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Love story english essay
Love story english essay
Scondary conposition story about love
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Buchi Emechetas Ona
"Ona" is as Much a Love Story as it is a Tale of Ritualized Beliefs and Cultural Behavior Patterns often stories in a particular culture take into account, and capitalize on symbols of that particular culture for thematic effectiveness. Many indigenous stories thus contain generalized patterns of beliefs that serve as the backdrop which enables readers to relate to the stories and the content thereof. Buchi Emecheta's "Ona" is a powerful love story that centers around ritualized beliefs and cultural behavior patterns of one African tribe. The story is legendary in nature, alluding to its cultural import. It is about Abagdi, a very wealthy local chief, who is love with Ona, one of his mistresses. Agbadi is head over heals for Ona despite the fact that he has many wives. Agbadi is particularly crazy about Ona because, unlike the other women, she is not submissive as she was the daughter chief Obi Umunna. The cultural theme in the story is that man enjoys hunting, taming and conquering even in matters of love; Agbadi finds a special thrill in trying to win the unconquerable love of Ona. Ona is a woman ahead of her time, unwilling to be controlled, even by the strong and powerful Agbadi, not only because of her individual desires, but because of her respect for the cultural norms of her society.
From the onset of the story we learn that Agbadi proposes marriage to Ona. Since Ona's father, Chief Obi Umunna, had no sons, he raised Ona to be very assertive and assume what is considered boylike traits. Thus, like a man, her father raised her never "to stoop to any man". Does this mean that women and men are not considered equals in this society? Evidently, it seems the only reason Ona was thought not to stoop to any man was because she was raised essentially to behave like a man. Men and women are therefore not considered as equals in this culture. Nevertheless, Chief Umunna maintains that Ona "was free to have men, however, and if she bore a son, he would take her father's name thereby rectifying the omission that nature had made". Two important deductions can be made here: first that men are free to be promiscuous (she is free to have men) and that having a boy child asserts a man's manhood.
It seems that feminist argue that the biological difference might lead to some difference in women’s roles but should not become the leading factor in what men and women can and cannot do. All societies are structured around relatively stable patterns that establish how social interaction will be carried out. One of the most important social structures that organize social interaction is status, a category or position that each person occupies and it is a determinant of how he or she is going to be defined and treated. As long as the patriarchy stands as the only way, women will continue to be seen as objects for the boys of River High as well as in society.
In Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, the Ibo culture revolves around structured gender roles, from the crops that the men and women grow, to the characterization of crimes,which creates tension between the sexes and will ultimately lead to detrimental consequences. Things Fall Apart represents the hardships and struggles between females and males. For example, Ekwefi, the wife of Okonkwo, she is often beat for the things she has genuinely forgotten about . Also, we have Enzima, Okonkwo's favorite daughter, but since she is a female, she must be treated like a women. Although females are considered the weaker gender, they possess many qualities that make them worthy, such as bearing children. Achebe explained the importance of both genders and how they contribute to the society.
Like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Nigerian traditions and customs were also fixed upon patriarchy within the society. In the early 20th century of Nigeria, it was a society that was very family centred but also heavily influenced by western ideas and values. Ever since she was young, Aku-nna has always been determined to marry a wealthy man who could afford an expensive bride price so she could pay back to her father. Aku-nna lives in a society where women are not equal to men and she accepts that as that way of thinking was considered “normal”. Men were seen to have supreme authority over their household and that "if you lose your father, you have lost everything. Your mother is only a woman; she cannot do anything for you”(Emecheta, 28). Women aren 't able to be independent in a society that believes that their father is their everything. This essentially brings us to see how the patriarchal ideas and values affect Aku-nna 's sense of self as she is swallowed by societies ideas of an acceptable woman. As a result of this we can see how the subjugation and oppression of women in society can undoubtedly change their identity and way of
Women had an important role in the family as the caregiver to their husband and children. They were also expected to cook and clean their compound, plan parties and entertain guests. Men were involved in the politics of their culture and were in charge of the King Yams, their main and most important crop. According to Carrera, the women’s role in the Igbo culture was to be weak and pure for their husbands. The men’s role was to be dominant, in society and at home, this is why they have the “right” to beat their wives. In chapter 4, the author shows the right that men have, “... she returned he beat her very heavily.” The reason that Okonkwo beat his wife was because she didn’t make dinner for him and her children, instead she went to plait her hair. Also, in the Igbo culture men were able to have multiple wives, on the other hand, women were expected to have only one husband. There is however a lot of respect for both genders in their culture though because women were allowed to leave one husband to be with another. On page 109, chapter 11, it shows that Ekwefi was able to do this, “Two years after her marriage to Anene she could bear it no longer and she ran away to Okonkwo.” The respect and value for both of these gender’s was what helped keep the Igbo culture alive and
She turns down the proposal of Dieng, at the time the society would have thought that she needed a man most.. She writes a letter in reply to his marriage proposal which states “Abandoned yesterday because of a woman, I cannot lightly bring myself between you and your family” (Letter 68). As I said earlier in this paper, men will treat women the way other women allow them to treat them. The spirit of sisterhood speaks to treating other women with respect by staying away from their spouses. This is one thing young Binetou and her mother seem not to understand in this novel. I interpret the events in this text qas Ba’s challenge of a tradition in which women are kept subjugated and oppressed by other
La noche de los rábanos is one of the most unique folk art festivals in the world held annually on the 23rd of December in Oaxaca, Mexico. The event has its origins in the colonial period when radishes, that were native to China, were introduced by the Spanish in Mexico.
The story was written based on how the people that lived in province of Burundi had the ideals of how women women were meant to serve and where women couldn't be sexually active until they married. The fear of rape was very intense that parents wouldn't allow their daughters go out alone, being understandable because six girls were raped in the last two months.
The relationships in the Ibo tribe are necessary throughout Achebe’s novel. The clan develops relationships by age and gender, the men and elderly being highly respected, whereas, women are viewed as less and the childbearers. In the Ibo clan’s individualized families, Polygyny is acutely common, making an average Ibo family quite large. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s family included three wives and 8 children, whom he regularly becomes angered with and beat, and its regularity is accepted as normal. Ibo relationships can also be formed by the social status of the male, based on wealth that is
Set in post-colonial Senegal, Sembene ascribes great significance to African femininity by naming his film after a female character and heroine of the film, Faat Kine. Although Kine is initially depicted as a victim of male supremacy, she is eventually represented as an archetypal figure of resilience and independence. Impregnated by her instructor as a teenager, Faat suffered severe social degradation and condemnation even from her father. Despite the significant part played by the man in Kine’s ordeal, he is neither chastised nor stigmatised by the outcome of their perpetration, but rather his life proceeds in some semblance of order. In addition, Kine is betrayed by her criminal husband who absconds with her life savings leaving her penniless with two children. Nonetheless, she single-handedly raises two children without any masculine presence. Kine’s pillars of emotional and spiritual strength are her family (mother and children) as well as her friends, which is divergent from the African customary convictions of the man as sole supporter of woman. Evidently, the men in Kine’s life are highly instrumental to her anguish and yet irrelevant to her survival. Sembene uses Kine’s ordeals to display the plight and cultural marginalization of the African woman.
However in other cultures, such as the Ancient Mayan culture women are viewed differently. For a while in American women were viewed as less than their male counterparts. In the Mayan culture, women were viewed as equals to men. Unlike American women, Mayan women were always allowed to take part in politics, whereas in American women had to fight for the right to merely vote. Another reason that they were seen as equal to men was because of their ability to bear children. They weren’t looked at as a burden, as men would make the common joke of women being a burden in America.They were always held high because of their ability to have
A woman’s status in most agricultural civilizations downgraded the status at least in the eyes of modern Western standards and to the implied standards of hunting gathering societies. Agricultural civilizations were run by men and based on the assumption that men directed economic, political, and cultural life. Furthermore, as agricultural civilizations developed over time and became more affluent. They become more organized while the status of women is flawed. Patriarchal family structure rested on men's control of most or all property, starting with land itself; marriage was based on property relationships.It was assumed that marriage, and therefore, subordination to men, was the normal condition for the vast majority of women. A revealing
The story of Adam and Eve told by Mark Twain expresses a variety of gender expectation and gender roles that are parallel to today’s gender expectation roles. In past generations, around the 20’s, 50’s, etc, the relationship between man and women have always been very complex. Man was always views as the head of the household, he was the king. He was expected to provided, be the breadwinner, bring home the bacon. While the woman was expected to cook the bacon. She was viewed as the lesser. Her only aspiration in life were to cook, clean, nurture the man and the kids.
Many times in the book, men were able to make decisions that dictated a major part of the life of a women. “The elders met...they decided, as everybody knew they would, that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife.” (12). Despite her having nothing to do with the crime committed, the tribe saw it fit that the young girl was presented as compensation to a man who had lost his wife. The tribe easily gave her up as if she
Adichie portrays the persisting existence of traditional African culture through Odenigbo’s mother – who symbolizes the extreme end of traditional beliefs. When Odenigbo’s mother visits Odenigbo and Olanna at their apartment in Nsukka, she is immediately personified as the traditional Nigerian village woman. Unaccepting of modern attitudes and advancements, she “peered suspiciously at the stove, knocked on the pressure cooker and tapped the pots...
Has one ever thought about what it is like to be victimized? Well, within Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, there are endless amounts of victimized groups and people. It all begins with a strong, righteous man, Okonkwo, as he makes his way from a poor peasant to one of the most renowned people with in his village. As Okonkwo's journey continues, he meets with the problems of controlling the women within his household, and the only way the villages deals with the control of women, is to beat them, verbally abuse and strike pure fear into them so they will never do any wrong. Not only is Okonkwo at fault for the mistreatment of his wives, another village man, Uzowulu takes part in the beating of his wife and even causes the death of her child. All in all, multiple cases arise that point to the women in Things Fall Apart that they are the most victimized of anyone.