English Language and Literature Blog

Chinua Achebe chose to characterize, one of the main characters, Okonkwo by using the tragic hero archetype. Chinua Achebe integrated the tragic hero archetype by creating a character who generally made a judgment error that lead to his own destruction. This archetype is commonly associated with the Igbo culture collapsing which ultimately is a result of Okonkwo's downfall. Throughout the novel, Achebe effectively included indirect characterization in which third narration was demonstrated. As readers work their way through the novel, traits of Okonkwo’s personality seeps through, showing his true colours. Okonkwo, although seen as a tragic heroic, stands stubbornly for the beliefs and tradition of the Igbo culture, by constantly being on the prowl to find new opportunities of achievement. Throughout many sections of the text, Okonkwo shows how much of a conflicted character he is, which was clearly seen when he indirectly tells the reader he doesn’t recognize duality although it ...

The text “Freedom from fear” by Aung San Suu Kyi is a political speech focusing on the issue of human rights in Burma, as there was a civil war taking place around the time this speech came out. This brings me to the thought that Aung San Suu Kyi was trying to bring the country together as a whole. With so close a relationship between fear and corruption there is little wonder why a society where fear is common in all forms becomes deeply entrenched into the culture. The meaning behind Aung San Suu Kyi’s freedom from fear speech is to educate the listeners and to tell them that having a fear of losing power will corrupt those who apply it regularly in their life and the fear of the “curse” of power corrupts those who are subject to it regularly. The main audience this speech is targeting is the people who agree with and support human rights development. This extract is used to connect with the emotions of a variety of audiences around the world. Throughout her speech, she creates a ...

Good day, It is an honour to be here today in front of such a well-rounded audience. Nothing gives me a better feeling than standing here before you today. Today, we are assembled here together to discuss the expedition I completed to the “lands of the savages.” As we are aware that several stories have been manufactured by the missionaries, it is essential for us to admit that colonisation may have been a negative move forward for the country. As well as being one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa, the Igbo people also have dozens of dialects attached to their language. I bet your wandering why an English man is talking about the social and political structures within the Igbo people. Joseph Chamberlains view was that all countries with European power were a possession to the mother country, which was down to the mother countries disregarding that the colonies are individual countries and cultures, and not a possession of an economically powerful country. Upon arrival to...

1) What was the most meaningful takeaway from today’s discussion relating to the cultural or literary context of Achebe’s work? In the class regarding the cultural or literary context of Achebe’s work, we looked at Achebe’s interview which was completed on the 2nd August 2000. Throughout the interview, I was taken away by the way peoples mind-set differently portrays a specific country or race, before the modern today, creating stereotypes. One example is how people focus on small negative parts of Africa to therefore create a stereotype against the whole country. This makes Africans feel as if they are outsiders or even unwanted whilst it stops them from sharing their culture and power from the world, but when people mention a large powerful country like the United States , they are talked about with respect and positivity compared to the negativity shown towards Africa and Africans through images of success, power, energy and politics. To people exposed to this stereotypin...