“My Financial Career” by Stephen Leacock Essay

Write an short essay on the story â€Å"My Financial Career†. State whether you think the narrator will succeed or not in his financial plan. Give proofs. The man in â€Å"My Financial Career† is too nervous and inexperienced to succeed in his financial plan at the bank. The people in the bank particularly the manager and the accountant do not help him because the man said everything about the bank rattled him in the first sentence of the story. He is not confident when trying something new. He acted vaguely when he decides to open a bank account. He emphasized a few times on requesting to see the manager â€Å"alone† in which he should not be doing this because it makes him very suspicious. The manager fetched an accountant to help him open the account. After depositing his fifty-six dollars, he wanted to draw six dollars with a cheque. However he was too nervous that he made a mistake to draw all of his money out he had deposited. The accountant gave him a chance to correct it as he says â€Å"What! Are you drawing it all out again?† However because of his pride, he pretended to do it on purpose. Not only the man himself is responsible for this failure, the people in the bank are also factors that made him fail. Firstly, the clerks in the bank are not enthusiastic enough. They are not willing to help him initiatively. Secondly, the accountant is lacking zeal and acting coolly to him in which was making him even more nervous. Lastly, the manager of the bank was impatient and spoke to the man abruptly after realizing that the man was not a rich person, it made him feel very embarrassed. In conclusion the man failed because the lack of care from the people in the bank and his shyness, pride. He would not have failed if he was more insistent on getting his job done ignoring his pride or if the people in the bank helped him warmly. This is a humorous story but the writer wrote the story based on real situations. He tells us that people in big banks only cares about money, normal people with little money are not very important to them. The writer thinks both rich and poor people should be treated equally by banks and other companies.

The Perfect Beauty in Petrarch´s Gli Ocohi Oi Ch´lo...

The Perfect Beauty A certain individual may establish beauty merely by what is viewed upon the naked eye, yet someone else can measure beauty by using more fundamental qualities, such as good morals and ideas, which lie beneath one’s surface. This is a topic of discussion that leaves many to ask the question, what is the true meaning of beauty? There are two prominent sonnets, which relate to the principles of true beauty; Petrarch’s â€Å"Gli Occhi Oi Ch’ Io Paralai† and â€Å"Sonnet 130† by William Shakespeare. These sonnets do nothing less, but use imagery to define the bountiful amount of beauty and how much love they possess for an individual. â€Å"Gli Occhi Oi Ch’ Io Paralai,† represents the true beauty love has by its use of excessive descriptions and tone. â€Å"Sonnet 130† proves that beauty is not measured by idealistic, regal measures, but rather proposes beauty is average and nothing out of the ordinary. For each sonnet effectively de scribes its interpretations on the joys of beauty and love. â€Å"Gli Occhi Di Ch’ Io Parlai† praises the artificial traits of beauty and love. Petrarch often put women on pedestals and describes them with hyperbolic language. His sonnet, â€Å"Gli Occhi Di Ch’ Io Parlai,† is no exception to his trend. The speaker starts off the sonnet by recounting the feeling he gets when around his love. The speaker says when their eyes meet his â€Å"passionate rapture rose† (1). He also illustrates her having â€Å"rays flashing from a smiling angels glance† (6), which he is for

Multiple Intelligences And The Variety Of Learning Styles

Most likely my classroom is going to consist of very diverse learners and this will definitely affect the dynamics of my classroom. Some of the challenges with a diverse classroom are the fact that there are so many different multiple intelligences, creating activities that appeal to all students is very difficult, and the fact that it may be hard to remember all of the accommodations for each student in the class who has an Individual Education Plan (IEP). There are many opportunities available for having a diverse classroom as well. For instance, it will allow me to have a wider variety of activities to help keep the students (and myself) engaged, the likelihood of having a boring classroom is diminished, and it gives me the opportunity to learn more about my students and to learn about new and different activities available that other teachers have shared. With this being said, there are many different activities I can use to appeal to the range of multiple intelligences and t he variety of learning styles. After researching some different activities, I found the following to have the most potential for me as an 8th grade teacher. First of all, I like the idea of using a questionnaire at the beginning of the school year where the students answer questions about themselves to determine their own learning styles, etc. I think it is important for students to know the best ways they learn so they can study in that fashion. Some students may just feel that they are onShow MoreRelatedMultiple Intelligence Theory and Learning Styles946 Words   |  4 PagesMultiple intelligence theory and learning styles According to my multiple intelligence learning profile, I am an equally strong kinesthetic, intrapersonal, and existential learner. This suggests I learn by doing, learn best working with others, and have a big picture orientation. 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Learning TheoriesRead MoreStandard Based Instructional Practices1329 Words   |  6 PagesInstructional practices for standards-based curriculum is more than knowing and understanding state and district standards; posting objectives, standards, or learning goals in the classroom; referencing standards in lesson plans; covering concepts or following a teacher’s manual claimed to follow state standards. Instead, it is about consistently and effectively developing lessons with activities designed to meet the needs of all students. Standards Based Curriculum The foundational reason supportingRead MoreEssay on Multiple Intelligences: Help or Hindrance to Learning949 Words   |  4 PagesMultiple Intelligences: Help or Hindrance to Learning Educators and parents have always wondered how students could learn more or learn more effectively. 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Through the aid of variety and choice, teachers can differentiate

Thematic Analysis Of Ray Bradbury s Fahrenheit 451

Thematic Analysis of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 depicts a dystopian society where books are burned to protect the people from a perceived threat of knowledge and the resulting problems an informed and thinking society would bring upon itself. Ignorance is bliss. The theme, fear of knowledge, can be seen throughout this book in the ways the characters Faber, Beatty, and Clarisse speak about, react to, and think about books. The character, Beatty, has the most to say about books, being a fire chief and a â€Å"custodian of peace of mind.† He says books are dangerous because they make people sad and uneasy, and that the only prevention of such feelings is entertainment and mindless distraction. â€Å"Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pushing switches, fitting nuts and bolts?† Beatty warns Montag of the one true villain to watch out for: the well-read man. â€Å"Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man? M e? I won’t stomach them for a minute.† He states, â€Å"We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought.† By this he means that knowledge found in books will make people unhappy, confused and scared. They will ask questions that have no easy answers. An unthinking, blissful society is easy to control, and Beatty wants everyone to know that he takes his job as a protector of society very seriously. â€Å"The important thing for you to remember, Montag, is we’re the Happiness Boys, the

Walgreens Analysis Free Essays

Walgreens Strategy Analysis Retailing: MKTG 3740 B April 7, 2013 I. History and Mission Statement Walgreens has grown from a small, neighborhood-oriented drug store to a trusted, national pharmacy. Founded in 1901 by Charles R. We will write a custom essay sample on Walgreens Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now Walgreen, the company bloomed from a commitment made to perseverance. Walgreen came from Dixon, Illinois at the age of sixteen, working an unpleasant job at a drug store after he lost a portion of a finger that left him incapable of continuing a career in athletics. He left with an ambition of entrepreneurship as the flourishing city of Chicago welcomed him with the booming pharmacy business. Devoted to his goal, Walgreen worked his way through gaining experience and financial stability within the growing industry. His work experience through jobs with different pharmacies allowed Walgreen to analyze the strengths and weaknesses in their business operations. Focusing on the gaps in service and the needs by customers that were not being met, Walgreen had an opportunity to capitalize on the industry’s shortcomings by opening his own pharmacy. After earning enough money to put a down payment on a loan for the store that he was working in at the time from Isaac Blood, Walgreen finally owned a store in a great location just south side of Chicago in a prosperous area. He renovated the space, employed a colleague, broadened the selection of products offered, and priced at a fair rate to improve efficiency. One of the differentiating strategies that Walgreen implemented was through utilizing his development of the â€Å"two-minute† drill. This service allowed a local customer to call Walgreen’s store, request an item, and have it delivered by one of Walgreen’s handymen within two minutes of the customer calling. The good reputation of his service spread quickly among the community. The next chapter in Walgreens store innovation and competitive edge was his idea to sell hot food items during the winter, cooked by his wife, Myrtle Walgreen. The trend of that time for many businesses was to have a soda fountain that served cold drinks and milkshakes, which Walgreen also served during the hot summer months. His approach to customer service carried through to winter months with the hot food serving, while his competitors failed to keep up with what would eventually become an essential part of drug store business. Walgreen’s store was growing at a strong pace. By 1929, he had 525 operating stores, 633 in 1975, and hit one thousand open stores in 1984. Today, Walgreens opens around 425 new stores, on average, each year. Through the company’s mission statement, Walgreens strives to be the most trusted and innovative pharmacy with health and wellness solutions and serve consumers across the U. S. Walgreen set out to help people get well and stay well. With constant innovations in technology and customer satisfaction, the company is expected to continue to soar. II. Key events that shaped the company Over the past century, there have been economic conditions, changes in demographics, technological advancements, and competitive pressures that Walgreens has had to face and overcome. The first major event that shaped the company was the featuring of the soda fountain in the store in 1909, which lead to the introduction of the malted milkshake that became an American icon. Although a minor triumph at the time, the milkshake attributed to the growth of the company overall. The next event to affect the company hit hard. The Great Depression was a difficult time for most businesses and many were dying out and closing. Walgreens, though vulnerable itself, was able to push through this time by implementing the value of marketing. Through smart advertising and innovations in customer service, Walgreens not only survived the depression but also was able to help by employing workers and added to its testament of always being able to adapt to the changing times. After the death of Charles Walgreen in 1939, his son took over the president position in the company. Fast-forwarding to the next significant even in 1950, when Walgreens opened its first small, self-service store. This event is representative of the innovation and move toward the future that Walgreens will continue to see. A jump to 1975 is a marker of importance as the company reached $1 billion in net sales. In 1999, Walgreens. com opened, offering a convenient shopping experience for its customers online. Today, them most influential growth strategy Walgreens has implemented is the partnership with Alliance Boots to form the world’s first pharmacy-led enterprise. The two brands coming together will position Walgreens for growth in the long-term by transforming Walgreens drug stores into a community, daily living destination while expanding across new avenues of markets and reinventing cost structures. III. Key Financial Data The financial highlights from the income statement of Walgreens Co. n 2012 include a net sales figure of $71,633 million; a decrease of 0. 8% from the previous year. Net sales combined with a cost of sales of $51,291 million lead to a gross profit of $20,342 million; again, down from the previous year by 0. 7%. A net earnings comparison shows a 21. 6 % decrease from $2,714 million in 2011 to $2,127 in 2012. Some in-store sales figures help explain some declines with a prescription sales decrease of 3. 1% and front-end sales increase of 3. 6%. These key financial figures represent a trend in diminishing profits for Walgreens in prescription drugs for the past fiscal year, but a growth in front-end sales, which is an indicator of pharmacy-related issues. IV. The drug store industry analysis As an industry that has been around since the late 19th century, the drug store is comprised of staples and pharmaceuticals retailing. History of the industry recalls the first drug store being opened in 1823 and strictly worked with pharmaceuticals under the first registered pharmacist. As the tores became more popular and customers’ needs grew for different products, the industry transitioned into including staple items. Today, the average retail products include (but not limited to): prescriptions, food, cosmetics, toiletries, and tobacco products, but dominate in the pharmaceutical department that holds the highest profit. Chain drug stores currently possess the greatest market share in the industry when compared to independen t stores and the majority are incorporated at 76% of all drug store firms. Among the top three company chains are CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. This segment within the industry is highly competitive with demand growing. V. The future of drug stores With demographics changing, especially within the U. S. , the future of drug stores is expected to transform their product offerings. A shift to concentration on prescription drugs sales, as the general public grows older, will be responsible for a decline in products that are no longer demanded as staple items (ex. beauty aids and fragrances). A growing trend seen in the current market is self-diagnosis and self-treatment along with the addition of generic drug sales. Customers are being offered a generic drug alternative for a lower price and are becoming more inclined to self-treating without the help of a pharmacist. Another movement towards the future includes implementing advancements in technology. Many stores currently use self-serve checkouts and photo printing booths. Advancements in electronic prescription filling and ordering refills online are playing a big role in development. Therefore, a broader depth of target market research and differentiation in product offering based on research results may be beneficial to the survival and growth of the drug store industry. VI. SWOT analysis of Walgreens Strengths and weaknesses Walgreens, as mentioned before, is one of the leading examples of success within the drug store industry. A continuous need for improvement and adaptation to the changing market keeps Walgreens alert and attentive, in step with customer wants, which serves as one of its major strengths. The past 3 decades for Walgreens have been those of growth and exceeding competitive sales. The use of technology incorporated in Walgreens store operations allows the company to receive and analyze real-time sales data and customer interaction. Systems such as the POS (Point of Sale) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) generate up-to-date information on impact of certain store displays on sales and record marketing data needed to maximize profits. In order to serve customers more effectively, Walgreens offers convenient services online, such as photo printing and prescription call-ins. The implementation of technology as a tool for tracking data and servicing is another strength of the company. Walgreens offers a loyalty program to its customers to further improve on customer satisfaction. The reward program, called Balance Rewards, is a point-based system that gives discounts and coupons to customers whenever they use the loyalty card and earn points. Many ways to earn points include filling prescriptions, purchasing certain items in-store and online, using the mobile app to purchase items, and a Steps with Balance Rewards that tracks when the customer is living a healthy lifestyle. The customer can redeem his or her rewards for more coupons and discounts on future purchases. While the success of Walgreens is prevalent, weaknesses within the company prevent Walgreens from reaching perfection. A major weakness and concern for the company is opening too many stores. This may seem strange, considering the growth in demand for more stores is perceived as a positive characteristic, but cannibalizing their own market at the growing pace could lead to a mass reduction in sales and revenue by stealing customers from their current top selling stores. As Walgreens is always adapting to its market and looking for new opportunities, an important factor to look into would be limiting how many new stores they are opening and evaluating their product portfolio. Threats and opportunities Threats are inherent in any business. Competition would not be possible without external threats. The biggest threat to Walgreens is the rise in grocery store and supermarket discounters. Before, drug stores competed against other drug stores and pharmacies in a highly competitive market. Now, stores like Target and Kroger are offering prescription drug services and are able to do so at a discounted rate. Since these stores carry a much larger assortment of products and more SKUs than a typical drug store, they operate at lower costs and charge a cheaper price. The current economic state poses a threat to businesses everywhere. Within the drug industry, the cut from Medicaid in 2007, by $3. 6 billion, impacted many pharmacies and affected the sales of generic drugs in the U. S. Today, uncertainty around the long-term viability of the Affordable Care Act is threatening the insurance industry, or at least the affordability of coverage. Currently, about half of the states in the U. S. are refusing to participate in the new insurance exchange program, which is driving insurance rates up drastically. Moving away from the challenges of business, opportunities also present themselves within the industry. One opportunity that Walgreens may be looking into is how to market more towards the generation it has been growing with: the baby boomers. This market is the general population that is now getting older and has the most experience with Walgreens. As this generation ages, their needs change and require different products. More prescriptions for aging health issues need to be filled and less beauty supplies are being purchased, for example. The opportunity to transition and focus on this particular market could benefit Walgreens’s sales. Further prospects for Walgreens includes going global. International business opportunities offer drug stores an entire new market, which if executed correctly, can be a major growth possibility. It’s easy to oversaturate a market when operated domestically, as is the case is for Walgreens in the U. S. , so expanding past our borders to different nations may be a prospective move for the company. If there was only one opportunity Walgreens should take on, it would be most important to increase the sales of non-prescription items. Although marketing towards the older generation and profiting from more prescription fills is demanded, incorporating the sales of items that people will buy, as a related product to their main purchases, will boost profit. VII. Competitor’s strengths and weaknesses Walgreens’s biggest competitor is CVS (Convenience, Value, and Service). CVS Caremark is the largest, most profitable drug store/ retailer in the U. S. Strengths CVS Caremark operates under three different retailing segments: the CVS pharmacy, Caremark pharmacy services, and its MinuteClinic. Under these three segments, CVS is able to offer its customers lower prices, loyalty programs, cover over two thousand healthcare plans, and operate a walk-in clinic service. Through their services, CVS is able to hold the strongest market share at almost 20% of the prescription drug market. It also has one of the largest loyalty programs for customers; more than 500 million customers who use the loyalty card through the Extra Care program. CVS has made substantial investments in technology and incorporating it into their programs. The company’s strengths have lead them to push a revenue of over $100 billion and net income of $4 billion. Weaknesses The only complaints to come from a customer’s point of view at CVS is that the store consistency varies occasionally, meaning one CVS store may be too different in product offering than another CVS store, which confuses some customers. The employee turnover rate is also higher than ideal for a large company operating many stores, meaning focus should include keeping employees happy with more benefits. VIII. Key competition comparison Similarities Both Walgreens and CVS have loyalty programs that they use to reward customers and offer valuable customer data. Using a customer rewards program to offer coupons and discounts builds loyalty to that company’s brand and image. This incentive strategy has worked well for both companies. However, they differ in the way each one works. At CVS, when a customer purchases multiple items in one transaction, the reward points/ coupons are split amongst the items within the one transaction. The customer receives more incentive with each purchase whereas at Walgreens, the reward is based on the number of transactions only. A customer can purchase the same number of items in each store, but receive more reward points/ coupons at CVS. Differences When compared to CVS, Walgreens carries more of a â€Å"mom and pop† store reputation, which benefits their image. The company’s stores are all linked, making it easier for customers to get prescriptions filled at any Walgreen store, which is an advantage over CVS. Walgreens also offers prescription labels and in-store advertising in other languages and is open 24 hours in many locations across the U. S. , another incentive that CVS does not offer. These distinctive traits represent Walgreens’s commitment to pleasing its customer and fulfilling needs. CVS is differentiated from Walgreens through store layout and product offering. CVS stores are known to be larger and customer more customer-friendly in space and appearance than Walgreens. CVS has also brought in more net revenue, over $100 billion as compared to Walgreens at $75 billion, leading by about $25 billion. As mentioned earlier, Walgreens has seen a diminishing performance, financially, while CVS is rising. IX. Recommendations The first recommendation for Walgreens to move towards better sales and profits in the future would be to capitalize on the baby boomer generation. As explained before, this would require readjusting the marketing platform to appeal to more prescription sales and aging health products. This strategy has potential for short-term and long-term growth. The second recommendation would be to become aware of cannibalizing its own market. This strategy would lessen the investments in real estate space being made currently. Instead of opening more and more new stores each year, the company should focus on evaluating and expanding the current services in each existing store. Innovations in store layouts and product differentiation in the existing stores may help individual store sales and not oversaturate the market with too much of the same thing. The final recommendation for Walgreens is to enhance its customer service through the convenience factor. Developing more online services will help also help the aging generation as it becomes more difficult for them to get in a car and drive to a brick-and-mortar store. This kind of innovation is what customers like to see in businesses and the company will be benefiting from the multichannel strategy. X. References CVS Caremark |. (n. d. ). CVS Caremark |. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from http://info. cvscaremark. com/ Page Through Our Past: Page 4 | Our History | Walgreens. (n. d. ). Welcome to Walgreens – Your Home for Prescriptions, Photos and Health Information. Retrieved April 7, 2013, from http://www. walgreens. com/marketing/about/history/hist4. jsp How to cite Walgreens Analysis, Papers

Burger King Warrior Princess free essay sample

Prompt: Describe a significant interest or experience that has special meaning for you. As a face in a crowd or a name on a page, I am no one special. To the naked eye, I am average. I was born to a mother and father, I eat food often, and I wear sock on my feet just like most everyone else. But deep within me, from the caverns of my past, I do have a secret: I am a warrior princess straight from the tunnels of Burger King. As a youngster, I thrived on my imagination. Some days I was Marry Poppins singing in the rain while other days I was a Power Ranger staring face to face with the forces of evil. But of all the characters I morphed into, I most genuinely become a warrior princess. You see, every few weeks, my mother drove me to Burger King where my fellow princesses were waiting for me. Together, we crossed the bouncy bridge to enter the dark tunnels into the adventures that lied within. We crawled on our hands and feet through the static charged tubes and hurried to collect the magic keys to save the distressed princess. When the blue ball (holding Princess Kayla c aptive) was in sight, we scurried to unlock the invisible door- mission accomplished. Princesses Carrie, Megan, and I rejoiced in our success. Though I am far from my times of crawling through the dangers of Burger King, I will forever be a warrior princess. My adventures have been altered since then, however, and now 2 consist of more mature quests. Just the other day, as a coach, I led a group of four year olds across treacherous gymnastics mats to the safety of the nearest trampoline. Though this may have caused worry lines, it instilled in me an appreciation and responsibility of an adult that I would never understand otherwise. Away from the work environment, my adventures can present themselves in my schoolwork. I constantly have to navigate through the rough waters of anatomy, pre-calculus, and government. This task, however, is one that I will never take for granted because of the knowledge I know I will obtain by the end of my journey. Along with my academic adventures, I a lso learn about language and cross culture ministry as a warrior princes. I strive to honor my King by carrying out His will by serving the less fortunate in Appalachia, Romania, Mexico, and New Orleans. God has always been faithful, but I have been closest with Him on mission trips such as these. I will always remember the gypsy children in Romania and the slightly wet kisses they left on my cheek, for they are forever left there. Yes, the kiss washed off, but the memory of the childrens unconditional love for me will never fade. These countries may be nothing more than colors on a map to some, but to me, they are tokens of heaven that I will forever carry in my pocket. As a warrior princess, I cherish every experience that presents itself to me and I am genuinely ecstatic to face the new ones that will inevitably come in the years ahead. I do face my own real-life Burger King adventures every day. To some, these experiences may seem trivial, but they have embellished my average li fe into an epic escapade. Each tiny experience in my life is pieced together to create the exact warrior princess that I can proudly say I am today.

Things Fall Apart African Imperialism an Example by

Things Fall Apart: African Imperialism Imperialism is one of the most significant events that changed the dynamics of world civilizations. Imperialism provided the foundation for todays global society and made the world a much smaller place. Although imperialism is significant because it sparked modernity, imperialism has had many negative effects on societies. Imperialism was a tool that was used to oppress indigenous societies, so that imperialistic nations could gain access to their resources. One area that has been greatly impacted and is still recovering from imperialistic activities is Africa. Africa with all its great wealth and resources has been the center of imperialistic activities; providing slaves, gold, oil, diamonds, land and many other valuable resources for imperialistic nations. One story that captures the essence of the effects of imperialism is the novel Things Fall Apart. The novel Things Fall Apart illustrates the effects that imperialism posed on both Africans and Europeans, who struggled to adapt t o the changes in African society to ensure that their own traditions and customs were the norm throughout Africa. Need essay sample on "Things Fall Apart: African Imperialism" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed I'm not in the mood to write my paper online. I don't have the time Specialists propose: Get Your Essay Before The Deadline Paper Writing Service Cheap Writing Service Reviews Best Assignment Service Custom Writing Service Every imperialistic nation had its own imperialist motives and the novel Things Fall Apart depicted a few reasons why Europeans sought to colonize Africa. One of the major reasons why Europeans sought to colonize Africa was for its wealth. The novel was able to convey this motive with its description of the way the colonists immediately utilized Umuofia societys natural resources. Umuofia society was a village that was the main focus of the story and the novel showed that shortly after their arrival the colonists established trading posts to generate money. The colonists built a trading store and for the first time palm-oil and kernel became things of great price and much money flowed into Umuofia, (Achebe, 1994, p. 178) before the colonists arrival palm oil and kernel were not used to generate money. Europeans also wanted to colonize Africa because they wanted to extend their power and authority beyond their borders. This concept was illustrated in the book when colonists who came i n the form of Christian missionaries began setting up their own churches and systems of government. In which, apart from the church, the white men had also brought a government. They had also [sic] built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance (Achebe, 1994, p. 174). The colonists basically used religion as a tool to infiltrate and uproot traditional African values and customs in order to fulfill imperialistic goals that consequently impacted Africans. European colonization of Africa had many impacts on Africans. One of the biggest impacts of colonization was the changing of traditional African customs. The novel illustrated how the colonists effectively used religion as a way of uprooting African society. The colonists preached to Umuofia society that their traditions and customs were wrong and challenged Umuofias religious practices. The colonists also lured Umuofia societys outcasts to Christianity, who subsequently became the first converts of Christianity, which sparked change throughout Umuofia society. Another effect of imperialism on Africans was their forced participation in colonial governments. Africans were forced to obey foreign rules and regulations, instead of traditional African rules and laws. Africans also felt the impact of imperialism when, colonists set up courts and prisons to punish Africans, taking away the power of village elders who had traditionally governed punishment. Colonial rule had essentially taken away the right for Africans societies to govern themselves, forcing them to live by foreign rules and customs. One lasting effect of colonial rule was that it broke down religious foundations, which was hard for many Africans to accept because they knew the society their ancestors built was altered forever. Although colonists were colonizing Africa for the benefit of their motherlands colonization also had an impact on colonists. Establishing a colony is no easy feat and the colonists knew it was not going to be easy to establish churches, governments, and trading posts, so they tried to do their best to win local people over to their cause. Ironically, one of the greatest effects that colonization had on Europeans was actually a positive effect in the eyes of Europeans. Europeans believed that they were doing a great service for Africans. Europeans believed that it was their obligation to control Africas resources, land, governments, and religion. This obligation was discussed in the novel, when the District Commissioner who arrested several elders of Umuofia society stated to them that, we brought a peaceful administration to you and your people so that you may be happy (Achebe, 1994, p. 174). Europeans truly believed they were improving the lives of African societies, and could not g rasp the concept that their activities were actually destroying long established societies and religions. The effects of Imperialism can still be seen throughout African today. In the wake of imperialism many African societies are currently in conflict and change. Imperialism has impacted the not only African societies negatively, but it has also impacted the world negatively and most people have come to realization that imperialism is an oppressive tool. Although the story of the Umuofia society is fiction, one can assume that if it were a real society, Umuofia society would have survived imperialism and would now be an independent society once again. Reference Chinua, C. (1994). Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books.