Our Overarching Theme
The struggle for identity and freedom in the face of power
or influence
looking at
the individual and cultures
facing restriction from
society, government, family, another gender, an ‘oppressor’
Things to Look for in Things Fall Apart
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Okonkwo’s character: personality, physicality, internal conflict, development
Characters who contrast or complement Okonkwo
Important elements of Igbo culture: proverbs, roles, rituals, traditions
Style and structure of Achebe’s writing and its effect on the reader
How to Write and Talk About the Above
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Excellent range of vocabulary to describe Okonkwo’s emotions
Make connections between Igbo culture and characters’ actions
Use and make connections between literary devices, literary features,
structural terms, shifts in these to link to the effects on the reader. Identify
these in quotes you find in the text to support your ideas.
A Formula for Effective Literary Analysis
help to enhance or convey
Literary Devices
→
which in turn have an
Literary Features → Impact/Effect
on the
(Reader/Audience)
or the
(Work)
How to Construct Effective Literary Analysis Statements
In the poem/novel/short story/play (put the title), (put AUTHOR’s name)
uses (state the literary device e.g. sibilance) of (“put the quote from the
text which has the device) (and punctuate correctly)”. (You now need to
analyse the device you selected:) The (sibilance of the ‘s’ sound) creates
(this is a strong action verb!) a (now you need to select the literary feature
that is enhanced by the device e.g. TONE) comforting (TONE AND you
have used an adjective to describe the TONE). As a result, the
READER/AUDIENCE feels (say what we (you) feel as a result of this e.g.
sympathy for) SITUATION/CHARACTER.
Here’s An Example (Analysing a Poem)
In the poem “Inna Calabash”, Lorna Goodison uses sibilance in the lines
“Quasheba show me/ how the calabash contained/ for a slave girl like me/
a little soft life and ease” (L18-21). The repetition of the ‘s’ and ‘sh’ sound
creates a comforting tone from Quasheba. It reinforces the auditory image
of a wiser slave woman whispering a well-kept secret to a young slave
girl, about how to escape her brutal life for a short time. The sibilance and
comforting tone express an optimistic and reassuring mood for both the
audience and the slave girl, even though we all know the ‘escape’ from
her suffering will only be for a short while.
Try the Formula With This Quote from Things Fall Apart
“And so he changed the subject and talked about music, and his face
beamed. He could hear in his mind’s ear the blood-stirring and intricate
rhythms of the ekwe and the udu and the ogene, and her could hear his
own flute weaving in and out of them, decorating them with a colourful and
plaintive tune.”
Try and identify the following literary devices and features and then work out their
effect on the work and the reader:
imagery, sound devices, structure, tone, mood, diction
“And so he changed the subject and talked about
music, and his face beamed. He could hear in his
mind’s ear the blood-stirring and intricate rhythms of
the ekwe and the udu and the ogene, and her could
hear his own flute weaving in and out of them,
decorating them with a colourful and plaintive tune.”
HOMEWORK
Red (Friday Sept 23, Due Tuesday Sept 27)
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Select one quote from the novel (either/and/or power lines you chose from your reading in
the summer, or quotes you found from chapters 1-4)
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Type out the quote with some space between the lines in a Word Document,
or a google slide, a googledoc or a powerpoint.
Highlight and label examples of literary devices you find (use the handouts to
help you.)
Identify the literary feature these devices are helping us to understand.
Have a go at writing a short paragraph of literary analysis.
Send your work to me by 10pm Monday night...we will look at them on screen
Tuesday morning.
A completion grade, no judgment grade: just take a risk and have a go!