Vultures

Objective: To understand the poem Vultures by Chinua Achebe

Vultures Vultures are

carnivores, this means they eat meat.

Their food comes from animals that have either recently died or are nearly dead.

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:

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).

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

Spot the difference…

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

You the Jury Do you think that: The Commandant is just doing his

job (if he didn’t comply he would be executed) or

He is an evil man who should be punished

Finally Is the comparison with the Vultures

being fair to the Vultures?