Laura's Blog

1 . What is the significance of Okonkwo’s character? What does he represent or what is he symbolic of? Okonkwo is a highly significant character, as the book mostly follows his story line. He is the protagonist of 'Things Fall Apart". His character follows the tragic hero archetype, which means Okonkwo ultimately has a tragic downfall. His downfall goes alongside the downfall of the Igbo culture. This suggests that Okonkwo is a symbol of the Igbo culture. He starts off as a strong and powerful man, as the culture is stable and established. When Okonkwo begins his exile, the culture slowly begins to fade away with the arrival of the British. Then, when Okonkwo kills himself, it is because he realises the Igbo culture has fallen and he cannot save it. 2. What is the purpose of Okonkwo’s character within the text? The purpose of Okonkwo's character is to build a connection between the reader and the book. Considering that Okonkwo is the protagonist, and the story mostly fo...

A tragic hero is a protagonist whose ultimate downfall is caused by their personal tragic flaw.  Considering that Okonkwo is obviously the protagonist of "Things Fall Apart", he already meets 50% of the tragic hero criteria. Achebe uses Okonkwo's character to portray the Igbo culture. Both the culture and Okonkwo ultimately have similar downfalls. First of all, the culture is strongly established, as Okonkwo is a strong and powerful man. Then, as Okonkwo is exiled, the Igbo culture begins to fall apart as colonization begins. In the end, Okonkwo ends his life, as the Igbo culture is taken over by colonization. He end of his life symbolizes the end of the Igbo culture. Achebe uses the protagonist to show the tragedy of the culture. This is the character that the reader spends most time reading about, and therefore has the closest connection with that character than any other. So by showing the struggles of the culture within the protagonist, the destiny of Okonkwo has a g...

I would like to speak on behalf of the Ibo culture, and of the Igbo people. Currently, we, The Royal Colonial Institute, are attempting to take control of these people. Forget colonization, we are taking their lives away. Their lives of culture and tradition. I recently returned from a community in Nigeria. Let me tell you, they have wonderful beliefs, of which they have full trust and confidence in. They worship their ancestors, of which we forget. We are attempting to take that away from them, to worship our God. Would you like it if strangers with different traditions came to us, and tell us we must believe in something that we do not believe in? Have them take over your land, and change the way things have always worked? They have worked to build up this community. Yes, okay, we are offering them excellent opportunities such as proper education. However, by taking over their land, we are destroying their culture day by day. Culture's are unique, and we are pushing this one tow...

 1) What was the most meaningful takeaway from today’s discussion relating to the cultural or literary context of Achebe’s work? We particularly discussed the idea of the single story. Over numerous questions, this topic was arising. It was concluded that, whether or not it was the intention to fight against the single story, the authors wrote stories that empowered their cultures. African authors wrote/write from their point of view, therefore giving their side of story. Ultimately, there is no longer a single story, there are an abundance of perspectives. 2) Select a specific quote from the interview or a general idea from the discussion and write a brief reflection.  Selected Quote:  “ There may be cultures that may sadly have to go, because no one is rooting for them, but we should make the effort to prevent this. We have to hold this conversation, which is a conversation of stories, a conversation of languages, and see what happens.”  I be...

The extract from The Ballot or the Bullet by Malcolm X is a political speech about Black Nationalism. Malcolm argues that it is time to stand up to the “white man”, using persuasive language techniques.   Ultimately, he discusses how the colonization of America tricked Africans in to becoming slaves. Through using examples, and persuasive language to express that Black Nationalism should fight back – whether it be calmly or violently, with the ballot or with the bullet. The extract is set up with a clear audience and purpose. Malcolm frequently refers to black people and their history throughout the text. He also uses the word “you” a lot in his sentences. This directly implies that he is delivering his speech to a crowd of African Americans, therefore making this community the intended audience. The purpose of the text is not to persuade either a ballot or a bullet, but to persuade the audience that one of the two should occur in order to achieve equal righ...