Paper 1

This paper 1 essay will focus on two different texts that are grounded on a similar basis. The first text is a very visual ad published in 1922 hence centers itself through a colonial lens. It is trying to sell their audience an ideal and tropical holiday. Unlike the first text, the second text draws away from pictorial elements and is rather portrayed through a news article published in the business section of the Miami Herald in 2007. These two different text types already portray major differences as the news article develops a more serious tone than the pictorial and encouraging ad. This is also seen through the paramount importance of the time period of each text which creates a heavy influence on the interpretations and situations during these times, consequently leading to a post-colonial and colonial viewpoint from the different texts. This paper/essay will concentrate on comparing and contrasting both these texts through the elements they portray, specifically the audience which is not only the same but it also grounds the underlying foundation of both these texts which then develop the content, tone and mood and style in which each portray their piece according to their audience and what message they’re trying to bring across to them. Both texts have the same audience but contrasting purposes in order to persuade their point of view to their audience.

When establishing the audience, both texts target a similar audience in a sense that is more upper class people who obtain power within society and are hence able to prevent or make a change, in the case of the second text or being able to purchase a summer vacation in terms of the first text. The advertisement aims wealthy and social elite as it also says “Only First Class Passengers Carried.” The second text targeted towards American and European retirees coming to the Caribbean islands yet because it is an article at a local newspaper in the business section, one can determine that it also targets the general readers who are interested in business in order to inform them about the issue.
Yet the purpose of the texts differ greatly especially when identifying the fact that both texts have almost over 90 years apart hence setting a colonial and post-colonial perspective as well as that both the text are of different types which usually means they have different purposes towards their audience. The first text focuses on persuading and to advertise the Fleet Ship and trips to people of higher class and thereby marginalizes the middle and lower classes. Consequently, the second text tries to persuade the readers in order to reveal the plights of the islanders and evoke a sense of sympathy for the seeming colonialism that is occurring in that particular region.

The first text is a very straightforward advertisement named “The Great White Fleet” which was originally a battle fleet hence by using the name it sells to the audience and makes the fleet sound reputable and also includes some sort of nationalism and as well as relating to using this name of the Great White Fleet as creates an ethos in terms of persuading them through using a credible and historical source. The advert then goes on to discuss the summer and cool weather and mainly includes visual to express their message. In contrast with the first text, the second text is an article that focuses on the particular case of a man named Jiménez who has lost his home. The main message of what they’re trying to get across with the whole idea of squatters vs. developers and their stance on swaying the audience towards a more liberal viewpoint. Also 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.

The tone and mood of both texts differ greatly due to their purposes and content of each other. For the first text, one sees how they’re clearly speaking to their specific target audience which in this case is the higher class making it very accessible for them unlike for the middle or lower class which sets an exclusive tone. It sets a happy and enthusiastic mood in order to encourage their audience to go on these summer trips.  When naming countries such “Jamaica” and “Panama”, a very foreign and “touristy” tone is used making them want to explore and see new places also they’re targeting people who usually go on these sort of trips. Unlike with the article where we see the tone consisting of two main aspects; when in regards to the “squatters” one sees an indignant tone at the situation and when looking at 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. For readers who in some relate to this or are emotionally evoked by this set a mood of rage and annoyed. Additionally the diction throughout the article such as “squatters” or “poorest” creates a very pitiful and sympathetic attitude from the readers.

In order for adverts or articles to appeal to the readers, the persuader has to be able to use elements in order to engage and persuade them with what they’re trying to say. When looking at the first text, one sees it’s very visual and the pictorial elements take up at least 2/3 of the page. 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 therefore illustrating a sense of patriotism.  It also emphasizes the word “White” by making the word itself in white, in contrast to the black background which could also be a reference to the white community as during that time period they had the power and wealth (higher class) to afford this. The image placed at the bottom of the advert is of women and men put across as very elegant with the women wearing fashionable hats and arched necks which plays on the intention which is so that audience can visualize themselves in that position and actually be persuaded by what is being sold to them. Like in present days, this ad uses marketing techniques by placing “Reduced Rates for Summer Cruises” in bold, making it eye catching and considering that the tie is summer the font is emphasized which is easily appealing to the consumers. “Sailings, every week, from New York, Boston and New Orleans” highlights the accessibility of the cruise ships. Furthermore, serving from top capitals only emphasizes the exclusivity of this cruise. Moreover the ad uses techniques such as glittering generalities almost in a sense to create a “brotherhood” towards the specific targeted audience. In addition its uses ethos – “United Fruit Company” - reliable company. In opposition to the first text, the second text is structured merely as an article. The title of the text is “QUATTERS TAKE ON DEVELOPERS” thus setting the theme of a competition between the two groups of people, one pitied against the other. Throughout the article, certain negative diction such as “shacks” “scavenged” “rough” “cracks” is utilized to convey imagery of the poor and urban setting. 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 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” which are all techniques in order to evoke the readers emotions.  It also uses statistics to its advantage; especially the statistic of $1 billion dollars greatly contrasts the $1 wage cited earlier in the passage that greatly emphasizes the lack of wealth they obtain. Throughout the article, many techniques are visible such as testimonial, plain folk, card stacking, source manipulation, and glittering generalities as well as using literary devices such as Imagery, weighted diction, Alliteration, hyperbole. All of which were used in order to sway the reader towards a more liberal viewpoint and be able to inform and persuade the audience of the issue.

Overall, summing up, one sees how both texts are essentially grounded on a similar basis but have different approaches based on their purposes. Through the stylistic features each individual text has used, one sees how they are able to persuade the audience. Therefore it is visible how their tone&mood, purpose and structure contrast to convey their particular message. 

English Paper 1

Paper One- Commentary Structure 

English Paper 1

1^st Paragraph: Introduction

•          Give a broad overviews/ background
• -          Establish both the text that will be examined
• -          Touch on how/what they essay will focus on+ from which stance

2^nd Paragraph: Audience and Purpose

•      Text 1: audience and purpose
•    Text 2: audience and purpose e.g. reveal the plights of the islanders and evoke a sense of                        sympathy for the seeming colonialism occurring in the area
•     Links between both and how the audience that is targeted is the same/similar but the purpose     in the message they’re conveying differs between the two texts
•    Also make address the time periods that each text was produced in and the effect it has on the   purpose and audience – post colonial vs colonial perspective

3^rd Paragraph: Content and Theme

• -          Text 1: main message it tries to convey and if takes on certain stances – tries to sell their audience an exotic place for vacation home
• -          Text 2: main message and what they’re trying to get across with the whole idea of squatters vs. developers and their stance on swaying the audience towards a more liberal viewpoint. Also 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

4^th Paragraph: Tone and mood

• -          Text 1: uses target audience as a clear way to establish tone and because they’re trying to sell an idea or vacation home and as well as through the visuals it sets a happy and enthusiastic mood in order to convince their audience to purchase these vacations. Tone also mainly focuses specifically and narrowly to their target audience- closer sense of communication
• -          Text 2: regards to the “squatters” we see a tone of indignancy at the situation we have forced them to. This results in a mood of pity. Annoyance at their money grubbing actions that have displaced and harmed so many less fortunate. Also with a mood of rage from the audience.

5^th Paragraph: Style and structure + (Literary devices/ features)

• -          Text 1: the ways the text has been structured- visuals are the main focus and attention of text in order to relate in a more direct way with their audience. Certain diction used and the main reference to “The Great White Fleet” -> use of ethos
  
        Emphasis made using certain fonts and colors- more appealing to the audience
        Techniques used such as empty claim, ethos, glittering generalities etc
• -          Text 2: unlike the first one uses imagery in a verbal manner also due to the fact that it’s a news article in the business section also therefore the style and structure follow one of a news article. It uses Testimonial, Plain Folk, Card Stacking, Source manipulation, and Glittering Generalities to manipulate the viewpoint of the reader
  
        Lit devices included- Imagery, weighted diction, Alliteration, hyperbole

6^th Paragraph: Conclusion

• -          Justify the introduction
• -          Establish how the task was examined
• -          Restate the thesis made at the beginning

Introduction

                           This paper 1 essay will focus on two different texts that are grounded on a similar basis. The first text is a very visual ad published in 1922 hence centers itself through a colonial lens. It is trying to sell their audience an ideal and tropical holiday. Unlike the first text, the second text draws away from pictorial elements and is rather portrayed through a news article published in the business section of the Miami Herald in 2007. These two different text types already portray major differences as the news article develops a more serious tone than the pictorial and encouraging ad. This is also seen through the paramount importance of the time period of each text which creates a heavy influence on the interpretations and situations during these times, consequently leading to a post-colonial and colonial viewpoint from the different texts. This paper/essay will concentrate on comparing and contrasting both these texts through the elements they portray, specifically the audience which is not only the same but it also grounds the underlying foundation of both these texts which then develop the content, tone&mood and style in which each portray their piece according to their audience and what message they’re trying to bring across to them. Both texts have the same audience but contrasting purposes in order to persuade their point of view to their audience.

IB Learner Profile Propaganda: Open-Minded

Rationale

This propaganda poster aimed to promote open-mindedness and and portray it as a key basis in order for the succession of this world. This was done by using techniques such as glittering generalities whereby we tried to appeal to the audience through pathos through diction such as "embrace" "globalize" and "value" all of these words would portray good ideals, it is a way to bring people and make them appreciate our different identities and how all of this leads to the globalization of the world hence the globe at the top of the page. The main image of the poster is one that associates to the brain and the mind and it has rays coming out of it which in our case represent our ideals, value and identities etc. that we have to embrace as a whole world again shown through the use of a globe. A quote was placed towards the top of poster stating: "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open" this was said by a famous and well known American musician and although might not have too much credibility, his name is still recognized and the quote itself is very creative. A rhetorical directed at the audience is placed at the bottom right above OPEN- MINDED written in massive caps, the question is also written in red to stand out more and really make the readers question themselves. Different fonts are also used to stand out more.

Propaganda 4 Corner Reflection

“The term propaganda always refers to a negative message”

Before exploring the actually statement in depth it is essential to understand the definition of propaganda. In Latin propaganda  meant “things to be propagated and which ought to be spread” and a general definition of propaganda is a specific type of message that is presented in order to directly influence opinions or behaviors of people rather than providing an objective statement or information.  The term itself has been through quite a lot of history, because in original state, propaganda was a neutral reference and used in a more positive connotation in order to promote more favorable and affirmative influence on the audience such as creating propaganda on public health or encouraging people to vote or encouraging people to report crime and like the article given to us in class about the British and Russia, we see how they used propaganda in order to promote peace rather than encourage war.

Hence, I disagree with the statement above but I do believe that as time passed on, many people took advantage of the influence propaganda can make on people and started using  it to promote more negative concepts and therefore it acquired a more negative connotation by association to its manipulative nature. Now in the world of media, propaganda is seen as a political and bias use of techniques in order to promote a certain set of beliefs and ideas. Such as when watching the documentary in class of Americans depiction of the Iraq war, one sees how different types of propaganda had been used to implement their own ideologies and influence the audiences’ perception of the situation.
As well as when examining the article of Jessica Lynch, the US perception of the war was presented in a more positive light by the means of that propaganda used of her rescue.
So overall I disagree with the statement because I don’t believe that it has to be referring to a negative message but nowadays I do believe that people use it to mislead and deceive people through promoting negative message in order to convince them or influence their perception of a certain situation. 

Rationale

The article that has been chosen is one published by Fox News clearly showing a negative image of Islam and portraying them as a threat and uses false statics to prove its point, especially coming from a news outlet that considers itself bias towards the Republicans. This will all be examined through Bill Maher who has a strong perspective on Islam and this article shows support towards his beliefs.
This pastiche will hence alter the perspective and rather show Islam in a more/too positive light and bias to Islam because it wont show their flaws and it'll use correct statistics to prove that people shouldn't be generalizing a whole religion and that the Western media plays a big part to the reason there are such problems with Islam and showing negative image of western culture,

LOOKING INTO BILL MAHER

William "Bill" Maher is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, media critic, and television host. As a TV host, he is known for the political show Real Time with Bill Maher(2003–present). Maher previously hosted a similar show called Politically Incorrect

The article that will be examined is by Fox News:

Important notes from article:

•  Published by Fox News- a very known American news outlet that is known for its bias and promotion of the Republican Party.

• Discusses the young school boy Ahmed, who produced a homemade clock and brought it into school and justifies the action of him being arrested as normal because it’s natural to be more scared of a Muslim holding a case and how thinking like that only leads you to be called an “Islamophobe” or a “racist”

• “According to Pew, a majority of Muslims in several countries consider stoning a woman to death a legitimate punishment for adultery.”

• “Muslims surveyed in 24 of 37 countries where the question was asked believe abortion to be morally wrong.”

• “Three quarters or more in 33 of the 36 countries where the question was asked believe homosexuality to be morally wrong.”

OWN PASTICHE 

Islam- A misunderstood perspective of a peaceful religion influenced by the westerns and their media 

Islam, one of the world’s youngest religions putting it at about 1400 years of age has had a lot of criticism during the last couple of years, specifically after the tragic incident of 9/11. Looking at tragic events, recently an intelligent and eager 14 year old with high ambition produced his own homemade clock to take into school to present to his teacher who immediately felt threatened by his actions and called the police on him. Quick background check… the young boy was named Ahmed Mohamed, he was a dark skinned boy, Sudanese (Arab) and most importantly, Muslim. The teacher did not bother to communicate with the boy before having him arrested and quickly rushed to the assumption that he was a “threat” to the school.

When looking at the portrayal of Islam in Western media, there are so many misconceptions on their behavior and their Islamic actions. After the slaughtering and beheading in Saudi, there have been a lot of talk about the stance of whether Islam is actually a religion of peace or rather a religion that promotes violence. When talking about the stoning of woman only 14 out of 50 major Muslim countries still follow this old fashioned action but that doesn't mean it is supported. The majority of Muslims are against these actions even within these 14 countries and have started organisations and protests to stop these inhumane actions. Not all Muslims promote such actions!

When looking at abortion and homosexuality, many people manage to make it seem as though Muslim takes an evil uptake to these issues when in fact the majority of anti-homosexual protests occur by Christians and the western culture because like the majority of religions in the world, Islam is not the only one that disagrees with homosexuality and abortion! Also looking at a topic that was of great talk was genital mutilation, again, western media portrayed it as a Muslim ritual when in fact it has nothing to do with Islam, it is a cultural problem that does not reflect on the entire population of Islam or any part of it.

When referring to ISIS or other attacks thought to have occurred by Muslims, the Western media has the tendency to generalize a religion of 1.57 BILLION PEOPLE as terrorists or rather correlate Islam to a religion of violence and threat yet when a white man shoots children in a school or people in a cinema or three Muslims at a parking lot, this clearly doesn't reflect the Christian or the white culture but rather is seen as a "psychological illness"
As well as that, a report released by the FBI showed that out of all the terrorists attacks that have occurred in America, 6% only were perpetrated by Islamic Extremists and hence over 90% of terrorist attacks were actually carried out by non-Muslims ....Talk about threat.

LADY LAZARUS IOC

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw3nhRM-4pXxcFk4ZVpfeUQwMlk

This is Water- David Foster Wallace

In his essay 'This is Water' David Foster Wallace suggests that true freedom acquired through education is the ability to be adjusted, conscious, and sympathetic. He continues to progress this thesis by stating that "Learning how to think" is actually a way in which we control how we think and what we think. He implies that being conscious and having awareness helps us as humans make sense and meaning of different situations and pay attention from experiences. For instance in the video we see people irritated at the woman who's taking too long at the cashier yet no one there knows what she's been through or what’s causing her all these troubles. He asserts the concept that we as humans focus on ourselves as individuals and view the world to be revolving around us and hence don't see or pay attention to what’s happening front of us. He discusses out default- setting and how in every experience we've had we've been the center of it and thereby fail to understand other people's experiences and their emotion and thought process. We go along thinking that our immediate needs and feelings are the most import thing and should be addressed as a priority.  To be able not to do so we must acquire knowledge and intellect in order to start understand and seeing different perspectives. 

David Foster Wallace also goes on to discuss how freedom involves different matters such as attention, awareness, discipline, effort and truly caring about others. this is real freedom and once we have acquired such freedom then we are able to understand the world we live in and understand the way others work and be conscious of others.

Once we have a clearer understanding of real freedom and we truly relate to the proper kind of freedom then we start develop real emotional intelligence in a sense that we have more awareness and are more conscious to other people’s problems and situations. We start to grow empathy for people other than ourselves which contributes to our mental advancements. We need to be able to shut off our default setting and see beyond ourselves. Literature like many other works as a way in which we can place ourselves in other peoples shoes and see what they experience and feel empathy for the life and situations. Literature has the capability to teach us emotional understanding and intelligence through the deeper sense of empathy that it allows us to experience. It explores different themes which help us have a better understanding of the societal norms we live and appreciate the struggles of other people around us. Like David Wallace states, we need to adjust our minds in a from in which we are able to approach different matters with a different mindset which further also further establishes the work of literature and its aims.

IOC COMMENTARY #2

THE MOONS OF JUPITER IOC

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw3nhRM-4pXxbjd1WGMtRHZwNTA

Alice Munro- Boys and Girls IOC Commentary

IOC Commentary

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw3nhRM-4pXxUW5OdkxRMl9Bc28/view

LITERATURE

Literature serves a lot of benefits and purposes that can teach a variety of things to people. Through literature we are able to place our mindset into that of someone else’s and sympathizes with other peoples situations. It helps people develop skills that are applicable outside the class such as logical thinking and skills of arguing. It is an education within itself that provides perspectives and emotional insights to topics or themes one wouldn’t usually relate or think they would relate to. It serves to educate and widen our knowledge on real life experiences and enhance ideas to the readers.

Women’s literature is a very interesting genre to focus on. It is based on the experiences of women and their historical role or accomplishments and their struggles shaped by their gender. It’s a form of literature that truly uncovers many realties and exemplifies situations that many people wouldn’t imagine. Not only is it beneficial in enhancing history and showing a womanly perspective but it also engages with the readers, not only feminine readers, and can sometimes relate to certain people because it outlines struggles and accomplishments
Munro’s work in relation to the themes and values of social realism during the 1950s-1980s due to the empowerment and struggle of women and how hard they fought for equal rights for everything.
Although Alice Munro doesn’t consider herself a feminist yet does agree that she is one as far as thinking that the experience of women is important hence she bases most of her short stories around the lives and experiences of women.  In her short stories she identifies the barriers to women’s independence and individuality therefore she centers her stories on women’s liberation. Munro is able to build a connection with girls and women when she narrates her real life situational stories, many of her stories involve a woman reflecting on her point of view relating to a certain aspect and questioning the basic assumptions they live under. She gives girls and women a voice in literature.

Munro’s work is a delight to read and is mind hooking. She is able to place different female characters in so many different scenarios that each gives a person a new perspective and a new pair of shoes to look at different situations through. She knows the ways in which to engage with her readers and set an example for many people. Even though her work is considered women’s literature it goes and relates with both women and men. She focuses on social and personal divisions and how to overcome certain situations. She gives a voice to women with wonderful stories and I really enjoyed and continue to enjoy reading her stories. 

SONG ANALYSIS

All Falls Down

Oh when it all, it all falls down
I'm telling you ohh, it all falls down

Man I promise, she's so self conscious
She has no idea what she's doing in college
That major that she majored in don't make no money
But she won't drop out, her parents will look at her funny
Now, tell me that ain't insecurrre
The concept of school seems so securrre
Sophmore three yearrrs aint picked a careerrr
She like fuck it, I'll just stay down herre and do hair
Cause that's enough money to buy her a few pairs of new Airs
Cause her baby daddy don't really care
She's so precious with the peer pressure
Couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexus (a Lexus)
She had hair so long that it looked like weave
Then she cut it all off now she look like Eve
And she be dealing with some issues that you can't believe
Single black female addicted to retail and well

Man I promise, I'm so self conscious
That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches
Rollies and Pasha's done drove me crazy
I can't even pronounce nothing, pass that versace!
Then I spent 400 bucks on this
Just to be like nigga you ain't up on this!
And I can't even go to the grocery store
Without some ones thats clean and a shirt with a team
It seems we living the american dream
But the people highest up got the lowest self esteem
The prettiest people do the ugliest things
For the road to riches and diamond rings
We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us
We trying to buy back our 40 acres
And for that paper, look how low we a'stoop
Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coop/coupe

I say fuck the police, thats how I treat em
We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom

We'll buy a lot of clothes when we don't really need em
Things we buy to cover up what's inside
Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth
That's why shortys hollering "where the ballas' at?"
Drug dealer buy Jordans, crackhead buy crack
And a white man get paid off of all of that
But I ain't even gon act holier than thou
Cause fuck it, I went to Jacob with 25 thou
Before I had a house and I'd do it again
Cause I wanna be on 106 and Park pushing a Benz
I wanna act ballerific like it's all terrific
I got a couple past due bills, I won't get specific
I got a problem with spending before I get it
We all self conscious I'm just the first to admit it

Commentary

‘All Falls Down’ is a song by Kanye West. The song exemplifies the self-consciousness and insecurities within society, specifically the black community, the one he grew up in. He focuses on the insecurities that we carry as human beings, whether it be due to racial or personal issues that people would usually try to cover about themselves. In his song he says: “We all self-conscious, I’m just the first to admit” he is trying to say that people don’t like admitting their insecurities.

“We shine because they hate us, floss cause they degrade us
We trying to buy back our 40 acres
And for that paper, look how low we a'stoop
Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coop/coupe”
Kanye discuss the theme of materialism in order to display the status, which allows people that suffer from discrimination to somehow rise to the level that people who are wealthy are on.

 Looking at ethos, Kanye’s lyrics root from his own personal experience. Unlike him a white person wouldn’t be able to identify with not having any freedom therefore the line, “We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom..."

As for an appeal to pathos, "It seems we living the American dream, But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem, The prettiest people do the ugliest things, For the road to riches and diamond rings", meaning that despite the outer appearances we base status off looks, not having an idea what people went through to afford and reach these things.

In the first stanza, kanye orally illustrates the struggle of a woman who is self-conscious with her life and career paths and wants to drop out of college. This similarly resembles his own life as he is a college dropout hence the name of his album is College Dropout. Towards the end of the stanza he raps: “She had hair so long that it looked like weave. Then she cut it all off now she look like Eve. And she be dealing with some issues that you can't believe. Single black female addicted to retail and well” he describes the woman using a simile as having long hair which is associated with beauty but it grew so long it was viewed as fake (weave) so she cut it all off, making her look Eve who was a female rapper knowing for representing short her on black women to grow their confidence even though at that time that hairstyle would be against the norm perception of beauty in society.

Through the lyrics of Kayne one sees how he argues and tries to prove that people in the African American society (lower class) have to compensate for the necessities they don’t have in life. They want to experience the “American Dream” life due to the fact that they’ve lost acceptance, love, money or other goods. Kayne’s technique of presenting his song is creative and appealing to the audience. He demonstrates different situations in life through dialog and characters to engage with the audience and shows different perspectives.   

SUMMER BLOGPOST 2

AUGUST 12TH


I have now reached by 5^th destination which to be honest has shocked me a lot. I’m now in North Carolina, a state in southeastern America. It was a very beautiful state there was no doubt; I had gone to the Blue Ridge Mountains and seen waterfalls and beautiful sights. It has about 17 major rivers which I was grateful to see many of. About two years ago, a tragic event had happen there. A 24 year old black man, whose car had broken down, went to seek help and knocked on a woman’s house who was surprised that he would knock in the middle of the night and therefore feared a home invasion forcing her to dial 911. Three officers had come immediately and as the young man approached the officers for help one officer fired 12 shots, 10 of them actually hit the man and killing him. The officer was charged for murder but the trial had reopened this summer when I was there and had caused massive campaigning which I got to see. 

As I continued travelling around North Carolina I had noticed many southerners hanging a certain flag on their properties like houses and cars. It was a red flag with two blue crosses that have white stars on them (Confederate flag). In short they basically represented people who were against the act of freeing slaves. The people who had them would have written: “Be white be proud!” on their cars. They were proud of their racist mentality but called it “Pride in our Southern heritage.” One day as we drove around, we got lost and decided to stop and ask for directions and had driven up a pathway that looked like a normal small public road way until we heard shouting coming and saw a guy holding a shotgun shouting: “ Get off my f***ing property you f***ing niggers” as he got closer to the car he saw my mum, aunt and little nephew who were the only light skin people and calmed down for a second before he give us another warning to leave immediately. As lost as we were he needed to stop for gas and thought that might be the only safe place to stop for gas as we were now heading towards south Virginia. When we stopped at the gas station some of us went to the toilet, some to get food or drink but all eyes were on us, their gaze followed our every move. We were then approached by three white men who asked us what we were doing and we replied “Getting gas”  to which they replied “ We are hunting” then flashed their guns that were placed in their pockets, looked us up and down and continued: “Hunting for dogs.” This had been by far my WORST EXPERIENCE ever. 

SUMMER BLOG 1

August 2nd

This holiday we had decided to travel to the United States of America. Although I’ve been there before the last time I visited was 8 years ago. This time I went road tripping around the states. When I used to think of the states I thought mainly of food, American football, politics, food, drinking, and food. Yet when I went around different states I realized how they were both culturally and socially so different from each other. They all had their different arts and culture, different ways of communicating with people and never had I imagined America had been so green.it was by far the greenest place I had visited. The nature there was amazing and hadn’t been altered. So my second destination in this trip was Omaha, Nebraska, a state located in the Midwestern States. It consisted mainly of suburbs and mainly Caucasian people who would always do a double look at me whenever I went anywhere as if they hadn’t seen a colored person before which I slowly realized they probably didn’t seeing as their city consisted 99.5% of Caucasian people but they were still nice. Nevertheless Omaha was very beautiful nature wise, it had greens everywhere, hills you wouldn’t imagine, it was beautiful, the land there was hill like so it went up and down a lot so you would have houses in all shapes and sizes standing either really high or low. It was really interesting, unlike Germany and England where they would alter the land and make it flat to keep everything at one level, America actually cared about its nature and didn’t alter anything making it more beautiful. My third destination was the one and only New York, the city that never sleeps. I stayed in a penthouse right in the middle of Times Square where I could se everything. New York was hyper 24/7, lights on all the time and very energetic. The people were so mixed; you could probably find someone from each race, it was very multicultural and busy. It didn’t have to much green land but the skyscrapers and downtown were amazing, so different from where I had been before. This is where I am now and will continue around America and see how different they are,

How to Write about Black People

Woah! Hold up..! You want to talk about the black race? Let me give you a little insight of how that’s going to work.
First off don’t forget to include words such as “thugs” “ghetto” and “shady” because of course which black person isn't one of those.  Throw in words like “kool- aid, watermelon and chicken” somewhere in your text to further enhance the black culture.

To start with, you have to generalize the whole population of black people and assume that they’re all the same primitive creatures who need the help of the upper class white people to succeed in life plus they all look the same anyway right? They’re far back in society and need a push forward because you know, they’re lazy.

With high rates of crime who else is there to blame? That’s right; it has got to be the blacks from the ghetto robbing a bank but only managing to steal $1000 because as I probably forgot to mention, they are neither the brightest nor well educated. They’re also the reason there is drug issues is getting so bad because what else do they spend their money on?

Don’t forget to include the seriousness of gangs and stabbing and crimes happening because we all know when a white person commits a crime they’re obviously suffering from a severe psychological illness because how else would you explain a gunman who shoots 70 people at a batman premiere or when a man shoots 20 children in an elementary…BUT of course this isn't ever the same for black people, they don’t suffer from anything, they’re just vicious in nature and always to blame for their animal like behavior. 

Don’t forget that you’ll need a whole good chapter or so just talking about black women. They’re loud, ignorant and their love for weaves isn't comprehensible. All they do is go on a hunt for a baby daddy because you know; black people abuse welfare systems and need to find someone who can afford for their many kids.

Make sure you establish the fact that they won’t make it far and that half of the black population will rappers because they obviously look up to Jay z and Kanye.  Also add how all they eat is fried chicken which is why they’re lacking so many nutrients and need helping.

Be sure to emphasize on these true struggling issues the black community suffers from and you want to inform the world of these because you care. Also make sure that you constantly repeat how little they know and how they aren't able to help themselves.

DO NOT under any circumstances mention the N-word, you wouldn't want to be offensive after going on so well and cross the line. End it with your deep passion and desire to truly make a change and help these broken homes and communities and how better to end a text like that then with a famous Martin Luther King Jr quote or speech because let’s face it you probably had a dream about that change you’re going to make.

Paper #2 Question

1.       Show how and to what effect Achebe makes use of myth, legend or other stories and tales.

Achebe uses several of different stories whether be myth, legend or tales to make sense of different situations and be able to engage the readers into developing more knowledge on the traditional ways of the Igbo people. The Igbo communities rely on such ways which are presented orally to continue being passed down generations and because things were not written in those times it was made sure they were continuously practiced and passed on. Proverbs were a main way of expressing different situations such as:” "Proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.” Palm-oil is a very important item in Umuofian society, and is used to cook and is also used as a fuel source. Eating the words simply is a poetic way of saying to take them in, or to gain knowledge. It means that proverbs are an essentially words of wisdom. Unoka, Okonkwos dad was quite known for using words and playing with them to get what he wanted and use of proverbs. Once when Okoye approached Unoka to ask him to repay him, Unoka said: “Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under the.”  Implying that he will pay his biggest debts first and then moving on to the smaller ones. He was known for using words to his advantage and therefore convinces people to pay him more money even after him not repaying them.

Achebe also manages to use these devices to interest and inform the audience of the ways the Igbo people makes decisions such as when Ikemefuna was walking with the men on the day of his killing, he sang a song and if he ended the song on his right foot it would mean that his mom is alive and well and if he ended the song on his left foot it would mean that his mum is either dead or suffering from an illness. This shows us how the Igbo people demonstrate these rituals to determine things in different situations. Achebe uses this as a way to engage with the readers and inform them about the traditions that happen which further enhances the realism of the culture and makes it more believable and further contributes to the theme of the plot of the novel.

In the 11^th Chapter, Ezinma is talking to her mom when a story is told about a greedy, cunning tortoise. All of the birds have been invited to a feast in the sky and Tortoise persuades the birds to lend him feathers to make wings so that he can attend the feast as well. As they travel to the feast, Tortoise also persuades them to take new names for the feast according to custom. He tells the birds that his name will be “All of you.” When they arrive, Tortoise asks his hosts for whom the feast is prepared. They reply, “For all of you.” Tortoise proceeds to eat and drink the best parts of the food and wine. The birds, angry and disgruntled at receiving only scraps, take back the feathers that they had given to Tortoise so that he is unable to fly home. Tortoise persuades Parrot to deliver a message to his wife: he wants her to cover their compound with their soft things so that he may jump from the sky without danger. Maliciously, Parrot tells Tortoise’s wife to bring out all of the hard things. When Tortoise jumps, his shell breaks into pieces on impact. A medicine man puts it together again, which is why Tortoise’s shell is not smooth.

From this story we see that the oral tradition of storytelling in Igbo culture is a means for teaching history and customs, for passing on legends and beliefs, and for explaining the natural as well as the supernatural worlds. The tradition is particularly well-illustrated in the long story about Tortoise and his shell. The story explains why a tortoise shell is not smooth, but it also reveals the proverb, "a man who makes trouble for others is also making it for himself" — another indication that Okonkwo is bringing misfortune upon himself.

Another way of looking at this story would be seen as linguistic imperialism as the tortoise forced them to call them a specific name and then as a form of oppression the birds had used their communication to talk to the tortoise’s wife 

MEMOIR

Umuofia. My clan, my tribe, my home. So much changed has happen right under our noses yet we were too blind to notice that we soon were no longer the rulers of our own land. The white people were very sneaky when they came along with their strange and abnormal beliefs and customs.  When my good friend and also one of the greatest men in Umuofia, Oknokwo was exiled, I knew that things were slowly starting to change, the seven years that he missed was the introduction of the arrivals of the colonists. They has slowly taken our people into their side and manipulated their minds into believing that Christianity was the right way and that our well-shaped and vigorous culture and superstitions were erroneous and disapproved by them. The settlers had even gone as far as killing of the village of Abame and attempted to convert the rest and imposing their power upon all the different lands.

The white people have done many things in which they had disrespected us and our traditions and way of life.  The first reverend sent to our land was Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown was actually respected by the clan because he trod softly on our faith and had even made friends with some of the great men of the clan and would frequently visit us in the villages. But with the coming of the new reverend, Mr. Smith, things were bound to change. Mr. Smith thought about nothing but numbers. Yet before that let me talk about Enoch. Enoch was one of the white missionaries who was the son of the priest of the snake. Enoch had murdered an egwugwu by unmasking him during the annual ceremony to honor the earth deity which caused a horrible conflict between us. This led us to burn down Enoch’s compound and then burning down the church. This act led 6 of us to the court and then unknowingly being imprisoned by the white missionaries (who had also beat us with sticks) who only accepted to release us if our village would pay a fine of two hundred and fifty bags of cowries. From this point on we knew that they were the enemies. It wasn’t a joke anymore; the white men had more power than we had anticipated, they were a smart bunch and we had foolishly accepted their stay. They had taken many of our people and our culture society was starting to break down and the falcon could no longer hear the falconer and that’s when I knew things changed. Things had fallen apart. 

PAPER 2

3- Discuss the significance of social status in Things Fall Apart, and comment on its contribution to characterization.

Social status plays a remarkable role in Things Fall Apart. In the Igbo culture it is seen how they determine how much a man should be respected depending on their successes. These successes rely on various things such as how big a man’s barn is and how many crops he is able to produce, how many wives he has and children. A wealthy man in Okonkwo’s village, Nwakibie was known for having three huge barns, nine wives and thirty children. He was known for having taken the highest a man could get in Umuofia. So titles are gained by men through their successes in their life. Okonkwo’s dad, Unoka, had never earned any titles in his lifetime, he was the laughingstock of Umoufia and no one had any respect for him because he was considered a man of lower social status. Looking at the protagonists, Okonkwo has known to for winning the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams and had married three wives. He had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars and such a thing was revered in the Igbo society. A proverb used in Umofia is: “If a child washed his hands he could eat with kings” and Okonkwo had this privilege. This helped develop Okonkwo’s character in regards for him aiming higher and trying to become even more and better than he is but therefore this lead to him having a bigger ego and develop a harsher more violent and brutal persona and later led to his downfall as he was eagerly trying to oppose his father’s ways as he was considered of a low social status.

Another notable character who shows social status is Ezeudu; he was the oldest man in the village who had been a great and fearless warrior in his time, who had earned titles and was now accorded great respect in all the clan. When he died, due to him being of such high social status and great power he was to be buried after dark with only a glowing brand to light the sacred ceremony. It is seen how a man with titles was placed significantly higher in the social structure of Umuofia. This can be compared to Unoka and his time of death which was his fated doom. He suffered from swelling which made the Earth Goddess angry and therefore he wasn’t allowed to die in the house and had to be carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die and wasn’t given any type of burial.

Another perspective of social status is one between men and women. It is seen in the book that women don’t hold up power but instead are used as a statement for men’s statuses. Crime and accidents that happen are categorized into female and male crimes. If a man commits a severe and planed crime then it is considered a male crime whereas when a man commits a crime that isn’t severe and was accidental such as Okonkwo had committed during Ezeudu’s funeral where he accidentally killed Ezeudu’s 16 year old son, is considered a female crime which again displays the inferiority women hold against men in the Igbo society and what some role they play in having a social status.  

In conclusion, social status is defined by a man’s wealth which is defined through his success of things such as barns, wives and especially titles which leads a man to be respected by his fellow clansmen and village. They’re given their deserved respect by their achievements. The more achievements and wealth a man has the higher his social status is in his society therefore gaining him more respect. Therefore we see the significance social status plays in Things Fall Apart and how the interact with characters.

OKONKWO'S CHARACTER

A tragic hero is one that is defined as a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to their own destruction. Common characteristic traits defined by Aristotle usually consist of a flaw or error of judgment (hamartia), a reversal of fortune brought through due to the hero error of judgment (peripeteia), the discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero’s own actions (anagnorisis), excessive pride (hubris) and lastly the character’s fate must be greater than deserved. It can be seen that Okonkwo- the protagonist- follows many of these traits.

Yet from this essay a hero is defined as person not made in isolation but they’re rather a product of the social matrix with in which they operate. The person's determination to pursue his individual interest concomitantly with that of the society is a constant source of dynamic tensions because his obligations to his society can become an impediment to his individual quest for fame and reputation. This is very relatable to Okonkow which makes us question why Achebe would choose a tragic hero as the protagonist. Using Okonkwo as a tragic hero is a brilliant way to portray not only Okonkows downfall but rather the downfall of the whole society. One of the most important proverbs in the novel is: ““As the elders said, if one finger brought oil it soiled the others” which means that the downfall of one person could be the downfall for everyone else which in this case was the protagonist as well as the tragic hero. By making Okonkwo a tragic hero, Achebe tries to illustrate a message that the Westerners are causing them much trouble and even though it is very frowned upon to take your own life in the Igbo culture- they would still rather that than having to follow the British as Obierika says: “That man (Okonkwo) was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself and now he will be buried like a dog…” therefore using Okonkwo as a tragic hero truly emphasizes on the true struggle of the Igbo society as a whole and not just Okonkwo alone.

One of the themes that take place throughout the novel is the struggle of change, tradition and culture which in the Igbo society holds great value. Using Okonkwo we see this theme develop due to the fact that he resists the new cultural, religious and political change within Umuofia because he doesn’t consider them manly which leads to develop him as a character and the theme itself. Okonkwo also resists such things because of his strong fear to lose societal status. His wisdom on self-worth is dependent on the traditional standard which by his society judges him.
Another theme that Achebe promotes through Okonkwo is destiny/fate. Due to Okonkwo’s hard and inflexible ways, he seemed destined for self-destruction. Throughout the novel is it seen through the character development how certain tragical events were building up against Okonkwo. Again by using the protagonist as the tragic hero we see how the novel falls on them and implies the same for the Igbo society.  

CHINUA ACHEBE- IN CLASS SHARED INQUIRY DISCUSSION

The most meaningful takeaway from last lesson's discussion relating to the cultural or literary context of Achebe's work was how in my group we had different ideas and suggestions to what we thought Achebe meant during his interview. an interesting topic we had discussed in our group was how social media and how it portrays the African society and at one point in the interview Achebe says: "If you see a good house in Lagos, Nigeria, it doesn't quite fit the picture you have in your head, because you're looking for the slum-- that is what the world expects journalists covering a city in Africa to come back with" 

Looking at the cultural context of Achebe's worked, we discussed how we view culture and how it is a natural way of life and how in Achebe's place, culture plays a very big role and how a lot of it was lot of it was lost an we discussed what culture means to us as individuals and how in many cases even if not colonized, culture can't always be contained and kept and there's always be a part that will be lost yet in Achebe's case it was a much bigger loss. 

PAPER ONE- POLITICAL SPEECH

WINSTON CHURCHILL- IRON CURTAIN (THE SINEWS OF PEACE)

The text I will be analyzing is a speech by Winston Churchill named Iron Curtain. Churchill had been defeated for the re-elections as prime minister in 1945 yet presented his speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri on March 5, 1946. Through the constant use of pronoun and close relation with the audience we can identify that it is a speech.

The speech was presented in England dedicated to the people of England and present during that speech was American president Harry Truman which worked for Churchill’s advantage as he was praising the American to pursue his aim. Churchill’s primary purpose for this speech is to argue and persuade the people for a much closer and tighter relationship between the United States and Great Britain in working together to provide a more organized and well policing postwar world. Previous to this speech, U.S and U.K. were worried about their own post- war economies and situations and were very pleased with the role that the Soviet Union played in ending the Second World War yet it was after Churchill’s speech that changed the views towards the Communist speech which was his aim. In his speech, Churchill was also trying to warn against the policies of the Soviet Union.

Churchill’s speech revolved around post war troubles that were occurring within his country. This speech was held after world war two and at that time most of the eastern European countries stayed under Stalin’s grip:
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow. Athens alone -- Greece with its immortal glories -- is free to decide its future at an election under British, American and French observation. The Russian-dominated Polish Government has been encouraged to make enormous and wrongful inroads upon Germany, and mass expulsions of millions of Germans on a scale grievous and undreamed-of are now taking place. The Communist parties, which were very small in all these Eastern States of Europe, have been raised to pre-eminence and power far beyond their numbers and are seeking everywhere to obtain totalitarian control”
Churchill discusses how Stalin has full control of these countries and refuses to stand down from them. Unlike most people that were trying to get over the war, Churchill steps up and made clear that the Russians have taken away their land and keeping it to themselves which Is therefore creating a division between the communists and capitalists- east and west. He then named this division using the phrase “iron curtain” hence the name of the speech.

The tone of the speech is very serious and opinionated. The language, diction and vocab and tone are sincere, therefore used to motivate and inspire the people and persuade the Americans to work alongside the British. Through his aim and purpose one sees the affect it has on his tone. “What is needed is a settlement, and the longer this is delayed, the more difficult it will be and the greater our dangers will become.” He talks about the dangers that the country will face if they delay. Using words such as “delay” and “danger” further emphasize the seriousness of the situation which portrays a serious mode. As well as that in the audience it can be seen how the audience pays intensive attention to the speech.

At the fairly beginning of Churchill’s speech with promising and giving the people hope and repeats it:” It is my duty however, for I am sure you would wish me to state the facts as I see them to you, to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe.” By using this, he is able to engage with the audience quicker because they imply that his motives are pure and altruistic. Throughout his speech, Churchill communicates with the audience confidently along with setting them high goals by saying things such as: “We must, and I believe we shall, prove ourselves equal to this severe requirement.” The name itself of Churchill’s speech is a metaphors- “Iron Curtain” which he used in his speech to imply that it is what is separating the east from the west. The speech is also known as “The Sinews of Peace” sinew meaning a strong muscle, therefore indicating that only strength can lead to peace. “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.” This sentence shows his main metaphor of the Iron Curtain alongside a vivid emotional imagery that surfaces the images the division between the east and the west. A lot of imagery and metaphors are used throughout the speech such as “two giant marauders, war and tyranny” and “A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victory” all of the imagery used enhances the visual experience, it helps represents experiences or history through language. Throughout the speech, Churchill constantly uses pronouns to engage with the audience and the people of his country: “we should all be proved again unteachable” and “We British have also our twenty years…” and “but we should be most unwise not to face them squarely while time remains.” From time to time, Churchill plugs in rhetorical questions such as: “why cannot they work together at the common task as friends and partners? Why can they not share their tools and thus increase each other's working powers?” he uses these rhetorical questions as a way to persuade and subtly influence his audience. He uses it to emphasize his point and to get the audience the think about the points being made.

The speech is structure so that he starts talking about his motives and his selfless priorities to the country. He then sets high expectations, challenging his listeners with big goals and giving them hope through his confident way of communicating with the audience.

Practice IOC

PRACTICE IOC

https://soundcloud.com/ghadeersalih/ioc-practice

WOMAN WARRIOR

The most meaningful takeaway to me has been from Woman Warrior. The text is of a young Chinese girl who faces the challenge to speak English when starting school in America. The extract from the novel shows the clear relationship between the concept of language and power. In this reading, we come to see that language is power. As the young girl first joins the American school, she is shy and develops insecurity due to the language and culture barrier. To start off with culture plays quite a significant role, in the Chinese culture it is frowned upon for a female to speak boldly and assertively. Yet on the other hand in the American culture, they believe in the individuals’ rights and freedom of speech. This caused a clash for the young girl as she knew that in order for her to be accepted and have power she must alter some of her cultural ways leading to hybridity in a way where she balance both the American and Chinese culture in her future.

The girl continuously refers to the Americans as “ghosts” in a manner that they should be feared or not trusted. Yet she refers to the black student in her class as Black Ghosts, she admired them due to the fact that they laughed the loudest and talked to her as if she was as talkative as them. This sort of linguistic approach towards the Chinese girl made her feel less of an outsider and making her feel bad every time she didn't speak. Also the young girl refers to them as the Negro students/ black ghosts show that her intention is innocent and in no way trying to discriminate them.

When the girls would attend the Chinese school they wouldn't have the same problem of silence, they would be loud and yell all together yet when asked by the new teacher to speak aloud, her voice would waver and stutter like when they are in the American school. 

The young girl knows that language is the power which will create her personal identity and as she grows up she sees silence and the lack of speech and language represents weakness which led to her hatred for the “silent girl” and  fears that the girl's public image implies her own unpopularity. One day when the girls are alone, she decides to confront the silent girl and tries to make her talk, resulting her to use violence however the girl still refuses to speak. At the end the young Chinese girl ends up crying along with the silent girl, realizing that she is trying to deal with similar fears. Her inability to make the silent girl speak, forces her to come to terms with her own fears associated with language and personal identity and could have made her realize the fact that the girl wont retreat and speak, that she has power and isn’t letting culture and the language of a more dominant class and society get to her, though she would be viewed as being part of a subaltern society.

Linguistic Imperialism

Linguistic Imperialism in Education 

Linguistic imperialism is the concept that a dominant language is being passed through and transferred to other people. In this case, English is now the second most spoken language for first speakers and is the most widely spoken language in the world with up to at least 1.8 billion people speaking it and is the most widely taught foreign language. Therefore we can see how English takes an important dominant role in the world from things like pop culture, education to economic power which are all aspects of the dominant culture that are passed alongside the language.

This puts some communities who don’t speak English at all in a disadvantage and has an impact on them and thereby prohibits them from fully contributing to the rest of the world. This is where education comes in. A majority of people want to be able to get into a very high standard and adequate university in the world and be able to receive the optimum and ideal education yet nowadays to be accepted into such prestige higher education, you require the full and foremost fluency in the English language which is to proven through a test if English isn't a first language for people and the top of universities are found in English speaking countries and universities do reject students who don’t show the required English needed to enter the university. English is seen as the undisputed global language. Countries across the globe feel the need to empower their citizens through education by using the English language. Books and journals and all worldwide education tools are in English but that in fact is a self-accomplishing prognostication that helps continue develop the dominance of the English language.

English can be seen as a barrier, when it cuts off certain communities from fulfilling their dreams and pursuing their educational desires. Nowadays to take all these literary English exams to get into universities, students require paying fees; therefore again prohibiting poorer communities from being able to gain a higher education even if their levels are incredible. Naturally parents want to be able to send off their kids to get a good education and therefore a good job which again naturally requires higher education to be studied at western universities that require English exams.
When we live by this idea that English is a main requirement to get into those universities, we’re limiting our focus and cutting off potential geniuses or scientist, lawyers or doctors who could have had a major impact on the world because what they know in their own language is knowledge that the world could require in the future.

Although the idea of having English as such a dominant role playing language in the world seems like an ideal concept but what we don’t realize that it slowly causes less languages to exist and lets people mainly focus on their English which has a major impact on communities. This is evidence of linguistic imperialism in the Anglophone world but the impacts that go along with it are greater than people would know or expect them to be and can have an increasing impact in the world to come.