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This Is Water.

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

Wallace's theory about education is that it should dissipate topics which will increase human conscience and self-awareness. According to Wallace, humans are almost programmed like robots to day to day jobs without questioning their existence and having only themselves at the center of the universe. According to him, to be truly "enlightened" or aware, one must take into all that is going on around him/her and be present in the moment. This is what he meant by "This is Water". In regards to how this ties in with Alice Munro, I think it fits into the themes she covers in stories such as Passion, Moons of Jupiter, Royal Beatings and especially Family Furnishings. 

In Passion, Munro discusses how the protagonist, who was accustomed to her day job of being a waitress and having a standard boyfriend, dared to ask for more. The protagonist had a phase of self-awareness and realization of what she really wants from life, in which she had deeper and darker desires. However, this may also oppose Wallace's preachings about how one should not look at themselves as the center of the universe. This is because the protagonist completely dismisses the thoughts, love, and emotions of her ex-boyfriend in order to pursue her interests. This theme is also witnessed in Family Furnishings when Munro talks about how the protagonist was completely engrossed in her self-benefit by running away from her problems due to being embarrassed by her mother's sickness. However, the most closely linked tie is that of Alfrieda and the protagonists battle. The conflict of the protagonist vs. Alfrieda is one that is fuelled solely by ego. The protagonist takes a complex against Alfrieda because of the fact she stops visiting her families and doesn't take into account the alternate realities that could possibly exist. As the novel progresses, the protagonists hate towards Alfrieda only increases as she feels that Alfrieda has wronged her and has no status to even talk to her. However, at the end of the novel, the protagonist realizes what an important role Alfrieda has played in her life and even goes to the extent of saying that she wants her life to be exactly like Alfrieda's. This is congruent to David Wallace's assertions of how humans need to be more self-conscious and need to have a different approach to problems and relationships. When Wallace talks about how a busy job worker may be experiencing difficulties coping up with the horrible grocery place scenario and starts to immediately hate everyone that is present there, this is mirrored in the scene in which the protagonist visits Alfreda. Her immediate mindset is to have a negative attitude towards Alfrieda and have a condescending mindset to her without thinking of the alternate realities that could have been present. 

Ngugi's Correlation

While Ngugi’s extract was used to practice the annotation and structuring of a Paper 1, the content and theme of the article can also be used to inform a deeper appreciation of Things Fall Apart

In what ways does this text influence your understanding of Achebe’s use of language and stylistic choices in Things Fall Apart?

In Ngugi's extract, we witness a similar chronological order to that of Things Fall Apart. This is seen via the chronological narration of how Ngugi's life was before the colonial rule, and how it morphed for the worse after Kenya were conquered. Unlike Things Fall Apart, which depicts a balanced view of the colonizers, Ngugi's text seems to be more biased against the British language. However, a common theme that can be observed between the two is the complex oratory style. In both Things Fall Apart and Ngugi's extract is laden with metaphors, imagery, and personification, which all exemplify the importance given to good orators in the African culture. Another, common theme among them are the writer's decisions to write in English. Whilst this is the language which has oppressed the African countries which both Ngugi and Achebe live in, they have decided to write their texts in English. This decision might be very strategic as they may be using language as a form of resistance and since both texts were written at a time when both Kenya and Nigeria were battling for freedom this might possibly be the case.

Religion - Thesis + Outline

Thesis Statement  - The culturally hybrid nature of Achebe’s upbringing has resulted in the construction of “Things Fall Apart” being narrated through the third person so that a more wholesome and unbiased perspective of both the Christian & Igbo religions can be displayed

Topic Sentence 1 - Achebe’s conflicted upbringing are displayed via the implementation of the characters of Nwoye and Obierika.

Topic Sentence 2 - Achebe’s western upbringing has culuminated in his choice to display the attractiveness of western education to the Igbo society.

Topic Sentence 3 - Achebe's  Igbo roots have resulted in the use of “ethnic” subplots such as the constant wife beating and the characters of Ekwefi to display the reality of Igbo traditions and life.

Thesis Statements + Outline

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

In order to provide a more "ethnic" portrayal of the Igbo society, Achebe characterizes Okonkwo, the protagonist of the novel, with extreme masculine traits whilst giving the females in the novel such as Ekwefi and Okonkwo's wives characteristics of inferiority and submission.

Outline 

Paragraph 1 -  Introduction 

Paragraph 2 - Okonkwo Characterization -

Topic Sentence -  Through the implementation of subplots such as the Week of Peace and implicit actions, Achebe depicts Okonkwo as an Hypermasculine individual, who isn't a good representative of the Igbo society.

Paragraph 3 - Ekfewi and characterization of other females in the novel  

Topic Sentence - Via, implementing the foil characters of Ekfewi and Ezinma in the novel, Achebe depicts the submissive and excessively feminine gender roles, which the Igbo women must follow in the Igbo society.

Paragraph 4 -  Usage of foil characters such as Obrieka, which are used to emphasize Okonkwo's excessive gender traits.

Topic Sentence - Achebe, utilizes the foil character of Obrieka to highlight and emphasize the excessiveness of Okonkwo's behavior, whilst providing a backdrop to show a more human representative of the Igbo Society.

Paragraph 5 - Conclusion  - Through the usage of foil characters, subplots and the characterization of Okonkwo, Achebe manages to create a novel which successfully depicts the reality of post-colonial Igboland in his novel "Things Fall Apart".

Tragic Hero

In many ways, Things Fall Apart is considered a tragedy. Why would Achebe, taking into account the cultural context, choose to characterize Okonkwo using the tragic hero archetype?

Achebe chooses to characterize Okonkwo as a tragic hero for several reasons. However, according to me, the primary reason Achebe has chosen the tragic hero archetype for Okonkwo is to depict the deterioration of the Ibo culture, only to give birth to the Western One. 

At the beginning of the story, we witness Okonkwo in his golden days, with Iboland being in a state of stability and order. As in the historical context, this must have been some time before 1861 as Iboland was free from British rule at this time. As the story progresses as does time, we witness the metamorphization of Iboland with the creation of Churches, Missionaries and many newly found converts.  However, Okonkwo isn't there to see this due to his hamartia moment of killing a young boy and getting exiled from Umofia.

Moreover, just like any tragic hero, Okonkwo has a tragic flaw, which is his stubbornness to change and his hypermasculine ways. These characteristics are in fact opposite to those found in a typical Ibo citizen, since the Ibo people are found to be very open and accepting of change. The Ibo people believe that never one correct way or answer to something, as there will always be another way to look at the matter or even answer it. This belief in duality is reflected, in Things Fall Apart with the Christians being allowed to build a Church and the many religious Ibo people they managed to convert, with the best example being Nwoye himself. 

However, Okonkwo, on the other hand, is stubborn in his ways and isn't just rigid to change but opposes and despises anyone who deviates from his ideologies. At the end of the novel, Okonkwo decided to behead the messenger, and his fellow more accepting citizens decide not to react in such a manner. Thus, Achebe could be aiming to insinuate that a single-minded focus isn't the correct approach in life.

This is just one interpretation, however, another viewpoint would be to look at Okonkwo as a victim of the Colonial Empire.

In the beginning of the novel - pre-colonial times - Okonkwo is seen to be a successful man, flourishing and reaping the rewards for hard work. He is seen to be living in a peaceful society, with no conflicts and leading a happy life. However, after the Missionaries appear Okonkwo's life rapidly deteriorates with his son deserting him for the "new faith" of Christianity. A man, who once had everything is seen to be reduced to nothing at the end of the novel with the epitome of the story being that the Britisher were the ones who got to decided Okonkwo's penalty for killing the messenger. This transformation of power was nicely summarized by Obrieka who said: "this was one of the most powerful and well-respected men in Umofia, now look what you have done to him". This tragic hero choice ties in with the Cultural context at this time since most of the tribal Igbo people had either converted to Christianity or were being punished for not doing so. The Igbo people had completely submitted to a colonial power and Okonkwo's tragic hero characterization provides the perfect reflection of what a traditional Igbo tribesman must have dealt with at that time.

Dear Royal Colonial Institute

Dear Royal Colonial Institute,

The atmosphere in the room that I am sensing seems to be one of distraught and dismay from our recent dilution in ownership of our colonies. Whilst this may seem problematic and troublesome from the surface, I beg to differ. According to me anyone who feels in this manner should be cuffed and sent to prison for direct interference with this great countries laws. Our country deems it unconstitutional to infringe the rights and freedoms of the less fortunate, those who can not defend themselves - but this is what we continue to do in the Lower Niger in Iboland. 

Firstly, dear institute our treatment of these people is beyond acceptable. Notice the usage of the term "people". Dear Institute how long will we continue to plunder these people in order to salvage a few more pounds. From what I have heard the District Commissioners are being bribed by the fortunate few converts in Iboland and the others who decide to follow their religion are being whipped and their daughters and wives even being raped. Dear Institute, our government has provided immunity for those who decide to follow our religion of Christianity, but those Ibo people who don't are treated with utter disrespect. What happened to our all-encompassing policies. Even those locals who we have hired as our interpreters/messengers (The Kotma) and taught English to are using this power to fraud their own. 

However, dear institute that argument is only focused on our treatment of the Ibo people. Now, I will proceed to expose our flawed reasoning in the colonization of the people of the Lower Niger. My fellow man Chamberlain had argued that we should continue our colonization on the moral grounds that we are bringing civilization to the Iboland. However, dear institution these Ibo people have an abundance of civilizations. They have mastered the iron sculpting and make spears, hatchets, swords and etc. of a much higher quality than us. They know how to harness wine from trees and their agricultural sense is far superior to ours. 

However, their self-sufficiency doesn't end there. The so-called government and order we are trying to bring about in Iboland is already present there and has been so for almost 5 centuries. The Ibo have an interesting form of governance which is a morphed form of democracy meaning, that their people have more of a voice in matters of the state than do ours. The Ibo society works on the basis of titles and thus everyone is motivated to work hard, yielding a society with a motive. Those who don't uphold any titles in the Ibo society are looked down upon and the society is self-driven and prosperous in their own ways. So when Chamberlain makes claims of bettering the Igbo society, he is simply justifying the ruthless plundering by us Britishers on an innocent Igbo society.

Thus, I have only one question to ask you dear institute

Why try to fix something which isn't broken?