This presentation is a part of presentation season semester 4, M.A, Department of English, MKBU

1. Department of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University
Date: 2nd April 2024
Sem 4। Batch 2022-24
Contemporary English Literature
Presentation On
Exploring Love, Hate, and Human
Nature with Reference to 'Vultures'
Rinkal Dangar

2. Exploring Love, Hate, and
Human Nature with
Reference to 'Vultures'

3. Academic Details
Name : Rinkal Dangar
Roll No:18
Enrollment no: 4069206420220007
Paper name: The African Literature
Paper no: 206
Paper code: 22413
Topic: Exploring Love, Hate, and Human Nature with Reference to
'Vultures'
Submitted to: Smt. S.B.Gardi, Department of English, M.K.B.U
Dated on: 02/04/2024
E-Mail: dangarrinkal0609@gmail.com

4. About the Poem
Meaning of
Love and Hate
02
Coexistence of
Hate and Love
03
Service or
Love?
Possibility of
Eradicating
Hate
05
Conclusion
06
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 04

5. Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic, is widely
regarded as one of Africa's most influential and prominent literary figures.
Born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe on November 16, 1930, in Ogidi,
Nigeria, he rose to prominence with his groundbreaking novel "Things
Fall Apart," published in 1958. This novel is often considered a seminal
work in African literature and has been translated into numerous
languages, garnering international acclaim.
Achebe's writing is celebrated for its vivid portrayal of African culture, its
exploration of colonialism's impact on African societies, and its critique of
Western imperialism. Through his works, Achebe aimed to challenge
stereotypes about Africa and offer nuanced depictions of its peoples and
cultures.
Chinua Achebe

6. Novels:
1. Things Fall Apart (1958)
2. Arrow of God (1964)
3. No Longer at Ease (1960)
4. A Man of the People (1966)
5. Anthills of the Savannah (1987)
Essays:
1. The Novelist as Teacher (1965)
2. An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' (1975)
3. The Trouble with Nigeria (1983)
4. Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays (1988)
Poetry:
1. Beware, Soul-Brother, and Other Poems (1971)
Literary Contribution of Chinua Achebe

7. What is the Difference?
(Whitlock)

8. 'Vultures' is an expression of Achebe's horror at the obscenity of the civil war of 1967-70, which erupted when
the eastern part of Nigeria tried to become the independent state of Biafra. Achebe was working for the Biafran
government at the time and witnessed the suffering, violence and brutality of this bloody war. The rebel nation
was starved into submission and in 1971 Achebe published a volume of poetry Beware Soul Brother, dealing
with war and its legacy. It is, at present, his only book of poems and was published in the USA as Christmas in
Biafra. 'Vultures' is one of the poems in the second section of the book, which deals with the aftermath of war.
Achebe takes an image of this creature and its natural behaviour as a metaphor for the paradox of man's
simultaneous capacity for good and evil. He then explores this paradox more explicitly, reflecting on the fact that
good and evil, love and hate, kindness and cruelty can exist together in one being. The poem is set in the country
where unburied corpses lie in ditches. Although the background is the Nigerian civil war, Belsen concentration
camp is brought into the poem as a reminder of European atrocities; the issues here are universal. The poem is
structured in the form of an argument. Achebe's consideration of the phenomenon of evil in our lives is
reminiscent of some of Edwin Muir's philosophical poems in which Muir examines the sudden lurch towards
evil.(Newman)
‘Vultures’

9. Love, an emotion characterized by strong feelings of affection for another arising
out of kinship, companionship, admiration, or benevolence. In a related sense,
“love” designates a benevolent concern for the good or welfare of
others.(Decherney)
The word love is derived from the hypothetical term leubh, a root in Proto-Indo-
European (the reconstructed parent of Indo-European languages) meaning care or
desire.
Greek distinguishes several different senses in which the word "love" is used.
Ancient Greeks identified four forms of love: kinship or familiarity (storge),
friendship and/or platonic desire (philia), sexual and/or romantic desire (eros),
and self-emptying or divine love (agape)(Kristeller)
Love and Hate: What do they Mean?

10. Attraction plays an essential role in parental love and it could be material or non-material.
Material attraction involves the child’s health, gender, accomplishments or success, and
attractiveness. In contrast, non-material attraction includes traits such as intelligence,
character, and other personality traits.
Indeed, mothers and fathers have been found to favor the more intelligent and more
ambitious/industrious child. (“Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Love: The Quadruple
Theory.”)
Drawing from Harlow's experiment on attachment in baby monkeys, it's evident that love
transcends mere biological bonds. Love isn't confined to kinship relations; instead, it's a
universal emotion that can be extended to all individuals, irrespective of biological
connections.(Harlow)
Is Storge Love Inescapable?

11. 'Service is not possible unless it is rooted in love; in Ahimsa.'
Gandhi stressed on connecting humility with service. As humility itself is a high moral value and one of the
superior characteristics of human beings, it is necessary that in service through humility love for all living
beings, and particularly for humanity remains intact. It is also necessary for the reason that sacrifice is
inevitable in love; in it priorities remain for others' pleasure and prosperity, even readiness to sacrifice one's
life for others. Particularly, in context of humility Mahatma Gandhi has put forth, 'A life of service must be
one of humility.(“Love for humanity - A Gandhian View | Articles on and by Mahatma Gandhi”)(Gandhi)
Thus the Commandant at Belsen
Camp going home for
the day with fumes of
human roast clinging
rebelliously to his hairy
nostrils will stop
at the wayside sweet-shop
and pick up a chocolate
for his tender offspring
waiting at home for Daddy's
return...(Achebe)
Service or Love?

12. Triangular Theory of Hate: Typically hate is thought of as a single emotion. But there is reason to believe
that hate has multiple components that can manifest themselves in different ways on different occasions.
According to a triangular component of the duplex theory of fate, hate potentially comprises three components.
As with love, hate can be captured by both feelings triangles and action triangles. Feelings may or may not
translate themselves into actions, and actions may or may not represent genuine feelings. People may interpret
actions as meaning different things, depending on their mappings of feelings into actions and vice versa. There
are three components of hate: negation of intimacy, passion, and commitment.(“Hate — Robert J. Sternberg”)
A second potential component of hate is passion, which expresses itself as intense anger or fear in response to a
threat. Anger leads often leads one to approach, fear to avoid, the object of hate. Propaganda may depict the
targeted individuals as an imminent threat to approved society, and one that should be feared because of this
threat. Targeted groups may be depicted as rapacious warriors bent on defiling women or attacking children or
as monsters that threaten the very fabric of society (as well as the individual rights of its members). This
component of hate is typically rapid in its growth and often rapid in its demise. The two subcomponents of the
passion component are anger and fear. (“Hate — Robert J. Sternberg”)
What does Hate mean?

13. The third potential component of hate is
decision/commitment, which is characterized by
cognitions of devaluation and diminution through
contempt for the targeted group. The hater is likely to
feel contempt toward the target individual or group,
viewing the target as barely human or even as
subhuman. The goal of those who foment hate is to
change the thought processes of the preferred
population so that its members will conceive of the
targeted group(s) in a devalued way. Often these
changes are accomplished through some kind of
instructional or otherwise “educational” program,
whether in school or without. In other terms, this
kind of program could be viewed as constituting
“brainwashing.”
Continue….
(“Hate — Robert J. Sternberg”)

14. Instigation of hate covers roughly 5 steps. Not all steps need to occur in order for
hate to come into being. Indeed, even one step may start the process. The steps
are:
(1) The target is revealed to be anathema.
(2) The target plans actions contrary to the interests of the in-group.
(3) The target makes its presence felt.
(4) The target translates plans into action.
(5) The target is achieving some success in its goals.
Kinds of Haters
Impure-other
Faceless Foe
Greedy enemy
Barbarian Torturer
Power-crazed (“Hate — Robert J. Sternberg”)
Continue…

15. Robert J. Sternberg has given elements and factors like commitment and passion which are applicable to love and
hate and human nature itself sometimes shows to be cruel over time and affectionate at the same minute
but with different elements and people
African fiction is the redefinition of what counts as truth in fiction. Showing how characters are crushed by the system is
one way to reveal how systems work and critique them. (Ghosh)
Irrational love and irrational hate jostling together in the heart of that talented, tormented man. But whereas irrational love
may at worst engender foolish acts of indiscretion, irrational hate can endanger the life of the community.(Achebe)
Praise bounteous
providence if you will
that grants even an ogre
a tiny glow-worm
tenderness encapsulated
in icy caverns of a cruel
heart or else despair
for in the very germ
of that kindred love is
lodged the perpetuity
of evil.(Achebe)
Coexistence of Love and Hate!

16. Greed has poisoned men’s souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us
into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in.
Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical.
Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than
machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.
Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost…
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these
inventions cries out for the goodness in men - cries out for universal brotherhood - for the
unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of
despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture
and imprison innocent people.
You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in
your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural!
Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! (Chaplin)
Is that Possible to Get Rid over Hate?

17. Problems arising in the world are getting increased over time till today, by addressing those disruptions
to human lives, they are worth solving
Foreign and Palestinian aid workers with World Central Kitchen were killed in Israeli attack after Gaza
food delivery.(Rowlands)
जंग तो ख़ुद ही एक मसअला है
जंग क्या मसअलों का हल देगी
आग और ख़ून आज बख़्शेगी
भ़ूक और एहततयाज कल देगी
इस तलए ऐ शरीफ़ इंसानो
जंग टलती रहे तो बेहतर है
आप और हम सभी क
े आँगन में
शम्अ' जलती रहे तो बेहतर है (Ludhianvi)
Conclusion

18. There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die. (Auden and Santos)
टैंक आगे बढें तक तपछे हटें
कोख धरती की बाँझ होती है
फ़त्ह का जश्न हो तक हार का सोग
त ंदगी मय्यतों पे रोती है (Ludhianvi)
Continue…

19. Achebe, Chinua. Beware, Soul Brother: Poems. Nwamife, 1972.
Achebe, Chinua. “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.” Project Muse, The Massachusetts
Review,
https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/5751703/mod_folder/content/0/ConradHeart%20of%20Darkness/
An%20Image%20of%20Africa%20-
%20Racism%20in%20Conrad%20s%20Heart%20of%20Darkness%20-
%20Chinua%20Achebe.pdf?forcedownload=1. Accessed 2 April 2024.
Auden, WH, and Sherod Santos. “September 1, 1939 by W. H. Auden - Poems.” Academy of American Poets,
https://poets.org/poem/september-1-1939. Accessed 2 April 2024.
Chaplin, Charles, and Charles Sistovaris. “The Final Speech from The Great Dictator.” Charlie Chaplin,
https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/articles/29-the-final-speech-from-the-great-dictator-. Accessed 2 April
2024.
Decherney, Sophia. “Love | Definition, Etymology, Theories, Psychology, Biology, & Facts.” Britannica, 8
March 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/love-emotion. Accessed 31 March 2024.
“Facial attractiveness: evolutionary based research - PMC.” NCBI,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130383/. Accessed 2 April 2024.
References

20. Gandhi, M. K. India of My Dreams. Pharos Books, 2019.
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https://brittlepaper.com/2022/02/what-is-love-in-african-fiction/. Accessed 31 March 2024.
Harlow, Harry Frederick. “Harlow's Studies on Dependency in Monkeys.” YouTube,
https://youtu.be/OrNBEhzjg8I?feature=shared. Accessed 2 April 2024.
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Kristeller, Paul Oskar. Renaissance Thought and the Arts: Collected Essays. Edited by Paul Oskar
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April 2024.
Continue..

21. Newman, Eileen. “Chinua Achebe's 'Vultures.” The English Review, vol. 10, no. 2, 1999, p. 14.
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Continue..

22. Thank You!