Sylvia Plath IOC

Guiding Questions:

What is the significance of nature imagery?
How does Plath surrender her identity?


https://soundcloud.com/reem-abusin/sylvia-plath-ioc 

Royal Beatings IOC

https://soundcloud.com/reem-abusin/royal-beatings-ioc-1

In what ways could Wallace’s theory about education be applicable to the writing of Alice Munro?

David Foster Wallace suggests that education does not necessarily determine one's future, nor does it help them with dealing with the real world and real people, implying that it only a fictional thing. Wallace states that "learning how to think" is the most important concept in the learning field; emotional intelligence rather than intelligence quotient.

Wallace's theory may be applicable to the writing of Munro's, as Munro's work mostly consists of characters who emotionally deal with life's complications, rather than using school or university education to assist them and aid them in getting through and enduring throughout life.

In addition, Wallace states that "the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about"; Munro makes use of this and entails this in one of her writing pieces- 'Runaway'.

The way Munro characterizes Carla is parallel to the preceding statement- Carla is aware that she is involved in an unhealthy relationship however she chooses to stay in it, even though it is an 'obvious, ubiquitous, important reality', it is also the 'hardest... to see and talk about'. This all suggests that no matter the economic/social/mental status of one- all humans are guilty of this.

"A huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded" 

Wallace, once again, reminds the readers/listeners that school education is not the most informative and most advantageous and that in school we, all, are conditioned into thinking that the answers we memorize will make us 'smart' or 'intelligent', this is true, to an extent. What Wallace suggests is that 'intelligence' comes in many forms; an important form is in the form of 'emotional intelligence'; "It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience". This is also evident in Munro's writing, as the characters, as well as the readers, are exposed to various emotions, which ultimately cannot be explained or put into the right words, meaning in school, we are not taught how we are supposed to manage our feelings or describe how we feel; most of the time when we believe we are feeling one type of way, it ends up being "totally wrong and deluded".

  

The personal history of an author can have a significant influence on the way meaning is constructed in his/her writing. Comment on specific instances of such influence in Things Fall Apart.

Thesis statement:
The personal history of an author could most likely have a great influence on the way they choose to write and what they may choose to include; this is evident in the novel Things Fall Apart, as Achebe writes about events that occurred in his country's past, the way meaning is constructed in his writing imply that these events are what helped Achebe become who he is today.


OUTLINE

Paragraph 1:
From Achebe's work, the reader can understand the dedication he has towards his home country, this can be shown forms he way he constructs his writing.
Paragraph 2:
The fact that Achebe chooses to set this novel in Nigeria, implies that he sees Nigeria as a base for his own identity.
Paragraph 3:
Achebe portrays the missionaries in the novel as the 'bad guys', however he shows appreciation towards them through his work.

With reference to Things Fall Apart, discuss how an understanding of gender influences how the text may be understood.

Thesis Statement: 
Gender is one of the most noteworthy and prominent themes explored in the novel Things Fall Apart. It is evident that there is a bold division line between the 2 genders; one receives more appreciation and value than the other. The term 'agbala' holds an important meaning in the igbo culture and all of the male characters aspire to disassociate themselves from that term as much as possible; this could arguably be the trigger to his high level of aggression and dominance over his wives.

OUTLINE

Paragraph 1:
Achebe illustrates the division line between females and males during that era by using offensive diction to describe women.
Paragraph 2:
It is suggested in the novel that there is conflict within males as well; they compete to be more masculine than one another.
Paragraph 3:
The women in the novel are shown to be degraded at all times throughout the novel.

Thesis Statement

With reference to Things Fall Apart, show how sub-plots or secondary characters contribute to the reader’s understanding and appreciation of the work as a whole.

In the novel 'Things Fall Apart', it is evident that Chinua Achebe shines the spotlight primarily on Okonkwo's character, however it is crucial to mention that many of the other secondary characters surrounding Okonkwo are what manufactured him into the dominant and egotistical male figure he is shown to be. Okonwko is portrayed as a tragic hero in the novel; even though his father, Unoka, is not present throughout the novel, he is incredibly acknowledged and blamed. The secondary characters in the novel all contribute to eventually lead Okonkwo to his own downfall towards the end of the novel.

Okonkwo's characteristic (top and bottom) values

Top 3 values:

• Success + power

“He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his father.” (pg. 3)

“Whenever the thought of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it by thinking about his own strength and success.” (pg. 48)

Through explicitly alluding to Okonkwo’s repulsiveness to failure and his strong abhorrence to unsuccessful men, Achebe directly constructs Okonkwo’s character to be one who immensely values success and within the Igboland. Furthermore, the drive for success based on his excessive fear of being a failure like his Father, further propels Okonkwo’s initial character development at the onset of the novel.

• Achievement & prestige

Chapter 1. (pg. 1)

“As a young man of eighteen he had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat.” p.1

“He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife. To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars. And so although Okonkwo was still young, he was already one of the greatest men of his time. Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered.” p.6

Analysis- direct characterization. The narrator is telling the audience what the personality of the character (Okonkwo) is.

• Religious Faith/ Loyalty to his clan

“Why, he cried in his heart, should he, Okonkwo, of all people, be cursed with such a son. He saw clearly in it the finger of his personal god or chi.” (chapter 17)

-- direct characterization- Okonkwo does not specify whether he is religious or not, only his reaction to Nwoye’s conversion suggests that he is very fond of the Igbo religion

The quote suggests that Okonkwo felt ‘cursed’ to have a son like Nwoye who would betray him and his religion for Christianity

Bottom 3 values:

• Laziness

“He had had no patience with his father. Unoka, for that was his father's name, had died ten years ago. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow.“ (pg. 3)

“Okonkwo's first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness.” (pg. 10)

“Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him.” (pg. 24)

Much like Okonkwo’s great trepidation of failure, one other element that Okonkwo truly detested was laziness as this was one significant characteristic that Unoka, his father exhibited. Okonkwo’s primary purpose as an Igbo man was to contrast with nearly every character trait of his father. This is established and revealed through direct and indirect characterization, accordingly.

• Morality

“He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace. His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week.” p.21

Analysis- This evidence from the text is an example of indirect characterization. This is indirect characterization because the narrator of the book is presenting the audience with actions performed by Okonkwo which accentuates his brutality and immorality towards women and sacred events in the book.

• Altruism

“He heard Ikemefuna cry, “My father, they have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.” (chapter 7)

--indirect + direct characterization- Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna (indirect) whom he treated like a son because ‘he was afraid of being thought weak’ (direct)

This quote shows how Okonkwo thought of himself before anyone else and in this case he took his own son’s life to get himself a better reputation