In life, people face dilemmas in which they must make bold decisions. Cultural values, or what we are taught from childhood to adulthood, have diverse impacts on the decisions individuals make in life. Cultural values are taught in the forms of religion, history, traditional stories, and most importantly family. In the short story “The Rain Came” by Grace Ogot, the author accentuates the importance of cultural values, and how they affect decisions, whether positive or negative. In the short story, Oganda a young teenage girl is forced to make choices that are beyond this world. Ogot uses Oganda as a character who strongly believes in cultural values. Cultural values that Oganda has grasped from childhood have a diverse impact on her behaviors.
The first impact cultural values have on Oganda is positive. This impact is displayed when Oganda
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Oganda reveals her respect for her people when she decides to keep on going on her journey to the lake. Oganda enters the sacred land, and she is startled by noises, and she wants to run back to the village; however, Oganda “remembered that she had to fulfill the wish of her people” (247). The fact that Oganda is willing to “fulfill the wish of her people” displays to readers the respect Oganda has for her people and the ancestors. Earlier in the story, readers get a glance at Labongo’s respect for Oganda, when he comes to the conclusion that Oganda’s sacrifice would cripple him spiritually, and he would never be the same chief again. The chief’s respect for Oganda is just a sliver of respect that occurs in the Luo culture. Growing up in a society that strongly revolves around respect of each other alters the behaviors of Oganda. Earlier in the story, Oganda is not willing to die for her people; however, the culture she has been raised in impacts her decision to whether or not sacrifice herself later in the
In conclusion, all three stories are unique in their use of culture. Each uses clashes in culture or a unique cultural setting to convey a message. In each story, this culture gives us a unique perspective into other people's lives and the conflicts they face. The way the conflict is handled is a decision left to the individual, who is guided by his cultural upbringing. Each culture handles the problem differently giving us a multitude of different points of view. Three of such perspectives are examined by Everyday Use, A & P, and Blue Winds Dancing.
For the first course objective, throughout different lessons in the course, I learned that not all cultures are the same or have the same values. In older European countries when Grimm’s brothers collected and told stories, the society was patriarchal which is reflected in the fairy tales as well. The girls are passive, damsels in distress, who are unable to save themselves but instead they need to wait for the man to help them. Nevertheless, in different tales like Tatterhood which was created at a later time, women have been given more power and they are active. Furthermore, another major difference between different cultures (American vs. Jewish, Mexican, African, Islamic) is the endings. The American stories, along with the other fairy tales always have a happy ending, while the Islamic stories and the Jewish stories differ from that in the sense that they do not have “happy ending.” Native American fairy tales along with Aboriginal fairy tales were unique stories that delineated cultures that not everyone has had exposure to. Each of these cultures was similar in the sense that they focused on nature loving...
Individuals develop their personal values and beliefs from a variety of sources. Major areas one gets ideas and values from is their parent, their society, and their culture. One way all three of these sources combine to instil certain values and beliefs in people is through oral storytelling. Listening to stories- oral or not- is a way people develop different thoughts, attitudes and beliefs; therefore, what theme or moral lessons a story has in very impactful on one's life. In “The Sun Still Rises in the Same Sky: Native American LIterature” by Joseph Bruchac this concept is explained in Native American literature. “We can make some important generalization about American Indian oral traditions. First of all, Native American cultures use stories to teach moral lessons and convey
He was in great conflict with the ideas of the white men and the missionaries. Okonkwo saw that their beliefs had not only changed the daily life of the Ibo, but it also changed the people themselves: “He mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (Achebe 183). The author uses strong diction to compare the men before and after colonization. This quote also portrays Okonkwo’s opinion towards the cultural collision. He values strength and masculinity immensely because of his fear of appearing weak like his father Unoka. When he describes that the men of Umuofia changed to be soft like women, this shows how much he dishonors the Western ideas and how it has taken over the village. He made an attempt to get rid of the Western influence by urging the tribe to fight like men, but they refuse to. He was determined and still attempted to furthermore encourage the people of Umuofia to revolt against the new culture. He realizes that his attempts to return the village back to the way it was before were futile. He knew that Christianity was tearing his people apart, but knew he was incapable of making change to help his people. Okonkwo then starts to feel hopeless and abandoned by his clan, which causes him to commit suicide by hanging himself: “Obierika… turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: ‘That man was one of the greatest men
William James, a famous American philosopher, once stated, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives”. This quotation effectively illustrates how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives. This concept is clearly demonstrated throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, authored by Chinua Achebe, by establishing a connection through the development of its characters and the change in traditional African tribal villages seen in the Nineteenth Century. It will be established how various characters demonstrated by the author throughout the novel exemplify how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives addressed by William James’s quote above. First, by analyzing Achebe’s development of Okonkwo’s character through his initial character description and the emergence of outsiders, it is evident that he is portrayed as an old fashioned character that is less responsive to change. Secondly, through examining Nwoye’s character, Okonkwo’s son, it becomes apparent that the youth in the novel are more open-minded, easily persuadable and more adaptive to societal changes. Lastly, uncovering the meaning behind the arrival of European missionaries, it becomes apparent that Achebe defines this group as being a “disease”, poisoning the society in which Okonkwo lives. The author look’s at individuals as being critical and influential figures in shaping the environment to which they belong, beginning with Okonkwo.
Understanding where one’s natural impulses come from may be difficult to understand without looking at past generations and family history. Knowing that generations before us helped shape our development is important to note. Generational trends can help explain the importance of said values. Through analysis of my cultural genogram I found that many of my core values came from my Mexican culture, despite having had great exposure to values established by the dominant culture here in the United States. I found that my family over many generations regarded familismo, respeto, religion, and work ethic as highly important values. It is important to deeply analyze where these values came from, how they may be oppressed, and how
Okonkwo’s desire for respect motivates his quest to preserve the practices of Ibo culture, while Obierika preserves the practices of the Ibo culture with a more humanistic perspective. Achebe uses the differing approaches of Okonkwo and Obierika in maintaining the cultural doctrines of the Ibo people to reveal his sympathy for Obierika over Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s motives for maintaining the customs of the Ibo originate with fear. Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna while “dazed with fear,” drawing “his machete [to] cut him down” because, “he was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 61). Though Okonkwo attempts to appear strong to the people of Umuofia, his fearful motivation speaks to a hidden internal weakness. Okonkwo’s focus on eradicating the taint of “his father’s weakness and failure” and his yearning for respect drive him to kill Ikemefuna instead of the more proper motive of simply effectuating what the Ibo conside...
Culture, where and how a person is raised, affects a person no matter how much they dislike the way they are being taught the ways of life. However, moving to different places as a child and coun...
Another cultural value is when parent are overprotective of their child. Parent are overprotective to keep things from happening to their children. Parents are attached to their children when they are over protective.
This writing assignment will describe how cultural bias affected my decision making, with turning a simple gesture of kindness into a regrettable moment in life. Unfortunate moments in life occurred when cultural bias could manipulate my decision-making process. As cultural bias made me feel compelled to always contribute gestures of kindness as part of the neighboring cultural bond. Neighboring cultural bond is a decision-making willingness sense for the well-being of the entire neighborhood through trust and the pledge to help thy neighbor. A pledge to help thy neighbor decisions were weighed without giving much thought, especially if it helped someone else. Occasionally, this thoughtless decision driven by cultural bias turned a thoughtful gesture awry wrong and led up to a series of unfortunate events. The series of unfortunate events all began with a friend asking to borrow my car.
From an early age, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father, Unoka, who was unable even to feed his family. The unpredictability of receiving enough food at a young age was enough to inspire fear and embarrassment in Okonkwo who associated this embarrassment with his father and was given further justification for these feelings when he went out into Umuofia, discovering that the other villagers held similar opinions of Unoka. When he was old enough, Okonkwo began farming his own yams because “he had to support his mother and two sisters […] And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father” (25). Okonkwo’s self-reliance was admired, valued in the community where “age was respected […] but achievement was revered” (12); this admiration gave him feelings of security, and the respect of his peers pushed him towards greater self-respect, distancing him from his father. The security and respect became related in his mind as he viewed his acceptance in the community as his life’s goal and Okonk...
Before the arrival of the Europeans, Achebe did a excellent job portraying how the life of Igbo was before they were forced to oppose their own culture. To support this theme, Achebe included detailed descriptions of social rituals within each family, the justice system, religious practices and consequences, preparation and indulgence of food, the marriage process and the distributing of power within the men. Achebe shows how every man has an opportunity to prove himself worthy to achieve a title on the highest level, based merely on his own efforts. One may argue that the novel was written with the main focus on the study of Okonkwo’s character and how he deteriorates, but without the theme that define the Igbo culture itself, we would never know the universe qualities of the society that shaped Okonkwo’s life. The lives of the Igbo people was no different to the actual lives of the Ibos people back in the early days of Africa. Just like in Things Fall Apart, in actual African tribes there was never a ruler. “Very interesting thing about these villages is that there is no single ruler or king that controls the population. Decisions are made by including almost everyone in the village” (AfricaGuide). Using the theme, Achebe educated readers on by mirroring real African life in her
Okonkwo is a self-made man. He achieves greatness through his own hard work and determination. Okonkwo started his life without the benefits that other young men had. His father, Unoka, was a lazy man. He had acquired no honorary titles. When Unoka died, Okonkwo did not inherit any barn, title, or young wife. He merely acquired his father’s debts. Therefore, Okonkwo sets about to make a name for himself and to achieve greatness in his community. He diligently plants and harvests his yams, building a farm from scratch. He builds a large commune for his family. He marries three wives; one of them was the village beauty. He acquires two titles. Okonkwo is not a failure, like is father was. In Umuofia, “achievement was revered”, and Okonkwo’s achievement was immense (8). He was “clearly cut out for great things” (8). To the Igbo people, Okonkwo epitomizes greatness and success.
If I were to choose one place in the whole world which would be the best setting to learn the lessons of life, it would be at home with my family. I am from the islands of Samoa located in the Pacific. I grew up in a family of five people in a society of strong culture and religious atmosphere. I love being with my family because they play a vital role in my life. Most of my time was spent on helping out with the family chores, going to school and fulfilling my church callings. In this essay I will discuss how my culture, my family and my church has changed and molded my character for the better.
How do personal values shape culture, and how does culture affect our understanding and interpretation of seemingly ordinary things?