Character Analysis

Introduction

Literature has many superpowers one of which is the ability to create empathy across cultures and time. Without literature we would not be able to comprehend the emotions and experiences of others. We would not fully understand the differences or completely recognize the similarities. Stories are entirely human and characters, as an element of story, are the threshold guardians between the real world and the literary. Through character analysis we create the key to open the door to other perceptions of reality.

Procedure

Prompt: Write an analytical essay about Thing Fall Apart in which you examine how the cultural and historical setting of the novel influence the development of one character. How does this character react to the cultural collision between Western ideas and Ibo culture, and how does this reaction affect the plot?

Planning & Prewriting: This is the heart of writing. This is the time you form opinions, gather information and organize your thoughts. What follows is a list of questions that will guide your thinking. They are not meant to be answered, but rather used as a springboard (see what I did there?) for exploration.

Questioning the text

Which characters have strong positive or negative responses to the cultural collision in the novel, and which one will you choose to focus on for your analysis? (Seriously, why pick anyone besides Okonkwo?)
What is the character's (Okonkwo) sense of identity before encountering Western influence?
What is the character's response to the new culture? What does he do, think, or say? How does he interact with others? How does his reol or perspective shift?
What are the consequences. . . . Wow this is too many questions. You get the idea
You should have a thesis at this point.

Thesis: This is your claim about the character you have chosen and their reaction to the cultural changes. It needs to be a sentence that clearly states the character you will be writing about and the cultural and history affected him/her.

ChatGPT example: In Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart," the character Okonkwo serves as a compelling embodiment of the Igbo culture, and his reaction to the cultural collision between Western ideas and Igbo traditions significantly shapes the novel's plot, reflecting the broader theme of cultural upheaval and disintegration in the face of European colonization.

My example: In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart Nwoye accepts of European cultural and Christianity as a direct reaction to his relationship with Okonkwo. Just as Okonkwo rejects the laziness of his father, Nwoye rejects the violence, arbitrary justice, and misogyny of the Ibo culture as he perceives it in the example set by his father and seeks refuge in the church.

Gathering evidence

Now you need to get some quotes from the text that we are going to sample like a beat in a hip-hop song. You want to find quotes that will underly your writing and give it the support and authority it needs.

For this essay almost all of your quotes will come from Things Fall Apart. Make sure that you keep track of the page numbers because we will need them later.

My Example: "Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell." (53)

ChatGPT Example: Unfortunately, Chat is saying that it does not have access to the book.

Outline

Before you start writing you need to organize your thoughts. What will go into each body paragraph? Which quotes go with which topics.

Intro
Body 1 - What is the character's sense of identity before encountering Western influence?
1. Quote
Body 2 - What is the character's response to the new culture?
1. Quote
Body 3 - What is the character's response to the new culture? (You can keep doing this until you run out of them.)
1. Quote
Body 4 - What is the author trying to say about culture?
1. Quote
Conclusion

This does not need to be formal, but you should have a map of how the ideas will be presented to the reader. If you don't know where you are going, then you should not be giving directions to others.

Intro, Conclusion and Transitions

If you have been following along you should have four body paragraphs and a thesis. We still need to turn this into an essay, so we need an intro, conclusion and transitions.

Intro- The thesis is the last sentence of your intro, but we need to hook the reader's attention. You can do this with an anecdote, surprising statement, allusion to history or other text, famous person quote etc.

For this essay we are going to reference Black Panther by comparing Okonkow to Kill Monger.

Conclusion - Don't say "in conclusion."

Your conclusion should refer back to the intro and thesis and tell the reader why the information they just read is important.

Transistions - Thes are signposts for the reader to help them follow your train of thought. Often they can just be words like next, therefore, more importantly, finally, etc.

Sometimes between paragraphs we can use transitional phrases that have information from both paragraphs in the same sentence.

Drafting and Revising

Drafting is what you think of as writing. It involves putting words on paper. In reality you have aleady done most of the writing if you were meticulous in the planning stage. With that said, put the words on the paper.

If you follow the RACES format for each of your paragraphs, then the topic sentence is the "answer" and the quote you have is the "cite."

(Information on how to use quotes)

Now you just need to "explain" and "summarize"

Stop thinking. Thinking is like breathing. If you have to stop and do it, then you are doing it wrong. In order to get help from the teacher or anyone else, there needs to be words on the page.

Revising

Despite what you think your writing is not perfect the first time. Often not even the twentieth iteration is exactly right. You need to get some eyes on this text. Revise literally means to look at again. You should have your friends and family check this out. Definitely have your teacher look at it. And is you want to do something extremely crazy, have ChatGPT give you some advice. Seriously, it is pretty good at this.

Editing and Publishing

Editing

A lot of people confuse editing with revising, but they are completely different. Revising is about the clarity of your ideas. Editing is making sure that you are following the standards, conventions, and rules that we have all agreed upon as writers of English. For the most part, Google Docs will check this for you. At the bare minimum you should elimiinate all (with the exception of some proper nouns) red and blue squiggly lines from your document.

You can also go to "Tools" and run the "Spelling and Grammar" check.

Publish

In school this means to turn it in, but it could mean more. Let people see what you wrote. Take pride in your creation.

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