Things fall apart (Okwonwo)

Things fall Apart

How does Okwonko develop themes in the text as a tragic hero ? 

Throughout the novel, Okwonko is portrayed as a powerful, strong and brave character. He's also portrayed as a leader who values his reputation over others. The novel also portrays Okonkwo as a man of action, a man of  high status in the Igbo village. He holds the prominent position of village clansman due to the fact that he had shown incredible skills in two intertribal wars. Okonkwo’s hard work had made him a wealthy farmer and a recognized individual amongst the nine villages of Umuofia and beyond. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw isn’t that he was afraid of work, but rather his fear of weakness and failure which stems from his father’s unproductive life and disgraceful death. When Okwonko's problems start going south, he starts to realise that fate has had a part in his difficult times. He blames the oracle for the death of Ikemfuna, He then almost faces exile as he mistakingly kills Ezeudu's son. He then leaves for seven years. The reason Okwonko is considered a tragic hero is due to the fact that he eventually hung himself which led to a sad and tragic ending Okwonko and the novel. 

Why does Achebe choose a tragic hero for his protagonist in his colonial counter narrative ? 

Achebe establishes the concept that the emotion of pity does not come from a person becoming better but when a person receives undeserved misfortune which is exactly what Okwonko received in his novel, and fear comes when the misfortune befalls a man like us. Okwonko decided to kill himself so that he wouldn't give the colonisers the pride of revenge due to the fact that he knew that they would be after him. Okwonkwo though that if he gathered with the clan leaders they could kick the colonisers out of Umofia, and he was also convinced due to the fact that he thought the people would be convinced due to the burning of the churches etc. Overall the fact that Okwonkwo had an undeserved misfortune such as exile caused fear and the emotion of pity, but the in the same time gave hope to the people and the readers as they though that Okwonkwo was going to come back for revenge but on the contrary, he committed suicide which then cause not only confusion, but a tragic ending for the novel. 

What is the purpose of function on Okwonkwo in thing fall apart ? 

 

As we know from the story, Okwonkwo was a hard working and self respected member of the Umofia clan. Even though Okwonkwo was shown in the novel as a powerful, strong, and fearless fighter who anybody would generally tremble upon, his life was mostly dictated by fear. This made Okwonkwo a realistic character and proved that he had a weak spot which made it easier for some people to relate to him if necessary. In the novel, Okwonkwo attempts to work hard, provide for his family, be brave, and be masculine in every possible way as he also fear femininity. As a result, Okonkwo becomes successful in many ways , he becomes very wealthy, holds a high-ranked position in the community, has three wives, and is known for his skill as a wrestler and warrior. But he also tends toward emotions that are extreme, and his fear motivates him to take actions which are often unnecessary and ultimately destructive. Okwonkwo gave meaning to the story and he was a good person in which at the time people and readers could relate to. 

Practice Paper 1 - Political Speech

The text I will be analysing is President Lyndon B. Johnson's special message to the Congress : The American Promise March 15, 1965.

     It is well known that during the 1960's the African American community had not gained their voting rights. President Johnson encouraged Congress to pass the voting right act. He expressed this through his famous speech "We shall overcome", which was delivered on March 15 , 1965. This speech is identified as a political speech due the fact that it contains features of a speech such as rhetorical devices, persuasion methods, and the use of ethos , pathos and logos.

    The target audience of this speech are the members of Congress however Johnson is also targeting the people of America therefore he is not only asking the Congress to pass the voting right act but also asking the American people. In the text he directs a point to both members of the Congress and others who were present and all the people watching sine he mentions in the text "to all the nation tonight".  This shows that he is not only concerned about the political aspect of the voting issue but the ethical aspect of the issue as well sine he is also attempting to rally the support of the American people. Throughout the speech , and ideal amount of persuasion methods were used. Johnson uses pathos in his speech to get persuade the audience to support his cause. He mentions the amount of violence that was used recently in Alabama which was caused by men and women protesting against their denial for the right to vote. Johnson uses this to persuade the American people and the Congressmen by appealing to their emotions in order to support his cause. In order to do this he seized the opportunity to mention the Selma massacre. He also puts himself into the speech. He implies that he is part of the American people, there he did not only try and make the people view him as the leader of America, but made himself be viewed as part of people of the United States. He uses the word "we" as he considers himself as one of the people. He uses we in the the famous line "We shall overcome". He then again appeals to the audience's emotions as he implies that he too wants something to be done to the situation with the civil rights for the African American people. This adds pathos due to the fact that he includes his emotions with the emotions of the people.

    What gives Johnson more of a reason to recite this speech is the fact that Johnson used to be the Majority Leader in Senate as he worked to help different aspects of the Civil Rights movement of 1957. He believes that American should get rid of its racial discrimination. Johnson refers to different text from American history. He gives examples from the Constitution , and the Emancipation Proclamation to support his arguments. This could be used as an example of logos as he allows the audience to understand and connect the dots between the different periods of time This also is helpful as it is a great way to persuade the members of the Congress as it tells them how the country should be governed whist referring to previous constitutions and supporting his arguments. The tone of the speech is hopeful as he always refers to a better and brighter America. He says what he would like to happen and how he would like america to change but in the same time appealing to the peoples emotions.

   In conclusion, this text uses many rhetorical devices and an ideal amount of persuasion methods that helped persuade the people of Congress and the American people which were his target audience.    
Johnsons speech will be remembered as the speech that helped racism and pass the voting rights to the African American Community.