This is Water + Alice Munro's literature

Alice Munro's works are filled with characters undergoing an important change in their life. We, as readers, are meant to sympathize, or empathize, with the protagonists as their stories are told to us because of what they've gone through, what they're learning or what they are dealing with. David Foster Wallace theorizes that to be an educated person, you must make conscious decisions and be empathetic to truly understand the world around you. A reasonable amount of emotional intelligence is required when analyzing or reading Munro's literature as each story presents a unique setting and cast with varying struggles and opportunities.

Munro's protagonist are typically female characters in various time eras, which is important to understand. The reader may think that the character should be able to do what she wanted, but Munro applies historical attributes to further enhance the experience of her story. With a deep enough understanding, the reader  would understand how and why these characters act. Empathy places a big role, especially in historical fiction where modern thinking isn't as evident.

Each character has their own set of personality traits and ways of thinking, much like in Wallace's grocery store example. The story may focus on the protagonist, but they are ultimately not the center of the universe as other characters are apart of the plot. Different characters have different opinions, like in Runaway. We are shown that Clark and Carla are two vastly different people, and also the fact that Sylvia tries to help Carla based on what she thought would be best for her. She has a limited understanding of who Clark is as a person and is unable to properly help Carla out of her marriage and into a better life.

Wallace emphasizes on the importance of open mindedness making efforts to make conscious decisions and being aware of your surroundings. His theory of education can be applied to both the readers and characters of Alice Munro's stories. Her characters are shown to often gain an understanding of the world around them, especially when they are not aware. However, as readers, we make an effort to understand her worlds and we ourselves gain a better understanding of her writing, based on realistic expectations. Munro is an influential writer and there is great potential to learn from her works, both new and old.

How does Ngugi's extract help me understand TFA?

Ngugi’s extract is an example of how language can be important to a community, specifically his own. This also reflects on the novel Things Fall Apart due to Chinua Achebe’s seamless inclusion of igbo words and proverbs. A big part of the culture is communication, having read Ngugi’s extract it makes it clearer just how important it was. It was a way to share stories or play games, it was an entire community effort that had united everyone. The language used in TFA wasn't just for inclusivity, it was to further enhance the communal efforts of everyone in the villages. For igbo readers, it's a solid nod of recognition. To foreign readers, it is a statement of education and mindfulness.

Igbo readers would already know the traditions and the language, how the writing is woven with proverbs and idioms. But for foreign readers, it's something new and interesting. As a foreigner and language & literature student, I get to read and analyze the precise language used. After reading Ngugi's extract, I now understand the deeper importance of language to the Igbo community. Even though Things Fall Apart already outright told the readers that the Igbo enjoy proverbs, it wasn't described in the way that it is a melodic, unifying language that has many capabilities beyond communication. It is more than that, it is entertainment and a way of expression. It forms bonds and creates memories, which is one of the most important thing about Ngugi's text. Language, for the Igbo culture, means much more than just simple words.

Practice essay statement.

PROMPT: 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:

Authenticity comes from having a personal history with a specific context. This could range from experiences, cultural or ethnic identity. Chinua Achebe provides this authentic perspective of the colonisation of his culture in Things Fall Apart because of his background as an Igbo man.

TS1:

There will always be more of an emotional connection between the author and the personal context they are writing about.

TS2:

Authenticity of the context can be seen through specific cultural customs or familiar feelings within it.

TS3:

Things Fall Apart is an indirect representation of the dual beliefs held in traditional Igbo beliefs. 

Why is Things Fall Apart a tragedy?

In many ways, colonization is a tragedy in itself. The culture of many peoples being stripped away from them as they are forced to assimilate into another culture that may differ widely from theirs. Okonkwo being painted as a tragic hero isn’t too far from the truth in my opinion, as humans are always reluctant to change especially when something foreign is introduced, such as the British missionaries. Okonkwo rose to the top from despair but then fell back due to his actions and struggle with colonization.
Chinua Achebe himself is part of the igbo culture, though he described his christianity compared to his igbo culture as being on a fence. As a biracial person, being half Arab and Latino, I have some sort of understanding about what Achebe says about being on a fence. It could be because he lives in Nigeria and wanted to represent that part of his culture, which again is understandable for me. Arabs are never portrayed in media correctly, so when I write I always have Arab characters.
This is similar to Achebe, he took his cultural identity and applied it to stories he wrote. Being able to write a tragedy about your own culture can have lasting impacts, especially when there's nothing on your culture before it was colonized. The author is able to shift the perspective and allows people to have another understanding about the colonization of Igboland, a deeper understanding of the culture and the tragedy of colonization. This way, he is able to express his feelings on his own culture and how it's portrayed and provide insight to non-igbo or non-african audiences.

Igbo Bg Assignment

NOTE: The background assignment is presented as a speech given in the Victorian Era about why it is unjust to have colonies.

I greet each and every one of our prestige guests to the Royal Colonial Institute. We gather to speak of the colonies, how we may regard them as an extension to our prestige empire. However, to what extent do we speak of the culture and lifestyle of our extensions? Do we stop and think about the peoples under our empire? The Igbo people are just one of them, but they were just as much as a civilization as we are today. What do you know about the Igbo people?

After witnessing their society first hand, I must say that their culture has captivated and beheld me. Their customs and way of life before we had ‘taken them under our wing’  is truly fascinating. I was in the company of an Igbo man, where traditionally a kola nut would be broken and shared amongst us. I enjoyed learning their idioms and phrases, too. I learnt that iron forges has been a part of their culture for centuries and developed unique techniques. They have such a rich culture that even a vegetable has such an impactful meaning, such as the yam. The Igbo believe that the yam is the first agricultural turning point for them.

Staying in a village was insightful, I developed a deeper understanding and passion for these people that I can only say it is unfair to assume they are savages when they have such intricate democratic and social aspects that just differ to our own. Women contributed largely to their society and are in charge of religious duties and are able to commerce freely and gain ranks just as their male counterparts. Everybody in this society contributes to a greater goal of keeping civil and peace, therefore it is unjust to ruin that when they have lived so long without the help of our empire. We should also keep this in mind to other lands that are an 'extension' to us.

Coriolanus Practice IOC

Link to the audio

Power in Coriolanus

The political play, Coriolanus, is written by William Shakespeare to represent how power can fall into the wrong hands and how power can be manipulated through various circumstances. It was a reflection of England at the time, a nod to King James I. Throughout the play, many characters portray some sort of power over the overarching plot, such as Coriolanus's mother or the power of the people, the commoners.

The commoners have little power that holds great responsibilities. They have voices that in the end, are heard as the subconscious. Coriolanus held the power of persuasion, which eventually gave power to the commoners to elect him as consul. It was also the people who then begged for the downfall.

Though, some may argue that Volumnia has her own way with words, her own power over her son, Caius Martius Coriolanus. Volumnia on her own persuaded Coriolanus to present his scars to the people, though he was unwilling. She was the woman who raised him to be who he was, and later she regret it and even managed to convince him to cease his attack against Rome. Ultimately, she holds that maternal force that is able to calm down the revenge seeking Coriolanus.

With power also comes with the loss of power. Coriolanus lost his power multiple times throughout the play. He gained it through serving his country in a war, then persuaded the people to vote for him. It worked out in his favor, however he later lost it due to his betrayal and banishment from his country and was later executed shortly after he had decided not to attack.