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Step Brothers (film)
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Step Brothers
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Adam McKay
Produced by
Jimmy Miller
Judd Apatow
Screenplay by
Will Ferrell
Adam McKay
Story by
Will Ferrell
Adam McKay
John C. Reilly
Starring
Will Ferrell
John C. Reilly
Richard Jenkins
Mary Steenburgen
Adam Scott
Kathryn Hahn
Music by
Jon Brion
Cinematography
Oliver Wood
Edited by
Brent White
Production
company
Relativity Media
The Apatow Company
Mosaic Media Group
Gary Sanchez Productions
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures
Release date
July 25, 2008 (2008-07-25)
Running time
98 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$65 million[1]
Box office
$128.1 million[1]
Step Brothers is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Adam McKay, written by Will Ferrell and McKay from a story by Ferrell, McKay, and John C. Reilly and starring Ferrell and Reilly. It follows Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly), two men who are forced to live together as brothers. Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn also star.
The film was released on July 25, 2008, two years after Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Both films feature the same main actors, as well as the same writing and producing team.
Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Reception
3.1 Critical reception
4 Home media
5 Rap album
6 Possible sequel
7 References
8 External links
Plot[edit]
Brennan Huff and Dale Doback are immature adults still living at home. Brennan lives with his divorced mother, Nancy, and Dale lives with his widowed father, Robert. Robert and Nancy meet, fall in love, and get married, forcing Brennan and Dale to live with each other as step brothers.
Brennan and Dale despise each other for interfering with their lifestyles. Dale warns Brennan not to touch Dale's drum set, which Brennan later does anyway and is confronted by Dale. Brennan further enrages Dale by rubbing his genitals all over the drum set, and a brawl ensues between them. They are grounded for a week following the incident and told they must find jobs within a month, or they will be evicted from the house.
When Brennan's younger and more successful brother Derek, a helicopter leasing agent, comes to visit with his family, he openly ridicules them for their lack of ambition, enticing Dale to punch him in the face. Brennan is awed that Dale stood up to Derek, while Derek's wife Alice (who also resents Derek) finds Dale's courage a turn-on, attempting to begin a sexual affair between the two. Brennan and Dale discover their shared interests and develop a brotherly friendship.
Robert schedules several job interviews for Brennan and Dale, in which they perform poorly. Robert and Nancy reveal their plans to retire and sail the world on Robert's boat and allow Derek to sell the house, and they demand that Brennan and Dale attend therapy and find other living arrangements.
Dale and Brennan decide to start an entertainment company, "Prestige Worldwide." They present their first music video, which they filmed on Robert's boat, at Derek's birthday party. The presentation backfires when the video shows the boat crashing. Robert is furious and refuses to make an investment. On Christmas Day, Robert announces he wants to divorce Nancy, causing Brennan and Dale to break down.
Blaming each other for the divorce, Brennan and Dale fight, then decide to go their separate ways. Brennan works for Derek's helicopter leasing firm and Dale works for a catering company. Weeks later, Brennan and Dale are fully mature adults and are doing well at their new jobs and living independently.
Wanting to reunite the family, Brennan volunteers to oversee the Catalina Wine Mixer for Derek's company and invites Robert and Nancy. They hire the catering company Dale works for. The party is a success, until the lead singer of Uptown Girl, a 1980s Billy Joel tribute band hired to perform at the event, loses his temper with the audience after he refused to play any pre-80s Billy Joel hits and is ejected. With the stage empty, Derek fires Brennan, blaming him for the debacle, and Robert ultimately encourages Brennan and Dale to be their eccentric child-at-heart selves again. Brennan and Dale take the stage and perform "Por Ti Volaré". Derek is so moved by the performance that he and Brennan make amends. Dale ends his relationship with Alice to her dismay.
Six months later, Robert and Nancy are back together living in their old house. Brennan and his therapist Denise are in a relationship, while Brennan and Dale have turned "Prestige Worldwide" into a successful entertainment company that runs karaoke events. Robert has his boat repaired and put on display in the backyard. In a mid-credits scene, Brennan and Dale stand up to a group of bullies from a middle school who abused Dale a year prior. In a post-credits scene, Brennan and Dale sleepwalk once more.
Cast[edit]
Will Ferrell as Brennan Huff
Bryce Hurless as young Brennan Huff
John C. Reilly as Dale Doback
Richard Jenkins as Robert Doback
Mary Steenburgen as Nancy Huff-Doback
Adam Scott as Derek Huff
Dmitri Schuyler-Linch as young Derek Huff
Kathryn Hahn as Alice Huff, Derek's wife
Andrea Savage as Denise
Rob Riggle as Randy
Logan Manus as Chris Gardocki
Lurie Poston as Tommy
Elizabeth Yozamp as Tiffany
Travis T. Flory as Redheaded Kid
Ken Jeong as Employment Agent
Wayne Federman as Don
Abigail Wagner as Erica
Carli Coleman and Brandon T. Webb as the first homebuyers.
Phil LaMarr as the Second Homebuyer
Matt Walsh as Drunk Corporate Guy
Seth Rogen as a sporting goods manager
Gillian Vigman as Pam
Horatio Sanz as the lead singer of "Uptown Girl", an 80s-only Billy Joel cover band
Brady Scanlon as a "Boats 'N' Hoes" music video extra.
Reception[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
Step Brothers received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 55%, based on 182 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The relentless immaturity of the humor is not a total handicap for this film, which features the consistently well-matched talents of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly."[2] At the website Metacritic, which utilizes a normalized rating system, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Roger Ebert gave the film 1 1/2 out of 4 stars and stated, "When did comedies get so mean? Step Brothers has a premise that might have produced a good time at the movies, but when I left, I felt a little unclean".[3]
Home media[edit]
The film was released for home video on December 2, 2008 in a single-disc rated edition, a single-disc unrated edition and a 2-disc unrated edition. The film generated sales of an estimated 3.87 million units in DVD and Blu-ray, totaling $63.7 million.[4] For the home video release, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Adam McKay recorded a commentary track mostly in song, accompanied by Jon Brion; the track covers "the movie-making process [and] their characters' offscreen lives" in remarks that range "from the inspired to the irritatingly prolonged, but when Ferrell and Reilly really get into a good groove, they're actually funnier than the main feature".[5]
Rap album[edit]
McKay announced on Twitter that production of a Step Brothers rap album featuring Ferrell and Reilly had begun,[6] but later said that the rap album fell apart and will not be released.[7]
Possible sequel[edit]
Ferrell and Reilly have talked about a sequel. Reilly had the idea.[8][9]
McKay was also interviewed about the possible sequel. "We're kicking around the idea of Step Brothers 2," he said. "We feel like there's way more fat to be mined there. While it isn't quite the legend that Anchorman is, it has built kind of a nice following. We think it could be a pretty fun one." He added that Ferrell and Reilly's characters would be mature and have jobs. "One of them's married and has a kid. They're still kind of goofballs but they've taken three or four steps. Then we have an idea for something happens that knocks him back to square one, and one of the brothers, John C. Reilly sort of instigates it, like 'we can't take this anymore.' And things go really bad, their lives kind of fall apart. They have to pull it back together is sort of the basic structure." McKay has also said that ideas that were not used in the first film may be used in the sequel.[10][11]
McKay spoke to Empire in February 2014 and appeared to rule out a sequel to Anchorman 2 or Step Brothers saying, "No, that's the last sequel we're gonna do. There's nothing more fun to me than new characters and a new world. And now we're releasing this alt version, we're totally satisfied. No Anchorman 3."[12]
However, in an interview with Collider [13] posted on October 21, 2014, McKay indicated the door was still open for a Step Brothers sequel at some point, while making clear it wasn't a short term development priority, stating:
"We have a whole story [for Step Brothers 2], an outline that we're happy with. We were ready to go, and you know the story of [how] we got the call on Anchorman 2. We're not gonna do it now 'cause we just did a sequel, I don't wanna get into the sequel business too much. It was kind of a novelty to do one of them and it was certainly very interesting and I had never done anything like it. So I want to go make some original movies—or you know, The Big Short is an adaptation but do some different stuff. But who knows? 2–3 years, 3–4 years. I mean the funny thing with Step Brothers is if those guys are in their 50s it still works, so we could easily return to that, but for now no sequels."
In February 2017, Ferrell said in an interview with Rolling Stone that there are currently no plans for a sequel to Step Brothers.[14]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b "Step Brothers (2008)". Box Office Mojo.
Jump up ^ "Step Brothers Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
Jump up ^ "Step Brothers: Review". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
Jump up ^ "Step Brothers - DVD Sales". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. 2010. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
Jump up ^ "Now with extra farts! 25 1/2 gimmicky DVD commentary tracks". The A.V. Club. November 1, 2010. Retrieved 2012-09-09. But to make it more of a challenge, Ferrell and company sing most of the commentary, accompanied by Jon Brion, who vamps while the boys free-associate about the movie-making process, their characters' off-screen lives, and the exorbitant price they had to pay for a pair of fake testicles. Because it's all spontaneous, the commentary ranges from the inspired to the irritatingly prolonged, but when Ferrell and Reilly really get into a good groove, they're actually funnier than the main feature.
Jump up ^ McGlynn, Katla (2011-01-04). "Is There A 'Step Brothers' Rap Album In The Works?". Huffington Post.
Jump up ^ Jagernauth, Evin (2012-11-13). "Exclusive: Adam McKay Says 'Step Brothers' Rap Album Fell Apart, Sequel Still Possible But Won't Be Next". The Playlist.
Jump up ^ "Anchorman and Step Brothers sequels?". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
Jump up ^ ""Step Brothers": Reunited And It Feels So Good". The Urban Daily. 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
Jump up ^ Zakarin, Jordan (2011-06-17). "EXCLUSIVE: Major 'Hunger Games' Casting Confusion". Huffington Post.
Jump up ^ "Adam McKay Accepts the Death Of 'Anchorman 2' And Pitches 'Step Brothers' Sequel | News". Screen Junkies. 2011-03-21. Retrieved 2011-03-27.
Jump up ^ Germain Lussier (February 27, 2014). "'Anchorman 3′ Won't Happen Says Adam McKay". Slashfilm.com. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
Jump up ^ http://collider.com/step-brothers-2-adam-mckay-the-big-short/#WCDPGyePVXmlYcJC.99
Jump up ^ Greene, Andy (February 21, 2017). "Will Ferrell on 'Step Brothers' Sequel: 'You Have to Resist the Temptation'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
External links[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Step Brothers (film)
Step Brothers
Step Brothers on IMDb
Step Brothers at AllMovie
Step Brothers at Box Office Mojo
Step Brothers at Rotten Tomatoes
Scoring Session Photo Gallery ScoringSessions.com
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Films written and directed
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie (2004)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Step Brothers (2008)
The Other Guys (2010)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
The Big Short (2015)
Backseat (2018)
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The Campaign (2012)
Get Hard (2015)
Ant-Man (2015)
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The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Knocked Up (2007)
Funny People (2009)
This Is 40 (2012)
Trainwreck (2015)
The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (2018)
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Heavyweights (1995)
Celtic Pride (1996)
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)
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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie (2004)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Superbad (2007)
Drillbit Taylor (2008)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Step Brothers (2008)
Pineapple Express (2008)
Year One (2009)
Get Him to the Greek (2010)
Bridesmaids (2011)
Wanderlust (2012)
The Five-Year Engagement (2012)
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)
Begin Again (2013)
Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016)
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
The Big Sick (2017)
Juliet, Naked (2018)
Television
The Ben Stiller Show (1992–93)
Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000)
Undeclared (2001–02)
"Bart's New Friend" (2015)
Love (2016–18)
Related articles
Apatow Productions
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40 Odd Years
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Don't Dream It's Over
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
"Don't Dream It's Over"
Cover of the 1986 Australian single[1]
Single by Crowded House
from the album Crowded House
B-side
"That's What I Call Love"
Released
October 1986 (1986-10)
Format
7-inch single
Recorded
1986
Capitol Recording Studios
Sunset Sound Factory
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Rock[2]
pop[3]
Length
3:55
Label
Capitol
Songwriter(s)
Neil Finn
Producer(s)
Mitchell Froom
Crowded House singles chronology
"Now We're Getting Somewhere"
(1986) "Don't Dream It's Over"
(1986) "Something So Strong"
(1987)
"Now We're Getting Somewhere"
(1986) "Don't Dream It's Over"
(1986) "Something So Strong"
(1987)
Audio sample
file
help
"Don't Dream It's Over" is a song by the Australian rock band Crowded House, recorded for their 1986 self-titled debut studio album.[4] The song was written by band member Neil Finn, and released in October 1986 as the fourth single from the album.
The song, described by AllMusic as a "majestic ballad",[5] became the band's biggest international hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in April 1987.[6] "Don't Dream It's Over" was also a great success in Neil Finn's native country New Zealand where it peaked at No. 1; it also topped the charts in Canada, while in Australia it peaked at No. 8. In Continental Europe, it reached No. 6 in Norway, No. 7 in the Netherlands, and No. 13 in Germany. In America the single was topped only by "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" by Aretha Franklin and George Michael.
In May 2001, the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) celebrated its 75th anniversary by naming the Best New Zealand and Best Australian songs of all time, as decided by APRA members and an industry panel. "Don't Dream It's Over" was ranked second on the New Zealand list[7] and seventh on the Australian list.[8]
Contents
[hide]
1 Music video
2 Track listing
3 Personnel
4 Release history
5 Chart performance
5.1 Weekly charts
5.2 Year-end charts
6 Paul Young version
6.1 Track listing
6.2 Charts
7 Sixpence None the Richer version
7.1 Track listing
7.2 Charts
8 Other cover versions and uses
9 References
Music video[edit]
The music video, directed by Alex Proyas, features some surreal special effects such as household objects – including shattering crockery – and film reels that float in the air, with lead singer Finn playing a guitar and walking through the same house during different time periods while his bandmates are either performing household chores or playing various backing instruments.[9] It was nominated for Best Group Video, and Best Direction at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards, and earned the group a Best New Artist award.[10]
Track listing[edit]
"Don't Dream It's Over" written by Neil Finn. "That's What I Call Love" written by Neil Finn and Paul Hester.
7-inch vinyl
"Don't Dream It's Over" – 4:03
"That's What I Call Love" – 4:22
12-inch vinyl
"Don't Dream It's Over" (Extended version) – 6:10 (only in 12-inch vinyl single)
"Don't Dream It's Over" – 4:03
"That's What I Call Love" – 4:22
7-inch US vinyl (American Pie label)
"Don't Dream It's Over" – 4:03
"Something So Strong" – 2:51
1995 UK CD1
1995 Netherlands CD
"Weather with You" (live) – 4:35
The only B-side track in other UK editions
"Into Temptation" (live) – 4:48
"Locked Out" (live) – 2:04
1995 UK CD2
"Four Seasons in One Day" (live) – 3:08
"In My Command" (live) – 4:14
"Pineapple Head" (live) – 3:40
Personnel[edit]
Neil Finn: vocals and guitar
Nick Seymour: bass guitar
Paul Hester: drums and backing vocals
Mitchell Froom: keyboards
Release history[edit]
Region
Date
Australia October 1986
United Kingdom January 1987
Chart performance[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
Chart (1986–87)
Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11]
8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12]
6
Canada (RPM)[13]
1
Germany (Official German Charts)[14]
13
Ireland (IRMA)[15]
19
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16]
7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17]
1
Norway (VG-lista)[18]
6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19]
27
US Billboard Hot 100[20]
2
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[21]
9
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[22]
11
Chart (1996)
Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[23]
25
Year-end charts[edit]
Chart (1987)
Rank
Australia[11] 54
Canada[24] 34
New Zealand[25] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 13
Preceded by
"Funkytown" by Pseudo Echo New Zealand Singles Chart
19 April 1987 Succeeded by
"Lean on Me" by Club Nouveau
Preceded by
"Lean on Me" by Club Nouveau Canadian Singles Chart
2 May 1987 Succeeded by
"With or Without You" by U2
Paul Young version[edit]
"Don't Dream It's Over"
Single by Paul Young
from the album From Time to Time – The Singles Collection
Released
19 September 1991
Format
7" vinyl,12" vinyl ,CD
Recorded
1990
Genre
Pop rock
Length
3:56
Label
Columbia
Songwriter(s)
Neil Finn
Producer(s)
Dan Hartman
Paul Young singles chronology
"Both Sides, Now"
(1991) "Don't Dream It's Over"
(1991) "Come On In"
(1991)
"Both Sides, Now"
(1991) "Don't Dream It's Over"
(1991) "Come On In"
(1991)
In 1991, Paul Young covered "Don't Dream It's Over" on his compilation From Time to Time – The Singles Collection. Young's version featured Paul Carrack.
Track listing[edit]
"Don't Dream It's Over" (Neil Finn) – 3:56
"I Need Somebody" (Paul Young) – 4:00
Charts[edit]
Chart (1991)
Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 20
Irish Singles Chart 13
German Singles Chart 71
French Singles Chart 27
Dutch Top 40 67
Norwegian Singles Chart 6
Swedish Singles Chart 25
Sixpence None the Richer version[edit]
"Don't Dream It's Over"
Single by Sixpence None the Richer
from the album Divine Discontent
Released
2003
Format
CD
Recorded
2001
Genre
Pop rock
Length
4:03
Label
Reprise
Squint
Songwriter(s)
Neil Finn
Producer(s)
Rob Cavallo
Sixpence None the Richer singles chronology
"Breathe Your Name"
(2002) "Don't Dream It's Over"
(2003) "My Dear Machine"
(2008)
"Breathe Your Name"
(2002) "Don't Dream It's Over"
(2003) "My Dear Machine"
(2008)
"Don't Dream It's Over" was the second radio single released in promotion of the album Divine Discontent by Sixpence None the Richer. The commercial single release features the B-side "Don't Pass Me By," which was recorded during the sessions for Divine Discontent. Their version was also included in the 2003 compilation album Smallville: The Talon Mix.[27]
Track listing[edit]
US Commercial Single
"Don't Dream It's Over" (Radio Edit): 3:39
"Don't Pass Me By": 3:26
Radio Promo Single
"Don't Dream It's Over" (Radio Edit): 3:39[28]
"Don't Dream It's Over" (LP Version): 4:04
Charts[edit]
Chart (2003)
Peak
position
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[29] 37
US Billboard Hot 100[30] 78
US Billboard Adult Top 40[30] 9
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[30] 12
Other cover versions and uses[edit]
Other artists who have covered it include Donny Osmond,[31] Teddy Thompson,[32] Faith No More, Paul Shaffer, Stacy & The Kid on an episode of Kids Incorporated,[33] Howie Day, Aiden Grimshaw,[34] Susan Boyle,[35] Hitomi Yaida,[36] G4,[37] Diana Krall,[38] Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande,[39] Chris Martin and Eddie Vedder,[40] Sarah Blasko,[41] Flock of Dimes with Sylvan Esso and the cast of Glee.[42]
Rapper Classified sampled the riff on the song "It Ain't Over",[43] as did Irish R&B trio Dove on their hit "Don't Dream".[44] Italian singer Antonello Venditti recorded a re-written version of the song – "Alta Marea" – in 1991, with a then-unknown Angelina Jolie playing a seductress in the video.[45]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Don't Dream It's Over (7-inch vinyl). Crowded House. Capitol Records. CP 1842.
Jump up ^ White, Caitlin (14 May 2015). "Watch Miley Cyrus & Ariana Grande Cover Crowded House’s "Don’t Dream It’s Over"". Stereogum. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
Jump up ^ "Crowded House [Capitol]". Torque. United Kingdom: SPH Magazines. February 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
Jump up ^ Bailey, Marck; Comprehensive discography of Crowded House including track listings for all albums and singles. Released 28 March 1995. Retrieved 5 July 2007. Site offline after 2008.
Jump up ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Crowded House - Crowded House - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic.
Jump up ^ "Crowded House Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
Jump up ^ "Our top song - but vote kept a secret". The New Zealand Herald. 3 November 2001. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
Jump up ^ "The final list: APRA'S Ten best Australian Songs". APRA. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 8 March 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
Jump up ^ rvdgu2006. "Music video in". Dailymotion.com. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
Jump up ^ "MTV Video Music Awards". Mtv. 11 September 1987. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ Jump up to: a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
Jump up ^ "Ultratop.be – Crowded House – Don't Dream It's Over" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
Jump up ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Crowded House – Don't Dream It's Over". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Don't Dream It's Over". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Crowded House – Don't Dream It's Over" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Charts.org.nz – Crowded House – Don't Dream It's Over". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Crowded House – Don't Dream It's Over". VG-lista. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Crowded House: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Crowded House – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Crowded House. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Crowded House – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Crowded House. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Crowded House – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Crowded House. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Archive Chart: 1996-11-09" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".
Jump up ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart".
Jump up ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1987/Top 100 Songs of 1987".
Jump up ^ Phares, Heather. Smallville: The Talon Mix at AllMusic
Jump up ^ "This Is The Best Cover Of Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ You’ll Hear Today". UPROXX. 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
Jump up ^ "Romanian Top 100: Editia 27, saptamina 14.07-20.07, 2003". Web.archive.org. 14 May 2005. Archived from the original on 14 May 2005. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Sixpence None the Richer – Don't Dream It's Over (Billboard chart history)". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
Jump up ^ "Donny Osmond". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
Jump up ^ "Teddy Thompson". Coverlaydown.com. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
Jump up ^ 5 Apr 2010, 6:51 pm Idolator (5 April 2010). "Kids Inc". Elbo.ws. Retrieved 13 April 2011. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
Jump up ^ Emily Sheridan (15 November 2010). "Aiden Grimshaw". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
Jump up ^ "Susan Boyle". Daily Mirror. 19 September 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
Jump up ^ "矢井田瞳、移籍第2弾シングルは「同情みたいなLOVE」". Natalie. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
Jump up ^ Don't Dream It's Over G4
Jump up ^ "Wallflower - Diana Krall | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
Jump up ^ "Neil Finn Salutes Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande's Crowded House Cover", Yahoo Music, May 16, 2015; and "Watch Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande Cover 'Don't Dream It's Over'", Time Magazine, May 14, 2015
Jump up ^ Global Citizen (2016-09-24), Chris Martin & Eddie Vedder Don't Dream It's Over | Live at Global Citizen Festival 2016, retrieved 2016-12-06
Jump up ^ Various: She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn
Jump up ^ [Neil Finn on writing music for The Hobbit]
Jump up ^ Quinlan, Thomas. "Classified". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
Jump up ^ "Dove". Members.tripod.com. 23 April 1998. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
Jump up ^ Mendoza, Nadia (6 May 2008). "Angelina Jolie Alta Marea". The Sun. UK. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
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Things Fall Apart
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This article is about the novel. For other uses, see Things Fall Apart (disambiguation).
"Ikemefuna" redirects here. For the American football player, see Ikemefuna Enemkpali.
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Things Fall Apart
First edition
Author
Chinua Achebe
Country
Nigeria
Language
English
Publisher
William Heinemann Ltd.
Publication date
1958
Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Published in 1958, its story chronicles pre-colonial life in the south-eastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. Achebe's debut novel, it was first published by William Heinemann Ltd in the UK; in 1962, it was also the first work published in Heinemann's African Writers Series.
The novel follows the life of Okonkwo, an Igbo ("Ibo" in the novel) man and local wrestling champion in the fictional Nigerian clan of Umuofia. The work is split into three parts, with the first describing his family, personal history, and the customs and society of the Igbo, and the second and third sections introducing the influence of British colonialism and Christian missionaries on the Igbo community.
Things Fall Apart was followed by a sequel, No Longer at Ease (1960), originally written as the second part of a larger work along with Arrow of God (1964). Achebe states that his two later novels A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987), while not featuring Okonkwo's descendants, are spiritual successors to the previous novels in chronicling African history.
Contents
1 Plot
1.1 Part 1
1.2 Part 2
1.3 Part 3
2 Characters
3 Background
3.1 Language choice
4 Literary significance and reception
4.1 Influence and legacy
5 Film, television, music and theatrical adaptations
6 Publication information
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
Plot[edit]
Part 1[edit]
The novel's protagonist Okonkwo is famous in the villages of Umuofia for being a wrestling champion, defeating a wrestler nicknamed "the cat" (because he never lands on his back). Okonkwo is strong, hard-working, and strives to show no weakness. He wants to dispel his father Unoka’s tainted legacy of unpaid debts, a neglected wife and children, and cowardice at the sight of blood. Okonkwo works to build his wealth entirely on his own, as Unoka died a shameful death and left many unpaid debts. He is also obsessed with his masculinity, and any slight compromise on this is swiftly destroyed. As a result, he often beats his wives and children, and is unkind to his neighbours. However, his drive to escape the legacy of his father leads him to be wealthy, courageous, and powerful among the people of his village. He is a leader of his village, and he has attained a position in his society for which he has striven all his life.[1]
Okonkwo is selected by the elders to be the guardian of Ikemefuna, a boy taken by the clan as a peace settlement between Umuofia and another clan after Ikemefuna's father killed an Umuofian woman. The boy lives with Okonkwo's family and Okonkwo grows fond of him, although Okonkwo doesn't show his fondness so as to not appear weak. The boy looks up to Okonkwo and considers him a second father. The Oracle of Umuofia eventually pronounces that the boy must be killed. Ezeudu, the oldest man in the village, warns Okonkwo that he should have nothing to do with the murder because it would be like killing his own child – but to avoid seeming weak and feminine to the other men of the village, Okonkwo disregards the warning from the old man, striking the killing blow himself even as Ikemefuna begs his "father" for protection. For many days after killing Ikemefuna, Okonkwo feels guilty and saddened.
Shortly after Ikemefuna's death, things begin to go wrong for Okonkwo. His sickly daughter Ezinma falls unexpectedly ill and it is feared she may die; during a gun salute at Ezeudu's funeral, Okonkwo's gun accidentally explodes and kills Ezeudu's son. He and his family are sent into exile for seven years to appease the gods he has offended.
Part 2[edit]
While Okonkwo is away in Mbanta, he learns that white men are living in Umuofia with the intent of introducing their religion, Christianity. As the number of converts increases, the foothold of the white people grows and a new government is introduced. The village is forced to respond with either appeasement or resistance to the imposition of the white people's nascent society.
Part 3[edit]
Returning from exile, Okonkwo finds his village changed by the presence of the white men. After a convert commits a heinous act by unmasking an elder as he embodies an ancestral spirit of the clan, the village retaliates by destroying a local Christian church. In return, the leader of the white government takes Okonkwo and several other native leaders prisoner and holds them for a ransom of two hundred cowries for a short while. The white ruler further humiliates and insults the captives, doing things such as shaving their heads and whipping them. As a result, the people of Umuofia finally gather for what could be a great uprising. Okonkwo, a warrior by nature and adamant about following Umuofian custom and tradition, despises any form of cowardice and advocates war against the white men. When messengers of the white government try to stop the meeting, Okonkwo beheads one of them. Because the crowd allows the other messengers to escape, and does not fight alongside Okonkwo, he realizes with despair that the people of Umuofia are not going to fight to protect themselves — his society's response to such a conflict, which for so long had been predictable and dictated by tradition, is changing.
When the local leader of the white government comes to Okonkwo's house to take him to court, he finds that Okonkwo has hanged himself to avoid being tried in a colonial court. Among his own people, Okonkwo's actions have tarnished his reputation and status, as it is strictly against the teachings of the Igbo to commit suicide.[2]
Characters[edit]
Okonkwo is the novel's protagonist. He has three wives and ten (total) children, and is a brave and rash Umuofia (Nigerian) warrior and clan leader. Unlike most, he cares more for his daughter Ezinma than his son Nwoye whom he believes is weak. Okonkwo is the son of the gentle and lazy Unoka, a man he resents for his weaknesses. Okonkwo strives to make his way in a culture that traditionally values manliness. As a young man he defeated the village's best wrestler, earning him lasting prestige. He therefore rejects everything for which he believes his father stood: Unoka was idle, poor, profligate, cowardly, gentle, lazy, and interested in music and conversation. Okonkwo consciously adopts opposite ideals and becomes productive, wealthy, brave, violent, and opposed to music and anything else that he regards as "soft," such as conversation and emotion. He is stoic to a fault. He is also the hardest-working member of his clan. Okonkwo's life is dominated by fear of failure and of weakness—the fear that he will resemble his father. Ironically, in all his efforts not to end up like his father, he commits suicide, becoming in his culture an abomination to the Earth and rebuked by the tribe as his father was (Unoka died from swelling and was likewise considered an abomination).
Ekwefi is Okonkwo's second wife. Although she falls in love with Okonkwo after seeing him in a wrestling match, she marries another man because Okonkwo is too poor to pay her bride price at that time. Two years later, she runs away to Okonkwo's compound one night and later marries him. She receives severe beatings from Okonkwo just like his other wives; but unlike them, she is known to talk back to Okonkwo. She is the only one who has the audacity to knock on the door of his obi at dawn. Having met with the grave misfortunes of the deaths of her first nine children, she is a devoted mother to Ezinma, whom she protects and loves dearly. When Chielo, a priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, says that the oracle wishes to see Ezinma, Ekwefi follows the priestess through the dark woods and even makes up her mind to enter the cave where Agbala resides and to die with her daughter if need be. Okonkwo looks for them and goes to the mouth of the cave himself after waiting for a certain period, because he too was very worried about Ezinma and Ekwefi even though he had kept this worry to himself. Upon finding Ekwefi, he was very relieved and they both waited for Ezinma.
Unoka is Okonkwo's father, who lived a life in contrast to typical Igbo masculinity. He loved language and music, the flute in particular. He is lazy and miserly, neglecting to take care of his wives and children and even dies with unpaid debts. Okonkwo spends his life trying not to become a failure like his father Unoka.
Nwoye is Okonkwo's son, about whom Okonkwo worries, fearing that he will become like Unoka. Similar to Unoka, Nwoye does not subscribe to the traditional Igbo view of masculinity being equated to violence; rather, he prefers the stories of his mother. Nwoye connects to Ikemefuna, who presents an alternative to Okonkwo's rigid masculinity. He is one of the early converts to Christianity and takes on the Christian name Isaac, an act which Okonkwo views as a final betrayal.
Ikemefuna is a boy from the Mbaino tribe. His father murders the wife of an Umuofia man, and in the resulting settlement of the matter, Ikemefuma is put into the care of Okonkwo. By the decision of Umuofian authorities, Ikemefuna is ultimately killed, an act which Okonkwo does not prevent, and even participates in, lest he seem feminine and weak. Ikemefuna became very close to Nwoye, and Okonkwo's decision to participate in Ikemefuna's death takes a toll on Okonkwo's relationship with Nwoye.
Ezinma is Okonkwo's favorite daughter, and the only child of his wife Ekwefi. Ezinma, the Crystal Beauty, is very much the antithesis of a normal woman within the culture and Okonkwo routinely remarks that she would've made a much better boy than a girl, even wishing that she had been born as one. Ezinma often contradicts and challenges her father, which wins his adoration, affection, and respect. She is very similar to her father, and this is made apparent when she matures into a beautiful young woman who refuses to marry during her family's exile, instead choosing to help her father regain his place of respect within society.
Obierika is Okonkwo's best friend from Umuofia. He is a strong and powerful man in Umuofia, but unlike Okonkwo, he is a reasoning man and is much less violent and arrogant. Obierika often talks Okonkwo out of making rash decisions, and helps Okonkwo when he is on exile from Umuofia. He fully understands the changes going on in their society, and that their clan no longer had the unity it did before the white man appeared in Umuofia. Obierika's son, Maduka, is greatly admired by Okonkwo for his wrestling prowess, which (in Okonkwo's opinion) is something his own son, Nwoye lacks. Obierika is considered the voice of reason in the book, and questions certain parts of their culture, such as the necessity to exile Okonkwo after he unintentionally kills a boy.
Ogbuefi Ezeudu is one of the elders of Umuofia. He is regarded as very wise, and gives Okonkwo good advice. He is the one who brings Okonkwo the message from the Oracle that Ikemefuna should be killed, but he also warns Okonkwo not to participate in the boy's execution, since Ikemefuna calls Okonkwo "father", a warning Okonkwo does not heed. At Ezeudu's funeral, Okonkwo's gun misfires, accidentally killing the dead elder's son, for which Okonkwo and his family go into exile.
Mr. Brown is a white man who comes to Umuofia. Unlike most Europeans portrayed in the novel, he shows kindness and compassion towards the villagers, thereby earning their love and respect. He eventually develops an illness that leads to his death.
Background[edit]
Most of the story takes place in the fictional village of Iguedo, which is in the Umuofia clan. Umuofia is located west of the actual city of Onitsha, on the east bank of the Niger River in Nigeria. The events of the novel unfold in the 1890s.[3] The culture depicted, that of the Igbo people, is similar to that of Achebe's birthplace of Ogidi, where Igbo-speaking people lived together in groups of independent villages ruled by titled elders. The customs described in the novel mirror those of the actual Onitsha people, who lived near Ogidi, and with whom Achebe was familiar.
Within forty years of the arrival of the British, by the time Achebe was born in 1930, the missionaries were well established. He lived in the British culture but he refused to change his Igbo name Chinua to Albert. Achebe's father was among the first to be converted in Ogidi, around the turn of the century. Achebe himself was an orphan raised by his grandfather. His grandfather, far from opposing Achebe's conversion to Christianity, allowed Achebe's Christian marriage to be celebrated in his compound.[3]
Language choice[edit]
Achebe wrote his novels in English because the written standard Igbo language was created by combining various dialects, creating a stilted written form. In a 1994 interview with The Paris Review, Achebe said, "the novel form seems to go with the English language. There is a problem with the Igbo language. It suffers from a very serious inheritance which it received at the beginning of this century from the Anglican mission. They sent out a missionary by the name of Dennis. Archdeacon Dennis. He was a scholar. He had this notion that the Igbo language—which had very many different dialects—should somehow manufacture a uniform dialect that would be used in writing to avoid all these different dialects. Because the missionaries were powerful, what they wanted to do they did. This became the law. But the standard version cannot sing. There's nothing you can do with it to make it sing. It's heavy. It's wooden. It doesn't go anywhere."[4]
Achebe's choice to write in English has caused controversy. While both African and non-African critics agree that Achebe modelled Things Fall Apart on classic European literature, they disagree about whether his novel upholds a Western model, or, in fact, subverts or confronts it.[5] Achebe continued to defend his decision: "English is something you spend your lifetime acquiring, so it would be foolish not to use it. Also, in the logic of colonization and decolonization it is actually a very powerful weapon in the fight to regain what was yours. English was the language of colonization itself. It is not simply something you use because you have it anyway."[6]
Achebe is noted for his inclusion of and weaving in of proverbs from Igbo oral culture into his writing.[7] This influence was explicitly referenced by Achebe in Things Fall Apart: "Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten."
Literary significance and reception[edit]
Things Fall Apart is a milestone in African literature. It has come to be seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English,[3][6] and is read in Nigeria and throughout Africa. Of all of Achebe's works, Things Fall Apart is the one read most often, and has generated the most critical response, examination, and literary criticism.[citation needed] It is studied widely in Europe, India and North America, where it has spawned numerous secondary and tertiary analytical works. It has achieved similar status and repute in India, Australia and Oceania.[3] Considered Achebe's magnum opus, it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.[8] Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.[9] The novel has been translated into more than 50 languages, and is often used in literature, world history, and African studies courses across the world.
Achebe is now considered to be the essential novelist on African identity, nationalism, and decolonization. Achebe's main focus has been cultural ambiguity and contestation. The complexity of novels such as Things Fall Apart depends on Achebe's ability to bring competing cultural systems and their languages to the same level of representation, dialogue, and contestation.[6]
Reviewers have praised Achebe's neutral narration and have described Things Fall Apart as a realistic novel. Much of the critical discussion about Things Fall Apart concentrates on the socio-political aspects of the novel, including the friction between the members of Igbo society as they confront the intrusive and overpowering presence of Western government and beliefs. Ernest N. Emenyonu commented that "Things Fall Apart is indeed a classic study of cross-cultural misunderstanding and the consequences to the rest of humanity, when a belligerent culture or civilization, out of sheer arrogance and ethnocentrism, takes it upon itself to invade another culture, another civilization."[10]
Achebe's writing about African society, in telling from an African point of view the story of the colonization of the Igbo, tends to extinguish the misconception that African culture had been savage and primitive. In Things Fall Apart, western culture is portrayed as being "arrogant and ethnocentric," insisting that the African culture needed a leader. As it had no kings or chiefs, Umuofian culture was vulnerable to invasion by western civilization. It is felt that the repression of the Igbo language at the end of the novel contributes greatly to the destruction of the culture. Although Achebe favours the African culture of the pre-western society, the author attributes its destruction to the "weaknesses within the native structure." Achebe portrays the culture as having a religion, a government, a system of money, and an artistic tradition, as well as a judicial system.
Influence and legacy[edit]
The publication of Achebe's Things Fall Apart helped pave the way for numerous other African writers. Novelists who published after Achebe were able to find an eloquent and effective mode for the expression of the particular social, historical, and cultural situation of modern Africa.[5] Before Things Fall Apart was released, most of the novels about Africa had been written by European authors, portraying Africans as savages who were in need of western enlightenment.
Achebe broke from this outsider view, by portraying Igbo society in a sympathetic light. This allows the reader to examine the effects of European colonialism from a different perspective.[5] He commented: "The popularity of Things Fall Apart in my own society can be explained simply ... this was the first time we were seeing ourselves, as autonomous individuals, rather than half-people, or as Conrad would say, 'rudimentary souls'."[6]
The language of the novel has not only intrigued critics but has also been a major factor in the emergence of the modern African novel. Because Achebe wrote in English, portrayed Igbo life from the point of view of an African man, and used the language of his people, he was able to greatly influence African novelists, who viewed him as a mentor.[6]
Achebe's fiction and criticism continue to inspire and influence writers around the world. Hilary Mantel, the Booker Prize-winning novelist in a 7 May 2012 article in Newsweek, "Hilary Mantel's Favorite Historical Fictions", lists Things Fall Apart as one of her five favourite novels in this genre. A whole new generation of African writers – Caine Prize winners Binyavanga Wainaina (current director of the Chinua Achebe Center at Bard College) and Helon Habila (Waiting for an Angel [2004] and Measuring Time [2007]), as well as Uzodinma Iweala (Beasts of No Nation [2005]), and Professor Okey Ndibe (Arrows of Rain [2000]) count Chinua Achebe as a significant influence. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the author of the popular and critically acclaimed novels Purple Hibiscus (2003) and Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), commented in a 2006 interview: "Chinua Achebe will always be important to me because his work influenced not so much my style as my writing philosophy: reading him emboldened me, gave me permission to write about the things I knew well."[6]
Things Fall Apart was listed by Encyclopædia Britannica as one of "12 Novels Considered the 'Greatest Book Ever Written'".[11]
The 60th anniversary of the first publication of Things Fall Apart was celebrated at the South Bank Centre in London, UK, on 15 April 2018 with live readings from the book by Femi Elufowoju Jr, Adesua Etomi, Yomi Sode, Lucian Msamati, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Chibundu Onuzo, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, Ben Okri, and Margaret Busby.[12][13]
Film, television, music and theatrical adaptations[edit]
A radio drama called Okonkwo was made of the novel in April 1961 by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. It featured Wole Soyinka in a supporting role.[14]
In 1970, the novel was made into a film starring Princess Elizabeth of Toro by Hollywood lawyer Edward Mosk and his wife Fern, who wrote the screenplay.[15]
In 1987, the book was made into a very successful miniseries directed by David Orere and broadcast on Nigerian television by the Nigerian Television Authority. It starred several established film actors, including Pete Edochie, Nkem Owoh and Sam Loco Efe.[16]
In 1999, the American hip-hop band The Roots released their fourth studio album Things Fall Apart as a tribute to Chinua Achebe's novel.
In 2008, a film adaptation of Things Fall Apart was made by a Nigerian production company with an all-Nigerian cast. Pete Edochie starred as Okonkwo.[17]
Publication information[edit]
Achebe, Chinua. The African Trilogy. (London: Everyman's Library, 2010) ISBN 9781841593272. Edited with an introduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The book collects Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, and Arrow of God in one volume.
See also[edit]
Heart of Darkness
Weep Not, Child
Death and the King's Horseman
Nigeria portal
1950s portal
Novels portal
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Irele, F. Abiola, "The Crisis of Cultural Memory in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart", African Studies Quarterly, Volume 4, Issue 3, Fall 2000, pp. 1–40.
Jump up ^ "Random House for High School Teachers - Catalog - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe". randomhouse.com.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Kwame Anthony Appiah (1992), "Introduction" to the Everyman's Library edition.
Jump up ^ Brooks, Jerome, "Chinua Achebe, The Art of Fiction No. 139", The Paris Review No. 133 (Winter 1994).
^ Jump up to: a b c Booker (2003), p. 7.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Sickels, Amy. "The Critical Reception of Things Fall Apart", in Booker (2011).
Jump up ^ Jayalakshmi V. Rao, Mrs A. V. N. College, "Proverb and Culture in the Novels of Chinua Achebe", African Postcolonial Literature in English.
Jump up ^ THINGS FALL APART by Chinua Achebe | PenguinRandomHouse.com.
Jump up ^ "All-TIME 100 Novels| Full list", Time, 16 October 2005.
Jump up ^ Whittaker, David, "Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart", New York, 2007, p. 59.
Jump up ^ Hogeback, Jonathan, "12 Novels Considered the 'Greatest Book Ever Written'", Encyclopædia Britannica.
Jump up ^ Murua, James, "Chinua Achebe’s 'Things Fall Apart' at 60 celebrated", James Murua's Literature Blog, 24 April 2018.
Jump up ^ Hewitt, Eddie, "Brnging Achebe's Masterpiece to Life", Brittle Paper, 24 April 2018.
Jump up ^ Ezenwa-Ohaeto (1997). Chinua Achebe: A Biography Bloomington: Indiana University Press, p. 81. ISBN 0-253-33342-3.
Jump up ^ David Chioni Moore, Analee Heath and Chinua Achebe (2008). "A Conversation with Chinua Achebe". Transition. 100: 23. JSTOR 20542537.
Jump up ^ Jamiu, Adeyinka, "Peter Edochie: Facts You Probably Didn't know about him", YeYePikin Movie Blog, 9 September 2015.
Jump up ^ "African movies direct and entertainment online". www.africanmoviesdirect.com. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
Further reading[edit]
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. ISBN 0385474547
Baldwin, Gordon. Strange Peoples and Stranger Customs. New York: W. W. Norton and Company Inc, 1967.
Booker, M. Keith. The Chinua Achebe Encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003. ISBN 978-0-325-07063-6
Booker, M. Keith. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe [Critical Insights]. Pasadena, Calif: Salem Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1-58765-711-5
Frazer, Sir James George. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1942.
Girard, Rene. Violence and the Sacred. Trans. Patrick Gregory. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977. ISBN 0-8018-1963-6
Rhoads, Diana Akers (September 1993). "Culture in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart". African Studies Review. 36(2): 61–72.
Roberts, J. M. A Short History of the World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group, 1994. ISBN 978-0-8442-5765-5
External links[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Chinua Achebe (Author)
Chinua Achebe discusses Things Fall Apart on the BBC World Book Club
Teacher's Guide at Random House
A "New English" in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
Study Resource for writing about Things Fall Apart
Study guide
Words present in the novel used in past SATs. Includes definitions, words in order from the book, and three different tests.
Things Fall Apart Reviews
Things Fall Apart on Wiki Summaries
Things Fall Apart study guide, themes, analysis, teacher resources
Things Fall Apart Igbo Culture Guide, Igbo Proverbs
Things Fall Apart Summary
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There Was a Country (2012)
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Robert Wadlow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Robert Pershing Wadlow
Photographic postcard of Robert Wadlow compared to his father, Harold Franklin Wadlow, whose height was 5 ft 11.5 in (1.82 m)
Born
(1918-02-22)February 22, 1918
Alton, Illinois
Died
July 15, 1940(1940-07-15) (aged 22)
Manistee, Michigan[1]
Cause of death
Infection
Nationality
American
Education
Alton High School
Alma mater
Shurtleff College
Known for
Tallest human being ever (confirmed)
Home town
Alton, Illinois
Height
8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m)[2]
Weight
490 lb (220 kg)[3]
Parent(s)
Harold Franklin Wadlow
Addie Johnson
Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American who became famous as the tallest person ever in human recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence.[3] The Alton and Illinois monikers reflect the fact that he was born and raised in Alton, Illinois.[1]
Wadlow reached 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m)[2][4][5] in height and weighed 490 lb (220 kg) at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hyperplasia of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone. He showed no indication of an end to his growth even at the time of his death.
Contents
[hide]
1 Early life
2 Later years and death
3 Legacy
4 In music
5 Height chart
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
Early life
Wadlow was born to Addie Johnson and Harold Wadlow in Alton, Illinois, on February 22, 1918, and was the oldest of five children. He was taller than his father by the age of 8, and in elementary school they had to make a special desk for him due to his size. By the time he had graduated from Alton High School in 1936, he was 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m).[1] After graduating he enrolled in Shurtleff College with the intention of studying law.
Later years and death
Wadlow's size began to take its toll: he required leg braces to walk and had little feeling in his legs and feet. Despite these difficulties, he never used a wheelchair.
Wadlow became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus. In 1938, he did a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company (since 1966 called INTERCO). They provided him his shoes free of charge. Examples still exist in several locations throughout the U.S., including Snyder's Shoe Store of Ludington and Manistee, Michigan, and the Alton Museum of History and Art. He continued participating in tours and public appearances, though only in his normal street clothes.[6] He possessed great physical strength until the last year of his life, when his strength and his health in general began to deteriorate rapidly.[citation needed]
Wadlow was a member of the Order of DeMolay, the Masonic-sponsored organization for young men. He was also a Freemason. In 1939, he petitioned Franklin Lodge #25 in Alton, Illinois, and by late November of that year[7] was raised to the degree of Master Mason under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F and A.M.. His Freemason ring was the largest ever made.[citation needed]
One year before his death, Wadlow passed John Rogan as the tallest person ever. On June 27, 1940 (eighteen days before his death), he was measured at 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) by doctors C. M. Charles and Cyril MacBryde of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.[citation needed]
On July 4, 1940, during a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty brace irritated his ankle, causing a blister and subsequent infection. Doctors treated him with a blood transfusion and emergency surgery, but his condition worsened due to an autoimmune disorder, and on July 15, 1940, 11 days after contracting the infection, he died in his sleep at the age of 22.[citation needed] His coffin measured 10 feet 9 inches (3.28 m) long by 32 inches (81 cm) wide by 30 inches (76 cm) deep, weighed 1,000 pounds (450 kg) and was carried by twelve pallbearers and eight assistants.[1][8][9] He was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Upper Alton, Madison County, Illinois.
Legacy
A life-size statue of Wadlow stands on College Avenue in Alton, opposite the Alton Museum of History and Art. It was erected in 1986, in honor of the well-known native.[1][10] Others stand in the Guinness Museums in Niagara Falls and Gatlinburg, as well as several of the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museums. A group of six life-size models of him, made by artist James Butler, exist, and are shipped and displayed in replica caskets.[11]
Another life-size statue of Wadlow may be viewed at Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills, Michigan. In front of it is a small, quarter-operated "TV-box", which plays a short, documentary movie about his extraordinary short life.
Wadlow is still affectionately known as the "Gentle Giant".[12]
In music
The 1998 song "The Giant of Illinois", by The Handsome Family (and later covered by Andrew Bird) honors Wadlow. In 2005, Sufjan Stevens recorded "The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders" about Wadlow for the Illinois album. A picture of Wadlow with his family is featured on the back cover of the VHS version of the Talking Heads music video compilation, Storytelling Giant.
Height chart
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Wadlow's shoe, size 37 AA(US, size),[2]
Wadlow's shoe compared to a size 12
Age
Height
Weight
Notes
Size of
Year
Birth 1 ft 8 in (0.51 m) 8 lb 6 oz (3.8 kg) Normal height and weight Average February 22, 1918
6 Months 2 ft 10.5 in (0.88 m) 30 lb (14 kg) 2 year old August 22, 1918
1 Year 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) 45 lb (20 kg) When he began to walk at 11 months, he was 3 ft 3.5 in (1.00 m) tall and weighed 40 lbs. 5 year old February 22, 1919
18 Months 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) 67 lb (30 kg) 8 year old August 22, 1919
2 years 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m) 75 lb (34 kg) 10 year old 1920
3 years 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) 89 lb (40 kg) 12 year old 1921
4 years 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) 105 lb (48 kg) 14 year old 1922
5 years 5 ft 6.5 in (1.69 m) 140 lb (64 kg) At 5 years of age, attending kindergarten, Robert was 5' 6 1/2" tall. He wore clothes that would fit a 17-year-old boy. 15 year old 1923
6 years 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 146 lb (66 kg) 15 year old 1924
7 years 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 159 lb (72 kg) Height of adult male 1925
8 years 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 169 lb (77 kg) 1926
9 years 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Weighing 180 pounds, he was strong enough to carry his father (who was sitting in a living room chair) up the stairs to the second floor. 1927
10 years 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1928
11 years 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 241 lb (109 kg) 1929
12 years 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 287 lb (130 kg) 1930
13 years 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 301 lb (137 kg) World's tallest Boy Scout, averaging a growth of 4 inches (10 cm) per year since birth and wearing size 19 (U.S.) shoes.[12] 1931
14 years 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) 331 lb (150 kg) 1932
15 years 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m) 354 lb (161 kg) 1933
16 years 8 ft 1.5 in (2.48 m) 374 lb (170 kg) 1934
17 years 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) 382 lb (173 kg) Graduated from high school on January 8, 1936 and was 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m). Height of Sultan Kosen, the tallest living man. 1935
18 years 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m) 391 lb (177 kg) 1936
19 years 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) 480 lb (220 kg) 1937
20 years 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) 488 lb (221 kg) 1938
21 years 8 ft 8 in (2.64 m) 492 lb (223 kg) 1939
22.4 years 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) 439 lb (199 kg) At death, he was the world's tallest man according to the Guinness World Records.[2] June 27, 1940
See also
Biography portal
List of tallest people
Sultan Kösen, the world's tallest living man
Brenden Adams, until 2015 the world's tallest teenager
Zeng Jinlian, the tallest woman who ever lived
References
^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Robert Pershing Wadlow". Alton Museum of History and Art. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
^ Jump up to: a b c d "Tallest Man". Guinness World Records. March 19, 2010. Archived from the original on March 19, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-19. at Wayback machine
^ Jump up to: a b Robert Wadlow - 8 feet 11.1 inches (272cm) thetallestman.com
Jump up ^ "World's Tallest Man". www.worldslargestthings.com. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Robert Wadlow, World's Tallest Man, Alton Illinois". Roadside America. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
Jump up ^ Drimmer, Frederick (1991). "The Tallest Man in the World". Born different : amazing stories of very special people. New York: Bantam. p. 60. ISBN 055315897X.
Jump up ^ Robert Wadlow "worlds tallest man, worlds tallest mason" Illinois Freemasonry Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 1, Winter 2009 p.5
Jump up ^ "Tallest man ever". Guinness World Records.
Jump up ^ Hatzman, Marc (2006). American Sideshow. Penguin. ISBN 9781440649912.
Jump up ^ Brannan, Dan (2010-07-14). "Wadlow died 70 years ago Thursday". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
Jump up ^ "The King of Giants". The World's Strangest Mysteries. New York: Gallery Books. 1987. p. 702. ISBN 0-8317-9678-2.
^ Jump up to: a b Colombraro, Rosemarie (2007). "The world's tallest Boy Scout". Boys' Life (February 2007): 24–25.
Further reading
Brannan, Dan. (2003) Boy Giant. Alton Museum of History and Art.
Fadner, Frederic, assisted by Harold F. Wadlow. (1944) The gentleman giant; the biography of Robert Pershing Wadlow. Boston, B. Humphries, Inc.
Hamilton, Sandra. (1993) Looking back and up: At Robert Pershing Wadlow, The Gentle Giant. Alton Museum of History and Art.
Phillips, Jennifer. (2010) "Robert Wadlow—The Unique Life of the Boy Who Became the World's Tallest Man." Nose in a Book Publishing.
Preceded by
John Rogan Tallest recognized person ever
1939–present Succeeded by
-
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Wadlow.
The Tallest Man: Robert Wadlow later years
Footage of Robert Wadlow
Alton Museum of History and Art article
Graveyards.com: Upper Alton Cemetery
Robert Wadlow at Find a Grave
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 36701185
LCCN: no2007088743
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Wadlow&oldid=791616977"
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