Sury's Lang and Lit Class

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 in response  to the prompt.  Chinua Achebe is a descendant of the Igbo people howbeit he is a Christian and has been brought up with both Western and Igbo values due to colonial rule. His novel " Things Fall Apart" was written in 1958, two years prior to Nigerian Independence from British colonial rule. However this novel is set during the time of the first involvements of British rule in Nigeria and the initial stages of colonialism. Achebe uses his personal history to allow him to discuss historical context and  to tie him to his cultural roots, to create a book which presents early life before colonial rule. This is done to provide a new insight into colonialism and to show that the British had assimilated the Igbo people's culture, however due to Achebe's duality in being both an Igbo descendant...

What is the significance of Okonkwo’s character? What does he represent or is symbolic of? Okonkwo represents the tragic hero in Things Fall Apart as he held a position of power and prestige because he was a clan leader of Umuofia however it was stripped away from him when he was exiled. Okonkwo is significant because his character/ personality is quite orthodox and different compared to other Umuofians and he is dissimilar to the cultures and customs of Umuofia.  In Umuofia, people tend to see the middle ground between two plausible causes however Okonkwo is fixated on one aspect and believes in it to the extreme and thus can not see other views about it which displays his resistance to change. In addition Okonkwo embodies strength both physically and mentally and it is portrayed through his personality however Okonkwo suffers from internal conflict due to his fear of weakness and failure thus it is important as it shows how someone so dominant can also be suffering.  He...

Why would Achebe choose to set his novel prior to and during the arrival of the colonial administration as opposed to during the context of composition? Things fall apart, a novel written by Chinua Achebe was published in 1958 ( two years before Nigeria gained independence) and discusses the chronicles prior to pre-colonial life in Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century. Achebe being born and raised during the time of British colonial rule however decided to illustrate his vision by showing readers the Igbo society of Nigeria during the time of its colonisation by the British as opposed to reiterating what life was like during colonial rule. The context which Achebe chose to write in was an important factor in Things Fall Apart because it allowed readers to view African culture and colonisation from a different perspective. Due to Achebe’s exposure to english and European customs have enabled him to capture the European and African perspe...

Link to annotated doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qNC-M6lSoB-R7f_WGQvkUh5_SE8VMrIJSBoa6gm6Ecg/edit

Caius Martius is the main protagonist in Shakespeare's play Coriolanus. In Coriolanus, the plot takes the form of a political play; two chief opposing forces within Rome which includes Caius Martius and the plebians and tribunes. Caius Martius was introdueced as an arrogant and rude general, hated by many and loved only by few. The play begins with a food riot among the commoners protesting against Martius' authority. He is shown to be the "chief enemy to the people" (1:1) with a disrespectful attitude. However when he gets sent off to war and fights in the battle of Volsces, he is shown to be a brave warrior and a fearless leader as he gave words of motivation to his fellow warriors to continue fighting. He is also portrayed as tough and persevering by withstanding bleeding battle wounds. In addition Caius displays modest behavior by choosing not to accept his share of the war spoils. Shakespeare characterizes Martius as both stubborn and rude but also as courageous...

Pop/ popular culture is a term which describes the lifestyle, ideas and tastes among a culture, specifically Western culture and it is predominantly apart of the younger society ( adolescents and young adults ). Despite the media’s ability to communicate and express information and ideas it also influences and creates pop culture, and through our study of pop culture, we can construct a deeper understanding of the media. There are four core concepts in media analysis; Media messages are constructed using creative techniques, but the construction process is invisible to viewers, readers, and listeners. This is statement is especially true in our society. As viewers of advertisements, we only see the final product but we do not see how an advertisement is produced. This can also be related to how the media shapes pop culture into what it wants it to be for the best attraction and it may be a false pretense of what the original pop culture actually is. For example, in the docum...

Our group was tasked with advertising a bike share program in Abu Dhabi.  The main appeals that we focused on in our presentation was the appeal to nurture and the appeal to achieve. We concluded that these would be the most effective appeals to utilise because the appeal to achieve can help persuade the citizens of Abu Dhabi to achieve a better lifestyle, a fitter body and a more environmentally friendly Abu Dhabi. The appeal to nurture was also used to bring an awareness to the lifestyle of younger citizens and children. Obesity rates are quite high in UAE and using these statistics which appeals to logos, we tried to persuade guardians to help better the lifestyle of their kids. As mentioned previously logos was used to bring an awareness to obesity rates in the aim of persuading parents to better the lifestyle of their kids. We also tried to implement ethos with the use of a famous cyclist to promote our bikes, trying to appeal to credibility and persuade the audience that ...