For todays post about overcoming odds i read an article about Rap artist Kanye West who overcame the odds of a tragic car accident he got into in 2002. One late night after a late studio recording Kanye was driving home and fell asleep at the wheel and crashed head on into an SUV.  His face was crushed by the steering wheel and broke his jaw in 3 places and was in serious condition. After recovering using music as his medicine he started writing songs that were inspired by his ordeal and other songs about his struggles and his close encounters with death. He recorded his first smash hit Through The Wire while his jaw was still wired shut.  He later quoted " When i had my accident i found out at that moment nothing in life is promised except death, ". " If you have the oppurtunity to play the game of life, you need to appreciate every moment". All these things that kanye is saying relate to Things Fall Apart in a way. For example when Okonkwo faces death many times and learnes from the mistakes and also at the end of the novel when he ends up killing himself because it was the only option he really had left which shows your promised nothing in life but death. Two years after Kanye's car accident he won a Grammy for best rap album and best rap song. Kanye says the car accident caused him to slow down and just really focus on making really good music.

http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/oprahshow1_ss_20050909

Winfrey, Oprah. "Overcoming The Odds". The Oprah Winfrey Show. 3/22/09 .