Kola Nut in Things Fall Apart

In Chapter 3, on page 7, in the novel Things Fall Apart, we are introduced to kola nut, which is a very significant object in the Ibo culture, as “who brings kola brings life”. Kola nuts, as well as palm-wine, is constantly mentioned in the book, especially during ceremonies, to focus on the traditional hospitality of the Ibo people. When Okoye came to see Unoka, to collect his debt, they did not start talking about it immediately and instead, Unoka proposed his guest kola, because it was a symbol of hospitality. They started arguing, because they couldn’t decide on who was to break the kola nut, until eventually Unoka “accepted the honour of breaking the kola”. This phrase included by Achebe in the beginning of the novel, when kola nuts are just introduced signifies how honorable and respectable it is, for a person to break a kola nut. Breaking a kola nut is a very spiritual process, as when Unoka broke the kola nut, he “prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies”, and Okoye drew some lines and his big toe on the floor, just for this short “ceremony”. Only after they have eaten, Okoye reminded him why he came to see Unoka. By this, the reader can see that kola nut is a very significant object in the Ibo culture, as it is also a symbol of respect to the guest and is offered on a regular basis, just like in other cultures, you offer your guest something to drink when they visit you, but however, the process of breaking it is more honorable and more spiritual. he host passes a plate of kola nuts to the most senior member of the group present, who passes it to the next senior member and so on until it returns to the host. Once the host regains the plate, he gives one of the nuts to his visitor and say, “When the kola nut reaches home, it will tell where it came from.” This is a proverb meaning that this person will have to show the people at home this nut as proof of his visit. After this, the oldest man present blesses the nuts by saying, “Whatever good he is looking for, he will find.” Then either the host or a selected person will break a nut, followed by people close to him breaking the others. The significance of breaking this nut is that the more pieces it breaks into, the more prosperity the host and his gusts receive; however, if it breaks into only two parts, it shows that the host has some sort of sinister motive.

Chi in Things Fall Apart

The concept of chi is discussed at various points throughout the novel and is important to our understanding of Okonkwo as a tragic hero. The chi is an individual’s personal god, whose merit is determined by the individual’s good fortune or lack thereof. Along the lines of this interpretation, one can explain Okonkwo’s tragic fate as the result of a problematic chi—a thought that occurs to Okonkwo at several points in the novel. For the clan believes, as the narrator tells us in Chapter 14, a “man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi.” But there is another understanding of chi that conflicts with this definition. In Chapter 4, the narrator relates, according to an Igbo proverb, that “when a man says yes his chi says yes also.” According to this understanding, individuals will their own destinies. Thus, depending upon our interpretation of chi, Okonkwo seems either more or less responsible for his own tragic death. Okonkwo himself shifts between these poles: when things are going well for him, he perceives himself as master and maker of his own destiny; when things go badly, however, he automatically disavows responsibility and asks why he should be so ill-fated.

Adichie's TED Talk Response

In Chimamanda Adichie’s TED talk, she talks about the power and danger of a single story. She starts of by explaining how, when we are children, we are vulnerable to stories and what we hear become our reality. So, what happens when we only hear one side of the story? Single stories have many unintended consequences and cause a disconnection from reality. For most of us, due to many factors, this happens with Africa. These factors include popular images depicted of Africa, western literature and other forms of media. Because of these, how we view Africa is biased and inaccurate. This is similar to the idea that Peruvians ride llamas and don’t have electricity. Again, this is a single story. These are stereotypes and stereotypes are incomplete. For this, it is very important that we break these labels and have a balanced story. In her TED talk, Adichie said, “single stories rob people of dignity and emphasize our differences”. For these reasons, I believe that it is so important that we are reading Chinua Achebe.

The Varsouviana Polka - A Streetcar Named Desire

The Varsouviana Polka

The Varsouviana is the polka tune to which Blanche and her young husband, Allen Grey, were dancing when she last saw him alive. Earlier that day, she had walked in on him in bed with an older male friend. The three of them then went out dancing together, pretending that nothing had happened. In the middle of the Varsouviana, Blanche turned to Allen and told him that he “disgusted” her. He ran away and shot himself in the head.

The polka music plays at various points in A Streetcar Named Desire,when Blanche is feeling remorse for Allen’s death. The first time we hear it is in Scene One, when Stanley meets Blanche and asks her about her husband. Its second appearance occurs when Blanche tells Mitch the story of Allen Grey. From this point on, the polka plays increasingly often, and it always drives Blanche to distraction. She tells Mitch that it ends only after she hears the sound of a gunshot in her head.

The polka and the moment it evokes represent Blanche’s loss of innocence. The suicide of the young husband Blanche loved dearly was the event that triggered her mental decline. Since then, Blanche hears the Varsouviana whenever she panics and loses her grip on reality.

Its Only a Paper Moon - A Streetcar Named Desire

 “It’s Only a Paper Moon”

In Scene Seven, Blanche sings this popular ballad while she bathes. The song’s lyrics describe the way love turns the world into a “phony” fantasy. The speaker in the song says that if both lovers believe in their imagined reality, then it’s no longer “make-believe.”These lyrics sum up Blanche’s approach to life. She believes that her fibbing is only her means of enjoying a better way of life and is therefore essentially harmless.

As Blanche sits in the tub singing “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” Stanley tells Stella the details of Blanche’s sexually corrupt past. Williams ironically juxtaposes Blanche’s fantastical understanding of herself with Stanley’s description of Blanche’s real nature. In reality, Blanche is a sham who feigns propriety and sexual modesty. Once Mitch learns the truth about Blanche, he can no longer believe in Blanche’s tricks and lies.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony is used in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire to enrich the audience's appreciation of the plays and to add another dimension to the play's meaning. Williams uses lighting, music, sounds and dialogue to give the audience a private insight into characters state of mind and also to highlight certain themes throughout the play.

Williams' choice of music tells the audience something about a character's state of mind or highlights a certain ideal relevant at the time. The Varsouviana gives us a private insight into Blanche's state of mind, something that is central to the play, as only she hears it, whenever she is feeling threatened or insecure. Another example of the use of dramatic irony and music is the lyrics of the songs sung. Characters are seemingly oblivious to the words of songs, dismissing them as annoying or irritating. The audience can hear and see the innuendo of the music and so are introduced to new ideas. Blanche's lyrics are particularly suggestive of main themes in the play as she sings, "It wouldn't be make believe if you believed in me." The audience is left to consider the difference between reality and `magic' and whether the desire for magic is so terrible and also whether Blanche does "lie in her heart." The blue piano in the Quarter is also a form of dramatic irony as for the audience it comes to represent the sexual undertows of the play. For the characters, the blue piano is part of life as it is so common a sound. But for the audience, as Williams says, "it expresses the spirit of the life which goes on," thereby demonstrating how big a part sex plays in the lives of these characters.

The lighting throughout Streetcar reveals more about the characters and gives us their own view on what is happening at times without other characters realizing. An example of this is Blanche's preoccupation with covering the "naked light bulb" shows us her fragility and also her need to soften her reality. Other characters in the Quarter where one must "lay her cards on the table" cannot understand this fragility and delicacy. Or maybe they dismiss it as a play act, assuming she is as hard as they are, once again never understanding her hell. The audience can clearly see her need and desire for "magic" and her loss of the "blinding light" of love. The paper lantern softens reality for her so she can hide her age and the fact she is "played out."

http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2004/5/3/4254/88061/

Context

Context - A Streetcar Named Desire

Who is Tennessee Williams

·      Won the Pulitzer Price + Critics’ Circle Prize

·      Fame + money

·      “Best modern playwright”

·      He hated being a celebrity and was depressed

    o   Emptiness of fame

    o   Praise bothered him

·      Found relief from the public in a hospital

·      After an eye operation he escaped to Mexico

    o   Be himself again

His Childhood

·      Thomas Lanier Williams

    o   Columbus, Mississippi 1911

    o   Lived in St. Louis

    o   Became city children

·      Dad was aggressive/violent

    o   Beat Tom

·      Thomas isolated himself

·      To avoid conflicts he would escape in writing stories

Rose’s Influence

·      Rose (sister) developed insanity

    o   Force friends on her

    o   Led to greater isolation

    o   Schizophrenic

·      Tom blamed himself for Rose’s madness

·      He began to feel irresistible urges of homosexuality

    o   Blamed Rose’s craziness on his homosexuality

Influence on his writing

·      He shaped the story from his own experience

·      Considered dream-like and unreal

    o   Like magic, gives the illusion of reality

·      Relive the past

    o   “The play is memory”

Why the name Tennessee?

·      Distinctive

·      College Nickname

·      Break away from the crowd

Streetcar

·      Private experience into public drama

·      War-torn years of the 40s

    o   Historical events were not directly portrayed

Characters in Streetcar

·      Most of Williams’ characters are based on real people in his life

·      Combination of Williams mother (genteel and prudish Southern lady) with Rose (fragile sister) = Blanche

·      Williams dad = Stanley Kowalski

Williams Downfall

·      He couldn’t live up to his earlier success

·      Turned to drink and drugs

·      New plays received terrible notices

·      He died in a New York hotel room in 1983

    o   Pills were found under his body

Role of Women

·      Solid but romantic southern background

·      Aristocratic lifestyle fades around them

·      Women chase dreams of the past