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Power Of Fear In Sandee Lamotte's Things Fall Apart

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In “The Psychology and Neuroscience of Terrorism” by Sandee LaMotte, he describes the power of fear and the effects it has on human beings. LaMotte describes how fear was made to protect humans in life threatening events, but when prolonged it can do the exact opposite. Then he goes on to describe how fear is used by terrorist groups,ISIS,to gain control. The effects of fear described in LaMotte’s article can give us some insight into the popular novel Things Fall Apart. In Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo ,an Ibo man, who is shaped by his fear of his father, experiences life before and after European settlement. Okonkwo's father was seen as a failure by the Ibo culture and by Okonkwo himself, this made him fear that he would
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However, Okonkwo made a name for himself because his was to not follow in his father’s footsteps. In a paragraph describing Okonkwo’s character it says, “He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience

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Violence is a part of America, and more than that, it is part of our species. It is around us and in us.” (De Becker 8). In a country where violent crime is on the rise millions of innocent lives are exposed to it. Many people use any means necessary to protect themselves from these violent crime such as: owning a gun, having pepper spray or taking self defense classes to help you fight back.

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The author demonstrates that the increase in fear has impacted many individuals including himself. Fear can also cause war and disagreements inside our own society (Ehrenreich 598). The author implies that we need to be able to control our own fear because it will eventually destroy us and create unwanted conflicts in our own society. The fear and paranoia installed inside of us after 9/11 needs to be restrained for the safety of our citizens and

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The author, Chinua Achebe, used Okonkwo as an example of the father/son conflict and how the conflict affects a man’s life. Just because one does not always act like the typical strong, almost emotionless man, that does not mean one is coward. Okonkwo’s thought process leads to his demise because he cannot bear to see the strong willed tribe and culture he has known his whole life fail him: just

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Okonkwo devotes his life to becoming the opposite of his unsuccessful father. This need to become masculine introduces his fear: “But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of

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Okonkwo wanted his tribe to fight back the missionaries in order to protect their Igbo culture but his persistence only led to his downfall. This can be seen when Okonkwo makes a rash decision to kill a messenger thinking Umuofia would fight back but ended up not fighting, “The white man whose power you know too well has ordered this meeting to stop.” In a flash, Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless.

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He was too proud to let his tribe give up their warlike history. He was to proud and self-assured to accept his son's choices. Okonkwo is a sad character whose pride has constantly led him down the crooked path. Achebe shows that being proud isn't a constructive thing for the future. That development can only occur when pride is put aside, and people think logically instead of

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Okonkwo becomes like this because of his father. His father was lazy and dies a dishonorable death and leaves nothing for his family. Okonkwo fears becoming like his father, an agbala. The effect of this is beneficial for Okonkwo. The way he turns out makes him a great man and because of this, he obtains the third highest title in his tribe.

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His father was the exact opposite of what the Igbo people stand for. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is a “coward [who] could not bear the sight of blood” (Achebe 6). In turn, Okonkwo became a ruthless warrior who was known across the different tribes. The worst aspect of Unoka is that he was considered to be a failure. This caused Okonkwo “even as a little boy [to resent] his father’s failure” (13).

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Among those of the same culture, individuals who are adaptive and open-minded can be successful when there is cultural collision. When the Igbo and European cultures collide, Okonkwo gradually spirals out of control, losing everything he values and his own sense of self. From the beginning of the novel, Achebe depicts Okonkwo as a virile warrior and a successful farmer within the Igbo tribe. Reacting with violence to anything he considers “womanly” or “weak”, “He was a man of action and man of war” (10). Because of his reputation as a warrior he is highly respected by his community.

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The hatred that he had for his father he carried with him throughout his whole life. That hatred turned into him killing Ikemefuna and the messenger. Ikemefuna was thought of as a son and he killed him in fear of being considered weak in front of his clan members. That weakness was thought of his weakness which was considered a failure. At the end of the story Okonkwo ends up being just like his father which is ironic because he strived to be nothing like him.

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Due to fear of being related to feminine and weakness, Okonkwo was always filled with anger which was

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Fear is the core cause of the dramatic shift of lifestyle for both Okonkwo and Nwoye. Through the management of reputation and the avoidance of their father’s likeness, Okonkwo and Nwoye built new lives for themselves. Okonkwo sought power and authority to prove his masculinity and make up for Unoka’s reputation as a weak man. He did this to the point where manliness became his character. Fearlessness and violence were masculine qualities that in Igbo culture signifies strength and influence.

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Child Neglect- the negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child by a parent or by a caretaker under circumstances indicating harm or threatened harm to the child’s health or welfare. Child neglect is something different than actual abuse although some may argue it is some form of abuse, reported cases of neglect outnumbered those of physical abuse. There is that very fine line between actual neglect and poor parenting; it covers a wide range of activities, and there is no single set of factors established that clearly divides neglect and poor parenting if child neglect is detected everything must be viewed with caution. Parent that neglect their children hold a certain set of characteristics they have an inability to

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He was a caring man down in his heart but “his whole life was dominated by the fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13), and his mission to become one of the greatest men of his clan. Okonkwo was devoted to masculinity, he put it above anything else preventing anyone from questioning his masculinity. When he felt a slight sign of weakness it reminded him of his fathers failure to being a true man not providing for his family or ruling women and his children, therefore “he was not really a man” (Achebe 53).There were many traits to being a masculine man but to Okonkwo the main one was ruling his wife and children, if any of them had disobeyed him he would beat them without hesitation or regret. Although Okonkwo is influenced by masculinity it is because the Ibo culture believes in men dominating women which leads their society to fall

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