Vultures

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Vultures

• Objective
• To understand the poem Vultures by Chinua Achebe

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Vultures

• Vultures are carnivores, this means they eat
  meat.
• Their food comes from animals that have either
  recently died or are nearly dead.

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What happens in the poem

• The poem introduces us to the vultures and their
  unpleasant diet in spite of this, they appear to
  care for each other. From this Achebe goes on to
  note how even the worst of human beings show some
  touches of humanity - the concentration camp
  commandant, having spent the day burning human
  corpses, buys chocolate for his tender
  offspring (child or children). This leads to an
  unclear conclusion

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Mixed messages?

• On the one hand, Achebe tells us to praise
  bounteous providence that even the worst of
  creatures has a little goodness, a tiny
  glow-worm tenderness
• On the other hand, he concludes in despair, it is
  the little bit of kindred love (love of one's
  own kind or relations) which permits the
  perpetuity of evil (allows it to survive,
  because the evil person can think himself to be
  not completely depraved).

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Concentration Camps

• These camps were set up for the sole purpose of
  eliminating the Jews.
• The two most infamous camps were in Poland and
  were called Auschwitz and Belson

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Spot the difference
The Commandant in the poem loves his daughter and
may be a good father but is still capable of
horrendous crimes.
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You the Jury

• Do you think that
• The Commandant is just doing his job (if he
  didnt comply he would be executed) or
• He is an evil man who should be punished

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Finally

• Is the comparison with the Vultures being fair to
  the Vultures?