Practice Paper 1 HL Template

Paper 1 Template

Introduction:

• Info
• Background on the two
• Holistically compare and contrast
• Thesis - Through the use of ACTS text 1 aims to sell a product to a wealthy audience (Great white fleet cruise) written with a colonial lens whereas Text 2 aims to highlight the struggles of squatters in the caribbean to a wealthy audience, both having elements which compare and contrast to understand the viewpoints at different time periods.

ACTS Outline:

Audience Purpose Content Theme Tone Style and Structure:

Purpose:

Text 1:

• To advertise and sell the product of the cruise to the wealthy population of USA

The advertisement is a “summer brochure” therefore main purpose is to attract consumers. Considering the cruise only allows first class passengers it also aims to achieve a certain level of credibility especially using a the name “Great white Fleet”. By doing this they aim to attain a certain market.

Text 2:

• TO provide a different perspective to the wealthy audience. Written for the squatters the article reveal the plights of the islanders and evoke a sense of sympathy for the seeming colonialism occurring in the area  

Audience--Origin:

Text 1:

• The following is an advertisement from around the 1950’s

This is stated because the “The Great White ship” was actually named after a world war 2 battle fleet. Also visually the bottom of the text passengers (potential) are dressed in 1950’s wear (hats, dresses with fringes, etc.)

Text 2:

• Post colonial- published in 2007

Holistically there is a major difference at the two time periods that they were published in where one is published with a colonial lens where the other is a more modern post-colonial lens. The significance at the two articles being published in two completely different time periods is it helps view one perspective in two different lenses.

Audience- Who

Text 1:

• Advertisement is specifically targeted towards the “wealthy”

The advertisement specifically says “Only First Class Passengers carried” on the upper left hand corner.  

• Targets towards American passengers

The advertisement states that the ports are American destinations (New York, Boston, etc). Additionally the destinations are in North America - (Jamaica , Canals, etc. )- places where the common  American tourist would find “exotic”.

Text 2:

• Takes a similar approach to audience to reveal a different perspective

Considering the article is published in 2007 - Panama would be just coming out of a time period where colonial oppressors were present.. Therefore the audience would again be targeted towards a wealthier population who can afford to buy land (developers).

Text 1: Content

• The great white fleet used to be a an American battle fleet Using a credible name (ethos) to sell the product to the consumer. Has information about the cruise selling it at a reasonable price. “reduced rates:
• Advertisement begins with a pictorial Large heading “The great white fleet” to emphasize its superiority.
• Then goes into the information with the heading “Reduced Rates” - Empty claims are additionally used.

Text 2 Content:

The article overall creates an overwhelming sense that the story is being perceived from a post colonial perspective; multiple indicators of this are in the diction “occupy these once-isolated isles”, “threaten to displace hundreds of low-income residents”, “charges of colonialism”, “homes have been burned and been torn to the ground”

• The last sentence “speculators will use any means necessary to get land” creates a Machiavellian sense of the “ends justify the means” and the “ends” mostly consist of profit

• Begins with general background information about the conflict which heavily relies on negative diction such as “shacks” “scavenged” “rough” “cracks”; diction is utilized to convey imagery of the poor, urban setting
• Passage then goes on to describe a particular case study, of Jimenez, once again emphasizing the fact that he earned specifically a measly amount of $1 an hour, a despicable minimum wage; furthers the overall feeling of poverty especially with the alliteration that highlights “Panamas poorest residents”; strong p sound is not light on the ears
• The newspaper article then gives a testimony which appeals to the audience’s sense of pathos as it elicited empathy for a man who seems to deserve rightful ownership of his property
• the statistic of $1 billion dollars greatly contrasts the $1 wage cited earlier in the passage

Text 1: Theme

• The theme is very general - selling a luxurious lifestyle  Theme- Using a certain luxurious lifestyle to sell a product.o want to go on the cruise.

The way the advertisements ment is written is to portray a very posh and classy lifestyle, so the text aims to portray the same theme with using “classy images at the bottom of the advertisement, and language that is very direct. “better than your other costing less”. Very summer theme and vibe resonates through the article to put a sense of carefree and relaxation to hard working first class passengers especially considering the article claims to be inexpensive.

Text 2: Theme

• Title referring to squatters take on developers already sets the theme of a competition between the two groups of people, one pitted against the other

Refers to the competition between squatters and developers, a theme of survival is put across as the squatters are put across in a helpless position. An urgency and desperation is put across as well as the squatters are voiced to be under an oppressive force - developers. .

Text 1: Tone and Mood

• General ambient tone- carefree summer, exclusive

Exclusive tone- clearly only speaking to the target audience. Because the tone is exclusive and seems to only target the higher class, it makes people outside of the target audience “craves” what this advertisement is trying to sell.

Happy and enthusiastic mood- encourages the audience“The Great White Fleet” has summer trips that go from New York to countries such as Panama, Cuba, and Jamaica. It’s targeting a high class that goes on vacations like this usually.  When mentioning the countries such as “Jamaica” and “Panama”, a very foreign and “touristy” tone is used. The countries are placed in a very exotic context- the company is trying to sell these locations.  

Tone- Very accessible for the rich- not easy for the middle and poorer classes

Text 2: Tone and Mood

• Completely different tone from text 1 very contrasting

The tone and mood consist of two main areas.:

• When in regards to the “squatters” we see a tone of indignancy at the situation we have forced them to. Which results in a mood of pity.

• When in regards to the companies of developers and real estate agents, we see a tone of annoyance at their money grubbing actions that have displaced and harmed so many less fortunate.

With a mood of rage from the audience.

This contrasting elements helps set the audience but clearly identify that the message is not the same.

Text 1: Style and Structure

The content is both visual and literary using advertising techniques to again sell the product. When looking at it at least ⅔ of the advertisement is visual:

• The title “The Great White Fleet” is the name of the cruise ship. It uses ethos as it is named after a popular US Navy Battle Fleet. Sense of patriotism.
• Emphasizes the word “White” by making the word itself in white, in contrast to the black background. White=American?
• Very pictorial.
• Uses Ethos by stating the company name at the end of the advertisement, thus making it reliable. It also includes the areas of specific branches of the company for accessibility.
• Image at the bottom- women and men put across very elegant with the women wearing fashionable hats and arched necks. Intention - so audience can visualize themselves in that position.
• Note that Reduced Rates for Summer Cruises is in Bold - Eye catching marketing technique and considering the time is summer the font is emphasized so it appeals to the common consumer.
• “Sailings, every week, from New York, Boston and New Orleans”. This highlights the accessibility of the cruise ships. Furthermore, serving from top capitals only, emphasizes the exclusivity of this cruise.
• “It is cool in… much cooler” - Put themselves in a position of superiority over other vacation packages through use of language.
• Propaganda techniques - “official temperature records prove this” (Empty Claim)
• Locations: Jamaica, Cuba.etc - put across in a very exotic manner - almost the “fishhook” reeling people in after prior claim.
• Ethos - United Fruit Company - Reliable company
• Glittering Generalities
• Vague language - “Extra Large staterooms” - What is the regular size - Again appealing to the audience as it seems this liner is very luxurious.
• Pictorial elements take up ⅔ of the page

Text 2: Style and Structure

Since it is an article has no pictorial elements but rather visual.graphic language to create images the way text 1 visually shows them:

• The style and structure follow that of a newspaper. It uses the following to manipulate the viewpoint of the reader
• Testimonial, Plain Folk, Card Stacking, Source manipulation, and Glittering Generalities
• Lit devices include
• Imagery, weighted diction, Alliteration, hyperbole
• All of this is done to sway the reader towards a more liberal viewpoint

Conclusion:

• Certain elements in text 1 and 2 which compare and contrast
• Highlight that major contrasting moments are the Style and structure, tone mood and a theme
• Highlight audience is main comparing point
• Note that the text contrast more than they compare

Introduction:

The following is a paper 1 analysis of two texts. The first first text is a visual advertisement targeted at a wealthy audience aiming to sell the product of a cruise whereas the other advertisement is an article targeted to the wealthy population but takes a different perspective. As text 1 glorifies a luxurious lifestyle text 2 aims to take the position of aid towards the lower class in this situation the squatters. Additionally both texts use different literary and pictorial elements to further address their point. The reason for establishing the different viewpoints but same audience is to provide a comparison on the viewpoints considering the articles were written almost 70 + years apart from each other. Having the two different lenses colonial and postcolonial aims to show and highlight a location is more than just a vacation destination but also a home to others. Through the use of the different ACTS components Text 1 aims to establish colonial power where as text 2 highlights colonial oppression struggles in order provide multi-perspectives so the reader can establish the development of colonial power over a large time span and understand the after impacts.

Proposal Form WT2

Outline Form – Written Task 2

IB Language & Literature HL

Question	Answer
What is your name?	Devyani Pejathaya
What part of the course does your analysis fall under?	Part 3: Media Bias
What topic is the focus of this task?	Media Bias
What is the title of the text you are using as the basis of your analysis?	5 Little Words from Hillary’s Benghazi Email That Four American Servicemen Never Had a Chance to Say
Highlight the question you are answering.	How and why is a social group represented in a particular way
Thesis statement	Through the use of literary devices, stylistic features and propaganda techniques Kyle Becker a republican supporter aims to highlight and resurface the “Bengazi Crisis” in order to portray and represent the democratic party specifically presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as a “un-suitable president” for the United States of America
Key point 1	Looking at the republican view point- examining how they present the democratic political group. How its presented- through the news channel – highlighting that the article is derived from a Republican broadcasting network (Independent Journal)
Key point 2	Understanding the why – Examining the ideologies of both groups to see where they “clash” Highlighting why this viewpoint has resurfaced because the event initially occurred in 2013 Why this political group is represented in this way:  (Intention – To bring down Hillary Clinton’s Political Campaign)
Key point 3	Use of literary devices: -          Stylistic Features -          Propoganda Techniques Cohesion of the how and why
Key point 4 (optional)

The Use of Propoganda

Prompt:

Is it okay for the government to mislead in order to promote nationalism?

Propaganda is a term that refers official government communications released to the public in order to influence an opinion.  Statistically the use of propaganda increases in times of war or international conflict. As propaganda is heavily biased it has a tendency to provide extremist views in order to voice a strong opinion. Also a group tends to favor certain information and in a sense may provide a misleading image to their audience as the "whole story" is not visible.  The documentary "control room" aims to voice that the broadcasting network Al Jazeera was the only broadcasting station at the time of the Iraq-USA war that showed the public the "entire story".  

Governments have been known to withhold, spin and even at times fabricate information in order to promote a sense of nationalism within the country's civilian population. Personally I do not agree with this ideology. A government of a country is one of the key foundational elements in a nation and not only do they voice the views and opinions of a nation but they also influence and impact other worldwide audiences. When there is a sense of instability in the foundation it is obvious that the structures surrounding it will also be impacted. Similarly when this key establishment misleads the public there will be an impact, in this situation a negative one. For example in the United States there tends to be large parties with opposing extreme ideologies. When the information presented to them is misleading the claims they build off of this original idea will be irrelevant and inaccurate.

 In the documentary it was evident that the director aimed to portray Al Jazeera as a superior news-reporting station and claimed that they were more reliable than the American news coverage. There is even a section in the documentary where there is a clip from an interview with an American official stating that the images and stories broadcasted to their audience is in a sense "fake “as Al Jazeera would quote "go find children and crying women to act as if they were in pain". From prior understanding it was stated from President Bush that Al Jazeera was the "mouthpiece to Bin laden".  Hence it is clear that this was a form of American Propaganda which was "spun" from an original source (Al Jazeera) to clarify to the American Public that there was no large negative consequence from the bombing of Baghdad.

The Jessica Lynch story is another example of how propaganda has been theatrically spun in order to sway the public’s opinion through misleading information. Jessica lynch was put across as a war hero rescued by her American comrades in Iraq. It was stated by the Pentagon and United States news broadcasting network that she was “shot” and interrogated by soldiers in a hospital where she was being held hostage. Her miraculous “prison-break” was used as propaganda for the American Public with a negative outlook on the Iraqi people holistically.  This story was sold well in the States and the nationalistic view and patriotic response increased. After the initial story was released there were apparent discrepancies with resulted in counter-stories being released with perspectives of the actual patients and doctors in the hospital who claimed that there were not any armed individuals in the hospital. They also claimed that the Americans had used this story as way of communicating to the American public with video footage in a dramatic “Hollywood” style way. This use of propaganda to form the public’s opinion is not only negative but in some ways also completely fiction.  Yes this did initially result in a increased patriotic response but after people understood the counterclaims it made them question their government. 

Class activity : Bias

Original Article:
 http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/hillarys-view-benghazi-we-live-dangerous-worldwe-have-learn-things
(Side note: This is a class activity, in no way do I support the claims made in the following passages)

Being the secretary of state at the time Hillary was in charge of ensuring national security Did she deliver? In simplistic words no. As this woman runs for presidency it makes sense to look at her past and dig up the real skeletons so you know the kind of person you are voting to run and ensure the success of our nation.

Hillary claims she was blindsided by the tragic events of the Benghazi crisis where our nation lost the beloved souls US Ambassador J.christopher stevens and U.S foreign service information management Officer Sean Smith. America's tragic heroes fell at the hands of another American , Hillary Clinton. There has been much speculation to whether Hillary had a faint idea but according to the evidence she did. There have been recordings and reportings of the then secretary of state receiving emails from her top aids about the security precaution from Libya. The messages are a part of a collection of back and forth information exchange with over 250 messages made public. The messages not only reveal the truth but also expose Hillary's thinking and "executive style". 

After the initial public shock of the crisis Hilary was not done. It was uncovered that she intentionally cut security and silenced her witnesses. After silencing her witness she still had to clear her name so she lied about the video which was leaked. In the video Hillary blamed the deaths explicitly on the "libyans" holistically. Even as she stood over the caskets of the fallen heroes she denied to tell the truth and had the audacity to tell the parents that the maker of the video was responsible.

Not only did Hillary lie to the public but she lied to congress as her entire story unwinds it is clear that Hillary can not be trusted. A woman capable of lying and keeping the truth from not only the public but fallen heroes just proves that she  does not have the right to hold a position of honor in our glorious nation's government.

Sylvia Plathe Lady Lazarus

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxlDC1rJ8toCSkN2b0xob2Q1dG41dE9BWDVGZzlKYjNleHpJ

Family Furnishings

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxlDC1rJ8toCcE5DVTRLTEQyM2c

Boys and girls

https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive

you should be able to download it

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxlDC1rJ8toCVi1oMFduWTlVV1k

English Class Activity

What is the purpose and benefit of the study of literature? 

Literature helps in so many areas.  After doing the activity in answering this deep question I was provided with so many answers. Firstly literature provides one with a way to escape to another landscape. By studying literature critically one also develops social skills by connecting with the character on an empathetic level. This is because literary characters are representations of life at the particular moment in time and also because they are human just like you and me.  The purpose is not only to over analyze so that you can answer that one question on your exam, no! Its so much more than that, it helps build your vocabulary (especially if you're shakespeare). By learning the skills you do when analyzing literature you are able to apply them to real problems, you face socially and economically.

What is women’s literature and what is the value in studying it? 

"Women's literature is literature written for women by women". As part of this is true I feel women's literature is a form of art. Just like any art form it provides women with a stream to voice their opinions and views freely. Although the modern voice of women today is highly respected, at the time many famous women's literature came out women did not have the voice they had today. The value of studying it is quite similar to history. I feel history helps one reflect on the past in order for them to shape their future. It even works on a greater scale to help avoid the problem that is presented in the past, present, and future. Just like this I feel the value in studying women's literature is to help understand the conflicts women faced in the past in order to avoid them in the future. It also helps gain a perspective of how times have changed. 

Why were the themes and values of Munro’s social realism so significant during the 1950s-1980s? 

Munro was one of the first female author's in that time whose work revolved around the conflicts of women and social realism. She was one of the first author's to tell the realistic truth on the social struggle of women.  This realistic portrayal today helps us understand and realistically shape the society during the late 1900s

Although she does not identify as a feminist writer, how has Munro’s work contributed to gender equality? 

Munro did not identify as a feminist writer but her work did help towards the women's equality movement which ended in women getting the right to vote. Munro's work as stated earlier was a realistic depiction of women's role in society during the late 1900s. Her work expressed the socially issues women faced, and after having multiple stories published in the New Yorker she gained a certain "respect" in the literary society.  So in a sense her rising in that community and her work together contributed to gender equality. Her work was also used by many feminist writers as inspiration in order to continue the movement. 

What do you enjoy most about the content of Munro’s work and what impact has it had on you?

Personally I did enjoy Boys and Girls because I found somewhat of a similarity between that plot and themes to the stories by grandmother's have told me about their lives. Neither one of my grandmother's were given the opportunity to do manual labor or have a job.  This story had an impact on me because I was able to see the realism in her work at this stage. I also enjoyed Runaway because even though it was written at a later time it somewhat relates to the relationship status of our community. 

Summer blog posts

Post 1

As I sat at my local coffee shop sipping my artisanal latte I had an epiphany. What is with it with people reading at coffee shops and why has it become such a universally accepted thing. Not that I am one to talk, here I am drinking coffee and reading what seems to be the longest not so short story ever by Alice Munro. Well drinking is the same eating so why is that reading the dinner table is considered rude, and reading at a coffee table is more than just the norm but considered weird if you doing anything else (tested that one by playing temple run on full volume in a quite café). The thing the stuck me is that this isn’t something that’s just a thing in India, but it happens worldwide, so how or rather where did this universal tradition come from? From my understandings afternoon is considered to be a moment of relaxation therefore a coffee in needed to wake you up, but doesn’t reading a novel just make on want to fall back asleep? I did a little research on ye old faithful internet and found a few interesting theories. First of all people who sit alone at coffee shops don’t look “lonely” if their noses are buried in books, which is actually quite clever, points to that kid.  Secondly the amount of caffeine in your coffee and how much you actually understand from the book go hand in hand. Finally international corporate companies such as Starbucks and Barnes and nobles push one to indulge in both their products at once by putting their shops inside each other by selling this ideal of comfort in a chair with a book in one hand and a coffee in the other. They obviously have a secret agenda but the truth of the matter is, I too indulge in this international tradition and can honestly say I enjoy it, so I will go back to my not so short story and my latte. Byrista (coffee humor)

Post 2

Over this summer the idea of archetypes were something that stood out to me. I am not sure why, but after seeing multiple plays and constantly rereading the tempest was getting to me to the point where I was seeing a recurring role which in a sense made me curious about the basic archetypes good and evil. Looking back at my life I could see that there are extremes but not in my everyday life. I decided to reflect on myself and see where I fit on this scale of archetype extremes.

I am many things. The little intricate details make me. I reflect myself and my family both physically and mentally. If one had to pick an archetype that most fits me they would choose the innocent but I see myself as a rebel.

Carl Gustav Jung a psychologist came up and used this theory of archetypes to help us better understand the human psyche. He came up with a concept which would help us identify and relate to common types of people in stories and life. He believed that we all could relate to these characters/archetypes from our collective unconscious. There are a variety of different archetypes from the bold and courageous heroes to the rebels.

The rebel in me comes out every day. In context of my family my rebellious qualities are quite bold. Being the oldest in a family one is expected to set a good example for the younger children but in the eyes of my parents I am not a good role model because I do the opposite of what they ask. Small examples include not listening to simple commands like clean your room to or large ones like sneaking out.  By managing to lock myself out from them, tension has been raised. Disrupting family traditions and etiquettes by shocking actions has cast me out to be an outlaw. Love was once there for and in me but with the years of hurt, anger, and pain my mind has automatically turned off to building strong relationships with my family and peers.

My biggest fears are of being the worst in activities which I practice strenuously in and enjoy. Dance being one of these, is something I have received adulations in. Dance has always brought joy to both me and my family and it is one of the only things we can connect in. Being average is out of the question for me because when there are people who excel me I feel like I have lost the only connection I have with my family. Being ineffective in what I love the most is both scary and motivational for me.

In my recent 17 years I have not displayed my rebellious qualities publically because I did not see the need to show them. Society sees me as they do every other teenager rebellious and repulsive. Acting without thinking. The only intentional way I make myself to be is strong. Weakness for me is looking weak and powerless as for I feel people will have leverage over me and can easily manipulate me. Coming from a country where crime is at a high toll I’ve been taught how to act in order to sustain myself in society. Almost every woman can relate and think I may have gained this quality from family stories.

How to write about basic white girls

The following is an assignment and not intended to offend anyone:

The life of a white girl is pretty hard. You're in a constant struggle trying to figure out what you want to order at Starbucks, whether it's a venti PSL or a grande caramel macchiato. To write about a white girl is to write about every struggle that is out there. Hi my name is Brittany and i'm going to teach you how to write about white girls.

Whenever you write in your notebook or lets be real macbook, about a white girl one must make sure that the story is set in America because lets be real the only real white girls either live in Cali or New York. Your character's name should be one of the following: Brittany (like me), Molly, Jenna, Heather, Carly, Holly, Allison, Abigael, Amy or Katie. Everything else is NOT white. She has to be blonde with blue eyes, or blonde with greenish eyes cause everything else is NOT white. Her skin should be whiter than a piece of wonderbread.  Now I cannot stress the importance of this but her eyebrows HAVE TO BE ON FLEEK! The art of fleekness is only prominent in white girls. Creating the perfect arc in your story can only be successful if your character's eyebrows arc perfectly and are described as so. When it comes to hair ensure that you mention that your white girl character only wears messy buns.Finally everything they drink must be out of a mason jar.

Now lets move onto setting. Your main character has to be a coffee addict so when you open your book it has to be in Starbucks.  Your character also has to be an over the top Starbucks lover, when I say this I mean she has to drink Starbucks so much that if she was pulled over for a DUI it would be because of a caffeine overdose. If you want a change in scenery make sure its in a mall, or party, or the beach because that is what being white is all about: Shopping till you drop, tanning till cheeks are brown and of course partying all day all night. If you want a more somber casual setting for your story use your character's bedroom.  Her bedroom must be all white, and have christmas lights all over the room.

If your white girl character is to have a story line again it has to be a simple straightforward choice.  Your story line is built through your characters. To write about a white girl is to incorporate their everyday traditions. When you are writing your story about a white girl be sure to mention that their lives are laid out in a visual space. Their lives revolve around Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. Without expressing these forms of visual entertainment your white girl character may as well be dead.  Other possible story lines include a girl falling in love with a boy, a girl falling in love with a boy who doesnt like her but her sister, or finally a girl dressing up as a boy and falls in love with a boy.  You can always try to elaborate just make sure your ending is happy and pleasant with a couple driving of into the sunset with a hood less car.

Now if your unaware there are certain terms that white girls can use and certain terms they absolutely can not.  The following are words in their limited vocabulary; goals af, anything with a hashtag really, literally ( often used in cohesion with I can't), bae, g wagon,  PSL, any acronoym (OMG, TTYL, ONSD, OYSD, OOTD, OOTN).  Another pointer to keep in mind is that if you aim to write about a white girl you must make sure that you quote the film Mean girls at least 25 times in your novel.  Your white girl character will not be complete without this.

In conclusion if you follow these few short steps writing about a white girl is not that hard. She has to be a flat character with not much personality. She has to be someone with a limited vocabulary. She has to be someone who needs a man to be happy. She has to be a character which makes you wanna poke out your eyeballs because a life of a common white girl is so basic that you'll want a little diversity maybe throw in a miniature chihuahua in there while you're at it.

Paper 2 Response

Chosen Question:  Show how and to what effect Achebe makes use of myth legend or other stories and tales. 

Things fall apart is a realist fiction book, which mirrors the colonization of Africa. The novel is set in Umuofia, a town comprising of 9 villages in Nigeria. The story is mostly narrated from the main protagonist's point of view, Okonkwo. . Since the story is told from his perspective the cultural ideologies and traditional aspects are written as closely to the Igbo culture as possible. The Igbo culture incorporates many uses of myths and legends and are expressed as fact through the use of their stories and tales. The following analysis aims to show how and to what effect Achebe uses myth and legends through the different stories in the novel. Through the use of proverbs, myths, legends and fables Achebe aims to create an explanation for the Igbo customs and traditions thus enriching the reader's understanding helping them create a closer sympathetic bond between the Igbo characters in the novel.

The art of folklore and storytelling in African literature specifically Things fall apart has become one of the most important forms of literary expression. Through the novel one can see that the Igbo culture is an oral one. Orality is the only form of documentation, meaning that the different myths and legends in the story are explanations and documentations of the past. The use of proverbs in the culture are a form of expressing an obvious truth. For example in Chapter 1 one can see the reference “Proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten." In this example we see a proverb being used to communicate a more refined lifestyle. This way the standards for a lifestyle are communicated through a popular and clear way. Another proverb which is shown in the first chapter is”If a child washes his hands he could eat with kings". As one can see from the novel the culture is very tradition based and the idea of born with a title, and dying with a title are very important. This proverb communicates the values of their society but also a way to "rise from the ashes".  It is basically stating that by removing the dirt of the ancestors you can have a chance of a different future, each one builds his own fame. We can see this proverb communicated and mirrored through Okonkwo's life which hence builds and enriches the meaning of the proverb for the reader.  

Fables are fictitious stories which are often times about animals. The are shared to teach a moral lesson.  Fables are also used to mirror reality and even foreshadow the future. In the novel we can see both examples.  In chapter 11 Ekwefi tells Ezinma a story about a turtle who changed his name to be a part of a feast. In the culture we can see this as a story about teaching patience but it is a very multi-vocal texts. Taking a colonial lens and the by looking at the context of this novel one can see that this story mirrors the idea of colonization, where the turtle had to change his name (language) to be a part of a community. Only by changing his identity was he allowed to feast, thus mirroring that the Igbos fate.  Okonkwo's son Nwoye changed his name to Issac to survive in a society ruled by oppressors similarly to that of the turtle. The use of this story helps one understand the context of the novel but also foreshadow the fate of the Igbo since this fable is told before the colonizers disturb the peace in Umuofia.

Myths and Legends are both types of stories which are handed down from generation to generation serving to explain phenomena or customs.  In the novel they help the audience understand the historical basis of certain events thus enriching the reader's understanding. The coming of the locuses are very destructive but are values since they mark the coming of prosperity. 


In conclusion fables, myths, and legends serve a deeper purpose.  In the story itself it serves purpose for the characters as it provides explanations for cultural and traditional events. For the audience it enriches their understanding of a certain event. This enriches their understanding of the Igbo culture which then overall makes them have a larger appreciation. 

Memoir

Our culture our beloved Umuofia, has fallen. Unravelled like the cultural loin cloth that our people have abandoned for the white man's pants.  Umuofia has been my home for years, I was born and brought up in such a rich cultural environment untouched by white civilization. I have a great appreciation for my fellow Igbo and the fall of my cultural heritage is a pain I do not think I can endure. To say the white man's tool of oppression is the only reason we have fallen would be a lie. Our culture should have evolved, our traditions should have evolved. Okonkwo's banishment for a mistake, mutilating twins, and the death of Ikemefuna should all have been avoided. Our culture should have become stronger, as it is the survival of the fittest in a world with no mercy. Not only should our culture have evolved but our own people should have stayed dedicated to their roots. My own friend Okonkwo has lost his son to the white ashy buttocks and changed his name to Isaac.  Our culture was enriched by our traditions and cutting connection it results in a loss of cultural identity. Umuofia will fall because we are not strong enough to fight what is coming.There is no peace ahead. This path will not end without war.What is coming is bigger than any one of us and to survive it we need to unite and resist. but since our people refuse to do so.. Things will inevitably fall apart.



Our culture our beloved Umuofia, has fallen. Unravelled like the cultural loin cloth that our people have abandoned for the white man's pants.  Umuofia has been my home for years, I was born and brought up in such a rich cultural environment untouched by white civilization. I have a great appreciation for my fellow Igbo and the fall of my cultural heritage is a pain I do not think I can