Paper 1- Fixed up

In this comparative commentary, ' Squatters Take On Developers' by Benjamin Shors and ' The Great White Fleet' advertisement will be compared and contrasted. Although one text is an informative article and the other one is a descriptive advertisement, they still obtain a common theme, corporate social injustice within the tourism industry. The article addresses the ongoing issues that are occurring on the Caribbean Islands, whilst at the same time, it is informing the developers, investors and the general public what is currently on going. Whereas the advertisement is informing the higher/middle class individuals about the cruise, convincing them of the quality, through the use of feasibility and passenger benefits.

The intended audience of text one and text two are both upper middle class, those who obtain enough money to take a vacation in Central America. Although similar audiences are targeted both the texts are set in different time era's. Text one is from 2007 whereas text two is from the 1920's, thus highlighting that both the mentality and intention will differ. Although both text one and text two target the same audience, they are aimed at for separate reasons. Text one ' Squatters Take On Developers' is aimed towards the investors who may be unaware of the aftermath of their actions, the article serves as a call to action in order for these superior fgures to wake up and fx their mistakes. For example the article states “the size of the new developments threaten to displace hundreds of low-income island residents”, hence displaying that this is one of the issues that must be addressed. In terms of Text two, ' The Great White Fleet' is aimed towards people going on vacation but only those who can afford to travel thus why the advertisement states “Only First Class Passengers Carried”. Due to the texts being set in dissimilar time era's it is unmanageable to obtain a perspective that is not coming from a postcolonial vs. colonial concentrated lens.

In regards to the theme and content text one and text two both share a theme of travel and tourism, yet they contrast in the content aspect. This regards to the fact that through the use of the theme text one tends to address the corporate social injustice that is commencing within the tourism industry in Panama, as opposed to text two that uses the theme to persuade upper middle class individuals to take a vacation on a cruise. As an illustration text one states “Developers and speculators will use any means necessary to get the land from the people” portraying the social injustice that is being rendered on the people, in turn text two as an example asserts “Delightful cruises of Eighteen and Twenty-two Days cost you no more than your annual vacation to seashore or mountains”. This ties in with the tone and mood of the two texts, once again text one and text two contradict one another through having different tones and moods set for their text type. Text one challenges a tone of concern and comes off quite moralistic, in opposition to text two which proves out to be challenging a casual and typical tone.

Text one and text two posses a striking style and structure, they oppose one another in the sense that each text has it's own different set of features that are used to beneft the text's purpose. Text one utilizes various propaganda techniques such as plain folk and glittering generalities to counterbalance and manipulate the minds of the audience. These techniques assist in grabbing the audiences attention whilst also appealing to their ethos at the same time, this is done so through the unfolded story of the Jimenez family. Text one also follows through with a different layout as this text is in the form of an article template. Text two on the other hand follows through with the use of a more visual template, it permits the audience the ability to imagine themselves aboard the ship hence establishing the connection with the higher social class.

In conclusion this comparative commentary, compared and contrasted the two texts ' Squatters Take On Developers' by Benjamin Shors and ' The Great White Fleet' advertisement. Although the text templates did differ ( text one was an informative article whilst text two was a descriptive advertisement), they still obtained a common theme, travel and tourism. The articles addressed the ongoing issues that were occurring on the Caribbean Islands, whilst at the same time, it informed the developers, investors and the general public what was currently going on. Whereas the advertisement informed the higher/middle class individuals about the cruise, convincing them of the quality, through the use of feasibility and passenger benefts. 

Paper 1 practice

In this comparative commentary, ' Squatters Take On Developers' by Benjamin Shors and ' The Great White Fleet' advertisement will be compared and contrasted. Although one text is an informative article and the other one is a descriptive advertisement, they still obtain a common theme, travel and tourism. The article addresses the ongoing issues that are occurring on the Caribbean Islands, whilst at the same time, it is informing the developers, investors and the general public what is currently on going. Whereas the advertisement is informing the higher/middle class individuals about the cruise, convincing them of the quality, through the use of feasibility and passenger benefits.

The intended audience of text one and text two are both upper middle class, those who obtain enough money to take a vacation in Central America. Although both text one and text two target the same audience, they are aimed at for separate reasons. Text one ' Squatters Take On Developers' is aimed towards the investors who may be unaware of the aftermath of their actions, the article serves as a call to action in order for these superior figures to wake up and fix their mistakes. For example the article states “the size of the new developments threaten to displace hundreds of low-income island residents”, hence displaying that this is one of the issues that must be addressed. In terms of Text two , ' The Great White Fleet' is aimed towards people going on vacation but only those who can afford travel thus why the advertisement states “Only First Class Passengers Carried”.

In regards to the theme and content text one and text two both share a theme of travel and tourism, yet they contrast in the content aspect. This regards to the fact that through the use of the theme text one tends to address the corporate social injustice that is commencing within the tourism industry in Panama, as opposed to text two that uses the theme to persuade upper middle class individuals to take a vacation on a cruise. As an illustration text one states “Developers and speculators will use any means necessary to get the land from the people” portraying the social injustice that is being rendered on the people, in turn text two as an example asserts “Delightful cruises of Eighteen and Twenty-two Days cost you no more than your annual vacation to seashore or mountains”. This ties in with the tone and mood of the two texts, once again text one and text two contradict one another through having different tones and moods set for their text type. Text one challenges a tone of concern and comes off quite moralistic, in opposition to text two which proves out to be challenging a casual and typical tone.

Text one and text two posses a striking style and structure, they oppose one another in the sense that each text has it's own different set of features that are used to benefit the text's purpose. Text one utilizes various propaganda techniques such as plain folk and glittering generalities to counterbalance and manipulate the minds of the audience. Text one also follows through with a different layout as this text is in the form of an article template. Text two on the other hand follows through with the use of a more visual template, assists in grabbing the audiences attention whilst also appealing to their ethos at the sam time.

In conclusion this comparative commentary, compared and contrasted the two texts ' Squatters Take On Developers' by Benjamin Shors and ' The Great White Fleet' advertisement. Although the text templates did differ ( text one was an informative article whilst text two was a descriptive advertisement), they still obtained a common theme, travel and tourism. The articles addressed the ongoing issues that were occurring on the Caribbean Islands, whilst at the same time, it informed the developers, investors and the general public what was currently going on. Whereas the advertisement informed the higher/middle class individuals about the cruise, convincing them of the quality, through the use of feasibility and passenger benefits.

Paper 1 introduction

In this comparative commentary, ' Squatters Take On Developers' by Benjamin Shors and ' The Great White Fleet' advertisement will be compared and contrasted. Although one text is a informative article and the other one is a descriptive advertisement, they still obtain a common theme, travel and tourism. The theme of both the texts is travel and tourism, however the content of both texts differ. The article addresses the ongoing issue's that are occurring on the Caribbean Islands, whilst at the same time it is informing the developers, investors and the general public what is currently on going in the Caribbean's. Whereas the advertisement is informing the higher/middle class people about cruise and convincing them of the quality of the cruise through the use of feasibility and benefits of the cruise.

Four corner reflection

The term propaganda refers to the concept of information, ideas or rumours reshaping an individual's ideology. This is done so through the use of exaggerated statements being displayed upon the general public, hence leading to the transformation of ideologies. The prompt that I have chosen to discuss is ' The term propaganda always refers to a negative message'.

I personally disagree with the statement ' The term propaganda always refers to a negative message', in my opinion in order for a concise decision to be made on whether or not a particular propaganda is negative or not all depends on the context. Throughout the years propaganda has continued to leave it's mark on people, meaning it has either influenced their opinions negatively or positively. When it comes to deciding about how we feel regarding a particular propaganda we must consider the reason as to why it exists in the first place. We must ask ourselves why was it created, who is it targeting and who created it, through answering these questions we will be able to have a better understanding as to why we are and have been presented with such information on a poster, commercial, etc..

When propaganda is viewed as having a “negative” message it could mean a couple of things. The first thing that could cause someone to think a particular propaganda is negative could be that they are the one's being targeted in this particular piece of propaganda, just like In the ' Why Fight For Russia ?' handout the Russian's were the ones who were being targeted by the British and were set out to look like a murderous, unreliable country. Now if the Russian's got their hands on this leaflet do you think they would view this as something positive? Of course not because their country as a whole has been set up to be looked at in a negative light. This ties in with the ' Control Room' documentary and the ' A Son's Death, a Mother's Agony, A Country's Shame' article, these two sources obtain opposing message's yet at the same time they relate to one another.

The ' Control Room' documentary revolved around the Iraqi war and here it was explained how the American Army and the Al Jazeera news station had been portraying one another in their news coverage. The opposing sides had both stated that they believed that they had been portrayed in negative lights this was due to the fact that they had both been coming from a subjective point of view as opposed to an objective one. They were both doing what they thought was best in order to inform the general public about what was occurring in their world, in this case both sides of the story needed to be projected.

In terms of the ' A Son's Death, a Mother's Agony, A Country's Shame' article it was about how a former American football player had traded in his football helmet for an army one. Pat Tillman was a  soldier in the United States Army, unfortunately Pat had been killed in action. Now it was not how he died that was covered rather how his death was covered up.  The truth was that Pat Tillman was shot by an American soldier not an Afghan soldier, that was the story that was presented to the public that Pat Tillman had been shot by the enemy. His mother was the one who got to the bottom of the case and in the end the truth was set free, the story of how Pat Tillman actually died was revealed to the world. Now this made the United States Army be frowned upon and viewed in a negative light, displaying the lengths that they would go to cover up an accident. 

Although both of the cases I presented had contradicted my statement it occurred due to the fact that these cases were set out to be presented as negative from the very beginning. When presenting any form of news one must always take into account the consequences of what might occur once information is released. The key here is to always speak the truth, no matter how frighting or shocking it may be the truth must always be set free.

Media Bias and Ideology Rewrite - President Won't Talk

' President Won't Talk' is the headline of the article I have chosen to discuss. The main issue at hand that is discussed within this article is about how the current Yemeni president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is denying to take part in the United nations negotiation discussions. Hence portraying Hadi in a negative light, I aim to present him in a positive light where I display the article through a more unbiased perspective.

Bias by headline:

'President needs more time to consider ongoing events in Yemen', through the use of this headline the public will be able to view the situation in a more understanding manner as opposed to straight away bashing the president for not fulfilling his presidential duties and obliging to the rules of being a president to a country.

Word choice and tone:

The article's word choice is not one that would portray Hadi has being an ideal leader for his country, rather it presents him in a negative light where he is frowned down upon by the world and most importantly his own people. Rather than using such poor words like “Won't talk, refuses, not participate, etc...” various other words could be used such as “Need's more time, accepts, meeting” could be used to get across a more positive message where the president is a man who is taking various factors into consideration prior to presenting his final decision.

Bias by source control:

In terms of this particular article certain information could have been withheld in order to ensure that Hadi was depicted in a negative light rather than a positive one. Regardless of whatever reasons majority of the time things are bias due to the fact that as humans we know what we like and what we do not like. In general everyone depicts things in their own manner, their perspective may not be something that everyone agrees with but that is how that  certain person has viewed a particular situation.

Bias by photos, captions and camera angles:

The following photograph was placed alongside the article. This photograph makes Hadi seem cold, arrogant, calculated and unlikeable. Due it being taken from a certain angle all of these negative traits are automatically associated towards him. For all we know Hadi could be warm hearted, thoughtful, kind and likeable.

Lady Lazarus IOC

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7PltnyJN18BMGpHQ3ZoNUJjZmM/view?usp=sharing

Moons Of Jupiter IOC

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7PltnyJN18Bcm9iTnF1bkt5QnM/view?usp=sharing

Boys and Girls IOC

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz9VERFQIZSgZ0hOSm1xUVpRQm8/view

This is Water

In his essay 'This is water' David Foster Wallace develops his thesis through further developing the

concept of the term ' freedom'. Wallace uses certain subjects such as education, empathy and the general concept of the adult life to drive home the meaning of freedom.

To spark our interest, Wallace uses the example of an elder fish (as an introduction ) briefly passing by two young innocent and inexperienced fish and asking them “how's the water?”. It is evident that the two youngsters have not yet ventured out into life as they question his question by raising another one “What the hell is water?”, this displays that they have not yet experienced all of 'waters' wonders. With regard to this essay the term 'water' symbolizes life. As we progress and grow throughout life, we are faced with or put into situations which forces us to stop and think “Why me?!”. It is through this essay that Wallace urges the

general public to come to terms with and be aware of the fact that nobody is perfect and that there is no such thing as a “perfect life”. We have to experience and get through the choppy waters to enable us to see the bigger picture. He further enforces this message through the subjects he mentions.

Education is not something that everyone has the privilege of experiencing. Education is a gift that opens up or minds to the possibilities of the future, through learning this, we are far more cautious in ensuring that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Wallace had came to understand that when teachers said they aimed to teach us “how to think” what they really meant was “learning how to think”. There is a fine line between being conscious and unconscious. When one is conscious, they will tend to look at a situation and try to find the silver lining within every cloud if you will. Whereas if someone is unconscious, they will tend to do the opposite and look at every single thing through a negative and ungrateful lens. When one begins thinking in an unconscious manner they tend to push everything aside, and believe that they are the centre of attention. The individuals will begin to think that their “needs and feelings are what should determine the world's priorities”. In terms of consciously thinking we get to decide how we want to perceive things, we are the ones who get to look at certain things and get to choose “what has meaning and what doesn't”. Ultimately anything we decide whether it is conscious or unconscious or even both, is all in our own hands. How we view the world as a whole, people, the environment and our lives is all in our hands! We make our own decisions regardless of being either negative or positive, we are free.

Empathy is a strong feeling, that enables us to experience what another person is feeling through their frame of reference. Wallace embeds empathy throughout his essay, he uses the example of being stood in a cashier line with various different types of people waiting to get there items checked out. You never know what other people are going through in their lives, so cutting them some slack as they get themselves sorted out at the checkout line could be very helpful. Everyone goes through “frustrating crap” in their lives and by thinking to yourself that “the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket's checkout line is just as bored and frustrated as I am, and that some of these people probably have much harder, more tedious or painful lives than I do, overall” makes it easier for not only you but for everyone else in the world to be able to empathize with those around us.

Being an adult is not easy, you are solely in charge of feeding yourself, cleaning up after yourself, paying your bills and taxes, oh and making sure your goldfish gets fed everyday rather than once a week. You consider running away now more than ever, you just want to stop “adulting” and go back to living with your parents, and have your mom make you her famous grilled cheese sandwich. Unfortunately there is no turning back when you join adulthood, personally Wallace's essay further expanded my knowledge and opened my eyes to exactly what it is like to be an adult. He explains in further detail what “an average adult day” consists of day in and day out, whilst not forgetting the hardships that adults must go through on a daily basis, it's certainly thought provoking.

Subsequently, Wallace's theory relates to our inquiry question, 'How can literature develop empathy and emotional intelligence?' as through his essay he was able to get across to the world what its like to live in another human beings shoes. Through the use of his extensive language and with the help of relatable situations and experiences as readers, learners and thinkers our knowledge is immensely broadened. We as human beings are able to take these situations and experiences and break them down so that we can be able to sympathize and empathize with others. 

Munro Literature Reflection

When I think about literature, I get quite excited. When I pick up a novel, poem or a short story I posses the ability to travel in time and not only explore the past, present and future but I also am exposed to the worlds issues and dilemmas that I would perhaps never considered. The best part about studying literature, is that we get to study it in depth. Upon the assistance of rhetorical devices, literary techniques and elements we are able to dissect a text and get down to core, alongside that we as literature students are able to go into the world with open eyes and have a better understanding of those around us. Through studying women’s literature we are able to understand exactly how they have been oppressed and how that slowly they have been released from Male dominance and the scrutiny of society. The themes and values of Munro’s social realism is significant during the 1950s-1980s because in her work, Munro presents how women struggle everyday to meet societies standards. During the 50s to 80s it was all about the empowerment of women and their equal rights and achievements. Although Munro does not identify herself as a feminist, her work has contributed to gender equality by expressing to society what women have gone through and continue to go through over the years, whilst also displaying how they muster up the courage and strength to fight for themselves and their rights. I find Alice Munro's work very refreshing, although various authors have spoken about the oppression of women Munro presents it in a form where her readers are able to both relate and engage with her work and truly begin to understand the struggle women have and continue to go through. Reading a few of Munro's works has really opened my eyes, I knew that women had been subjected to oppression and that they had been restricted from being their true selves and branching off and doing what they desire. Munro’s work has the ability to genuinely resonate with her readers as she writes about past and current events and experiences that we all have come across in some points of our lives. 

Music Anthology Role Play

You know when your sitting there listening to a really great song and once its over you think ' wow ,that hit a spot'? Well thats exactly how I felt about Lady Antebellum's 'Compass'.

This song delivers an empowering message to its listeners which is to just allow yourself to settle into what you do best, to believe in yourself and let things take there natural course. Overall, it creates an atmosphere of joy and encouragement, whilst at the same time sending out a positive message to those who need it. In life we come to face numerous obstacles that leave us both stressed and provoke conflict within ourselves. The lyrics assure the audience ( people who doubt themselves and their decisions, who feel like they have no one to lean on for support) that they must muster all of their power within themselves and believe that they should let their hearts be their compasses when they are lost and to “follow it wherever it may go”.

The songs message is enhanced with the assistance of rhetorical devices, one of them being didactic narration. The song lyrics come across in a didactic narration, it is presented in this fashion in order for the listeners to take away the message of the song, as explained above. Whilst also provoking a feeling of reassurance from them, to inform them that they will never be alone as stated in the song “Cause no matter what, you'll never be alone”. Metaphors are used twice throughout the song, the first one “So let your heart sweetheart be your compass when your lost” meaning that if you follow your compass then you will constantly be happy as you are doing what you are meant to be doing. It is directly followed by the lyrics “And you should follow it wherever it may go” indicating that by following wherever your heart leads you, even if things are going south you should slow down and “walk instead of run”. By walking instead of running you are more likely to ease into your current situation, as opposed to rushing around and chasing after things because some people try so hard and end up empty handed.

Lady Antebellum has formed their entire song into an extended metaphor, which is letting your heart guide you. The song lyrics are broken down into components that when read separately a certain message rises to the surface, but once all the puzzle pieces are put together the true and final meaning is exposed. In conclusion it is through these lyrics that Lady Antebellum chooses to display a message they want to share with the rest of the world, one that could potentially assist others to cope with their daily lives along with all the things and occur in them.

Music video link :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiG-4-V7Xd0

My summer vacation

Summer, every high school students favourite word, two months of doing nothing but relaxing at the pool, catching up with friends, traveling and of course sleeping! I mean who does not love sleeping all day? Especially us IB students, we like to catch up on our lack of sleep as we sacrificed a couple of ' Zzz's' to pull all nighters throughout the year (hypothetically speaking of course) .

Once summer is over and we all head back to school, I think we are all familiar with every teachers routine on the first day back and it goes a little something like this:

“Good morning class, welcome to a new school year. To kick start our first lesson together how about we go around the class and share what we did this summer”

This is the part where people rack their brains and try to quickly come up with something to say, the one that sounds the coolest and makes other peoples summer sound sombre! Despite the fact that everyone has done numerous activities over the summer they can not decide on which one to talk about.

In my case I already have my answer, this summer I travelled to a city in Turkey called Antalya. A small serene relaxed city when compared to the hustle and bustle of Istanbul. It was perfect for a relax and unwind vacation. I have been to Turkey twice already in the past 5 years but my wanderlust kicked in, it was a break from my everyday routine, it was a chance for me to branch out and go on a new adventure and explore a new city.

The resort that my family and I stayed at was nothing short of perfect, they accommodated to our every desire, and were nothing but hospitable. A bonus was that the resort was right next to the beach which I did not complain about because come on after all the beach is the ' best escape anyone can have!'. There is something about beaches that I just love, maybe its the smell of the sand and salt merging, or maybe its the fact that I am miles away from stress and overthinking. Quality time with my friends and family is the best thing about holidays for me, after all it is the little things in life that we should not take for granted!

The ' Rixos Premium' was always full of such positive energy and a constant stream of entertainment, from water sport competitions during the day to themed parties in the evening. It truly was a vacation to go down in the books, one of my favourite things we did was watching the stunning sunset as the array of warm undertones varying between pink and orange filled the sky I sat there in amazement. It truly was a spectacular show by mother nature, which is free by the way. Now you are probably reading this asking yourself what is wrong with this girl? She can watch the sunset back home, that is true but I can not watch the sunset from a oceanside view now can I?

How to write about women

Now we all know that when it comes to writing about women, its quite a simple task, because women are simple. I mean come on, they do not do much right? They are born with potholders in their hand, a recipe for penne arrabiata in their brains, the perfect cleaning method for getting juice stains removed from the rug, ensuring that the next batch of laundry is already loaded into the machine whilst the previous load is drying. They don't have ambition, nor should they, primarily they are baby makers and housekeepers.

An average day in a woman's life consists of the usual wearing frumpy dresses,twenty four – seven, cleaning, cooking, preparing her husbands favourite dinner for when he gets home, oh and not forgetting taking care of and carrying the babies in her womb. Women should generally be content with their chores and home life as everything is handed to them on a silver plate. After all these tasks have been drilled into her mind ever since she was a little girl, just think back to when she would sit in her room and play house. Women's only life goal is to meet the pleasures of both her husband and children, she was raised to be the perfect lady and ultimately housewife, after all the best women are stay at home moms. Women do not need anytime for themselves, they do not need a spa day or a day where their husbands take the kids out for the afternoon so that they can enjoy some peace and quite. You must be high on drugs if you think for one millisecond that women deserve that, its simply unacceptable I mean what do they do that enables them to think of such things? The tasks they do are quite simple and require minimal energy to be put into them, a monkey would be able to do it.

You must never forget to emphasize the fact that women are fragile beings as they aren't really educated, therefor don't understand the world like men, its better to entrust them with simple tasks. Women are one hundred percent incompetent when it comes to realizing what is happening around them, they also don't need to be consulted when it comes time to discuss important issues as their opinions are of no consequence. The ideal tasks for women consist of doing the laundry, making coffee and keeping the house clean and tidy. The superior males are of course the breadwinners they can handle anything that is thrown their way and make a success of their work and home life.

You may be sitting there writing this thinking, wait hold on maybe there is a one in a million possibility that women can actually be successful and for once be the breadwinners, No!! Never in a million years! Everyone knows that the day women begin being the breadwinners, will be the day pigs fly.

As long as you do not fail to mention the information above, and take them into consideration, you will be just fine, good luck!

' How to write about Emirati's'

When considering writing about Emirati's keep the following in mind...

When you first hear of the words the United Arab Emirates (UAE) what comes to mind? Wait, let me just stop you right there, money of course right? As everyone who is Emirati of course is either a member of one of the seven royal families, or is drowning up to their ears in millions of dirhams.

Whilst on the subject of money, make sure you emphasize on how in the majority of the their households they all employ an average of ten maids, five drivers, one nanny per child and a minimum of two gardeners. Oh and do NOT forget to mention their exotic pets, do not pretend like you do not know what I mean. Yes those jaguars and lions that they take for car rides in their Ferraris and Bentleys, after all you know the saying ' A cat is a mans best friend'. Having said that, never expect a local to park their own car, they need a valet for that.

Lets talk shopping, its no secret that all Emirati's live in mansions and of course have got everything and anything that is branded. You just name it they have got it all from Louis Vuitton handbags to rolex watches, just standing in one of their walk in closets will make you feel like your on the Champs-Élysées. Side note: They've got gold everywhere, I mean their toilet seat covers are probably gold for crying out loud.

On a final note, weddings, it's well known that Emiratis tend to go all out when it comes to weddings, I'm talking a wedding to cater for 10,000 guests. Well of course they would have to invite their extensive friends oversea, and no I am not referring to Beyoncé more along the lines of the Queen of England and Barack Obama.

Just an added tip, if you write your book in gold it would be more appealing to Emirati's.

How does Things Fall Apart conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose?

' Things Fall Apart ' by Chinua Achebe, diverts from the stereotypical expectation of a fiction genre based novel. Instead Achebe integrates the genre of 'realist fiction' throughout his novel, in doing so, it assists in the creation of a rich novel. Through the use of realist fiction, it allows the readers the capability to draw their own thoughts and conclusions about the novel, by doing so Achebe presents the lives of the Igbo society through the lens of realist fiction, he is able to highlight certain aspects of our contemporary lives such as social and political events. Alongside that, Achebe is capable of depicting both the worlds of the Igbo society, and the European colonizers.

Through Achebe presenting his novel in a non bias form, not only does it allow the readers to uphold a true perspective of both the Igbo society and the European colonizers but also it displays the truth. The truth of how they were colonized by the Europeans and had their core, which is their culture and traditions be stripped away from them. Hence, Achebe desired to portray the Igbo society in such a way. The novel contains bits and pieces of various traditions and values that are deeply held close by the Igbo society, like the singing of certain songs and telling folktales. These traditions are held similarly throughout contents, the only difference being that they all uphold various meanings. For example in the novel on page 44 when Ikemefuna makes his way towards his death he sings a song to himself, he believes that the song will assist him in controlling his fear and facing his current situation. Additionally throughout the novel the mention of gender inequality is present on various occasions. The Igbo people believe that the men should be the ones who obtain all the power, and with that power comes other factors in which the men are privileged to. Gender inequality is an issue that is still present today in the 21^st century and is treasured and valued by numerous countries. These two examples present the realities in which Achebe was capable of embedding throughout his novel in order to give his readers a better sense of the Igbo reality.

On another note, as Achebe displays the positives and negative aspects of the Igbo society, he further enhances the realism of his novel and achieved cultural authenticity. A positive that is effectively demonstrated would be the portrayal of the two contradicting cultures, as it allows the readers to compose thoughts on both parties and further their understanding of the given situation. The Igbo people are portrayed in a form where we view them as innocent civilians who had everything they ever knew ripped from them, and the colonizers are portrayed as close minded civilians who obtain cruel judgements about the Igbo society. This is made evident through another novel 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad as in his novel the Igbo are viewed as “savages”. A negative that is effectively demonstrated would be that lack of acquiring various characters perspectives. Although the reason as to why there is a lack of Igbo women's perspectives is due to the reason that in the Igbo culture the men are the more dominating gender and all the responsibilities and power is bestowed upon them. If the novel did obtain the women’s perspectives, it would have furthered the capability for women who feel undermined by the men in their society to be able to have that certain connection.

In conclusion, ' Things Fall Apart ' by Chinua Achebe, diverts from the stereotypical expectation of a fiction genre based novel. Through Achebe's representation of the Igbo society's culture, traditions and values we are able to make the clear distinction of what occurred during the colonization. Alongside that we are able to appreciate the Igbo society for what they suffered through and are able to commend them for people whose lives contained “dignity, significance and positive vale”.

Memoir

I will never get the horrific image out of my head, there he dangled looking so fragile and lifeless...

I always ask myself, what could I have done? Could I have been more supportive or understanding? What prevented him to commit such an abomination?

The day my dear companion Okonkwo took his life, was the day when it struck me that our society had truly fallen apart. You see, it all began when the missionaries stepped foot onto our home soil and eliminated our treasured and valued culture and traditions. At first I saw that there was no issue with the missionaries wanting to preach their religion, Christianity, (as everyone has a right to do so) but once the Christian's embedded their thoughts and ideas into our heads, the majority of us were converted in the blink of an eye. After having this eat away at me, I came to the conclusion that the missionaries came to Umofia with both determination and confidence in their eyes. Through the death of Okonkwo, it was evident to me that in a sense the missionaries had won. How was I so blind to this? They had shown up one day out of the blue and declared that we give up our culture and traditions and join theirs, they did not seem to understand that our culture was what made us who we are and that without it well... we would essentially be nothing. We fought and fought in order to preserve what was so near and dear to us, but unfortunately they won and took one of us with them.  

Paper 2- Analytical response

 To what extent has an awareness of context enriched or enhanced your understanding of Things Fall Apart

After further exploring and enhancing my knowledge about the context of the novel ' Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe, all the themes and plots were made evident to me through the assistance of the Igbo people's traditions and culture. Due to Achebe's novel responding to the colonization of his country, he created a format in which he shared what his society experienced and underwent during the colonization. By choosing specific topics to further develop not only the context but also the culture, it really assisted in understanding Achebe's true intentions of what he desired to get across to the readers.

Due to the novel being set in a time era ( 1850's) prior to it being written, it truly emphasizes on the state of mind people where in. Throughout the years societies perspectives and attitudes towards certain subjects such as sexism and gender equality has drastically varied overtime, hence altering the readers awareness of Chinua Achebe true intentions regarding the novels message.

Without the basic information of the Igbo societies culture and traditions, it leads readers to posses various forms of perspectives of the novel, hence causing either misinterpretation or undesired opinion in regards to the novel. An example of a form of perspective would be the feminist lens, it assists in providing a new perspective to the novel. Some people tend to call the novel sexist, as they contemplate that the woman are undervalued by the men in the Igbo society. The feminist lens reinforces in providing the readers with a somewhat better conception of not only the woman’s views but also allows the readers to view the characters in a different light, along with establishing an alertness of social gender construction. During the novel it is mentioned that Okonkwo abuses his wives, he does so in order to demonstrate that he is a powerful respected resident of Umuofia. Alongside that Okonkwo presents that side of himself to insure not only himself but also his community that he will never be like his deadbeat father, a man who was viewed by their people as a weak and undetermined ' agbala'.

Overall one thing that must be regarded is that through his novel, Chinua Achebe is trying to balance his living and upbringing with his religious beliefs. Through his literature Achebe is trying to display the Igbo society through the lens of the colonized, where as in other texts such as ' Heart of Darkness' the perspective is portrayed through a colonizers point of view.

In conclusion after further exploring and enhancing my knowledge about the context of the novel 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe, all the themes and plots were made evident to me. As the readers it is our duty to an extent to be aware of the context in which the novel is set in, in order for us to consider the true meaning behind a novel.

Paper 2 - Analytical response

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

Throughout the text ' Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe, the recurring theme of social status is mentioned on various levels. In terms of the context (Umuofia), social status is highly cherished by the Igbo people, and the only way that a member of the community, most likely a man, can truly be respected is through their factors of success. An Igbo man's achievements in life can earn him titles over time, these titles gain them respect in their villages and indicates that they are proficient residents of Umuofia.

Not only do titles gain the men respect but alongside that they are somewhat given privileges, due to them being placed in higher societal positions in Umuofia. When Ezeudu died, due to him possessing titles “(he) was to be buried after dark with only a glowing brand to light the sacred ceremony", whereas if a man like Unoka (Okonkwo's father) who was viewed as an 'agbala' by the community as a result of him being unable to achieve anything vital in his lifetime, you are given a un-respectful burying “He was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die [...] and was not given the first or second burial".

In terms of Okonkwo, although he had quite an unsuccessful father he managed to make something of his life, even though “a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father". Okonkwo did not desire to be compared to his father in terms of his actions and incompetence, and so that was his motivation to be a better man, “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on his solid personal achievement.” which led to Okonkwo gaining a reputation of physical excellence (wrestling) and courage. Okonkwo was successful in the department of respect, as he was a “wealthy farmer and has two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife. To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars...He was already one of the greatest men of his time." this all benefited in establishing his advancement of mutual respect amongst his clan.

As the text advances Okonkwo allows his possession in the Igbo society to cause his ego to grow, which leads him to think that he has the right to both physically and verbally abuse his wives and children. After accidentally shooting Ezeudu's son and getting exiled to his motherland 'Mbanta' , Okonkwo comes to terms and realizes that “ he had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in the clan. […] He had lost the years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan.” but still remained positive and decided that “he would return with flourish, and regain the seven wasted years.”

In conclusion Throughout the text ' Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe, the recurring theme of social status is mentioned on various levels. Social status has proven to further develop a character such as Okonkwo, as it led him to further motivate himself to not only be better than his father but to also aim to further his possession in the Igbo society. Alongside that it has made evident that the titles the men obtain grants them not only high respect from those above and below but also allows them certain privileges.

Okonkwo- Character analysis

Due to Okonkwo being a tragic hero in the text ' Things Fall Apart,' he is able to develop certain themes throughout the novel. The theme of ' Culture vs. tradition' is a recurring theme that is present throughout the novel as it develops over time. Although Okonkwo abides by his culture's values and traditions, they inevitably set him up for his downfall. This is depicted through Okonkwo's resistance to change, better known as his tragic flaw. By displaying his resentment towards the new political and religious orders, it further confirms just how fearful he is, in terms of showing himself as effeminate and weak. He wishes to be nothing like his sorry excuse for a father, who was better known as a agbala (woman) throughout their village. Okonkwo perceives the idea of manliness through the act of aggression, due to him feeling that anger is the only form of emotion in which he should display. Another theme in which Okonkwo develops in the text as a tragic hero, is the theme of ' Fate vs. free will'. From the beginning of the novel, it clearly states that Okonkwo advances from being the son of a lazy debtor into a profoundly respected and influential clan leader. Nonetheless, when things began to go south for Okonkwo, he began to blame his fate. Okonkwo worked immensely hard, In order to return from exile a stronger and more put together man. Unfortunately upon returning from exile, Okonkwo's opportunity to seize stature in the eyes of the villagers was lost due to the alternated Umuofia. Achebe chose a tragic hero for his protagonist, in his colonial counter narrative in order to manifest the impact of the colonisation of the Europeans. Through the representation of discussing what not only Okonkwo went through but also the people of Umuofia and the escalation of the events, it assists in displaying just how much it impacted Okonkwo (hence leading to his death). Okonkwo plays a vital role throughout ' Things Fall Apart' other than being the protagonist. Okonkwo is in a sense the key to understanding the entire novel. Through the portrayal of the Igbo life, what they believe in, and what they have to deal with and face on a daily basis, actually opens up everyones minds to their reality. Ultimately, Okonkwo symbolizes the positives and the negatives of his village, culture and values.

Igbo Background Assignment

Rationale

Chinua Achebe immerses his audience into the history and culture of the Igbo people. In order to fully appreciate the structure of their society within the text as well as analyze its significance to the context, content, and structure of the novel it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of their culture and history.

To complete this assessment you must read the two essays provided by Don Ohadike and J.P. Clark and complete one of the following prompts. Additional research is encouraged if necessary.

Prompt 1

Create a persuasive text of your choosing that persuades a Victorian audience to visit Igboland and experience their unique culture. You must include detail of their history, belief systems, social and political structure, as well as any other relevant details. Consider the following text types: brochure, speech, editorial, magazine article, memoir, or radio broadcast. Remember that your text must show critical engagement with essays provided as well as an awareness of the Victorian audience.

My fellow community,

Recently, light has been shed on the matter of our rigid social barriers, the majority of us have come to the realization that our social barriers have been depriving us from experiencing unique cultures. A specific culture that I have been hearing about which came up in our city council meetings is the Igboland, the more I heard, the more intrigued I became. The time is right for new experiences, to open our eyes and minds, we need to explore and travel.

Allow me to introduce you to the Igbo people, they are the second largest group of people who live in Southern Nigeria, they are both socially and culturally diverse, they break off into lineage groups, according to decent from father to son. Interestingly, their villages and towns consist of three groups – the Uno, the Umunna and the Obodo (a mini hierarchy) the Igbo communities strongly believe in mutual respect and diplomacy, this bodes well for them and they live peaceful, happy lives. The Women play a huge role throughout the society as they take on certain aspects of community life. A popular form in which a woman can make a decent amount of money would be selling her weaved baskets in markets, ladies, can you imagine spending afternoons learning a new skill with these women weaving baskets? Or men, perhaps you would enjoy learning and observing about the Igbo smelting and forging iron process.

Although we are very different from them, we clearly have different skin tones, accents, and beliefs, however, we still have the same ambitions and desires, goals that we all strive to achieve throughout our everyday lives. Something that I found very interesting was that everyone in these villages have equal rights, they do not have any rulers or kings they simply make decisions as an entire village. Equalitarianism ensures that no one person has too much control, now that sounds good, right?

The Igbo's strongly believe in cosmology as it is the basic foundation of how everything came to be and along with that it emphasizes on the perspective ethics and the action system, these two aspects assist the Igbo into being better people. The Igbo religion varies from ours slightly, the Igbo believe that there is this marvellous being (whom controls everything on earth and the spiritual world) named Chukwu whom they call their God. They call him that as he is the first force and existence of all beings, and so he possesses the power to bring the rains in order for the plants to grow. Each Igbo believes in and acquires a Chi, (which is similar to a guardian angel in our Christianity). Its the Igbo belief that someone with a good chi, will always remain a successful person, whereas if someone possesses a bad chi then sadly they will remain unfortunate. Now I know this may seem very different, and perhaps a little absurd to some of you, but I can't stress enough, you must be open minded to such things. I urge you all to give this unique culture a chance. Hopefully, many of you may consider flying out and experiencing a whole new world. Can you really pass up an opportunity like this?

Isn't it time we break free from our self imposed rigid barriers that have been depriving us the opportunity to explore the world? Surely we have the right to explore and live a little?

Further Oral Activity – Reflection #2

My further oral activity explored the topic of how language and social class are portrayed in literature. Whilst focusing on how literature portrays ones social class, by displaying how the power exerted influences their language. I presented and compared two texts set in contrasting time eras. The first text was S.E Hintons ' The Outsiders' and the second text was Charles Dickens ' Oliver Twist'. The specific learning outcome that I achieved was 'Demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning are shaped by culture and context', this was done by providing a little bit of background history on both the time eras. This helped further enhance my information as when I presented my information, people understood what I was trying to explain in my presentation and how it was all interlinked.

After I presented, I felt very relieved and proud of myself, I got all my points across and I felt that I did not rely on my script as much as I had the first time. I am aware that there was the occasional hic-up, however, I took a moment to recompose myself and continued. I would say that I did well in criteria A, B and D, however, I feel that for criteria C, my grade would improve from my last FOA. Admittedly, I am feeling a little agitated to finding out what I will receive in this criteria.

The reason I chose my specific texts was due to the fact that I was interested in my topic, and so I seized the opportunity to further enhance my learning. By choosing those two texts, they allowed me to highlight the difference in language in both texts, along with putting a spotlight on the transition of social classes in the two time periods. Having completed my further oral activity, I have learnt that this time although I was nervous before presenting, in the end it was a really positive experience. Receiving pleasing and positive feedback from my classmates was just the icing on the cake. In future, when I complete more of these oral assessments, I shall be more experienced and I will know exactly how they are conducted and what is expected of me.

IOC- Act 1 Scene 2 of the Tempest

https://soundcloud.com/dana-farah-1/final-tempest-recording

Most Meaningful Takeaway

The most meaningful takeaway from our group discussion was that in the text “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” there was one particular quote that allowed us to elaborate on our thoughts and ideas and really get to dig deep into the meaning. The quote is:

“Who is to say that robbing a people of it's language is less violent than war?”

The quote touches on the idea that you can not simply just rob someone of their language, it is seen as a much bigger crime. By stripping an individual of their mother tongue ,you are stripping away their identity aswell. That raises the question that if successful in stripping an individual of their language, what will they have left to turn to? This relates to the relationship between language and power as the possibility of individuals being robbed of their language, this would happen in a situation of linguistic imperialism.

The most meaningful takeaway from our group discussion was that in the text “The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts” the concept of how different the atmospheres were for the Chinese girls when they were either at the American or Chinese School. When they were at the American school, the girls rarely spoke unless asked to do so. They felt left out as English was not their mother tongue, hence allowing those whose mother tongue was to have the upper hand. However, when the girls were at Chinese School, they completely transformed into girls who were constantly speaking and participating as they were comfortable with the language and they in turn were the ones that possessed the upper hand. This relates to the relationship between language and power, as we are able to differentiate how different cultures (when put in specific environments )display their power through language, as they are able to adapt much faster.

Linguistic Imperialism

Over the years education has advanced in various forms, linguistic imperialism within education has not only impacted individuals but communities aswell. In the past, linguistic imperialism has been aided by education in the situation where it has helped get the message of linguistic imperialism across. Linguistic imperialism “involves the transfer of a dominant language to other people” - Robert Phillipson. As education develops over the years, so does the linguistic imperialism, there are various forms of courses in which it's linguistic imperialism will advance and change as it is an organic format that needs to grow. Everyone these days no matter where they are on the globe receives the same level of education as anyone else. They take all the same courses, the only difference being that their linguistic imperialism would depend on their global location. For example : if there was a child being educated in France and a child being educated in England and they are both in the same year, they would be receiving the same information except they would be learning it in their mother tongue. Although the concept of linguistic imperialism is not advanced in third world countries as they are in first world countries, it is still acknowledged. In an anglophone world the dominant language of course would be English, this creates a restraint for education as it places numerous countries at a disadvantage. The disadvantage being that not every country is aware of the English language, yet alone able to speak it implying that their education rights are being ripped away from them. Depriving people from the opportunity to receive an education is a horrendous act. That opportunity will allow them to be successful in their older years leading to them receiving good jobs and allowing them to be able to provide for their families. In conclusion although to some individuals and communities an anglophone world is idealistic, it can be improved upon in away that works for everyone. If this idealism is carried out then the extinct of various languages will be closer than we all thought.

Food crisis in Sahel

Oxfam is an international organization, based in Oxford in the United Kingdom, they work with various international communities to find ways to eradicate poverty and free those enslaved by it by enabling them to exercise their basic human rights. In December 2011, a blogpost was posted on the Oxfam website which discussed the food crisis in Sahel.

The blogpost targeted the people living across west and central Africa, informing them that the possibility of a food crisis may strike them in 2012. The post warns the people that if no action is commenced in order to prevent this disaster from occurring then history will repeat itself, yes the repetition of the 2005,2008 and 2010 crisis's will happen again. However, the possibility of more than 10 million people will be affected. It is discussed further that there still may be salvation for west and central Africa, simply by educating others that the mistakes of the past can be avoided by preparing for external shocks.

In general, the key idea of the post is to inform not only the residents of west and central Africa but also the public that the situation must be dealt with, this is done through the use of and the plans that Oxfam plan's to see through. By branching out and reaching the general public they are persuading the public to help promote and support their organization, alongside getting them to donate and invest to their charity. Oxfam's humanitarian aid is clarified in the text along with the goals they hope to reach.

The post creates a very unifying ambience, it does this by referring to both Oxfam and the reader as a team, which breaks away from a business relationship and makes it more of a personal one. Overall the general goal is to inform people of an upcoming natural disaster that could affect the lives of numerous people. This is done through the use of various statistics to make the situation more realistic, an example of this would be “Recent reports said over 5.4 million people (35% of population) in Niger...” By providing such statistics it aids the enhancement of the depressing and saddening reality of our world.

Throughout the entire blogpost the use of ethos, pathos and logos are used to enhance the message of Oxfam's blogpost. Pathos is displayed in the blogpost as the basic description of the entire situation is emotionally effective, due to the general fact that as humans we generally feel empathy and sympathy in these situations. This is done through the use of the photograph placed in the blogpost, it shows an African person riding a donkey in a barren environment, this helps the audience depict the situation and helps draw more attention towards what the people are suffering from and going through. Logos is used statistically throughout the post hence allowing the realization of the serious damage that this food crisis may cause, as numerous statistics are used. Due to Oxfam's reputation, and what they stand for they are seen and respected very highly by everyone, causing the ethos affect to occur.

In conclusion, due to Oxfam being an international organization, who work with various international communities to find ways to cease poverty and free those enslaved by it, they have created a blogpost which would cause people to take action and help those in need simply by using ethos, pathos and logos along with involving their targeted audience. By doing so this will cause the targeted audience to feel like they can make a change in not only our societies but our world aswell, all by stating unification.  

Native advertising

Native advertising is primarily a form in which advertisements are presented, however, its done in a way that allows the add, not to pop out, its camouflaged into the website in keeping with the content, format and style placed on the website. An advantage with native advertising is that readers and viewers do not feel persuaded to view the content, they have the free will to view the advertisement based on whether its something it as either useful or interesting for them, personal choice.

A native advertisement example that I found on the website Buzzfeed was the article ' 10 Historical Girl Problems We’re Glad We Don’t Have To Deal With'. The article targets an audience of women of all ages, due to the fact that it revolves around the concept of 'girl problems' that we do not have to deal with anymore, thankfully the issues they refer to are long gone! In general, it just a humorous light hearted read. The content presented in the article is ten images that contain informative titles that are followed by images that date back to the Victorian years which hold humorous captions. The titles are then broken down into two or three sentences which give a brief explanation about the title . The overall theme of the entire article is a layed back informative humorous article. The tone of the captions are incredibly sarcastic contrasted against such serious old fashioned images creates a huge contrast resulting in hilarity. The article is well structured following an organized picture caption pattern. In conclusion , the Buzzfeed article match's up to being a form of native advertising as it is consistent with the definition.