"Specifically" Universal
Third Essay Assignment The American University in Cairo Fall 2001 SEMR-200-05 Dr. Clarissa Burt Mufaddal Saifuddin 900 99 2112 "Specifically" Universal No longer is an individual part of a society that is bounded by a tribal fence - where all its inhabitants share the same culture, norms and identity that are inherited unchanged by generation after generation. Values are more difficult to blindly accept since an individual's outlook is no longer confined to the fences of his tribe, and not all the aspects of his specific culture remain consistent with the universal domain he now confronts. In other words - in light of the 21st century individuals are constantly faced with decisions that ask them to either side with tradition or globalization. Girls at War and Other Short Stories by Nigeria's ebullient Achebe, An Egyptian Childhood, by Egyptian thinker Taha Hussein and Un Chien Andalou by surrealist artists Luis Bunel and Salvador Dali are texts that contain culturally specific material but also have a universal appeal. How these texts work as art for a culturally specific audience and how they work for a world audience is largely based on the outlook of the author and reader, in addition to where their outlooks unionize. Nevertheless, one can still attempt to interpret the degree to which these texts are culturally specific or universally appealing through one's own
To what extent do you feel that Achebe intends the reader to be sympathetic towards Okonkwo?
To what extent do you feel that Achebe intends the reader to be sympathetic towards Okonkwo? 'Things Fall Apart' is written in the postcolonial period, but is set before and during the process of colonization. Achebe therefore wants to educate the reader about the civilization that was destroyed. Hence Okonkwo to a great extent represents that civilization; it would be reasonable to suppose that, ultimately, Achebe wants us to sympathise with Okonkwo. I believe that Achebe is trying to give an explanation of what it is like to live in an African society. The story is about a man named Okonkwo who is a member of the Ibo tribe. Achebe is telling the story of Okonkwo from his childhood till his death. Before I read this book I did not have a very good idea of how people lived in Africa, and the ideas I did have about life in traditional African societies turned out to be untrue. Achebe did a very good job of illustrating a traditional African society, and by reading this book I now have a much better idea of what life is like in a non-western society. I think that this was Achebe's goal in writing this book, to educate people about some of the struggles people have and life in traditional African societies. The title 'Things Fall Apart' is a good choice of title for this book because the book presents the destruction of the main protagonist, and of his culture. Throughout
An Inspector Calls Coueswork
An Inspector Calls Coursework Samuel Stanbury English 'An Inspector Calls' was based in 1912 and written around the year of 1945. It was set in Edwardian England where society exhibited huge social divisions and distinctions. The two dates are both relevant because he wrote the play in a world emerging from the Second World War, in a time where people were getting nostalgic about pre-world war one. Priestly uses this time difference very effectively, showing people that the way forward is socialism. One quotation that Priestly spoke read 'In order to move forward and to rebuild the country, people have to work together as a society, instead of reverting back to capitalism.' The books genre is mainly focused on a detective thriller. Whilst progressing through the novel the genre starts to take a different form of a 'whodunit' genre. The fact that a meaningful message is represented would indicate that An Inspector Calls, as well as being a murder mystery, in the way that Priestley uncovers the story of the death of Eva Smith, is also a moralistic play. Priestly uses the Inspector to get across to the audience. He tries to tell us that we cannot go on being self obsessed and that we have to change our political views. Priestly also uses the Birling family as an example of the Capitalistic family that was common amongst the higher classes in 1912. They have no care for
Do you agree that Achebe shows an "awareness of the human qualities common to all men of all times and places" or do you find the novel only uniquely African and of its time?
Achebe's style has been described as one of "remarkable economy and subtle irony... uniquely and richly African .. revealing Achebe's keen awareness of the human qualities common to all men of all times and places". Do you agree that Achebe shows an "awareness of the human qualities common to all men of all times and places" or do you find the novel only uniquely African and of its time? "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe is a twentieth-century African tragedy written about the destruction of the African Igbo tribe by 'white men' from the west. The novel focuses on Africa's gradual invasion by white Westerners and the effects of colonisation on specific individuals and groups within the society. The novel has many distinct African features that define the pre-colonial culture of the Igbo tribe. The very beginning of the novel describes an African festival, in which drums and flutes are being used whilst the spectators look on in awe, "The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held their breath." Achebe's use of sensory language, such as the sounds of the instruments, gives the audience a greater sense of shared experience of what it was like to be part of the Igbo tribe. Achebe's style of writing throughout the novel allows the audience to imagine being in the position of characters such as Okonkwo who had their common, traditional beliefs and rituals
works of poe
Aaron Hartselle Enc. 1101 T/R 8:00-10:00 a.m. Professor Marn Outline: Edgar Allan Poe style analysis Thesis: Edgar Allan Poe creates a style of his own featuring defining features of point of view, themes of horror, setting, and character in his works The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale heart, and The Cask of Amontillado. I. Introduction II. Point of View A. The Black Cat 1. First person narrative 2. Few flat characters of the cat and wife B. The Tell-Tale Heart 1. First person narrative 2. Few flat characters of the elderly gentleman and the police C. The Cask of Amontillado 1. First person narrative 2. One flat character- Fortunado III. Themes of Horror A. The Black Cat 1. Black cat bites the narrator, sending him into cycle of madness 2. Wife takes the side of the cat, which results in her murder B. The Tell-Tale Heart 1. Evil eye enrages old man's tenant 2. The eye leads the tenant to murder and dismember the old man C. The Cask of Amontillado 1. Suspense is created, as fortunado is lead to his death 2. Narrator chains fortunad and blocks him into cellar of catacomb IV. Setting A. The Black Cat 1. Jail cell recollection 2. Flashback to the narrator's old residence where the murders took place B. The Tell-Tale Heart 1. Residence of an elderly gentleman 2. Dark
Chinua Achebe's main concern in "Things Fall Apart" is to portray the effect white men have on traditional Ibo society. Discuss how effectively this has been achieved throughout the novel.
Word count: 1782 words James Gilmore English Literature Chinua Achebe's main concern in "Things Fall Apart" is to portray the effect white men have on traditional Ibo society. Discuss how effectively this has been achieved throughout the novel. In Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe tries to dispel the myth of savage African tribal culture. He does this by creating a complex and sympathetic portrait of a traditional village culture in Africa. Achebe is trying not only to inform the outside world about Ibo cultural traditions, but also to remind his own people of their past and to assert that it had contained much value. All too many Africans ( such as the Christian converts in the second half of the novel) were ready to accept the European judgment that Africa had no history or culture worth considering. Achebe fiercely resents the stereotype of Africa as an undifferentiated "primitive" land, the "heart of darkness," as Conrad calls it. Throughout the novel he shows how African cultures vary among themselves and how they change over time. He shows the reader a well established civilized society with it's own customs and beliefs. One of Achebe's main goals throughout the novel is to show how the colonizing white men erode and destroy a civilization. This post colonialist novel is written through the eyes of the people being colonized. An example of a contrasting post
Giving Things Fall Apart a Rhythm: Achebe’s Method and Purpose of Manipulating his Novel’s Pacing
Giving Things Fall Apart a Rhythm: Achebe's Method and Purpose of Manipulating his Novel's Pacing Josh Farr IB2 HL English Mr. M. Webb Final Word Count: 1,464 The perception of time in Things Fall Apart is governed by the lives and actions of the people it affects. Only after reading all three sections of the novel do we realize the various methods in which Achebe alters time's pace to support the tone of his narrative. As the story progresses, Achebe manipulates time with greater intensity. In doing this, he envelops his readers with a view of how quickly and easily a culture can be destroyed by Imperialism, and thus reinforces the underlying themes of this novel. Achebe meters the narrative as it would seem to Okonkwo, the story's greatest victim of the White insurgence into Umuofia. By examining time and how it affects Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart, the novel's title's meaning becomes more profound than it could be without this perspective, and we reach a greater understanding of Achebe's message. Part I of Things Fall Apart, arguably an extensive exposition to the book's conflict, dominates the novel in terms of length. Surprisingly, although Part I is the longest section of the book, it does not accomplish much in terms of plot progression or character development, but rather provides the reader with a detailed overview of Igbo life. The section is peppered with
Haggard's King Solomon's Mines and Chinualumogu Achebe's Things Fall Apart written within a century. These novels give a unique opportunity to analyze the attitudes of the colonial as well as post colonial writers towards the land of Africa and its people
History, societal stereotypes, influential people, as well as literature play a major role in shaping an individual's perceptions. In the recent past, the world has undergone a prodigious change in attitude towards culturally diverse groups of people as well as places. This change is apparent in the study of Sir Henry Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines and Chinualumogu Achebe's Things Fall Apart written within a century. These novels give a unique opportunity to analyze the attitudes of the colonial as well as post colonial writers towards the land of Africa and its people. Haggard, unlike other colonial writers, has shown an effort towards distancing himself from the stereotypical views of the 'mysterious land'. His attitudes towards the land and the people contradict previously published accounts by complacent and blindfolded colonial writers. This, however, does not overshadow the main theme of the novel King Solomon's Mines, written as an adventure for men, young and old alike. After reading the outrageously inaccurate representation of his people in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Chinua Achebe was deeply hurt and disappointed. He decided to write Things Fall Apart in order to educate the ignorant western society as well as eradicate many false perceptions of Europeans towards his motherland. Even though Achebe is successful to a greater extent in offering a highly
Vultures by Achebe is a very vivid and memorable poem. It has evocative images because the author shows how life can be alluring and disgusting at the same time,
Essay: "Vultures" Poem by Chinua Achebe 'Vultures' by Achebe is a very vivid and memorable poem. It has evocative images because the author shows how life can be alluring and disgusting at the same time, and he makes everything very lifelike. The poem has memorable images as it makes you think that we can't see life just as light or darkness because sometimes they fuse together paradoxically. It is also memorable because the author is comparing humans with vultures in an extended Metaphor. This poem begins with the scene of two vultures (which are a couple) on a tree. The day before they had eaten human guts, this makes it very unusual to locate dead corpse in that setting. This poem reflects the idea of being strenuous that love can exist in such a dull scene. The poem describes how a tremendously evil and cruel commandant entered a sweet shop and bought some chocolate for his children. This manifests that the poem is an extended paradox and it also exposes how Achebe compares this brute and simultaneously lovable man, to the vultures. Additionally, it commences in a negative manner, with the phrase "In the greyness", this occurs because the word 'greyness' makes the reader expect a dull atmosphere throughout the poem. The author uses alliteration to make the images more remarkable, for example; 'drizzle of one despondent down' it uses the letter'd' to create a heavy
Dead Mans Path and The Train from Rhodesia essay.
Dead Mans Path and The Train from Rhodesia essay Chinua Achebe sets us up to be surprised from the start of the story as at the beginning he builds it up to be a story of success, line 14 'We shall make a good job of it, shan't we?' This phrase suggests that Michael Obi is a very energetic man and this gives us as the reader the expectations that he will be determined to succeed and this is what the author has made us to believe at the beginning. Line 30 'They will give all their time and energy to the school,' this phrase shows us further evidence that Michael Obi is determined to succeed even if he hurts others e.g. the teaching staff of the school. The Train from Rhodesia by Nadine Gordimer sets us up to be surprised from the start of the story as at the beginning she builds the story up by a big description of the setting of this story to give us a clear picture of the scenery, line 1 'The train came out of the red horizon and bore down towards them over the single track.' Also in this phrase the author has used a specific adjective to describe the train, 'red' and this shows us that Nadine Gordimer is trying to paint us a clear picture of what is going on. They way the author describes the train gives us the expression that the train is coming in for its last journey as a tragedy is about to happen, line 26 'Creaking, jerking, jostling, gasping, the train filled the