A Tragic Hero

There is no doubt that Okonkwo is a tragic hero. His inability to swallow his pride and loose his power end up costing him all of his worldly possessions, and his life. But the question remains, why? What purpose does he have for killing the embodiment of the old society. Of course there are the obvious reasons. Such as, to make the story more interesting. Also because, just as I said, he represents the culture. But I believe it is more than that.

Throughout the book, in carrying out his duty to his tribe, people, and religion, we see him tear himself apart. This is most prominent when he deals the final blow to a young boy who he had sheltered for two years. With that boys last words being "Father, help me!" it is hard even for the reader to keep from tearing up. Additionally, when he beats his wife, we see a bit of the rage and instability shine through. Okonkwo represents something more. The self-war we see him engaged in throughout the book is a reflection on the culture of his time. It is an acknowledgement that the system had flaws. This actually makes a lot of sense. As a person, Chinua comes from a repressed cultural background, and a confused heritage. His culture was demonized for centuries. This just fuels his writer's desire for the truth more. But not just truth for himself. He wants the world to know the truth, to make judgements based on what is real. This is reflected in his work. In Things Fall Apart, he does not overly demonize the Europeans of old. To do so would be to doom others to the same fate he and his people have suffered. And as people who have suffered, they know how it is nearly impossible to deserve. And he does not represent his peoples past as perfect. Because it was not.

Paper 1 speech analysis

http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres56.html
This is the inaugural speech of Former President John F. Kennedy. It is a speech because he read it aloud in front of the nation. This speech is one that is well known for the various rhetorical devices present.
The target audience is fairly broad. Really anyone could listen. to be more specific, the American people were highly likely to listen to this speech as it was the speech given by the new president. Its purpose is far more open. Likely, it was meant to inform, reassure, and persuade. He makes reference several times to the actions he will be taking in the near future. The persuasive elements occur mostly in the rhetoric, as he create an emotionally charged message. He attempts to reassure those who had voted against him by mixing conservative and liberal veiws.

Surprise

We discussed An African Voice today. It is a transcript of a interview with author of Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe.  Though the biggest surprise came from the text itself. One of the questions and its answer really stood out to me. "You have been called the progenitor of modern African novel, and things fall apart has maintained its resonance in the decades since it was written. Have you been surprised by the effect the book has had?". The response was something along the lines of yes, the wide variety of people surprised me. This may just speak louder than the book. Chinua Achebe, an author whose whole purpose is to write against the demonization of the colonized, was surprised that it was not only his people who had experienced this sort of oppression and demonization. The demonization is so thorough that even those who are oppressed don't realize there are others. That is why people like Chinua Achebe, and works like Things Fall Apart are so important. The humanization of all people and their pasts are necessary to help up move forward, because once we forget the mistakes of the past we open ourselves to remake them.