Even his father’s death has brought shame to Okonkwo. So he strives to be a successful and affluent man and through his hard work and determination he becomes one. Achebe’s diction in this quote allows the reader to realize the seriousness of Oknonkwo’s fear of failure. For example,” It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil.” This alone shows that his fear of failure is ultimately going to lead to his downfall because failure is what makes him this man who is afraid to show any feelings that will be seen as “agbala” which means womanly. This fear throughout the novel causes him to make rash and impetuous decisions in order to achieve a high stature in the tribe.
She states the she can’t carry the responsibility for her friend . The fact that she also raised the question in school is red alarm, one of all places where you are faced with what you don’t want to live any more, the constant reminder off what pain you are going thru. The author is talking about her not wanting to be a “vegetable” on the doctors table, and she has written instructions saying she don’t want to be resuscitated. She’s willing to help her husband and even her
He does not know the news. Later on Miguel tries to comfort Esperanza but pulls away from his hand because he is poor. L. When her mother and grandmother come back from the priest, Tio Luis who is her uncle wants to make a deal. M. Her uncle asks Esperanza’s mom to marry him, because she cannot support her family now that she is widowed. Esperanza is shocked and hates him.
At the beginning of the chapter, Nathan becomes very ill. This is Rukmani’s internal conflict. (Man vs Self) She realizes that Nathan is very sick, but the family needs him to produce so they can stay alive. Ruku feels selfish when she visits Dr. Kenny and says “what comfort can one offer a man who sees his
He has physically harmed and emotionally damaged Orelanna and it was a freeing moment for her when she decided to get away from him and take the girl with her. It is too bad that it took the death of one of her daughters to see that him keeping the family in the congo was a dangerous decision. Nathan was very selfish because he was so desperate to try and get the people of the congo to believe in his God and get baptised, he was blamed for the death of his daughter. Leah went from following her father and never doubting him to going completely against what he asks of her. In the end, she marries someone who fights for the rights of the people in the congo.
Madera’s desire to overcome her language barrier caused her to decide to go back to college and take English courses (79). Madera had taken her weakness into her own hands and decided to fix it by going back to school. She realizes that the way she speaks does not show the type of person that she, but her writing does (80). “The Bar of Gold” also talks about how the protagonist, Weeping John, is his own constraint, and because of that he is not able to move forward. In this folktale, Weeping John is constantly sick because he is worried about how his family will survive after his death (Gold 148).
Sadly Nathan’s inability to provide his family with more right then wrong began when he was a soldier during World War II. There, Nathan escaped the Battaan Death March, and almost faced the death it brought. Because he escaped the fate of death the rest of his battalion, he views himself as a coward who is despised by God. He vows never to be a coward again and he devotes his life to saving as many souls as he can, through his missionary work. It becomes increasingly clear as the novel progresses, that Nathan is not brave but cowardly, and not a man selflessly devoted to a cause but a man devoted to nothing and no one but himself.
| | “He thinks if he could teach him that, he’d be | | Some good perhaps to someone in the world. | 100 | He hates to see a boy the fool of books. | | Poor Silas, so concerned for other folk, | | And nothing to look backward to with pride, | | And nothing to look forward to with hope, | | So now and never any different.” | 105 | This poem conveys that people want to die on a “good note.” Mary, Warren’s wife impatiently waits for Warren to come home to tell him the news that Silas, a former helper has returned “home” because he is ill. Warren doesn’t want to waste his time dealing with Silas because Silas broke his contract he had with him. Mary pleads that Silas is sick and is in need of great help. Warren doesn’t really care because he thinks that Silas’ rich brother should take care of him.
When Reverend Kumalo told James Jarvis that Absalom killed his son, James was unexpectedly understanding. Despite their different races, James saw that Reverend Kumalo was torn apart by this event and felt deeply moved and was compassionate towards a fellow father. James had respect for him and knew what he was going through since was about to lose his son, as well. Furthermore, after Reverend Kumalo found out what he had originally come for he began to leave when James walked him out and said goodbye, in the traditional way, showing that James had begun to interact on a more equal level with the natives. He was doing his best to change his ways in order to honor his son.
Kumalo's journey from Ndotsheni to Johannesburg and back demonstrates numerous times how strong love can be and how much it can do. His love for his son and sister remains constant throughout his fear for his own reputation and for the shame he might endure for defending them. Because of his love for his family, Kumalo comes back to Ndotsheni and humbly prays for God to "forgive her her [and him his] trespasses" rather than turning his back on the truth and pretending that nothing had happened (258). The Bishop himself urges Kumalo to move somewhere where "those things would not be known", but Kumalo's love of the land, the peoples' love for him, and the love that had replaced the fear between Jarvis and Kumalo all stepped in to prevent Kumalo from shying from the situation (295). Kumalo also shows the power of love when others are in pain.