Stream of Consciousness TTATD

The way that Naguib Mahfouz has developed Said Mahran in the novel of “The Thief and the dogs.” Has gave us as readers an idea of how the author feels about the state of the country in general, using Said’s storyline and issues as a layout to a bigger issue that concerns the author himself. One of the main themes of the novel is the State of Consciousness and that is how the storyline helps the reader know more about the protagonist through the development of his issues beginning to understand about his inner feelings etc. This was shown in the novel through Said who was released from prison after 4 years however, he cam out knowing that he had a daughter, wife, and his best friend all waiting for him expecting his life to go back to normal. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen and throughout the novel we begin to see the difficulties that Said begin to face and the struggle of coping with the eventful occurrences that he has been subjected to. Said, begins to feel paranoid and loses trust to many of the people that surround him. Feeling that he will be betrayed as he was betrayed by Ilish and Rauf. This links back to Mahfouz as he also felt betrayed while writing the novel, betrayed by the promises that were given and never completed. 

Saids state of consciousness could’ve also been supported by the numerous amounts of flashbacks that he has had throughout the novel shows how the remembrance of these events has filled him with inner rage that he can’t hold back. As readers we begin to understand why as these flashbacks begin to give as a clearer idea of Said’s true feeling towards the characters of the story. Specifically, Nabaweya, Rauf, and Ilish. These were a main factor that developed Said’s rage and can be linked to how Mahfouz had an inner rage/revolution within him towards Gamal Abd-El Nasser who also seemed as a trust worthy leader who Mahfouz depended on to follow through with what he promised eventually betraying him and failing to deliver as promised. 

Due to the novel being as fast paced as it is, it was difficult to follow through with Said however, unlike the Arabic text written originally. The translated version does have an italic section that helps follow through with Said’s inner thoughts which creates an emotional link between the reader and the protagonist, creating the image of a tragic hero. This couldn’t be seen in the Arabic text due to the Arabic typing which can’t be switched to italic. 

Eventually, the whole novel was written looking at the persepective of Naguib Mahfouz to Egypt’s state after the 52 revolution, and how Egyptians were promised by the leader and president Gamal Abd-El Nasser, and never received. The novel portrays the need of revenge by the author towards the government through the characters of Ilish and Rauf who seemed loyal to Said at the beginning eventually betraying him. 

In what ways could Wallace’s theory about education be applicable to the writing of Alice Munro?

In his essay, "This is water", David Wallace Foster is addressing to us readers that the true freedom is received through education, he expresses that when he says, "Twenty years after my own graduation, I have come gradually to understand that the liberal-art cliché about "teaching you how to think" is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: "learning how to think". Which means the teaching of being adjusted, aware and sympathetic. "Control over how and what you think.” this is another idea that he wanted to us readers to take away from his essay as it's easy to let your thoughts take over you and thats what depressed people feel like. However, everything can change by challenging yourself to take over your own mind and control your thoughts. 

This can be achieved by our choice on the different perspectives and daily problems that we go through everyday in our world that we eventually ignore because of our "default mode settings" in our mind during a typical day out. Wallace expresses through 'This is water" that we are able to control what we think and our thoughts portray our freedom, instead of letting the thoughts take over you negatively and create a barricade between you and your own freedom.

Achieving that freedom through our own consciousness is based on our ability to experience and create different perspectives of the world and your surroundings, a simple example to look at is the grocery store on a “typical day out.” This was a simple idea that as readers we all linked to as we felt that way, however instead of his thoughts taking over him he created a sympathetic relation between him and the people that eventually stood in his way. 

David Foster Wallace also shows us the importance of fictitious thoughts as they power our minds with experiences. Wallace explained that through the ending of the grocery store experience where he checks out at the cashier and imagining to himself the lives and different situations that the rest of these people around him are in when he said, "Of course, none of this is likely to be true , as well it's also not impossible — it just depends on what you want to consider.” This makes us sympathetic as people, adjusted, and controlling of our thoughts which Wallace has also considered in his own experience. Our ego is one of our many flaws as we constantly consider ourselves the center of this world nay universe without even doing it intentionally. 

"There is no experience you've had that you were not at the absolute center of."

The link between Alice Munro and David Foster Wallace can be related by his theory about education which fits in to the style of writing that Munro uses in all her stories that I’ve read by her, she creates character and human development which is developed throughout. Showing how humans can be generous and sympathetic  an example from one her stories is Alfrida in Family Furnishings. As a reader it was hard to understand her character and who she really was which we eventually got to know towards the end. This encourages us as readers of her stories to be more understanding of the characters within the story and wanting to know who they really are, and getting different perspectives about them. Her stories awaken the emotional intelligence or (EI) through developing feelings and sympathy through the lives of not only the main character but however, through other characters that are in the story, such as in the story of "Moons of Jupiter" for example. Maybe another reason for Munro as an author and always wanting to keep her reader aware throughout the story is through emotional intelligence which is the ability to physically understand the role of each character within the short story as Munro tries to cleverly replace the reader from his perspective to the perspective of the character through the narration. In conclusion, the factor that emotional intelligence plays according to Wallace’s Theory is that if we are able to emphasize and enhance the emotional sympathy of the lives of not just one but many of the characters within a story it will be easier for us readers to understand each one of them. 

Okonkwo as "The Tragic Hero"

The author of "Things Fall Apart", Chinua Achebe has portrayed Okonkwo utilizing the tragic hero archetype, where "a character for the most part of the story makes a judgment mistake that unavoidably prompts their own death or fall." This usually links to the Igbo people's culture dying and more specifically to Okonkwo's downfall. Achebe was pretty successful in doing so as such through indirect characterization of where a target third portrayal is shown. As readers, we can recognize specific parts of the story which clarifies certain characteristics of Okonkwo's identity.
Unfortunately Okonkwo is imperfect and full of different flaws that are repeated to represent specific attributes and a symbol of  Okonkwo as a genuine person which doesn't make the reader more attracted to a specific content additionally makes the novel novel more dynamic with it a dull portray of him. Okonkwo, as a disastrous brave figure, stands both fearlessly for the convictions and convention of his way of life by looking for social breakthrough of drawing a nearer pilgrim powers. In the defense of this conjunction by the Igbo culture, he "Achebe" symbolizes an inner inconsistency of his way of life's beliefs.
Generally speaking, he gives "shows" an example that dismisses the Igbo societies and convictions in this way Okonknwo's qualities are better comprehended in the wake of finding out about Igbo culture. His qualities can be basically broke down to better comprehend bigger ideas in the content. These are all ideas that we as readers see Achebe trying to connect with us throughout the novel and his characterization of Okonkwo and his beliefs.

Achebe's Interview

1) What was the most meaningful takeaway from today’s discussion relating to the cultural or literary context of Achebe’s work? 

What I took from our in-class discussion today was that through Achebe's work wanted to give out a specific idea/message that a story should be said from a single sided perspective on a specific culture. As well as a recent TedTalk we looked at before, and in it there was a reference on Chinua Achebe and his influential work. Especially looking at how Achebe has made his writing descriptive enough to show the true side of his culture and not what other cultures think about them. Theres always more then one side to a story and i all depends on which side of the story is more reliable and based on facts.  

2) Select a specific quote from the interview or a general idea from the discussion and write a brief reflection. 

"wherever something stands, something else will stand beside it.”- A quote from the interview which I found meaningful and powerful in a way. 

When looking at this quote and looking at its context we see the true meaning of what Achebe wanted to say of how no matter what happens there will always be something next to it, that there isn't something important and will always be a problem next to them. This was seen in WW1 when Nigeria were gaining independence while other countries as well in the African continent were gaining independence due to the European Forces and the civilization they brought into the African countries.However, the procedure of decolonization is unknown to Nigeria as there was not just one leader in the eyes of people in Nigeria; however more or so like the large number of voices by the people Achebe, was one of the people who added to building up a powerful nationalistic resistance for the people. 

This shows the transitional period that Nigeria was encountering during that rough time. Also, it paces the path for furnishing the anticipated gathering of people with a comprehension of how setting is critical and how Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart has turned into a specific setting and an important portrayal of post-colonialism.

Royal Colonial Institute Speech (Igbo's)

Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of the Constitute, I would like to thank you for making me part of this crucial event held today, I feel honored for being here today. Today I will be talking about some important people that I would like to talk to you about and have been connected with them personally before, as well as representing them. These people are known as the Igbo people and I came tonight to make sure that they're heard. As you all may know I represent the Igbo people in the United Kingdom as an ambassador and over my many years in the position I have gathered information and perspectives of how your people see the idea of colonization and taking over a mans country, but I believe it was time to make sure my peoples perspective and views were heard and taken into consideration as both countries are becoming one in some ways.

My people believe in unity, being open to new cultures and idea to understand the world and cultures and others in a more broad way. Therefore we always tend to show respect to other foreign people and their cultures however, expecting that we are shown respect as well. You came to our countries and have influenced some of our people with your British Civilization. The unity my people believe in is that countries of different civilizations are capable of uniting as a powerful country by gaining prosperity from one another. (and not just one end.)

The Igbo people are a very spiritual culture, all their beliefs and decisions are driven by the spiritual forces. They believe in a supreme force, a God with the name of Chukwu They believe that everything which happens in our world happens because of Chukwu’s will, they believe and honor him as he is a higher force that has created all of this living, and with honoring the great God comes the support in setting relationships of the people and countries of the world. This all differs to the British as they believe in the form of governance, unlike the gods of the Igbo. However, looking at it once again difference is key.

Thank You

Freedom From Fear

Paper 1

Freedom from Fear by Aung Sang Suu Kyi

   This speech was written by a famous, noble prize winning author Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Kyi was born in a political family as her father Aung San was a Burmese revolutionist, and the prime minister of British Burma, and the founder of modern Burma. While her mother Kin Kyi was the ambassador of Burma to India and Nepal. Growing up in a family like this Kyi grew up to be the same as she received a B.A in philosophy, politics and economics. She returned to Burma and started her own political party as well as being placed on house arrest on multiple occasions, as she was in the leader of the oppositions party. This speech was one of the most important she has given which was influenced by her position and targeted at the Burmese people. The speech talked about the fear implanted by the government on the people and how that affected them. This also showed a great deal of language being used and literary devices to connect with her audience. Kyi’s use of language and tone has had a great impact on the speech and on her audience.

   The audience targeted in Kyi’s speech are for a fact the powerless, fearful, Burmese people as the government has implanted fear in their minds to not being able to stand against them and take power from them. This can be shown in Kyi’s speech when she quotes, “Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day.” This proves how the government has only caused harm to the people and they have no solution but to be powerless and fearful. However, the reason of this speech was to stand up for themselves it was shown as a wakeup call for the Burmese people as Kyi’s main intention was to reunite the country to stand up to the corruption and bring the people back their rights, “It is not power that corrupts but fear.” This quote showed the main intention that Kyi had and wanted to share to her audience from her speech and the way she wanted to achieve that.

   Kyi had one main intention from all of this and that was to start a revolution which was the main action she wanted to take against the corrupted Burmese government. “Without a revolution of the spirit, the forces which produced the iniquities of the old order would continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration.” That was the main achievement that Kyi wanted to get to from her speech. As well as using examples throughout her play of famous politicians who have led their country out of problems like these and the major example that was used was Mahatma Gandhi and comparing her to her father Aung San and how he believed that Gandhi was a gift for India and for any country who have had someone like him, “The greatest gift for an individual or a nation was abhaya’s, fearlessness, not merely bodily courage but absence of fear from the mind.” Which was an important quote to use as it mentions the fact of fear being absent from the mind and how that can have a positive affect on one’s perspective or vision of an idea.

   The tone shown through out the play is different and is changed throughout different parts of the speech at the beginning of the extract the mood was sad, and at the same time critical as Kyi was trying to address people who had nothing and could do nothing but fear their corrupted government so she begins by trying to lift up their spirit into starting a revolution, “The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit.” However, throughout the speech her tone is different as she begins to be informative and has a main objective, “Saints, it has been said, are the sinners who go on trying.” This quote is a way of trying to inform the people of who they are and how they should stand up to them. The mood that she has shown in her play has helped improve and show her main objective of what she wanted to tell the people as well as it helps with knowing her tone using the mood she is using. The mood Kyi has shown in her speech was serious and that was seen through her tone as throughout her speech when she says, “Freedom from fear stands out as both a means and an end.” Using this quote, we could see that her mood was serious and only focusing at awakening the people into starting a revolution.  

   Throughout her speech the use of literary devices used by Kyi has added a lot in to what she is saying in the speech, there were a lot of Simile, Anaphora, Allusion, etc. being used. The use of literary devices helped a lot with the people as she evokes a type of unity with the people to start a revolution. A use of anaphora or “repetition” in the speech was with the word freedom which shows how she’s appealing for the oppressed people as well as the repetition of the word fear as can be seen from this quote, “Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure.” This showed how the people were only fearful that time of the government and not being able to stand up for themselves. As well as the use of allusion when she uses the example of Mahatma Gandhi as a successful politician and how he has had a positive effect on India, “The words used by the Jawaharlal Nehru to describe Mahatma Gandhi could well be applied to Aung San.” This shows how the use of famous politicians can help improve looking at the situation as well as taking by example when trying to get themselves out of situations like these.

   The structure of Kyi’s speech was very organized as It began with the problem and proceeded on with solutions and examples of activists who had these problems in their country then it goes into trying to help the and motivating into standing up for what is theirs to take. However, as much as the structure of the speech was organized with the points and the objectives, the writing and paragraphs weren’t as they were all around the place. The reason behind that was that the paragraphs were all small therefore the details and objective were separated however, when the article is read the main idea is understood and it becomes easier to understand the whole objective of the speech as it was said.

   In conclusion Kyi’s speech was a way of understanding the difficulty the Burmese people were facing because of their government and how they have implanted fear in people’s minds, and how she wanted to give a wake up call for the people to realize how they aren’t being treated right and wanted to motivate them into starting a revolution that fights for who they are and how they need to change from the government that has only caused them harm. A quote that stood out from Kyi’s speech was, “Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more precious is the courage acquired through endeavor, courage that comes from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage that could be described as 'grace under pressure.” This shows how Kyi wanted to change that fear in the people’s minds into something stronger and with it being able of turning it into power and courage. Throughout the speech Kyi has identified her main objective from the speech which can be seen from the quotes used here specifically the use of literary device and language in her speech. Kyi’s use of language and tone has had a great impact on the speech and on her audience which took the fear of the people and created something much stronger with it being able to identify her min objective.

Coriolanus (Script, Annotations, & IOC)

CORIOLANUS

Like a dull actor now,                                                                                                              

I have forgot my part, and I am out,

Even to a full disgrace. Best of my flesh,

Forgive my tyranny; but do not say

For that 'Forgive our Romans.' O, a kiss

Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge!

Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss

I carried from thee, dear; and my true lip

Hath virgin'd it e'er since. You gods! I prate,

And the most noble mother of the world

Leave unsaluted: sink, my knee, i' the earth;

Kneels

Of thy deep duty more impression show

Than that of common sons.

VOLUMNIA

O, stand up blest!

Whilst, with no softer cushion than the flint,

I kneel before thee; and unproperly

Show duty, as mistaken all this while

Between the child and parent.

Kneels

CORIOLANUS

What is this?

Your knees to me? to your corrected son?

Then let the pebbles on the hungry beach

Fillip the stars; then let the mutinous winds

Strike the proud cedars 'gainst the fiery sun;

Murdering impossibility, to make

What cannot be, slight work.

VOLUMNIA

Thou art my warrior;

I holp to frame thee. Do you know this lady?

CORIOLANUS

The noble sister of Publicola,

The moon of Rome, chaste as the icicle

That's curdied by the frost from purest snow

And hangs on Dian's temple: dear Valeria!

VOLUMNIA

This is a poor epitome of yours,

Which by the interpretation of full time

May show like all yourself.

CORIOLANUS

The god of soldiers,

With the consent of supreme Jove, inform

Thy thoughts with nobleness; that thou mayst prove

To shame unvulnerable, and stick i' the wars

Like a great sea-mark, standing every flaw,

And saving those that eye thee!

VOLUMNIA

Your knee, sirrah.

CORIOLANUS

That's my brave boy!

VOLUMNIA

Even he, your wife, this lady, and myself,

Are suitors to you.

CORIOLANUS

I beseech you, peace:

Or, if you'ld ask, remember this before:

The thing I have forsworn to grant may never

Be held by you denials. Do not bid me

Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate

Again with Rome's mechanics: tell me not

Wherein I seem unnatural: desire not

To ally my rages and revenges with

Your colder reasons

What happens before this scene: Coriolanus and Aufidius are in the tent, Coriolanus shows how he was to dismissive of Menenius.

Coriolanus is viewed as one of Shakespeare's minimum well known plays however has come to be in later years a genuine great as it exhibits another kind of type inside Shakespeare's plays. Coriolanus is not the same as Shakespeare's different acts as it is a Political and Power themed play. However, Shakespeare's exemplary written work does not escape Coriolanus all that much as the inner fights and passionate battles are appeared amid Act 5 scene 3.

·             To comprehend the scene in Act 5 scene 3 it is critical to comprehend the Peak of this play. Beforehand before this scene Coriolanus has been expelled by the general population of Rome, to look for his vengeance against Rome he goes to Aufidius who quickly acknowledges takes it as an advantage. This scene obviously occurring after Coriolanus and Aufidius get to be partners, which was the peak, so Act 5 scene 3 is the falling activity that will prompt to Coriolanus' destiny. At the point when Rome hears the news that Coriolanus will act is looking for vengeance upon them they, inevitably send Coriolanus' old companion who is immediately dismisses by Coriolanus, which is demonstrating the hunger for retribution and is clarified Coriolanus' expectations for Rome, afterwards Meneius comes to ask for generosity in the interest of the Romans however is immediately expelled by Coriolanus. Coriolanus later then approaches Aufidius as he starts regretting what he has done. Aufidius rapidly helps him to remember the double-crossing of Rome as there leader and hero, Coriolanus, was exiled by the Romans people. His family then approach him requesting kindness for the benefit of Rome. He is not exactly pretentious and is graced by a kiss from Virgilia his better half and rapidly expresses his actual aim in the quote “O, a kiss Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge!” however his mom (Volumina), His significant other (Virgilia), his child (Martius) and Valeria all bow before him, and this incites Coriolanus to rapidly raise them to their feet, stunned by his mom activity he says “What is this?

·             Your knees to me? to your corrected son?" yet Coriolanus keeps up his certainty yet his mom's breaks his certainty and fills him with distress.

·             The topic of the play itself is Power and legislative issues and it is all around spoke to in this entry. Volumnia known for being a cherishing mother, and furthermore known is perceived by the group of onlookers for controlling her son with a specific end goal to ascend to control, in the exchange between the two she does likewise as she deliberately makes Coriolanus feel blame and distress by bowing before him demonstrating to him what he has turned into a despot who obeys and administers to nobody not even his family. As Coriolanus is longing for reprisal his mom comes to him for kindness and imploring him, Coriolanus is stunned and expresses the words "What is this? Your knees to me? to your corrected son? " Suggests this is the characters Epiphany minute in which he understands his drive of vengeance has blinded him and has an interior clash with himself. The exchange amongst Coriolanus and Volumnia is loaded with analogy as Coriolanus states, “Like a dull actor now, I have forgot my part, and I am out,” which gives the impression he is dumbfounded for seeing his Family interestingly after the outcast. The quote "Best of my flesh,

·             Excuse my oppression; yet don't state for that 'Forgive our Romans.” Passes on the impression of Expression as Shakespeare uses the words Pardon my oppression yet don't state excuse our Romans as he needs to give the impression of certainty that nobody will have the capacity to persuade him to show leniency on Rome not even his family.

·             As scene Advances and the discourse proceeds there can be seen a fast move in inclination, Coriolanus is not welcomed with affection from his mom but rather baffle as he goes to stoop before her to show regard he is welcomed by this quote "O, stand up blest!" suggesting that his mom has just frustration in him.

·             Seeing Coriolanus who is raised from the play as a heartless pioneer hungry for vengeance being filled self-question and passionate battle is a genuine Curiosity in this play. The setting of this scene is evoked by the past scene that occurred before which was the exchange amongst Aufidius and Coriolanus, suggesting that they have left there tent to welcome Coriolanus' family where there are officers encompassing them. His mom Volumnia as he urgently tries' to be pretentious of her, so he may not demonstrate distress develops the interior clash of Coriolanus.