Construction Maison

:: 2 Works Cited Length: 1431 words (4.1 double-spaced pages) Rating: Purple       Open Document - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Written by Chinua Achebe , “Things Fall Apart” describes European imperialism through the eyes of the Nigerian tribesmen as they interact with European colonists. What makes this piece of literature valuable is not the fact that it criticizes imperialism; it is the way in which it criticizes imperialism. Achebe portrays the African tribes as having very rich civilized and social cultures, not as being animalistic savages, which other literatures would lead one to believe. Because of this, the reader is able to connect with the mindset of an African native. This enables the reader to view imperialism from the opposite side of the spectrum, as people whose culture is being destroyed by foreign invaders (Shmoop). Achebe uses the ill-fated Okonkwo as a vehicle for this enlightenment. Okonkwo is a well-respected member of...

Do you remember the first friend you made? The first person I consciously remember calling my “friend” (and later, “best friend”) was someone I met in preschool. I was probably four years old. We had similar interests, and complementary personalities (he was the big picture idea guy , I was the detail-oriented do-er). As I’ve continued through life, my friendships have shifted . I’ve made new friends along the way, deepened my relationship with existing friend s, and fallen out of touch with others. When you look at it this way, it seems like friendship is something that just “happens. ” You can’t control it, it would seem, and maybe it’s better not to. After all, you can’t force friendship. Yet, what I’ve come to realize in the past couple years is that while you can’t force or manufacture friendship, you can   seek and cultivate it . It isn’t completely out of your control. In fact, since it’s such an important part of living a happy life, it’s something that you put on autopilot a...

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - There are two things that everyone can agree on: We need to protect children from abuse. And the current system, under the aegis of the city Administration for Children's Services, needs fixing. So where do we go from here? A series of stories in the Advance recently laid out many of the shortcomings in the system. ACS case workers are given ridiculously large caseloads to manage. Many of those workers come to the job fresh out of college, so they have little experience. The hours are long. The pay is low. It's not a pretty milieu. Case workers often see the worst of humanity. Parents who brutalize their children. Homes where drug abuse and domestic abuse are rife. Clients can be confrontational and violent. Some of the worst neighborhoods in the city are an ACS employee's workplace. Gut-wrenching decisions have to sometimes be made to remove children from their parents. It can be soul-killing work. The kind of work you bring home with you. It's...

This week on Recode Media with Peter Kafka , writer Chuck Klosterman called into the studio to talk about his career in journalism and his new book, “Chuck Klosterman X.” (The X is a Roman numeral 10, as in this is his 10th book.) The two discuss trends in journalism, writing about the famous and whether football will disappear. You can read some of the highlights from the interview here, or listen to it in the audio player above. Below, we’ve also provided a lightly edited complete transcript of their conversation. If you like this, be sure to subscribe to Recode Media on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts. Peter Kafka: This is Recode Media with Peter Kafka. That’s me. I am part of the Vox Media Podcast Network . I’m here at the Vox Media podcast studio , sitting all by myself because ... This doesn’t happen very often. I think only once before ... our guest is not in studio with me. He’s in Portland. He’s Chuck Klosterman. Hey, Chuck....