for the established firms to push customers to start using their new products in the market since they have a name in the market and customers are loyal to them. (Porter, 1985) Customers will always be pulled to go to the already established supermarkets that they are used to them and will always feel that their services are the best. They also believe that products and services that are offered in the established supermarkets are the best and all they offer are the best to take car of their needs. The new supermarkets are highly challenged and must therefore position themselves strategically by ensuring that they price their products well and also do extensive advertising to market their products and services and have new customers and prospects that will be customers in future. The rate of growth of the drug companies and supermarkets has become a big challenge as new ones come into the market every time with very attractive terms for customers and therefore pulling them and pulling away their loyal customers. Competitors in the drug companies and supermarkets have diversities and therefore make them very unique and unequalled and thus being very hard to compete with them in a very competitive environment due to high concentration of players who are doing the same businesses. There is need for e advertising to market both individual products and the supermarkets and drug companies due to the stiff competition from rival players in the same field that is concentrated highly. The bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers take advantage of their unique supplies to ask and bargain for what they want and enjoy the monopoly and charge expensively for the products or services that they offer. Customers are very sensitive to any changes that may affect them that are caused by the bargaining power of the suppliers. Suppliers are a competitive threat in drug industries because they can raise the prices of new and the old supplies and therefore making the customers to try substitute products that can satisfy the same need. Suppliers may cost the drug companies a lot of financial constrain if they switch and fail to supply their products as it is involving to get new and reliable suppliers that can give quality and be efficient all the time. (Grant, 2005) Doctors will recommend their clients to use substitutes according to their financial abilities and are in a position to refer them to use any of the substitutes. Supermarkets must try as much as possible to bargain well with their suppliers so that they may get quality products at the right price so that they may also sell and price their products well in relation to those of the competitors so that they may not loose customers to the other supermarkets. Suppliers will have more power if they are few or alone in the market and will give their products at a very high price and will affect the sales of the supermarket in the long run. It is very important for the drug companies and the supermarkets to have suppliers that can supply substitute products that are more or les the same so that their customers will not run to the other outlets that have the products that they need. In the event that the suppliers reduce their products quality and raise the price of their products, it will be a great competitive challenge to the drug industries and the supermarkets that offer the same services. The determinants of the suppliers power in both the supermarkets and the drug companies includes: suppliers concentration in one particular place that is central in location, volume of suppliers that they offer to the supermarkets and the drug companies and finally the costs related to the total purchases that they do. The suppliers ensure that they take advantage of their strengths to bargain and register as much profits as possible and make the buyers of their suppliers to accept what they offer and fix high prices. (Cullen and Boteeah, 2005) The Risk of Entry by Potential Competitors The new competitors enter into business with an intention to bring new capacities that never existed before so that they may give competition to the existing firms. Every new entrant into the drug and supermarket business is a big threat to the existing firms since they may pose a big danger when they come and take the existing customers by intimidating them with good attractive services and also set their businesses in strategic points that will attract more customers. Supermarkets and drug companies are very profitable and has therefore it has been attracting very many new entrants who perceive it as a good profitable business that has a lot of assurance since the customers will always need food and other materials offered I the supermarkets and drugs to help prevent and cure diseases. Their main interest is to capture big market share that exists so that they make more sales and therefore make profits. Supermarkets face a lot of competition from new entrants who come up with new and customer satisfying service that are very attractive and take their customers. They are few barriers to the new entrants in this field and many businessmen are thinking of opening up one stop supermarkets that are in strategic positions to attract customers. (Mark, 2001) There are many barriers that might be in the drug industries that may affect the drug firms. They include the following: government policies on drug companies, economies of scale, capital requirements that are needed to start a drug company, brand identities and reactions from firms in the drug industry. New entrants in the drug industry are seen by those that are already in existence as a threat since they take and reduce their market share and make them reduce their sales and therefore register fewer profits from the sales. Though governments might create barriers to help streamline the industry, it will not fully succeed since many new entrants might meet the requirements put on them and give challenge to the already flocked market. The higher the entry barriers, the less it is likely for outsiders to enter the industry. (Sparrow and Hilltop, 1994) The Bargaining Power of Buyers This is the marketplace of outputs. Customers in the supermarkets and drug industry put the two businesses a lot of pressure since they are very sensitive to any change in prices and are always ready to window shop and find where prices are relatively cheap. The availability of substitute products in both the supermarkets and drug companies has made it very challenging for all those who run these businesses and are therefore supposed to learn the behavior of their customers so as not to scare them to their competitors and therefore reducing their profitability. The players in the drugs and supermarket firms make it .Many supermarkets and drug companies give room for their customers to bargain and make the competitors to be on toes. It is very important for the drug companies and supermarkets to highly depend on market intelligence so as to be very strategic in their pricing since there are many supermarkets and drug industries that are ready to reduce their prices by negligible amount that can attract customers from their competitors. (Brewster, 1995) Buyers are ready to run into substitute products that are being marketed everyday in the supermarkets and drug companies due to the changing technologies that are leading to cheaper and quality production of substitute products. Advertisers are taking advantage of the sensitivity that the buyers have to market new products that hit the market daily. The drug industries and the supermarkets should have a variety of substitutes in their business premises to pull all the customers and reduce the customers from moving to their competitors who offer various products in different prices. Since buyers are the ones that ensure that there is continuity of business, the supermarkets and the drug companies should learn and be very sensitive to the changing tastes and preferences in order to win buyers and also ensure that they remain loyal to them since the concentration of many firms is a big threat. Supermarkets and drug firms must ensure that they use the Porter’s analysis since they face stiff and very competitive challenges from firms that have realized that they can make lucrative profits from the supermarket and drugs since they are assured of a lot of profits from a large customer base that is attracted by these firms. They need to assess the market very well and ensure that they learn there customers very well and also ensure that they position themselves to compete more effectively to remain in business and also maintain a good relationship with their customers so that the competitors may not take away their customers. It is only through these methods that they will be assured of remaining in business tomorrow. (Brandenburger and Nalebuff, 1995) Reference Brandenburger, M. and Nalebuff, J. (1995): The Right Game. Use Game Theory to Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review pp.59-69 Brewster. C (1995): Towards a European Model of Human Resource Management-Journal of International Business. Vol 26, pp 112 Cullen, J. and Boteeah, K. (2005): Multinational Management. A strategic Approach, 3rd Edition, Mason; Thomson South-Western, pp 54 Grant, R. (2005): Contemporary Strategy Analysis: – Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford pp 24-45 Lovelock, J. (2006): Services Marketing, People, Technology, and Strategy. New York, Prentice Hall, pp 23-45 Mark, D. (2001): Human Resource Management and organizational performance; 3rd Edition of the Institute of Management, Washington, U.S, pp 76 Porter, M. (1979): How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard Business Review pp 34 Porter, M. (1985): Competitive Advantage:-Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. The Free Press, New York, pp 12-56 McGahan, A. (2004): How Industries Evolve: – Principles for Achieving and Sustaining Superior Performance. Harvard Business School Press, pp 27-37 Sparrow, P. and Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management in Transition: New York, Prentice Hall, pp 45-76 Â  

The Power of Music Essay - 1051 Words

The Power of Music Music is the expression of emotion through the medium of sound. From the very first moment a human heard a songbird and endeavored to recreate that beauty, or beat on a hollow log and found the rhythm compelling, music has become the most powerful freedom given by God. Music, in itself, is a characteristic common and unique to all cultures throughout the world. Every culture in history includes music as an important part of everyday life. Music, as a part of culture, will most often have more roles to play than a source of auditory pleasure. According to anthropologist, Raymond Firth, They have work to do, to serve as funeral dirges, as accompaniments to dancing, or to serenade a lover.(p171) However, the†¦show more content†¦Often there is a radio blasting some rhythmically driving Rock and Roll song. (Rock and Roll is a direct offspring of the blues) A friend of mine, who is a carpenter, explained to me this way; Youre just out there workin and gettin all sweaty, and list nin to the music, and pretty soon youre still workin but you dont know it cause your mind is somewhere else. Music can create a tight fraternity among groups of people. Music is often used in the military to organize and coordinate the movements of large groups of people. Short rhythmic melodies, called cadences, are sung by soldiers as they are marching in order to keep a common time and a constant beat. Music has even been used as a form of secret communication in small groups. B.B. King, a legendary blues singer, recalls stories passed down from his great-grandmother, who was a slave. They [the slaves] were also delivering messages in musical code. If the master was coming, you might sing a hidden warning to the other field hands...that was important to the women because the master could have anything he wanted. (King and Ritz,p110) A societies music is what holds it together as a group. According to Edward O. Wilson, a Harvard socio-biologist; Singing and dancing serve to draw groups together, direct the emotions of the people, and prepare them for joint action. (p564) In many tribal cultures, ritualistic singingShow MoreRelatedMusic : The Power Of Music1741 Words   |  7 Pages Uses of Music The Power of Music Ariel Balda South Piedmont Community College Abstract Music is something has been around for a really long time. Music can be seen as a form in which artists express themselves but it could also benefit people that listen to it. Music has many uses for people. Musical therapy is a type of therapy that has been developed and researched well. 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