Achebe's Upbringing

Throughout the novel “Things Fall Apart” our understanding of the context is grounded on the personal upbringing and history of author China Achebe’s demonstration of certain events, values and characters in accordance to his life experiences. This acts as a means to develop a significant catalyst in driving the reader to understand the cultural context in which the novel is written. Topic Sentence: Achebe’s Christian upbringing enabled him to bolster his style of writing including his native Igbo culture, his upbringing vastly affected his understanding of cultures and religions and in turn affected his writing style. Topic Sentence: Achebe’s appreciation of both his religion and culture allowed him to divulge into the consequences of colonialism and thus the reader was able to gain a deeper understanding of the Igbo culture’s values and beliefs in his novel. Topic Sentence: Due to Achebe’s upbringing being predominantly in English, he persevered to achieve cultural catharsis within and through the use of the English language, as well as his writing style in his novel.

Things Fall Apart gender blog post

Thesis: Throughout the novel, Achebe sets distinct boundaries between the protagonist (Okonkwo) and other characters based on their gender. This is illustrated as Okonkwo’s perspective of different genders shapes his unstable and unpredictable narrative. Topic Sentence: Okonkwo’s perspective of gender is further highlighted during the “week of peace”, in which he sinfully beats his wife; this implies the symbolic association of wife abuse likened to hyper masculinity. This develops Okonkwo’s understanding of women as powerless to both him and society. Topic Sentence: Ezinma being Okonkwo’s favourite child inherits masculine traits, similar to her father, this demonstrates Okonkwo’s appreciation of this lapse in gender adversities hoping she had been a boy. Moreover, this implies Okonkwo’s perception of males to be superior to women. Topic Sentence: Nwoye, Okonkwo’s oldest son is a stark contrast to Ezinma’s character, symbolising traits similar to Okonkwo’s father, Nwoye is demonstrated as weak and lazy, these are traits Okonkwo despises, however, Nwoye strives to please his father and mature as a masculine character. This demonstrates Okonkwo’s evaluation of the Igbo values as to what a man should be like.

Tragic Hero- Okonkwo

Throughout the novel, Things fall apart, Achebe evolves Okonkwo as a power hungry, self sufficient character which both personifies and opposes the Igbo culture. Okonkwo’s character is unique, we find that his tragic flaw is developing and gaining the qualities of his father, he does all in his might to abstain from turning into his lazy father, Unoka. Achebe skilfully manipulates Okonkwo’s character to be portrayed as one who suffers from Hubris, this pride and arrogance developed Okonkwo’s downfall, his main purpose was to remain in power and never to be perceived as weak, Okonkwo is presented further as a character void of emotions, as he believes showing emotion is a symbol of weakness. His killing of Ikemefuna, and beating his wife during the Week of peace have severe ramifications and lead to the murder of the boy at the funeral, which in turn leads to him being exiled, this is the peripeteia of the novel, which transforms his fortunes. Essentially, Achebe establishes Okonkwo as a tragic hero in order to evoke various emotions from the audience, the protagonist becomes an antagonist. Achebe utilises Okonkwo as a tragic hero in order to develop a downfall, which in turn progresses into tragedy, this enables the audience to connect with the character on an emotional level. Moreover, Achebe highlights to the reader that various actions have serious repercussions and in this case Okonkwo’s actions led to an internal conflict within the character. A character portrayed as being powerful, was now defeated into being powerless. Okonkwo’s actions defeated him physically and mentally, his actions led to his sorrowful and sinful death.

Igbo Culture

Igbo background assignment: Throughout my trip to Igboland I had opened my eyes to a wonderful culture, a culture with values and morals, and with respectable people. The Igbo people are a major ethnic group in Africa, it is reported that there are 15 million of them living inside Nigeria, whilst there are a million living outside. Igbo is a culture with a rich heritage, and their beliefs are grounded in certain myths. The Igbo believe in a supreme God whom they call Chukwu, they believe that to him belongs all power and might, thus I was able to realise the religion has a vital importance in their everyday lives. Many people from various other nations or cultures, not particularly in Africa, disregard many cultures for the simple reason of thinking their culture is greater than another. What I found in igboland was rather astonishing, their culture has a lot of substance, many of us find certain cultures to be primitive due to their ritual beliefs. Moreover, the history of the Igbo culture is very unique, before the twentieth century, it was considered wrong to refer to the Igbo as a single people, each of their groups were so distinct from another, that if an Igbo person were to travel twenty or thirty miles into another village and tried to converse with the inhabitants of the village, it would have been difficult for them to be understood. Furthermore, archaeology suggests something distinctive to Igbo culture, unlike various other African cultures it has been discovered that the Igbo people have inhabited the same geographical location for over two thousand years. I urge people who are not educated on the unique Igbo culture to visit Igboland and witness such a momentous and distinct culture. An evident characteristic of the Igbo society was the lack of a centralised political structure, this is substantially different to certain nations and cultures or areas in the west, which are governed by rules and regulations set by the governments. Many of us feel that a centralised power or government is the best way to rule a country or nation, however, the Igbo people lived a comfortable life governed by their elders as they lived in towns ruled by the ones considered to be senior in that village. The lives led by the Igbo people was somewhat different to how we’re used to living life, the relationships of people were grounded on blood ties, each person traced their ancestry to three fundamental groups, namely; uno or house, umuma or lineage and the third was obodo or town. The first group (uno) consisted of family such as one’s wife and children, the second comprised of a number of closely related houses, while the third group was town of which one belonged to. It is important to realise and know that the head-man of each town, village and lineage was elected the position by virtue of his age, this highlights the importance given to the elderly people an Igbo society, this further demonstrates the stark contrast between the values or beliefs of the Igbo society as opposed to the West. We realise that the Igbo society is a caring one, and everyone in the village is united and are willing to live together in harmony under the leadership of a head-man. In our various nations, we strive for democracy and the Igbo people achieved democracy without a central government. This was achieved as the Igbo adhered to the concept of direct participation in governmental affairs, the whole idea of democracy stemmed from the idea of cross-cutting ties. There were five most important cross-cutting institutions, these institutions were; the council of chiefs, women’s association, council of elders, secret societies and age-groups, without them the whole Igbo society would malfunction and disintegrate. Therefore, we find that the Igbo had designated institutions to deal with certain issues, although being governed by elders of the village, they did fantastically well to achieve democracy whereby each person was treated equally. This further implied, that the people of the Igbo community were able to live with one another in perfect harmony. Moreover, the Igbo culture is unique, especially to people who aren't from an African nation, those who are from the Western nations. Many people from West consider African societies to be primitive, yet, their culture is far from primitive, it is a culture that is sharply different to any other. They have the utmost respect for elders and treat them as rulers and saviours. Their beliefs and political structures implies their close bond between every single person belonging to a community and group. Even though, they aren't governed by a government, they seem to be living lives under democratic rule, and each case or problem is taken care of a by a particular institute.

Paper 1 commentary: Barack Obama's second inaugural speech

Barack Obama’s inauguration speech as he was elected president had major significance in terms of the history and culture of the American people as a whole. It was a means of “binding this nation together” irrespective of the “colours of the skin” of the American people. The statements mentioned has rhetorical significance in the speech, in these instances, a polysyndeton is utilised. Thereafter, President Obama goes on to state “what makes us American…” here the audience is allowed to understand the use of amplification to further enhance the quality of the message conveyed by the president. Immediately, in the first paragraph of the speech, the audience is enabled to grasp the overarching implication of the president. “we affirm the promise of our democracy” demonstrates the values of America as a nation, which is to allow freedom to all its citizens. Transitioning into the second paragraph, the audience is greeted by a sententia, “We hold these truths to be self-evident…and the pursuit of happiness.” here, president Obama quotes the declaration of independence, this further might be the use of ethos by the president as he further is tries to communicate to the audience that he is credible. Furthermore, the implication of the declaration of independence demonstrates to the audience the will of president Obama to guarantee “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" to America’s citizens. Additionally, the association with the declaration of independence resonates with another famous political speech, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream”, which further enhances the value of president Obama in the eyes of the audience. As the speech progresses, the audience realises the main purpose, the purpose to demonstrate to American citizens that they are in safe hands, and with the will of the people as well as the foundation by which the country is laid upon allows, president Obama to once again appear as credible, making him the right person for such a historic role. The antithesis “the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few”, shows that once again, president Obama refers to a historical period in order to develop his message to the people of America. From the immediate few paragraphs of the speech, the audience is clearly highlighted, it is American citizens. President Obama aims at portraying the lifestyle of freedom that American people will be able to live, he does this by referring to historical times and once more referring to the values of America as a country. Moving further on into the speech, President Obama begins the sixth, seventh and eighth paragraphs with the statements “together, we determined that a, together, we discovered that a and together, we resolved that a…” the anaphora utilised here highlights the will of the president to work “together” in harmony with the people to create a “great nation” that “protects its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune”. Transitioning once again to further on in the speech, one is able to highlight the use of anaphora once again, as president Obama states; “so we must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools”, once again this appeals to the American people as the president tries to further prove his credibility and earn the trust of the people. The main aim of the speech is to highlight the credibility of president Obama as a man who is willing to fight so that America can further progress, the speech also aims at demonstrating the aims of the president and his plans as to how to develop the country, in these instances Obama utilises anaphora to good effect, allowing the audience to resonate with his message as it has an impact on their lives and most importantly their country, this further allows them to portray their patriotism and further the patriotism shown by president Obama, as he wishes to make great strides towards even more success of the country. Throughout the speech, anaphora is utilised frequently, and in each instance of it being mentioned, it signifies the unity of the country, as well as how nothing can be achieved without togetherness, thus placing the intended audience which are the citizens of America. The repetition of “our journey is not complete until…” once again portrays president Obama’s will to work together with the citizens of America toward the progress of America as a country. President Obama implies that he is unable to do it without the support and togetherness of each person. In conclusion, Barack Obama’s inauguration speech is filled with rhetorical devices, each of which highlight the inability of him to undertake such a historic role without the support and togetherness of each and every person. His speech aims at proving his credibility to the audience, as well as highlighting the strides America can make if each citizen contributes to the development of the country.

Coriolanus characterisation in the first act

Throughout the first act of the Shakespearean political play Coriolanus, Martius is depicted as quite a tough character by Shakespeare. A character who prides himself on being a loyal servant to his City and would fight through thick and thin to gain an honourable rank, Shakespeare further portrays Martius as a patriotic, arrogant and valiant man. This play is far different from various other Shakespearean plays as Coriolanus’ genre is a stark contrast from the rest. Shakespeare utilises the political play genre to develop a character like Martius and further develop the conflict and climax of the play. In the opening scenes of the play, we notice the characterisation of Coriolanus as both hero and villain amongst the people in his city, this is due to his hatred toward the lower class. It is easily understood by the audience that Coriolanus has little or no liking toward the Plebeians as he belittles them saying, "What's the matter you dissentious rogues, that, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, make yourselves scabs?” Furthermore, the two roles Coriolanus is given in the play contrasts each other, in the capitol building, he can be understood to be a cruel, harsh man who disregards the lower sects, yet on the battlefield his heroism and appetite to serve his City and people, he is seen as a man who is willing and ready to be elected consul as he will serve his people well. Moreover, Coriolanus’ character is further demonstrated as a loyal one who is willing to keep his word and grant what is promised, this is further highlighted when Coriolanus says “I’ll fight with none but thee; for I do hate thee worse than a promise-breaker”. Coriolanus’ appetite and desire to keep fighting and gain an honourable rank is fuelled by an external source to an extent, his mother, Volumnia acts as a catalyst to further develop Coriolanus as a valiant hero, this is made apparent when his mother states she "had rather had eleven sons die nobly for their country than one voluptuously surfeit out of action". Throughout the first act, Shakespeare utilises the genre as well as the setting to develop conflict. He creates a complex two-faced character, who is perceived as hero by some and villain by others. His characterisation of Coriolanus shapes his character for the rest of the play, in the first act his defeat of the Volsces allowed him to controversially be candidate for consul, which sparks further conflict.

Endangered languages with Abdulkarim Kamal.

https://clyp.it/ifirigne