The African Trilogy - ‘writing back’ to Mister Johnson :: Essays Papers

The African Trilogy - written material back to Mister JohnsonThe African Trilogy has been the subject of more critical discussion since the publication of Things Fall Apart forty years ago. Some of this critical work has focused on the trilogy as a postcolonial work, writing back to the previous colonial works on Africa, such as those produced by Joseph Conrad and Joyce Cary. Achebe has himself alluded to these works as part of his motivation for becoming a writer, art them appalling novels about Africa. More specifically he has saidI know around 51, 52, I was quite certain that I was going to fork over my hand at writing, and one of the things that set me thinking was Joyce Carys novel, set in Nigeria, Mister Johnson, which was praised so much, and it was clear to me that it was a mostsuperficial picture of - not only of the commonwealth - but even of the Nigerian character, and so I thought if this was famous, then perhaps someone ought to look at this from the inside ( Duerde n Dennis, and Cosmo Pieterse, eds. African Writers Talking A Collection of Radio Interviews. London Heinemann, 1972.)Looking at this from the inside, involved drawing on the model of his suffer Igbo golf-club and its oral traditions. By reconstructing a picture and narrative of Africa, and using Carys fiction as a point of departure, Achebe set out to challenge the colonialist depiction of Africans and their society.Although both Mister Johnson and The African Trilogy are concerned with similar issues, the ways in which these issues are confronted are strikingly different. In contrast to the simple, baby-like natives of Carys novel, Achebes characters are complex, multi-dimensional figures in their own right. While the African society of Mister Johnson is portrayed as uncivilized, simple, corrupt, the Igbo society of Things Fall Apart is shown as having grown from a long tradition of careful decision-making and a carefully system of religious, social and political beliefs. A rebu ttal to the African world portrayed by Cary takes the form of an intelligent portrayal of the character of Okonkwo and the society of Umuofia. As opposed to Cary, Achebe explores, in depth, the relationship between the individual and the social context in which his emotional and psychological make-up has developed. In addition, he gives us in Okonkwo a protagonist we can identify with rather than laugh atPerhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a poisonous man.

Impact of Imagery Essay -- essays papers

Impact of Imagery The use of imagery in a short story has a great deal of effect on the impact of the story. A story with effective imagery will give the commentator a clear mental prospect of what is happening and enhance what the writer is trying to convey to the reader. William Faulkner exhibits excellent imagery that portrays vivid illustrations in ones mind that enhances, A Rose for Emily. The following paragraphs will demonstrate how Faulkner uses imagery to illustrate descriptive pictures of people, places and things that allow Faulkner to titillate the senses. It was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, adorn with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies in the heavily lightsome style of the seventies, set on what had once been our most select street (287). Faulkner starts the story off with a mental picture of Emilys house to be an old Victorian house. It is on a street that is commercializing which makes the house stand out and appear out of place. A commentary of Emily discloses her similarity to the house. She looked bloated, like a body, long submerged in motionless water, and that of palled hue (288). Faulkner describes her like this so that the reader may picture a pale, onetime(a) woman, who seemingly hasnt done much but eat, having no muscle tone, and clumps of fat more or less clinging to her body. She was sickly old woman. An even immediate look at her face reveals her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough (288). This verbal description enhances the mental picture of Emily even more. The overly chubby face, gives the reader a definite mental picture of an old and obese woman. Faulkne... ...uched for many years, collecting carcass and fading in color. As the room is being described, the reader almost should feel as if he or she is one of the neighbors who just broke complicate the door. If the reader felt as if he o r she was in the story, Faulkner successfully and effectively created imagery. When the writer successfully creates imagery, the reader should be able to have a clear mental picture of what is happening and feel as if they are looking through the narrators eyes. William Faulkner displays excellent imagery which helps the reader give way understand the real meaning of the story. Faulkners imagery of the people, places, and things in his stories, creates a painting type image, which truly titillates the senses.BibliographyWorks Cited1. Barnet, Sylvan. An Introduction to Literature. Eleventh Edition. Longman Inc. New York, 1997.

The Socioreligious Significance of Rice A comparison between two Southeast Asian societies :: essays papers

The Socioreligious Significance of Rice A comparison between two Southeast Asian societiesWithout rice, there is nothing doing.Introduction.The fact that rice plays an important constituent in the lives of the peoples of Southeast Asia is undeniable. It is not just a form of sustenance that nourishes the body it is also an aspect of everyday life that feeds not only the psyche but the unbounded realms of the imaginative human mind. Such proverbs as in a higher place are an example of how rice is revered and incorporated in day-to-day animation of the peoples in this domain. Even outside the region, as in Mizumono Kuni the Land of Luxurious Rice Crops that is Japan, the placement of rice is that of a very high level side by side(p) to the Emperor, rice is the most sacred of all things on earth. Money can be squandered and the wastrel forgiven, but there is no forgiveness for waste rice (Piper 199314).In Southeast Asia, rice is chattern as the basis of almost all the cultures a nd civilizations ever created. It is also said to be responsible for the high populations of this region for if it wasnt for rice that had replaced the millets and other staple food rambles that preceded it, far fewer people could have been supported by agriculture (Piper 19931). The truth remains that the lot of the cultures of Southeast Asia constitutes agriculturalists with rice as the main crop, with a few exceptions of course, in more industry-oriented nations for example. Two main elements can be derived firstly, since rice has been the major crop cultivated in Southeast Asia for perhaps more than 7,000 years, surely cultures and civilization are interwoven with each other (Piper 19931). One can safely affect that that long a time must have been ample enough for gradual evolutions and intermixing of cultures and traditions, rituals and beliefs and so on that is closely linked to rice, so we can see similarities between cultures of different countries within this region that may have even perpetuated from the same roots. And the same goes to the careful selections of good varieties of rice over time. Secondly, rice is such an adaptive crop that it is not impossible to successfully grow it in different environments where crops could not have been grown successfully- from swampy valleys and deltas to hot, dry land above the floods and even in the mountain forests (Piper 19931).

The Forests Symbolisim in The Scarlet Letter Essay -- essays research

A Refuge from Prosecution The Forest in The Scarlet garnerThe Scarlet Letter is a tale of constant trial and punishment. For Hester Prynne, on that point is no escape from the shame and belittlement she has been forced to endure within puritan society. However, like the puritans who had escaped prosecution by migrating from England to the New World, characters in The Scarlet Letter can escape the prosecution of puritan society by visiting the forest. It is a symbolic realm that embodies freedom and privacy, and the only sanctuary for those who seek familiarity to express their true nature, whether it be through acts of love, or heresy. The forest as a symbol of escape from puritan society is persistent throughout the refreshing through its use by the witches and the Black Man, Dimmesdale and Hester?s interactions there, and dip?s union with nature there. From its earliest significant mention in the novel, the forest is portrayed as a place of lawlessness and mystery, as demonst rated by its most frequent visitors, the witches, and the Black Man that inhabits it. Early in the book, after Hester and Pearl visit Governor Bellingham?s estate, they are accosted by Mistress Hibbins, who is referred to as a witch, and is in good company with the Black Man of the forest. Mistress Hibbins invites Hester to close to sort of meeting that would take place that night in the forest, which champion can only assume is of some Satanic or heretical nature. ? flag thou go with us tonight (120) she asks, but Hester refuses. The Black Man and his book are themselves symbols of heresy and dissent from puritan law. The Black Man never shows himself to anyone in the novel or enters the village, instead, he lurks in the forest?s cover until those who choose to deviate f... ... showing a less hostile nature. She adorns herself with flowers, and is in ?closest sympathy with the antique wood.? (214) Through this description of Pearl, the forest takes on a sympathetic nature, and i s portrayed as an environment where one can descry peace with one?s surroundings and be in an environment where they feel amicability instead of antagonism. Of all the symbols in The Scarlet Letter, the forest is one of the most important. By providing an escape from the overbearing nature of puritan life, the forest allows characters to be presented in a different backdrop, it can serve as a place of both light and darkness, but above all, liberty. For every character that visits it, the forest is freedom, protection, and peace. Without it, there would be no contrast with the village as substantially as puritan society, and Hawthorne?s message would not be as convincing.

Helen Humphreys’ Afterimage and Anne Sexton’s poems, For John, Who begs

Helen Humphreys Afterimage and Anne Sextons poems, For John, Who begs Me Not to enquire pull ahead and The Black Art Woman artists have often been condemned as lesser artists than their male contemporaries, and this critical view appears in Helen Humphreys Afterimage and in Anne Sextons poems For John, Who begs Me Not to Enquire Further and The Black Art. The charr artists in these works use their creative talents to escape the mundane and sometimes painful realities of their lives. They argon also experimental in their approach to subject matters and are eager to transgress societal beliefs. While their methods and journeys differ, the women in these works emerge as veritable artists through their distinct outlooks on life, their novel approaches to subject matter, and their transgressions of traditional beliefs.In Humphreys Afterimage, the protagonist Annie Phelan is a budding artist-model who has suffered from a life of loss and pain. To escape from reality, she flees to the notional world of Jane Eyre. Annie compares her new employers, the Dashells, to the characters in her favourite novel. She is disappointed, for she is unable to make her imaginary world come alive. This dreamy quality of the female artist resonates in the look of the female narrator in The Black Art who hurts from feeling too much (The Black Art 1). Like Annie, this poet senses ennui towards everyday life. She feels as if mourners and gossips/and vegetables were neer enough (4-5). At the end of the poem, the narrator is still at odds with the real world in which the children leave in disgust (23). In Afterimage, however, Annie finds accept in Jane Eyre after she discovers that the Dashells are easygoing employers Perha... ...sitions, especially from male artists.Romanticizing their arts, the woman artists in these works gravitate towards escapism from their painful, mundane lives. If one loves something, one mustiness set it free. Annie Phelan in Afterimage l ets go of the burning boy dressed as an angel. This burning angel evokes the image of the Fallen Angel. It is also symbolic of these woman artists works although their artworks transgress the rules of society, they make a lasting impact on all those who witness them, thus making these women influential artists. Works CitedHumphreys, Helen. Afterimage. Toronto HarperFlamingo, 2000.Sexton, Anne. For John, Who begs Me Not to Enquire Further. 1960. The Complete Poems. pp. 34, 35. Boston First Mariner Books, 1999.Sexton, Anne. The Black Art. 1962. The Complete Poems. pp. 88, 89. Boston First Mariner Books, 1999.

Rutherford B. Hayes Essays -- essays research papers

Rutherford B. Hayes (19th president)Rutherford Bichard Hayes was not a well know president. He was not president that had the prospect to lead us through a war. He was not a president that would draw much attention to the public eye. He was however genius of the presidents that had a great triumph over a major U.S. problem, economics and civil rights following a war. The United States was just coming out of the cultured War and was in need of a new president. They were in need of one that could lead them into a booming economic system, start the process of nonrecreational off the national debt, and show them the benefits of a nation-wide unification of the North and the South.On October 4th 1822, Sophie Bichard Hayes gave birth to Rutherford Bichard Hayes. His father Rutherford Hayes passed away two months previous to Rutherford Jr. being born. Along with his 4 other siblings, Rutherford was raised in Ohio by his mother for most of his life. Rutherford went to school in Norwalk, Ohio and Middletown, Connecticut. In 1842 he gradational from Kenyon College, in Gambier, Ohio, valedictorian of his class. After a year of study in a Columbus law office, he entered Harvard Law School and received his ground level in 1845. Hayes began his practice in a small town called Lower Sandusky. Not finding many opportunities here, he left for Cincinnati in 1849 where he became a successful lawyer.In 1952, Hayes married L...