Negative Aspect Of People's Lives example essay topic

The main detail that stands out about the book Things Fall Apart, by China Achebe, is that these characters have ridiculously difficult lives. None of these people have been dealt a life that is basically worry-free, like many people today. The characters in this book are born to work and serve their families, if they " re lucky and don't die of some crazy disease. Even the privileged have to work hard to have any prosperity. One example of how Achebe is trying to show through his story how these people have really awful lives is shown with the main character, Okonkwo. In the story the main thing you first learn about Okonkwo is that his father was killed and left him nothing except a burden.

His father, Un oka, had died of a swelling of the stomach and left him nothing at all which could help him get a good start in adulthood, like a barn or pre-planted crop fields. So Okonkwo had to build up his entire life all on his own. He was one of the lucky ones who actually made something out of himself. Achebe paints a very visual reality for both Okonkwo and the unsuccessful minor characters. Okonkwo has built up his own little farm and has a few wives, but he is still a miserable person who takes his anger out on others, especially his wives.

During the Week of Peace, he beats one wife, Ojiugo, because she had not prepared his evening meal in time. He is then punished because, Ezeani, priest of the earth goddess Ani, discovers he beat his wife during the week of peace, and his punishment is stated by Ezeani, who says: "Take away your kola nut. I shall not eat in the house of a man who has no respect for our gods and ancestors". She then makes him sacrifice to the gods for his disrespect.

So really, even though he had his own reasons, Okonkwo is punished. This is just one type of hardship in the book, and a minor one compared to things other people go through, which can included killing a person, even for simple reasons. It is hard to make a true assumption about what a writer is trying to say in his book without actually reading through the whole book, because you never know what will pop up in the end of the book. However, from what is visible within the first nine or so chapters, Achebe is illustrating the hardships people in Africa faced in their everyday lives. He writes his book from a negative point of view, a negative aspect of people's lives. However this seems natural because their lives were full of negativity and hardships.

A more direct assumption about the writing style can be made when the book has been completely read, but the first idea you pick up about Achebe's way is that life in Africa was negative and he wants to show it.