Chinua Achebe Inquiry Discussion

Today’s inquiry discussion led the group mostly towards the cultural aspect of Chinua Achebe’s work. Thus, my biggest takeaway from the discussion was a greater understanding of the true impact of colonialism in Nigeria and the upsetting of society that came as a result. While discussing this topic, i seemed to frequently reflect on a specific quote, "the white man has put a knife on the things that held us together, and we have fallen apart." I feel as though this quote embodies the effect of colonialism and the way it impacts the indigenous people. This quote is referring to the disruption of the social order and an upsetting of society. In the case of Nigeria, the British decimated the system that was previously in place and incorporated the many disparate and detached Igbo Civilizations into one. All the different religions, customs, habits and cultures were combined into one. This led to a new civilization and a “new reality” that the Igbo people had to adjust to drastically. This affixes with the ability of colonial powers to maintain control as was also discussed in today’s class. In order to assert power colonialists would combine different cultures, causing a tension between them allowing them to be governed with more ease. 

Freedom from Fear

Paper 1 – Freedom from Fear

The text being portrayed is Freedom from Fear a speech presented by Aung Sang Suu Kyi a political and human rights activist. The speech is most clearly identified as a political speech maintaining many of its stylistic and literary characteristics. One of which is the use of rhetorical devices, in addition to the use of powerful diction and emotional appeals and connotations in order to motivate people to advocate for a cause and gain support for the suggested ideology by justifying the claims. In this particular address, Suu Kyi employs specific linguistic choices to push forth her ideas of freedom and human rights while appealing to the intended audiences. Therefore, we can see that through the use of literary and stylistic choices across the speech and by corresponding with the characteristics of a political speech Suu Kyi is able to convey her influence most effectively.

Language is an effective medium to use when targeting an audience and Suu Kyi makes good use of this. The intended audience can be most closely identified as the Burmese Population and inhabitants due to the speech being initially presented in Burmese a language not common outside of Burma. Although, she also seems to be targeting a western audience as well which can be inferred from the later translation of the speech to English, the dominant language in the western world. Targeting the Burmese population, she is focusing on a population and a country where she already has influence and is most likely to induce change and is where she is hoping to make the biggest change as it is “within a system that denies the existence of basic human rights”. From the recurring idea of the speech, the idea of freedom, fearlessness and human rights we can assume that at the time the Burmese people are suffering from oppression and a lack of human rights. In the speech, Aung Sang Suu Kyi is advocating for freedom from fear and from oppression. Furthermore, the text also serves a more ambitious purpose, to instill courage and fearlessness into the people of Burma and spark a shift in their way of thinking in order to lead to independence claiming that they “must first learn to liberate their own minds from apathy and fear. This is further emphasized by rhetorical devices as will be discussed later.

Another key aspect of the speech that helps shape meaning in the text is the actual content and themes of the speech. She opens the speech by discussing the true essence of her revolution and her philosophy and carves a path to freedom and development in order to appeal to her audience that - as has been established previously – is facing oppression. A revolution that is “born of an intellectual conviction of the need for change in those mental attitudes and values which shape the course of a nation's development.” Also, by demonstrating knowledge and understanding on the topic using terminology such as “intellectual conviction”, “quintessential revolution” and so on. She is justifying her leadership and providing ethos. She then introduces the idea of “freedom from fear” and the first steps that will need to be taken in order to achieve liberation. Continuing with her idea of moral courage and fearlessness she relates back to her father’s ideas and personality reminding them of her relation to a respected national hero. She further justifies her ideas using previous historical examples of similar cases of oppression and their liberation and figures such as Mahatma Gandhi known for their moral fearlessness and intellect this can be interpreted as a form of logos. She concludes with a final push for motivation using emotion by appealing to the audience's fears. The “fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death …” fears that are very real for these people. The overarching themes in her speech are also clear and defined in order to have a lasting impact on the audience. Freedom from fear, gaining human rights and freedom from oppression can be identified as the main themes being communicated in the speech. These themes are emphasized through her use of specific diction with words such as “fearlessness”, “power”, “ruthless”, “freedom”, “liberate” and “courage”. Therefore, demonstrating the importance of her content and themes in conveying meaning.

Suu Kyi also utilizes tone and mood throughout the text in order to more effectively communicate her ideas with the audience. The tone Adopted by Aung San Suu Kyi is that of peace and guiding, and revolt and motivation. The balance between the peace and guidance and revolt and motivation was achieved by opening paragraphs with a peaceful tone and ending with motivation and revolt. This can be seen in the opening paragraph “the quintessential revolution is that of the spirit” this peaceful tone unites the people with this idea and introduces it well, although she concludes the paragraph with “there has to be a united determination to persevere in the struggle, to make sacrifices in the name of enduring truths, to resist the corrupting influences”. This intertwining of the two tones allows the speech to be most effective in gaining support and building motivation without becoming bossy and commanding. The mood of the text is also one of forward-thinking, initiative and hope. By using words and phrases such as “there has to be”, “to persevere”, “to resist”, “to liberate” and so on, Suu Kyi is evoking the spirit and mood of initiative and revolution. Hope is also evident as Suu Kyi makes it clear that the revolution is in order to change “official policies” and “build a nation”. The tone and mood of the text thus have a major role in emphasizing the meaning of the speech and serving the purpose of motivating the people.

Finally, the speech also makes use of some literary devices as is typically seen in political speeches. First of all at the beginning of the second paragraph the use of the religious reference “the saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying” and the analogy formed between them and the “oppressed who keep on trying” lifts the status of the people and gives them motivation and a sense of importance further building trust between them and the speaker with ethos as well as building emotional connections with pathos. There is also constant repetition of freedom, liberation, and courage. The most effective political speeches use this repetition to make certain points memorable and easy to communicate amongst the masses. The fact that she also referred to historical references also demonstrates the success of similar philosophies in similar situations providing he with more ethos. The connotation of fear and a harsh tone by using words such as “death”, “imprisonment”, “death”, “torture”, “isolation” and “poverty” also evokes pathos within her speech as it appeals to their emotion of fear forming an emotional connection between her and the audience. Near the end of the speech she also metaphorically compares “concepts such as truth, Justice, and compassion”, to “the only bulwarks that stand against ruthless power.” This conveys the importance of truth, justice, and compassion to her philosophy and to her revolution, and being the concluding statement of the speech, leaves a lasting impact on the audience.

To conclude, ‘Freedom from Fear’ by Aung San Suu Kyi is a political speech with a purpose to gain support and motivation and to advocate for the cause of fearlessness and freedom from oppression. She is able to effectively convey her message and serve the purpose by manipulating content, tone, style, mood, theme and so on. She also uses a range of literary devices to further emphasize the speech and assist with motivating the people in addition to providing ethos, pathos and some forms of logos in her speech to justify her leadership and her cause. 

The Theme of Power in Coriolanus

Power is a theme ubiquitous throughout the plot of the play Coriolanus. This may arise from the nature of the setting of the play. a Post - monarchy Rome still searching for the perfect power dynamic in civilization. This predicament leads to tension and struggle between powerful individuals and social groups further emphasizing the theme of power. 

Coriolanus, the strong military leader is powerful in physique, strength and military expertise. He lacks weakness in all personal assets except for the art of speech, in which he evidently flounders to master multiple times throughout the plot. Shakespeare uses this character to demonstrate a contrast between physical or military strength, and political and social strength. 

This is efficaciously accented with the use of the character of Menenius possessing the abilities of speech and a smooth tongue that allow him to persuade and navigate the complex system of Roman Politics. His juxtaposition to Coriolanus also construes him as an ideal foil, emphasizing Coriolanus’ short comings. Similarly, Volumnia - Coriolanus' power driven mother– gains power through her poised articulation and early nurturing of her son. She is essentially the one who drives Coriolanus towards the world of politics, in which he is clearly ill-suited.

Finally, Aufidius, the general of the Volsces Army and arch nemesis of Coriolanus can be characterized as a conniving opportunistic individual. he can be seen taking advantage of situations and suppressing his anger and true emotions in order to manipulate such situations for his own prosperity.

Each of the characters depict a form of power and represent a sect of Roman Civilization. Therefore, Shakespeare is fundamentally correlating the death or fate of Coriolanus’ character to the maladjustment of military power in modern Rome.

Characterization of Coriolanus in Act 1

You can never be certain of the intentions of an author in their use of specific literary devices and choices. However, we can speculate and surmise the true purpose behind Shakespeare’s characterization of Caius Martius in Act 1 of ‘Coriolanus’.

The story of Coriolanus highlights the state of Rome during its post-monarchy transition after the fall of King Tarquin into the powerful military state it soon becomes. However, Shakespeare spotlights the chaos caused by the power vacuum ensued by the recent changes and the resulting power struggle between all demographics of the population, from the low-class Plebeians to the high-class Patricians. Military strength was one of the ways in which power and respect was gained at the time, a method which is evident in the character Coriolanus.

It is interesting to observe the way Shakespeare has split the character into two different personalities or characters. The setting is an important factor to note with this occurrence as each of those personalities correlates with the existence of the two separate world they live in. The first, we witness the arrogant, proud, ruthless and insulting component of Caius Martius which is witnessed in Rome when he confronts the Plebeians and verbally abuses them and undermines them. He is obviously a powerful character, however; his greatest shortcoming is in his speech. His words are depleted of emotion, elegance, and persuasion and instead are saturated with strong and provocative language, which can be seen when he asserts “I’d make a quarry with thousands of these quartered slaves…” – of course referring to the plebeians. Shakespeare further accentuates this characterization by using Menenius as a foil character with contrasting traits, such as his calm and polished speech and a respect to all.
  

Later on, however, the reader is swept into a seemingly alternate world and setting; that of the battlefield. Here Coriolanus dominates the script as well as the plot, he uses his firm and forceful diction to plant the seed of fear as well as bravery and unity in his soldier’s hearts. Backed by his military skill, he acts like a true leader would, with power as well as modesty. It’s as if Shakespeare has introduced the readers to a disparate character. Here, we are introduced to what is required to be successful in war and bloodshed and it is clear that Coriolanus maintains and fulfills this persona. However, Shakespeare does not conclude on this characteristic, he relates these two personalities to the overall plot of the play, reminding us that this is a political tragedy. Confident in his military prowess, Coriolanus believes that he can use it to argue for his worth in his election for Consul, but to no avail. The Plebeians recognize his valuable military strength and experience, however, his nature of employing strongly worded speech and his lack of respect towards the people, not only costs him the lucrative position of Consul but also his citizenship to Rome when he is banished. Coriolanus is also characterized by others in the play, most notably his mother Volumnia. It is clear that she has nurtured him in this violent environment and had the intention of shaping and molding him into the ruthless killer he became, dictating that “had I a dozen sons…I had rather had eleven die nobly for their country” and her bloodthirsty nature, envisioning her son with “his bloody brow with his mailing hand then wiping”.

Shakespeare essentially uses this conflict, between Coriolanus and the plebeians to demonstrate that even in Roman politics, military power and ruthlessness, did not necessarily commensurate political power. Shakespeare is also deeming his violent character unfit to rule in politics. Shakespeare also chooses against introducing or mentioning a father in the story at all, this is much in the same sense that Rome had just lost its king, which in this context could be seen as a father figure. Shakespeare is thus comparing the power struggles and unstable politics in Rome with the unstable character of Coriolanus. 

Language and Power

The correlation between language, power, and resistance can be illustrated with individual threads that are closely woven into a tight mesh. Ever since the creation of language, people have attached certain perceptions to the languages spoken. 

Recently I had the opportunity to read a text written by the feminist and social activist, bell hooks titles 'The Language of Power'. In the text, she delves into the idea of – what she labels – “the oppressors” language or the concept of language as a means of imposing power and dominance. In this case, she relates her interpretation with the black African population that were brought to America to serve as slaves. However, she also emphasized the way the Africans were able to claim and adopt the English language in a form of resistance and reasserting dominance in a new context.

One quote - which I felt significant - embodied this concept claiming “For in the incorrect usage of words, in the incorrect placement of words, was a spirit of rebellion that claimed language as a site of resistance. Using English in a way that ruptured standard usage and meaning, so that white folks could often not understand black speech, made English into more than the oppressor’s language. This beckoned me to explore other texts in which this theory was portrayed in different contexts.

One such text was a particular clip in the movie “Snatch”. In one scene, Tommy, a standard white British man speaking in a standard – closer to a prestige – dialect, is looking to purchase a caravan from a “Pikey” or a traveler speaking in a heavy Belfast accent. The Pikeys were usually regarded in a condescending manner amongst the white middle and upper class communities, which is clearly communicated in the movie. At some points during the conversation between the two characters, Tommy loses track of what Mickey – the Pikey – was saying, and would also have trouble understanding him. This is particularly asserted when Mickey used the word “dags” instead of “dogs” and leaves Tommy to figure the word out himself. The fact that Mickey refuses to simplify his dialect and make it more accessible to Tommy’s understanding shows how by altering the pronunciation and incorrect usage of words and phrases, he is able to assert dominance over the man and demonstrate resistance and rebellion. It is especially interesting to note that even though his attitude towards Tommy is not downright or distinctly aggressive, rude or disapproving, his use of language can carry the same tones.

This occurrence directly echoes hooks’ theory stated above and demonstrates its practice in contexts other than that just of the African Americans, thus supporting the idea of how language can be used as a form of resistance. 

Kuuk Thaayorre

Link For the newest edition of the Language Explorers Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljNkBk3cKWw

Language and Imagery in Discussing Language

It is fascinating to know that there are currently around 6500 languages being spoken around the world today. The sad truth is, however, that close to half of those are already endangered or near extinction. This shocking revelation was brought about by my recent indulgence in an article in time magazine written by James Geary where he discusses different examples of dying languages and the different ways language has been utilized throughout history.

As I was reading I suddenly realized the detail and care that Geary took with his use of language specifically towards this topic. He took advantage of the English language and included the use of imagery to convey his thoughts on the topic in question. Immediately from the start, it is clear that he is against the erosion of languages. In order to characterize this and convey this, he used words such as diaspora, shrinking and same when discussing, globalization and the way languages are becoming extinct. These words carry a negative connotation thus indicating the author's views. He also portrays the importance of language using metaphors and imagery. At one point, he forms a comparison between languages and living things and species. This effectively creates an emotional connection between the readers and the topic causing them to care. The phrase that communicates this best is when Geary states that “Any language is as divine and endless a mystery as a living organism.” This quote directly impacts the reader as it uses words such as divine and mystery which creates a vague and foggy yet magical image in their minds that they want to see more clearly. This idea continues when he then introduces a quote by Brazilian native language authority, Aryon Rodriguez, “The world is a mosaic of visions” and that each language is a piece of mosaic and with each extinction of a language a piece of the mosaic is lost. This again gives the reader the impression of an incomplete image and an emotional reason as to why they should care and be interested. Finally, even the use of the word extinct when referring to a language no longer spoken surrounds the reader with feelings of guilt and attention

Overall the reading was highly enjoyable and enlightening and James Geary utilized linguistic choices brilliantly to communicate the importance of language.