Vultures

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Vultures Chinua Achebe
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Chinua Achebe

• Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria, West Africa
  in 1931. His father was a missionary and he was
  brought up as a Christian.
• In the late 1960s, during the war between
  Nigeria and Biafra, he and his wife and children
  were almost killed when their home was bombed.
  The war ended in 1970 when the Biafran population
  had been starved into defeat. Achebe wrote about
  his experiences of war in the 1971 collection
  Beware, Soul Brother where Vultures first
  appeared.

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Social Historical Context
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Faces of War in the 2oth Century

• Although Achebe was born in Nigeria he worked
  for the government of Biafra and witnessed the
  terrible things that happened to the Biafran
  population by the Nigerians during the war.
  Published only a year after Biafra had lost the
  conflict, Vultures reflects on the cruel and
  murderous deeds ordinary people commit during
  war.

Children starved in the Nigeria - BiafranWar
Belsen concentration camp
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What is it About?
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Vultures
Brainstorm what you know about Vultures. Use a
spider diagram to help you organise your ideas.
appearance
Where they live
How they live
Where you have read about or seen them
Things you associate with them
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Vultures
The poem is divided into four sections.
Lines Meaning so far
1-21 Describes two vultures sitting high up in a dead tree
22-29 Love is described as a person who chooses to ignore evil
30-40 A Nazi concentration camp commandant walks home with the fumes of burnt flesh in his nose and stops to buy sweets for his child
41-51 The poet reflects that goodness exists within evil but that evil also exists within goodness
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Images of Vultures
Consider the description of the vultures in the
first section. Find quotes to show that the
birds appear disgusting and horrible but can
still be loving.
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Section Two
Read the description of the Nazi Commandant in
section two. Note down the contrasting imagery
used.
Evil / Cruel / Ugly Good / Kind / Loving
Fumes of human roast Pick up a chocolate



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• Remember what we said about Chinua Achebes
  experiences of war? Re-read lines 1 21. How
  do the actions of the vultures compare to the way
  people can behave in a war?

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Language
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Contrast

• Many images in the poem contrast, emphasising
  the contrast between good and evil. Find
  examples of each and add them to the columns
  below.

• Evil
• Picked the eyes
• Swollen corpse

• Good
• Tender offspring
• Bounteous providence

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Imagery

• Think about the words the poet uses. Copy down
  the chart below. Make notes on what the poets
  words suggest to you.

The Images Notes on the images
The greyness and drizzle of one despondent dawn Conveys a dull, wet morning little light or hope suggested
Broken bone of a dead tree
Smooth bashed-in head, a pebble on a stem
A dump of gross feathers
A swollen corpse in a water-logged trench
Cold telescopic eyes
Ate the things in its bowel
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Imagery
The Images Notes on the images
Going home for the day
Fumes of human roast
Hairy nostrils
Wayside sweet-shop
Tender offspring
Daddys return
Icy caverns of a cruel heart
The very germ of that kindred love
the perpetuity of evil
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Poetic Techniques

• Match the technique with the correct definition.

• Technique Definition
• Metaphor The use of the same sound at the start
  of words
• Alliteration A figure of speech not meant
  literally
• Onomatopoeia The attribution of human qualities
  to an object
• Personification A word which imitates the sound
  it represents

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Poetic Techniques

• Think about the poetic techniques discussed on
  the last slide. Copy down the chart below. Find
  examples in the poem and write down the effect
  created.

Technique Evidence Effect
alliteration drizzle of one despondent dawn Along with the imagery, alliterating the dull d sound sets the dark, miserable tone of the opening section.



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Check Understanding

• Using the notes you have made
• so far answer this question
• Explain how Chinua Achebe uses language to
  comment on the inhumanity of war in Vultures.

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Useful Stuff

• Vultures short films
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vsbdkp35A8Wc
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?voi4UaW3Swlwfeature
  related
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vQ4838GG528Ufeature
  related
• BBC Bitesize Poems From Other Cultures
• http//www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/
  poemscult/acheberev2.shtml

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More Useful Stuff

• Annotated PPT version of Vultures
• http//web.wheelerslane.bham.sch.uk/files/Vulture
  s_0.ppt
• A copy of Vultures with notes questions
• http//www.mrsbaltsas.org/Brit20Lit/African_Amer
  ican_History_Month/Vultures_20Chinua20Achebe_Ass
  ignments.pdf