INDIRECT PRESENTATION:

• “…the tree was very much alive. Okonkwo’s second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it to wrap some food, and she said so.” (pg. 33)
• “But although Okonkwo was a great man whose prowess was universally acknowledged, he was not a hunter. In fact he had not killed a rat with his gun. And so when he called Ikemefuna to fetch his gun, the wife who had just been beaten murmured something about guns that never shot.” (pg. 33)
  • Both of these passages reveal a lot about Ekwefi’s character. She is not afraid to stand up to Okonkwo, even if he has just beaten her harshly. She’s tough, strong, and speaks her mind even though that sort of behavior is unheard of for the other wives.
• “The fowl Ekwefi had just killed was in the wooden mortar. The water began to boil, and in one deft movement she lifted the pot from the fire and poured the boiling water over the fowl. She put back the empty pot on the circular pad in the corner, and looked at her palms, which were black with soot. Ezinma was always surprised that her mother could lift a pot from the fire with her bare hands.” (pgs. 34-35)
  • In this passage the devices of indirect presentation and imagery are both being used. The image of Ekwefi’s soot-covered hands from lifting the pot off of the fire shows the reader that she is very thick-skinned – literally and figuratively. She is physically able to withstand pain in order to accomplish necessary tasks. Also, as a person she can endure a lot of trials and hardships in life.
• “At last the hen was plucked clean. Ekwefi tried to pull out the horny break but it was too hard. She turned round on her low stool and put the beak in the fire for a few moments. She pulled it again and it came off.” (pg. 35)
  • This is another example of Ekwefi’s hard-working and resourceful character traits. She is skilled at the tasks she performs and, judging from this passage, does not give up easily.
• “Ekwefi and her only daughter, Ezinma, sat near the fireplace waiting for the water in the pot to boil.” (pg. 34)
• “‘I pray she stays,’ said Ekwefi with a heavy sigh.” (pg. 42)
  • Several times throughout the book it is mentioned that Ekwefi only has one daughter. Later, Ekwefi is talking to another woman from the village about Ezinma’s health and that is when she says the second quote. Because she only has one child, Ekwefi must value Ezinma very highly. Achebe uses the phrase “heavy sigh”, implying that her daughter’s health is a big concern to her. So the reader can infer that Ekwefi’s daughter is her motivation in life. Her life revolves around her daughter because she cares so much for her.

DIRECT PRESENTATION:

• “Many years ago when she was the village beauty Okonkwo had won her heart by throwing the Cat in the greatest contest within living memory.” (pg. 34)
  • In this quote, the reader is directly told that Ekwefi used to be so beautiful she was considered the village beauty. That helps the reader to visualize what she might have looked like.
• “She did not marry him then because he was too poor to pay her bride-price. But a few years later she ran away from her husband and came to live with Okonkwo. All this happened many years ago. Now Ekwefi was a woman of forty-five who had suffered a great deal in her time. But her love of wrestling contests was still as strong as it was thirty years ago.” (pg. 34)
  • Here the reader is provided with direct information about Ekwefi. We learn her age and the fact that she left her husband for another man, Okonkwo. This gives us insight into her character. Evidently she is an independent person that doesn’t really let anyone else tell her what to do. Most women in the village would probably just stay in their positions in life and not do anything to change them. But the fact Ekwefi left her husband for the man she really loved shows how strong-willed and independent she is.

Also, the first chapter provides the setting and point of view of the story. The reader learns that it’s being told from a third-person point of view, and the speaker is an insider of the Umuofia tribe.

Another crucial purpose of this chapter is to begin developing the theme. In this chapter the reader learns that Okonkwo is ashamed of his father, Unoka. “When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him? Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father.” (pg. 5)  The theme of letting one’s fears in life affect his/her actions and behavior begins to develop here. The reader gets a quick glimpse at the relationship between the protagonist and his father.

Another interesting thing I learned through my research is that in the poem there is a continuous mention of eternity, immortality, or forever. For instance, in the third stanza there is an anaphora of the words “for ever”. It seems that Keats is trying to grasp this immortality through his writing; even though he knew he was dying, his literary works would continue on after him.

One particular thing of interest I found was that the cities of Tempe and Arcady mentioned in the first stanza are picturesque places in Greece. They are known to be favored by Apollo – the God of poetry and music.

I thought the concrete details I used were good, but I would make the analysis of theme more complete and clear. There were strong points of my analysis, but I would change the inconsistency of that strength by tying in more about how the language directly shows the theme, mood, and scene. Also, my paragraphs weren’t as well-organized as they could have been. So, I would include more structure by adding clear topic and concluding sentences to each paragraph.

2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.

3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

I’ve decided to go with the third essay prompt selection.

One aspect of the story that I related to very well was the medicial side. My mother has fibromyalgia which is a disorder that causes her to be in constant pain every day. She gets frequent migraine headaches that sometimes last for months at a time. I’ve had to watch her go from doctor to doctor trying to find different medicines to get relief. But almost every doctor she’s had has told her she’s crazy and that they don’t believe her. Also, it took many years for anyone to be able to correctly diagnose what she has. So, the frustration the protagonist in the story feels when his doctor is not being straightforward with him is very understandable. I can clearly see, based on my own experiences with my mom, why he becomes so bitter and angry. My mom has felt a similar way to the speaker when he says, “I wanted to throw my phone into a wall, but I said goodbye instead and glared at the tumorless people and their pretty tumorless heads” (pg. 10).

I would say “War Dances” is a piece of literary fiction. There are several symbols, motifs, and other literary devices that contribute to the overall theme of the piece.