Tragic hero

  In Chinua Achebe's novel "Things fall apart", it is made evident who the story is based around. Okonkwo a man with respect from his village is a very senseless and fearless leader who is made all the more arrogant after beating the great CAT. However, in an ironic turn of events, his arrogance lead him to his banishment as well as also leading a shameless warrior to a shameful death (hanging himself).
The death in which he kills himself is considered a tragic story, however, the audience doesn't feel sympathetic of his death. Okonkwo is known as a "tragic hero", a tragic hero is an archetype that makes a poor judgment leading to his/her own demise. In this case, it is Okonkwo with his mistreat of women which compromised a religious day, this leads to him accidently killing a boy which lead the citizens of the village to banish him. He then comes back to his home and finds that white colored people have taken over, which leads to his shameful death.
Chinua Achebe uses a tragic hero archetype in representing Okonkwo is because following Okonkwo a fearless leader it is hard to sympathize with him however when leading to his tragic death there is sympathy but it is quickly followed up by "well it's his own fault", and the author wants to put that thought in the readers mind. 

Persuasive Speech

I am honored to be speaking to the Royal Colonial Institue, I am speaking on behalf of Igbo culture. I am here to discuss on the colonization of the Igbo culture located in the newly built Nigeria. I believe taking colonizing the Igbo, may decrease the chances of a revolution, is a poor judgment as the culture has a unique background that is understandable to ours. If we decided to colonize this culture it may lead to us not understanding the science of human behavior as well as the big question asked by neuroscientist and psychologist as well as science in general, "Why are we what we are?" I believe that the Igbo culture may provide many answers we seek and may imposing a better way of governing by being inspired by their social and political structures.

For starters, their belief is a topic at hand as many of us are devoted worshippers of the Christian Church and many of us are atheist but their unique interpretation of their god isn't something to be dismissive so quickly. Their religion talks about a supreme god who named Chukwu who created a family, man named Eze Nri, his wife, and children. The story goes that there Eze Nri was placed on earth before there was land, only water, he then asked for food and Chukwu gave him yams, from there he was able to establish his own agriculture. Although this may seem like rubbish to many of you, it is what they believe and looking into their culture in a more analytical standpoint it would be worth to study them and see how the conclusion of how was brought up.

Secondly, when looking at their political standpoint it is worthy to note how the lack of centralized political structures. The Igbo lived in autonomous villages and towns, ruled by their elders. Relationships were based on blood ties, each person traced his or her descent to three groups. the three were Uno (simple family), Umunna (an extended family), Obodo (a huge community in which everyone knew each other called a village). The would have a town meeting to discuss the important matter and when serious matter arouse the most senior elders where brought in. What's fascinating is that they established democracy with no previous knowledge of what it is. They do this with a and idea called "cross-cutting ties" where everyone would participate in the village. Furthermore, their elders would be the ones in charge of the town. This shows how they are respectful of there elder.
In conclusion, it should be noted that this is clearly a unique culture with its different style of thinking that makes it so unique. I hope you take into consideration of my proposal of not colonizing the culture.



  

Achebe's interview

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

      Today's biggest takeaway was that Achebe's origins do not compare with any other writer, as he has faced a different test of his hardship and has fought by doing what he knows best, writing. His book "Things Fall Apart" was an inspirational piece done in the times where his country was fighting against people who thought of him as slaves, he did this by reminding the people of what had happened sparking anger in those who were able to read.

2) Select a specific quote from the interview or a general idea from the discussion and write a brief reflection.

         The question " You mentioned that literature was used to justify slavery and imperialism. What is this negative coverage of Africa being used to justify now?"

     Achebe's reply to this question stated that is that it will justify inaction, he follows this up by "Why bother about Africa? Nothing works there, or nothing ever will work. There is a small minority of people who think that way, and they may be pushing this attitude." 

I believe that what Achebe has stated is his belief of his work having a negative influence over the people after the uprising. Achebe states that there would be many Africans who would have grown accustomed to the style of living and reject his idea in the book.

Paper 1

Freedom Of Fear Paper 1

            Fear is thought to be an emotion that prevent people from accomplishing their dreams, however many greats overcoming their fear and making a difference in this world will forever will be appreciated, the likes of Mahatma Gandhi who overcame his fear of the oppressors and fought against them to achieve peace in his country. The famous speech by Aung San Suu Kyi, titled “Freedom of Fear” is a speech about her views on fear, she believes that the oppressors are motivated by fear, fear of losing their “power”. The true Uniqueness of this speech lies in the title as she talks about how fear, an emotion, plays a big role in oppression. She makes it very clear that she is talking about the oppressed people as she refers to freedom in men. Many interpret her speech in the wrong way to answer that question and give an opinion on the matter. What are the main contextual movements in Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech “Freedom of Fear?”

            Aung San Suu Kyi devotes her passion into freedom as she talks about the greats such as Mahatma Gandhi, it is made clear that she is trying to give a voice to the voiceless as she consistently mentions the corrupt society, that are oppressing her people. She try’s to appeal to the people that are in fear of the oppressors trying to give them confidence and courage. Her purpose for this is to inspire and persuade an uprising against the oppressors. Her appeal to them is made obvious as she talks about her people who have been oppressed, she is know well by her community so to appeal to them wouldn’t be a problem as she is a politician.

           

            The true statements she makes in her speech are known to be one of the best quotes in history, the quote “Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavor, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be described as 'grace under pressure' - grace which is renewed repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure.” Shows what her speech is meant for. As she twists the meaning of fear and uses to instill courage that once overcomes will never be a problem. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” said by Friedrich Nietzsche, his quote relates to Aung San Suu Kyi’s quote that yes fear can be overcome the fear’s then there is nothing than can stop you. In summary of her speech, she talks about how power doesn’t corrupt people but fear corrupts people, this can be interpreted in one way that is that fear of people that they oppress people not because of hatred but because of fear of becoming the oppressed. She noticeably compares Aung San to Gandhi as she states how Gandhi was a peaceful protester who rose above the fear that was instilled in him. In summary, her inspiring speech is not meant mostly for freedom, but for fear, this because she try’s to give people courage, making them become fearless, and in her ideology shown in her speech this will lead to standing up against the oppression that the country has faced.

            Freedom Of Fear is an all-inspiring speech that has the tone of motivation and Philosophical. This can be seen in her quotes quoting Mahatma Gandhi “The greatest gift for an individual or a nation was abhaya, fearlessness, not merely bodily courage but absence of fear from the mind.” This shows the philosophical nature of the speech. In the case of motivation it is the mood of the tone, the whole speech is riddled with lines of encouragement as she portrays fear in a new light, a light that which not terms precious is the courage acquired through endeavour”, her different take on the fear, this provides an inspiring and motivating speech which is made more interesting with her unique take on fear.

            “Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure.” This is one of the most memorable quotes of the speech, this because of her constant use of repetition, it mimics Martin Luther King Jr. use of repetition in the speech “I have a dream”. Allusion can be seen when she comes to her father Aung San to Gandhi, this can be seen as she talks about her father and Gandhi in the quote “Gandhi, that great apostle of non-violence, and Aung San, the founder of a national army”, this stresses the effect that both are the same when it comes to achieving freedom. To make your speech interesting it is important to have alliteration and it can be seen in the line “Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying” this creates a mood of rhythm making it more interesting to hear. To make herself seem more intellectual she uses jargon from the get go

in the opening line “the quintessential revolution is that of the sprit” she does to appeal to the audience and make herself seem more intellectual to the public.

           

             The structure of her speech Is made clear as she starts with an intellectual statement and follows it up by her view on the matter of fear and freedom. Her combination of text is done well as she makes her point and further expresses her point by using repetition to make it more memorable to the public. The title “Freedom of Fear” shows a new looking at freedom, which captivated the audience, as it is interesting to hear something so unique. She makes a remark on her Father a great politician in the Burma community, as she starts tot mention him immediately the tone shifts from her intellectual opinion to facts.

            When it comes to the speech, no doubt no one could have delivered it better than Aung San Suu Kyi as she makes an interesting statement about fear. The question most heard is what is this speech meant for freedom or fear, and it is made clear that her intention was to outline her view on the matter of fear, as she states that power doesn’t corrupt but fear of losing power. This can be seen in the second paragraph as mentioned about her doings in a direct way. The argument of “What are the main contextual movements in Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech “Freedom of Fear?”” can be put to rest as proven that her goal was to ignite courage in people by diminishing people’s fear of oppression.