Sunday, 26 April 2015

Okonkwo Character Analysis

As the main character of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo has a key role in developing not only the plot but also the themes of the story. The themes of change vs. tradition and fate vs. free will are mainly based around Okonkwo and the audience sees them play out over the course of the story. In the beginning of the story, all of Okonkwo's success is attributed to his will. He takes credit for all of his good fortune and says that it is a result of his...

Thursday, 16 April 2015

Most Meaningful Takeaway: Chinua Achebe Interview

The other day, we had an in-class discussion on an interview with Chinua Achebe. I think the part of the discussion that I found most interesting was when we talked about the representation of Africa in the media. Achebe was inspired to write Things Fall Apart after reading all the western authors' portrayal of Africa and the many African cultures. Achebe believes that these authors portrayed Africa this way in order to justify the slave trade as...

Friday, 10 April 2015

Practice Paper One: Political Speech

The text I am analyzing is Barack Obama's key note address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention which can be found here:                This text can be identified as a political speech as it contains many typical features of a speech such as persuasion, rhetorical devices, and an extensive use of ethos, pathos, and logos. These distinct features along with fact that it's directly addressing an...