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 own hard work and cannot simply be attributed to good luck. However, as things begin to fall apart around Okonkwo he no longer takes responsibility for what is happening to him. It was originally stated that "Okonkwo said yes very strongly; so his chi agreed." however we later see a reversal of this when Achebe says "Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation.".

As mentioned previously, the novel is strongly centered around the theme of change vs. tradition. Okonkwo is a true symbol of tradition that refuses to bend to change despite the immense pressure he is put under. Okonkwo refuses to adapt to his changing environment and is strongly against any form of change to his current lifestyle.While this idea of conserving traditional practices is good, Okonkwo fails to realize that change is inevitable and this eventually leads to his downfall within the novel. 

Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart in order to give the world a more accurate portrayal of Africa that they had not yet seen. However, he made the choice to not present the Igbo culture as a utopia and rightly so. While he wanted to portray the culture in a better light than it had been previously, he also wanted to show that the Igbo culture has its flaws as well. If he presented Okonkwo as an unbelievable man with absolutely no flaws then that would make the rest of his story less believable as well. By establishing Okonkwo as a tragic hero he makes the statement that while the Igbo culture is no utopia, it still has its values and should be respected.

In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo's purpose is to drive the plot and themes that are present within the novel. He shows how tradition is often reluctant to accept change and that in the end tradition often loses. Overall, Okonkwo is a representation of any native who was resistant to the oppressive colonization in Africa.  

Read More

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 some people were beginning to question the practice. However, we discussed that this negative portrayal of Africa might not have been completely on purpose. Instead we brought up the idea that these authors simply lacked an understanding of the African cultures and people and therefore could not see the true complexity. This may have lead to them simplifying things that they could not fully understand and in turn lead to their highly simplistic and negative portrayal of Africa. I found this part of the discussion interesting because in the interview Achebe was strongly opinionated on the matter that this portrayal of Africa was simply aimed to justify the slave trade so it was intriguing to explore a different way of seeing things that was not included in the interview.

Read More

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 audience means that this text can indeed by identified as a political speech.

               Without clear context, the target audience of this text can be found by looking at clues within the text to give us an idea of who this speech is aimed at. The line " And fellow Americans, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, I say to you tonight: We have more work to do" gives us many hints as to the audience. The author is directly addressing Americans but goes on to identify different political parties which leads us to the assumption that this is most likely directed to voters in America. Also, in the line " let me express my deepest gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention" we see that the author is addressing a political convention of some sort. Taking into consideration the audience, the purpose of this speech is mainly to persuade the audience to vote for a certain presidential candidate. This can clearly be seen towards the end of the speech when the author says "I have no doubt that all across the country, from Florida to Oregon, from Washington to Maine, the people will rise up in November, and John Kerry will be sworn in as President, and John Edwards will be sworn in as Vice President, and this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come.".  This shows that the author is trying to persuade the audience to vote for John Kerry and John Edwards by convincing them that these candidates are the better than other candidates.

               The author begins by telling the history of his family and how he came to be in the position of authority that he resides in now. They go on to talk about America and it is clear that they hold it in very high esteem however they then point out the struggles that some Americans are facing at the time. The author then introduces the political candidate that he is trying to convince the audience to vote for and he goes on to discuss John Kerry's values and beliefs as a presidential candidate. At the end of the speech the author urges the audience to vote for John Kerry in the presidential elections. The main idea of this speech is that the people of America should vote for John Kerry because he is a patriotic man who knows what is best for his country and will also do whatever he can to help the people of America. The author has "no doubt that...the people will rise up...and John Kerry will be sworn in as President." and believes that "this country will reclaim its promise, and out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come.".

               The tone of this speech is informative, instructional, and hopeful. The author uses many stories and instances to inform the audience of the reasons why they should vote for John Kerry and also the problems facing America. The tone is slightly instructional when he tells the audience that they should go and vote for Kerry and Edwards. However, his tone is also hopeful as he expresses his hope that the people of America will answer this call to action. The author creates a mood of unification in the speech. He removes any barriers such a race or political party in order to unify the audience and address them together as one people. This is clearly seen when the author states that "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America -- there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America -- there’s the United States of America.". In these two sentences he creates a potent mood of unification among the audience and the people of America.

               Seeing as this text is a political speech, the author utilizes many rhetorical devices in order to make the speech effective. Pathos is used to help the author connect with the audience. To achieve this the author tells stories of people he has met such as "the father that I met who was losing his job and choking back the tears, wondering how he would pay 4500 dollars a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on". This statement and others like it appeal to the emotions of the audience. The author also uses ethos when he discusses the core American beliefs, values, and ideals and attempts to establish John Kerry as the embodiment of these beliefs. There are also many examples of anaphora within the text such as the repetition of "John Kerry believes in". This repetition is used to emphasize the beliefs of the candidate and  point out the main ideas. The author's use of symploce in order to connect and identify with the audience is seen when he says " if you feel the same energy that I do, if you feel the same urgency that I do, if you feel the same passion that I do, if you feel the same hopefulness that I do". Metaphor is used to effectively sum up the author's hope for America when he says  "out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come". This extensive use of rhetorical devices helps create emphasis on certain key ideas within the speech and also works to further persuade the audience of what the author is saying.

               In conclusion, this text is a speech due to its heavy use of rhetorical devices and the fact that it's trying to persuade the audience to do or believe something. This target audience of this speech is clearly American voters and it calls them to take action and vote for a certain political candidate. The author's utilization of rhetorical devices along with the persuasive nature of the text creates a strong a well-focused speech.

Read More

The Tempest Practice Individual Oral Commentary

Find the audio here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIU1hmKa_pc

Act 5 Scene 1 (Lines 1-32)

Enter PROSPERO in his magic robes, and ARIEL.

      PROSPERO 

  1   Now does my project gather to a head:

  2   My charms crack not; my spirits obey; and time

  3   Goes upright with his carriage. How's the day?

      ARIEL 

  4   On the sixth hour; at which time, my lord,

  5   You said our work should cease.

      PROSPERO 

  5                                                     I did say so,

  6   When first I raised the tempest. Say, my spirit,

  7   How fares the king and's followers?

      ARIEL 

  7                                                             Confined together

  8   In the same fashion as you gave in charge,

  9   Just as you left them; all prisoners, sir,

 10   In the line-grove which weather-fends your cell;

 11   They cannot budge till your release. The king,

 12   His brother and yours, abide all three distracted

 13   And the remainder mourning over them,

 14   Brimful of sorrow and dismay; but chiefly

 15   Him that you term'd, sir, 'The good old lord Gonzalo;'

 16   His tears run down his beard, like winter's drops

 17   From eaves of reeds. Your charm so strongly works 'em

 18   That if you now beheld them, your affections

 19   Would become tender.

      PROSPERO 

 19                                       Dost thou think so, spirit?

      ARIEL 

 20   Mine would, sir, were I human.

      PROSPERO 

 20                                               And mine shall.

 21   Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling

 22   Of their afflictions, and shall not myself,

 23   One of their kind, that relish all as sharply,

 24   Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art?

 25   Though with their high wrongs I am struck to the quick,

 26   Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury

 27   Do I take part: the rarer action is

 28   In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent,

 29   The sole drift of my purpose doth extend

 30   Not a frown further. Go release them, Ariel:

 31   My charms I'll break, their senses I'll restore,

 32   And they shall be themselves.

      ARIEL 

 32                                                   I'll fetch them, sir.

           Exit. 

Read More

Most Meaningful Takeaway

How to Tame a Wild Tongue

"So if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language"

     This quote from How to Tame a Wild Tongue offers valuable insight into how the author views her language. The author goes on to elaborate on just how close her language and identity are linked. She says that she can not take pride in herself when she can not also take pride in her language and this is due to the fact that in her life when she is surrounded by so many linguistic influences, her language really is a key part of her identity and who she is. Previously the author felt ashamed of her language and its seemingly illegitimate nature however she comes to realize firstly that if she cant accept her language then she cant accept herself but also she realizes that she needs to accept herself before others will accept her and her language. I found this concept quite interesting as it discusses a sense of self-empowerment through language. By accepting her language the author in turn empowers herself which shows the link between language and power on a more personal and smaller scale than what we have previously looked at.

Woman Warrior

What I found most interesting in this excerpt was the stark contrast that the author presents when she describes the two different schools that the children attend. In the English school the Chinese girls were always silent except for when they had to speak. However, after English school is finished the scene drastically changes as they switch to the Chinese school. The girls who were silent in the American school became quite vocal when placed in familiar surroundings. The sense of order belonging to the American school gives way to the slightly chaotic world of the Chinese school. This contrast serves to show the power can shift based on the context. In the American school, the Chinese girls are the outsiders who are often excluded due to their quite nature. However, when it comes time for Chinese school these girls are no longer outsiders but instead are placed in an environment in which they feel a sense of belonging. This is an example of the link between language, power, and context.

Read More

Linguistic Imperialism

Where do we see evidence of linguistic imperialism in the Anglophone world?

Linguistic imperialism is the transfer of a dominant language to other people. This transfer can occur any many different ways and poses a threat to many endangered languages and in turn cultures around the world. One example of linguistic imperialism in the Anglophone world is in the case of pop culture. Pop culture is nearly universal and is also predominantly communicated in English. English is rapidly becoming the dominant language and pop culture plays are large role in this. From songs to movies and television shows English is constantly being spread across the globe. This mainstream media is an important tool in defining what is the norm. This has a particularly large impact on today's youth as they are very susceptible to outside influences. Many kids are trying to conform to these mainstream norms , in this case, speaking English being the norm. As pop culture defines what is considered cool or popular this sends the message that in order to keep up with the times and stay modern and hip you need to know English. It is particularly dangerous that pop culture mostly targets youth as this leaves languages vulnerable. If the youth stop speaking the language then it is only a short amount of time before the language goes extinct. Pop culture gives English a certain sense of power through the way it is depicted and this is why it remains one of the more dominant and universal languages.

Read More

Text 2 Analysis

This text titled "Food Crisis in Sahel" is an article published on the Oxfam website in December 2011 which discusses the impending food crises in Sahel. The author utilized a very popular technique among articles which is to begin the article with a brief summary of what the article will actually be about. While this piece is meant to be informative for its audience there is also no denying the underlying advertising nature of this article. The author is trying to inform the audience of the food crisis in Sahel and what is being done to help but at the same time they are also trying to persuade the audience to donate to the Oxfam organization. This text is intended for those who are interested in this crisis and would like to aid Oxfam in their efforts therefore the audience is most likely adults or perhaps even teenagers. No gender is specifically targeted in the article therefore the audience is quite broad. The language used in the article is not too formal and therefore is easy for anyone to understand.

The first thing you see when looking at this article is the picture at the top which shows an African man riding a donkey and leading goats in what appears to be a very dry and barren environment. This helps give the audience an image to associate with the crisis and the people Oxfam is helping. The article then starts by summarizing the topic and source of the problem. It explains what the situation is in Sahel and what Oxfam is doing to help and utilizes many numbers and statistics to bolster the arguments and facts presented.

The tone of this article is very serious as the author is discussing a serious issue concerning peoples' lives. However in some places in the article the tone shifts from serious to hopeful for example, "We hope to reach one million people across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger with humanitarian aid". The author uses a lot of facts and figures however they balance this out by also appealing to emotion. As mentioned before the language used in the article is formal yet not overly academic which allows Oxfam to remain professional but still reach a broad audience. The overall tone is serious with an underlying sense of encouragement and persuasion as the author is not only trying to inform but also to persuade the audience.

The structure used by the author is very typical for articles. The articles begins with an image and then text is placed underneath. This text is then divided into three sections by subheadings which are marked by bold text. The image gives the audience a face to visualize when discussing this matter. This image is also an appeal to the emotions of the audience and this image along with the text creates a persuasive effect. A quote in large green font is featured at the beginning of the article which addresses Oxfam's point of view on the topic being discussed. There is no use of personal pronouns as the article is meant to be professional. Oxfam's stance on the topic is considered ideological as it is based on general morals and the idea of helping others who are in need. 

Read More