Things Fall Apart: Thesis Statements

Prompt: With reference to Things Fall Apart, show how sub-plots or secondary characters contribute to the reader’s understanding and appreciation of the work as a whole.

Thesis Statement: Achebe places certain sub-plots within the novel to centrally influence Okonkwo's tragic-hero archetype to symbolize the gradual downfall of Igbo lifestyle and culture.

Things Fall Apart Tragic Hero Archetype

In many ways Things Fall Apart is considered a tragedy. Why would Achebe, taking into account the cultural context, choose to characterize Okonkwo using the tragic hero archetype?

Achebe produced his novel as a literary piece, providing both sides of the story between the white missionaries and Umuofian public. In the tale, he desired to keep a balance between the two sides and Okonkwo himself is, ironically, lob sided towards the previous or ancient Nigerian culture of the Ibo people. The result of his perishing is persistently depicted due to the transformation of society from one stage to another, as Achebe focuses on the historic purpose of how the Nigerians were influenced by the white missionaries and that, overall, culture and society has progressed. Okonkwo's death similarly symbolizes the death of Ibo belief and rituals, not as a stance of support towards the great destruction that the missionaries had convicted upon the ancient Nigeria, but to display an image of reality and provide a true, yet meaningful account of local history, attempting to fish-out or subtract the modern-day emphasized or exaggerated stories that lack coherence and truth, aiming only to show a single side of the actual happenings. This can also be evidently justified through the fact that the novel concluded at Okonkwo’s death, rather than developing onwards, as Achebe designed the novel to provide a neutral viewpoint with little details of the ongoing events and what he likely assessed to occur soon afterwards with British rule.

Persuasive Speech

My fellow companions of the Igbo people and members of the Royal Colonial Institute, I am hereby present to defend the cause of my people alongside Igbo beliefs and cultures and inform you of the distinct and unique beauty that lies within it.


When the British first arrived in the mid-1600's, our people were shockingly interfered with and "used" as mere slaves for the white men, yet we did not revolt or come against the action of such misjudgment. It was soon after the slave-trade abolishment that signs of colonial rule began to develop after the inclusion of Christian missionaries in small villages of the lower and upper Niger, whereby the people were not only stripped of the little culture and identity that remained, but separated and divided them amongst their own people. Destruction was created and caused and complete villages had been annihilated, why? The people who colonized us never really understood the systems of our functioning society, nor did they attempt to, and were still confident of stepping into our world, with no real concern for our people.


We were provided with Christian Missionaries, to begin with, to display the false symbol of peace and divulge the Igbo people to approach and join the white men. Yet, we were, once more, "used" as an economic benefit and land of commerce and trade of palm oil and other commodities to the English through local slaves. Why is this so? The Igbo's tranquilly welcomed the white men, we provided you with satisfaction instead of approaching you with conflict and revolting your forces out of our land. This was our land, we were the rightful owners being exploited by outsiders like a cat in a dog’s shed, yet prolonged with the idea until we discovered that harmony was never to come.


Thus, I urge you to look towards those before attempting to reset and erase their form of belief. We understand what is known as the “White man’s burden” or desire to correct civilization, yet will never gain from it if we are unlawfully transgressed to follow paths we do not wish to attain. As a result, I plead that we should hold a relationship of strong bond rather than a race to hierarchy, and maintain as well as share advantages one holds upon another. Colonialism is most inadequate in settling such terms and will long aim to a point of conflict and struggle rather than the road of light.

Chinua Achebe Interview SID Reflection

1) What was the most meaningful takeaway from today’s discussion relating to the cultural or literary context of Achebe’s work?

The SID enabled us and assisted me to centrally discuss and relate the issues of African colonialism on the public, whereby my general understanding of the way colonies and people were treated was enhanced. I was also able to evaluate the various perspectives upon this issue alongside my peers and we were capable of molding this historic context with parts of the story or certain characterizations that similarly symbolized the current or previous happenings in Nigeria at the time when the book was written. As a result, I am able to completely follow and understand the purpose of this text to its time frame and intended audience, feeling confident about this at the end of the class.


The following Question is phrased into a general theme and segment of our discussion that was recurringly touched upon (with an answer regarding my personal opinion on the situation):

Do you agree with the statement that the white man "has put a knife on the things that held us together, and we have fallen apart."? In other words, what is your perspective on colonial rule?

I believe that colonial rule has provided various insights and opportunities for national development in terms of refining educational systems, establishing a meaningful court of law and teaching societies about modern techniques and methods of life. It has allowed the world to excel, yet has proven to negatively impact one’s cultural identity and significance of their own people. This also follows up with the fact that after colonial rule, countries have struggled to maintain such standards due to little observations and participation in governments and national politics which has further impacted their future generations and private ecosphere.

Practice Paper 1

The following speech “The Pleasure of Books” is written by William Lyon Phelps, an American educator, literary critic and author. The speech was delivered on April 6th, 1933 during a radio broadcast where Phelps conveyed and developed his affection of books through the use of comparison (similes and metaphors), rhetorical devices and diction to engage with the audience.

In the opening paragraph, Lyon indulges with the essence of reading and his disgust for borrowed books, introducing his audience to the literary world’s authentic beauty as his central topic. He opens with an analogy through the lines “The habit of reading is one of the greatest resources of mankind; and we enjoy reading books that belong to us much more than if they are borrowed.”, crafting a comparison between borrowed and owned books. He uses this to further emphasize the relevance of one’s own possession by adding a simile depicting a borrowed book as a guest, with diction in the words punctiliousness and formality, outlining the varied moods a member of the house would have towards an outsider. He follows up with personification in the text “You must see that it sustains no damage; it must not suffer while under your roof. You cannot leave it carelessly, you cannot mark it, you cannot turn down the pages, you cannot use it familiarly.” Where he provides the book with feelings of pain and suffering, soon implementing an anaphora, directly towards the listeners, through the repetition of “you cannot”, listing the limitations of a borrowed book, once more finalizing its relevance of not belonging to the household. Throughout this paragraph, we can see that Lyon relates towards a general audience of literature, who read and adore books just as himself by providing a common event in any booklovers life.

Subsequently, he continues his focus towards the conflict of borrowed and owned books, now tilting towards the supremacy of books that belong to ourselves. In the first line “But your own books belong to you; you treat them with that affectionate intimacy that annihilates formality.” Lyon supports the understatement presented previously on the limitations of borrowed books, now scoping the advantages of the items in our possession as he unfolds his viewpoint on the situation. The passage follows with a hyperbole as Williams exaggerates the freedom one can and should experience with a book they own, “Books are for use, not for show; you should own no book that you are afraid to mark up, or afraid to place on the table, wide open and face down.”.  He follows up with this argument through the simile “it is like a forest where you once blazed a trail.” as well as certain imagery in the lines to follow, “You have the pleasure of going over the old ground, and recalling both the intellectual scenery and your own earlier self.”, using this to back-up and express his support towards owned books by including the audience’s past experiences into the vast tails and lands explored within their childhood (“and your own earlier self”).

In the third paragraph, William cherishes the broad knowledge stored within such fascinating sources of fiction and non-fiction, as he presents the themes of intellectual property and free will within the paragraph. Lyon establishes the lines “Everyone should begin collecting a private library in youth; the instinct of private property, which is fundamental in human beings, can here be cultivated with every advantage and no evils.”, using diction in the word “Everyone” to relate to any individual within the audience as he convinces them that “private property can be here cultivated with every advantage and no evil” providing a bias upon the topic as being completely pure. Moreover, the writer portrays the climax of his speech in the text “they should be free and accessible to the hand as well as to the eye.” Through the encouragement of knowledge as being open-ended, referring to the theme of freedom. William then lists the physical characteristics associated with a book by using imagery as the main device in the passage, expressing the beauty of such hubs of knowledge, providing personal insight of his time with books through the lines “Most of my indoor life is spent in a room containing six thousand books; and I have a stock answer to the invariable question that comes from strangers. "Have you read all of these books?" "Some of them twice." This reply is both true and unexpected.”. He inserts a rhetorical question matched with a hypophora providing an indirect response to the question to enhance his own viewpoint of interest in literature.

As the text concludes, Lyon now examines fictional characters with real human beings, preaching the great variables we are able to study while observing certain personalities and their lifestyle. This is clearly evident through the inclusion of the lines “There are of course no friends like living, breathing, corporeal men and women; my devotion to reading has never made me a recluse.” where Williams uses a simile to compare people in the real and fictional world. He then follows up with the lines “How could it? Books are of the people, by the people, for the people.” where a rhetorical question is paired with an antistrophe to explain that books are never a sign of mere isolation by repeating the word people. In the lines “Literature is the immortal part of history; it is the best and most enduring part of personality. But book-friends have this advantage over living friends; you can enjoy the most truly aristocratic society in the world whenever you want it.”, Lyon uses a stream of metaphors alongside diction in the words “immortal”, “enduring” and “aristocratic society” to validate the relevance and entertainment received from reading, explaining the everlasting possibilities books can exhibit as well as communicating with deceased, yet popular authors in the text “But in a private library, you can at any moment converse with Socrates or Shakespeare or Carlyle or Dumas or Dickens or Shaw or Barrie or Galsworthy. And there is no doubt that in these books you see these men at their best.”. As a result, in the final line “You are necessary to them as an audience is to an actor; only instead of seeing them masked, you look into their innermost heart of heart.”, Williams, once again, directly engages with the listeners by adding a simile to contrast an author with the role of an actor, he inserts imagery as well, to once more praise the exquisite outlook a book can provide over a movie.

In conclusion, William speaks with an appealing tone and mood, connecting his personal insights with the audience and attempting to create a bright and innovative atmosphere. He shapes his argument by quarreling with the ideas of the literary world as a sight that can only be observed and explored on a personal level unlike practical adventures. He contemplates with the themes of freedom and intellectual property to further develop his central viewpoint and perspective of fictional characters and ecosphere.

Coriolanus IOC Blog post

Please visit the Following link to access my IOC:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B71d-_x7r4Z0aGdaenNsU1RYZUkzSjlDYXotbURTQ2h2YUhz

Third Citizen. He said he had wounds, which he could show                                                      1

in private;

And with his hat, thus waving it in scorn,

'I would be consul,' says he: 'aged custom,

But by your voices, will not so permit me;                                                                                     5

Your voices therefore.' When we granted that,

Here was 'I thank you for your voices: thank you:

Your most sweet voices: now you have left

your voices,

I have no further with you.' Was not this mockery?                                                                     10

 

Sicinius Velutus. Why either were you ignorant to see't,

Or, seeing it, of such childish friendliness

To yield your voices?

 

Junius Brutus. Could you not have told him

As you were lesson'd, when he had no power,                                                                             15

But was a petty servant to the state,

He was your enemy, ever spake against

Your liberties and the charters that you bear

I' the body of the weal; and now, arriving

A place of potency and sway o' the state,                                                                                     20

If he should still malignantly remain

Fast foe to the plebeii, your voices might

Be curses to yourselves? You should have said

That as his worthy deeds did claim no less

Than what he stood for, so his gracious nature                                                                            25       

Would think upon you for your voices and

Translate his malice towards you into love,

Standing your friendly lord.

Sicinius Velutus. Thus to have said,

As you were fore-advised, had touch'd his spirit                                                                          30

And tried his inclination; from him pluck'd

Either his gracious promise, which you might,

As cause had call'd you up, have held him to

Or else it would have gall'd his surly nature,

Which easily endures not article                                                                                                   35

Tying him to aught; so putting him to rage,

You should have ta'en the advantage of his choler

And pass'd him unelected.

Junius Brutus. Did you perceive

He did solicit you in free contempt                                                                                               40

When he did need your loves, and do you think

That his contempt shall not be bruising to you,

When he hath power to crush? Why, had your bodies

No heart among you? or had you tongues to cry

Against the rectorship of judgment?                                                                                             45

Coriolanus Theme of Power

The play Coriolanus, written by Shakespeare in the Elizabethan era, is exhibited as a work of power throughout the context. During the era, the English public were attempting to overthrow king James VIII, searching for a pristine and modernized man. Shakespeare similarly portrays this in Coriolanus, categorizing the main protagonist as a faithful and god-like classical warrior who battles his way for the heart of Rome. Throughout the play, Coriolanus is contrasted with dragon imagery, relaying a sense of physical strength, authority and individualism, recurring with the theme of power. During the initial phases and building of the climax his acts are portrayed as dragon-like, once he’s banished and decides to work against Rome, yet in Act 5 Scene 2, Menenius states “This Martius is grown from man to dragon: he has wings”, explaining that he has fully developed into such a beast. Thus, Coriolanus is approached by his mother, wife and son who kneel towards him, leaving him indifferent until he is emotionally impacted by his mother’s words. This displays the prowess and control his mother has on her son, although her position is respected due to the achievements of her son, she is bound to tame the beast and sacrifice him for the goodwill of Rome. Tullus Aufidius does not display much of a powerful character after being defeated by Coriolanus in battle, however is provided with the chance to regain revenge upon his prior enemy once Coriolanus avoids overtaking his homeland. As a result, during this era Shakespeare was able to portray the transformation of England, as well as the global world, through the inclusion of an ancient demi-god coupled with two regular, yet highly corrupt human beings taking charge and admonishing such a power, emphasizing the point that goodwill and heroic influences have been casted aside.