Achebes view of the missionaries in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

Achebes view of the missionaries in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, is a story about a Nigerian Igbo tribe forced to endure, and live with European Christians. These Europeans were colonizing Africa with the intentions of setting up Christian missionaries. While their intentions were genuine, their presence was devastating to the Ibo culture. Achebe did not like how the Europeans and the Igbo people interacted with each other. The European missionaries viewed their religion as superior to the Igbo religion because there was never an effort made by them to understand the Ibo religion.English: Chinua Achebe speaking at Asbury Hall, Bu...The missionaries' goal was to come to Nigeria and take control of the Igbo society. In order for them to do this, they had to win the people over and for them to do that; they converted the Igbo people to Christianity. Achebe did not agree with the missionaries and in his story, he tried to get the reader to emphasize with the Igbo culture. In the story, he describes every reason and purpose for every action the Igbo people did. He talked about their festivals and their traditions. He even used words like obi and egwugwu as a way to connect the reader with the Igbo language.Achebe hated what the missionaries did and how they tried to colonize his people. I think the story of a man who killed a messenger and hanged himself makes an interesting reading. The death of Okonkwo is symbolic and Achebe ends the story like this to show the reader how the Europeans viewed the Igbo people. Okonkwo killed himself because the Christian missionaries did not understand their religion and all they wanted to do was to break up their religious meetings and convert people to Christianity. Achebe felt like if the Christian missionaries learned about the Igbo people, they might...

Joseph Winters and the Fire Escape Ladder

Joseph Winters and the Fire Escape Ladder On May 7, 1878, the fire escape ladder was patented by Joseph Winters. Joseph Winters invented a wagon-mounted fire escape ladder for the city of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. A historic marker was placed in 2005 at the Junior Hose and Truck Company #2 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania noting Winters patents for the fire escape ladder and hose conductor and his work on the Underground Railway. It lists his dates of birth and death as 1816-1916. Life of Joseph Winters There are at least three different, widely varying birth years given for Joseph Winters, from 1816 to 1830 by various sources. His mother was Shawnee and his father, James, was a black brickmaker who worked at Harpers Ferry to build the federal gun factory and arsenal. The familys tradition said that his father was also descended Powhatan chief  Opechancanough. Joseph was raised by his grandmother Betsy Cross in Waterford, Virginia, where she was known as the Indian Doctor woman, a herbalist and healer. His later knowledge of nature may have stemmed from this time. At that time there were free black families in the area and Quakers who were active abolitionists. Winters used the nickname Indian Dick in his publications. Joseph also later worked at Harpers Ferry sanding brick molds before the family moved to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. In Chambersburg, he was active in the Underground Railroad, helping enslaved people escape to freedom. In Winters  autobiography, he claimed to have arranged the meeting between Frederick Douglass and abolitionist John Brown at the quarry in Chambersburg before the historic Harpers Ferry raid. Douglasss autobiography credits a different person, local barber Henry Watson. Winters wrote a song, Ten Days After the Battle of Gettysburg, and also used that as the title for his lost autobiography. He also wrote a campaign song for presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, who lost to William McKinley. He was noted for hunting, fishing, and fly-tying. He engaged in oil prospecting in the Chambersburg area but his wells only hit the water. He died in 1916 and is buried in Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Chambersburg. Fire Ladder Inventions of Joseph Winters Buildings were being built taller and taller in American cities in the late 19th century. Fire crews at that time carried ladders on their horse-drawn fire engines. These were usually normal ladders, and they couldnt be too long or the engine wouldnt be able to turn corners into narrow streets or alleys. These ladders were used to evacuate residents from burning buildings as well as to give the firemen and their hoses access. Winters thought it would be smarter to have the ladder mounted on the fire engine and be articulated so it could be raised up from the wagon itself. He made this folding design for the city of Chambersburg and received a patent for it. He later patented improvements to this design. In 1882 he patented a fire escape that could be attached to buildings. He reportedly received much praise but little money for his inventions. Fire Ladder Patents US patent #203,517 Improvement in fire-escape ladders, granted on May 7, 1878.US patent #214,224 Improvement in fire-escape ladders, granted on April 8, 1879.US patent #258186 Fire escape, granted on May 16, 1882.