CHARACTER ANALYSIS WITH OBIERIKA

Obierika , being the best friend of Okonkwo serves as him being his alter ego, as he often feels and thinks rather similar to Okonkwo , although he does not act upon his impulses as similarly. He is a static character that does not undergo any major inner changes throughout the novel. He remains the sensible thoughtful and perhaps, openminded character foil of Okonkwo, as he acts differently on the majority of the time.  He often advises Okonkwo to act less impulsively and smarter. He is also not a rounded character; rather he appears to be flat as he isn’t fully engaged in Okonkwo’s developing journey and his major life changing experiences. 

Looking at his values one can identify him to be a respectful hardworking person as he’s known and respected in Umuofia. Although Okonkwo mostly fails to take his advice, he never ceases to provide him with wise words and alternatives. When Okonkwo falls into depression over Ikemefuna’s death Obierika comforts him over it , although he doesnt approve of Okonkwo killing Ikemefuna. After, when Okonkwo goes into exile Obierika sells his yams and seed-yams and provides Okonkwo with the profits, proving his loyalty. He also soothes him over Okonkwos impatient temper when he says: “’You worry yourself for nothing the children are still very young’”, in response to okonkwo feeling that Nwyoe appearing weak and lethargic. Unlike Okonkwo , who immediately acts on his emotions without paying them any thought, Obierika prefers to contemplate his options and act on them more vigorously and reasonably. 

 In Things Fall Apart, Obierika stands out as being someone who is concerned with moral decisions that include open-mindedness and tolerance. He abstains from making selfish decisions that would lead to others being neglected, rather he practices his decisions with compassion. he focuses on fulfilling his several roles as a best friend, a father and an active part of the community. Also, unlike Okonkwo he views the white colonialists with a more accepting mentality, rather than seeing them as a threat. He is quite reasonable and agrees to co-exist with them as he prefers to inform himself about the western culture and ideals. Obierika , unlike many others , silently questions the validity of his religion and cultures values :“Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently?.  But although he thought for a long time he found no answer”. This was after Okonkwo had been sent off to 7 years of exile after accidentally killing someone. Okonkwo feels that violence and anger is the only way to approach and eliminate the British, Obierika realizes and accepts that they had won a long time ago. He mentions that the white man “has put a knife on the things that have held us together and we have fallen apart."Although he doesn’t conform to the western religion and culture, he manages to accept their values and beliefs as well as respect them in terms of not burning down their sacred grounds or rebelling against them. Obierika had remained a loyal friend to Okonkwo, supporting him through all his hardships as well as he could. However when Okonkwo ended up hanging himself , one can identify the hatred in his voice :“It is an abomination for a man to take his own life. It is an offense against the Earth, and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen. His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it…”. He feels regret towards being so accepting and sympathetic to the British colonialists as their actions had led to his best friend taking his life. 

Things Fall Apart ; Analysis on Okonkwo

This analysis will attempt to explain how Okonkwo develops themes in the text as a tragic hero, such as culture vs. tradition and fate vs. free will. It will also tend to Achebe's reason of choosing a tragic hero for his protagonist in his colonial counter narrative, thus revealing the purpose of Okonkwo.

To understand how Okonkwo portrays the image of a tragic hero, one must first comprehend its characteristics. A tragic hero is a person of noble character and heroic qualities. He/she , are known to be the protagonist of the story ; commonly found in tragedies. They are fated to destruction and failure by supernatural forces, or God in some cases. However, the initial argument and very essence of a tragic hero is that each and every one of them commit some sort of mistake , perhaps making the wrong decisions, that leads them to their own downfall. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo very much reflects those qualities and actions. His reputation as a fierce  man who acts quickly and endures little  derives from his fear of failure and submission to weaknesses. His loss of high status in the Igbo tribe as well as his suicide both co-exist with Aristotles definition of a tragic hero.

Being recognized as the man who "had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat" ; the warrior that never fell, as soon as his character is introduced, pre-defines his reputation which serves to define him. Being a hard worker in terms of growing food and families was highly respected in the Igbo culture , and a huge aspect and purpose of Okonkwos life. His success in growing prosperious farms and marrying several women with children rewards him with several titles and recognition which elevates him from amongst the other clansmen. Although on the surface, Okonwko appeared to be anything but fearful and insecure, it was his one flaw that was planted within the depths of his heart. To turn into a failure like his father, to have the mere resemblance of any of his characteristics which ranged from large amounts of debts to the lack of titles filled him with anguish. Okonkwo did not grow up with a stable father figure, thus eliminating the chances of him growing into someone who can interpret the idea of an honourable man correctly. Perhaps that was why he'd spread power and control , beat his wives and failed to show any major appreciation for anyone in particular. Any type of behaviour that wasnt familiar to him and didnt prove to be of any profit was immediately dismissed. His son, Nwoye suffered greatly under his fathers disappointment and anger towards him of being "degenerate and effeminate", meaning that he wasnt an honest, proper man in Okonkwos eyes. 

Later on when the british colonialists have reached his village and manage to convince people of their religion and lifestyles, Okonkwo feels attacked and alarmed as no one really seems to identify with his strong hatred towards them. He is not familiar with their mentality and therefore rejects it as anything he doesnt know, he fears. And fear is what he tries to avoid which is why he begins to hate the colonialists in every possible way and refuses to further inform himself about them, let alone live beside them in peace. His decision to do so leads him to face rejection of his prior clansmen. He is forced to back out of the situation as the majority did not feel the need to rebel. Okonkwo feels rather betrayed by his own people and doesnt recognize his own village anymore. He also refuses to acknowledge the fact that his very actions had led him to that position of vulnerability and loneliness. He feels misunderstood and as though all his hard work that he had invested in,  the majority of his life , had been down the drain. This chain of events lead to him hanging himself by a tree which serves as the final proof of his role as the tragic hero in Things Fall Apart.

Most meaningful take away

What was the most meaningful takeaway from today’s discussion relating to the cultural or literary context of Achebe’s work?

Yesterdays discussion proved to be very fruitful and interesting as I discovered a lot of additional opinions and information that I hadn't thought of before. The idea of how the western world (colonisers) may not identify with unfamiliar cultures and lifestyles, thus end up degrading them and misinterpreting them seemed to be the core. We also learned that throughout the media, there has been a lot of bias in terms of how the african nation is being represented. As they don't have access to the technology as much as the western world does, the success of Chinua Achebe's book did have a great impact on their reputation, especially the comprehension and appreciation of their culture. He stayed completely honest throughout the entire book , as he claims that knowing just one side of the story means you don't know the story at all. He managed to have other far away countries and cultures read his book and actually relate to it. This showed that the western population never really had the opportunity to view the africans as anything but needy and dependant as well as primitive. Achebe also stated that they were shown in this light to justify the concept of slavery and colonialism, the taking advantage of them and inflicting a new religion and lifestyle on them, as people were beginning to worry about the ethical considerations of those actions.

Paper one analysis- Political speech

Robert F. Kennedy

Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Visit the speech here 

• The video if preferred : (starts at 2:11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT3Hp9kSrpA

Historic background

Martin Luther King was the leader of the civil rights movement in the 1950's and 1960's. He was admired for his courage to speak up , while risking his own life continuously. He inspired many people of both races, black and white, by his undying passion to obtain universal justice and equality. One can establish that he was regarded as a highly prominent political leader, whose words and actions were taken as valuable advice. He received the Nobel Peace Price in 1964 , marking him as one of the most acknowledged peacemakers in US history.

One evening in the spring of 1968, Martin stepped out into his balcony and received a fatal shot. An hour later he was declared dead. He had been in Memphis, Tennessee , where he planned to march with the cities black sanitation workers on a strike for increased job safety, improved wages and benefits and union recognition.

Robert F. Kennedy held a speech in honour of Martin Luther kings assassination, delivered on the 4th of April 1968, Indianapolis. The political speech served to educate his people of the very recent tragedy and to persuade them to act on it in a more sophisticated way, utilising the rethoric devices of logos, pathos and ethos. It is important to note that he not only addressed the heavily affected black's of the audience, but literally everyone else , as he says:"I have some very sad news for all of you, and, I think, sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world". Kennedy specifically included everyone into the tragic event in order to emphasise his sympathy towards the black nation and steer their attention into the direction of peace and union, knowing that they were not grieving alone. 

He then praises Martin L. king for his dedication in the name of justice and reminds them how he died for that very cause. This may not take away the resentment of his people but it did elevate their sense of pride, as their hero died as a leader and not a follower, as someone innocent striving for peace and not for committing a crime. The issue with his death was the irony of his crime , which was the skin colour that he wore and the power he possessed over a large number of people with only the best intentions for them. 

Kennedy provides his black audience with the option :"For those of you who are black -- considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible -- you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge."  

He admits to his own race being responsible for Martins death as the person who shot him clearly had many supporters of the white race , thus setting the image of understanding and regret ; perhaps shame. By allowing the black nation to openly feel and act on all those negative emotions :"We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarisation -- black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another." - this  may lead to many more conflicts, worsening the situation. Yet, he gives them the freedom to replicate the way they'd been treated by the majority of the white nation.

However he quickly notes the consequences that their actions would lead to, striving for the better option. As he says: "Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand, and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion, and love."

Although the action that had been inflicted on Martin L. King was anything but compassionate , the reaction of his very people would mirror his success or failure in leading the civil rights movement. At that point , Martin's people are faced with the ultimatum of acting on their impulse of protests with no intention of peace, with war that would destroy the very cause Martin lived for, or to handle the situation similarly the way he would've handled it. With peace. This sets the mood of suspense for the rest of the speech as the audience is now fully involved , thus hooked.

By portraying how Martin L. King would choose to be the one to make the sophisticated decisions that would result in a more prosperous ending , Kennedy promotes the idea of peace through him. In another sense he challenges the people's sense of loyalty by implying that they are now fully responsible for their actions and no longer have a leader, meaning that their true colours would shine through, in terms of intentions. Clearly, they now represented him and since Kennedy has made it clear how Martin would act on such a crime, his use of Pathos (The idea of showing peace through Martin) and Logos (The correct assumption of Martins reaction) worked effectively. 

After the subtle order of handling the murder and injustice with peace , he incorporates a personal event in order to reach out to his audience and perhaps soothe them through his own pain , when he says: "I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man." He means to convey the message of understanding and agreement, but also the idea that no race can be generalised , as jealousy and hatred transgress the boundaries of race, and the action of an individual of a race cannot be theorised onto the rest of that particular race.

He mentions a poem whose meaning he values and it states that even though one may be in despair and convinced of their right to those emotions, Gods wisdom seeps through and , against their will, becomes the right thing to do. Here he uses Ethos to make an impression on the religious majority of his audience by linking it to how they may deal with their leaders assassination. 

Looking into the figures of speech, when Kennedy says, as a comment on the poem , :" What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom."  One can identify his use of Anaphora and Climax, where he repeats the word "United States" for every sentence, in order to dramatise the connection between every individual and their country, and build up the tension of the sentence to finalise it with the powerful words of "love and wisdom." 

He then proceeds to deliver his final plea of peacefulness and understanding, asking everyone to go home - instead of forming a riot on the streets - to pray for Martin Luther King - as opposed to praying for the white folks suffering. 

He tries to persuade his audience that there will always be conflicts and problems, hatred and war , but the fate of a country lies in the hands of its very people. Kennedy attempted to convey the idea of independence and importance of unity and mutual support in order to succeed. 

Through Kennedy's speech one has seen the strategies in which he carefully steers his audience in the direction that would cause the least trouble. The idea that one forms is that although Martin was no longer amongst his supporters, that didn't mean his hard earned work should have to go down the drain. Instead, the nation should use his death as a way to strengthen the bond amongst each other and carry on his dream of justice and racial equality. That is the initial message of Robert F. Kennedy.