Things Fall Apart- Chapters Twenty-Four Twenty-Five ...



In addition to narrative point of view, the voice of your writing is also affected by diction and tone. Diction is sometimes called word choice and refers to just that, the words a writer chooses to use. Several different considerations affect these choices. First, a writer must consider connotation and denotation. The connotation of a word can greatly affect the meaning of a narrative. For example, the connotation of the word "chatty" is quite different from the connotation of "gossipy," although both could be used to describe a character who is talkative. Second, there is the level of formality to consider. A word can be formal, informal, or slang. For example, "communicative" is quite formal, "talkative" is informal, and "blabbermouth" is slang. Third, a good writer must be aware of and avoid the trap of what is known as "Roget's Disease," or the use of overly complex words when a simpler, more common word would be more appropriate. In other words, although "loquacious" and "garrulous" are perfectly good words for "talkative," only use them if they are appropriate to the narrative and audience. Finally, writers will sometimes choose to use specialized vocabulary, or jargon. A psychologist might talk about a talkative person as displaying "pro-social behavior." A person writing from a Mexican-American cultural perspective might refer to a talkative person as a "chismosa." Jargon must be used carefully, and should only be used if it is appropriate to the audience and purpose of the writing. Using diction that is appropriate to your story and audience will give your writing its tone. Tone is the author's attitude toward the subject and audience. For example, the word "gossipy" to describe a character implies that the author disapproves of the character's actions, and that the author believes the reader should disapprove, too. Directions: Examine the list of vocabulary below from the novel Things Fall Apart. Sort the words into the chart below as formal, informal, slang, or jargon. Answer the questions that follow.machetes footpath nno obi raffia infuriating resolute sacrilege waterpots valor fear orator speaker superfluous monkey tricks primitive shut up undignified pacificationformalinformalslangjargonQuestions: Which two words share the denotative meaning of "one who delivers a speech"? How does the connotation of the words differ? What is the purpose of the jargon used in the novel? How does it suit the audience and/or subject? What is the purpose and effect of the slang as it is used? It is often said that the voice in Things Fall Apart is remarkable because it conveys a sense of nobility while still retaining a uniquely African character. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? ExplainThe final chapters of Things Fall Apart demonstrate Chinua Achebe's mastery of diction and tone. Although most of the book employs relatively simplistic diction and a tone that is sympathetic to the Ibo, the final chapter gives us a dramatic shift that signals a change in power.The Commissioner went away, taking three or four of the soldiers with him. In the many years in which he had toiled to bring civilization to different parts of Africa he had learned a number of things. One of them was that a District Commissioner must never attend to such undignified details as cutting a hanged man from the tree. Such attention would give the natives a poor opinion of him. In the book which he planned to write he would stress that point. As he walked back to the court he thought about that book. Every day brought some new material. The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate. There was so much else to include, and one must be firm in cutting out the details. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.From whose perspective is this final passage written? How does it differ from the perspective of other passages in the book? What words or phrases are used to describe Okonkwo? How does the use of the word "toiled" in line 2 reflect the Commissioner's biases toward Africa? A "civilization" (line 2) means "a society that has a high level of culture and social organization." How does the use of this term reflect the Commissioner's bias? Why does the Commissioner believe the task of removing Okonkwo's body would be "What ideas or biases does the term "natives" (line 5) imply as it is used? To what does the term "material" in line 8 refer? What "details" (line 12) do you think the Commissioner intends to cut out? What does this demonstrate about his understanding? The term "pacification" in line 13 means "to bring peace," but it can also mean "the act of forcibly suppressing or eliminating a population considered to be hostile." How do the two meanings differ? Is either one appropriate to describe the Commissioner's work among the Ibo? Why do you think the author chose to include this final paragraph? ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download