Things Fall Apart Rhetorical Analysis
Solving Problems: Emotionally or Logically
Problems are impending dangers that man-kind has to endure at some point in his lifetime. Problem is defined as “a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome”; the crux in the definition is ‘solve’. Eliminating a problem is a way to overcome it; any other approach is diverting the problem. As a living creature there are two conflicting ways of confronting problems; emotionally and logically. To logically fix a problem one observes the problem from all perspectives; and analyzes almost all possibilities before attempting to solve it, while acting by impulse in the face of problems is an emotional way of solving the problem; all angles are not considered …show more content…
Things Fall Apart, Othello, and The Narrative of Fredrick Douglass have a similarity, each has three important characters who experiences problems at different phases in their lives, reacts differently to these problems, and solves the problem in an emotionally or logically.
Starting off with Things Fall Apart’s main character, whose name is Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a very strong willed man who encountered problems from the very beginning of his life. He had a father who did not do much with his life and therefore when he died, he left nothing for Okonkwo to go by “Okonkwo did not have the start in life…inherit” (Achebe 11). This is one of the first problems that Okonkwo faces in his life. He has a decision to make to overcome this problem, either to take the impulsive or emotional decision to …show more content…
On Okonkwo’s return to Umuofia after his exile, he meets a different Umuofia that is being controlled by the white men from Europe and a Umuofia that is drifting to Christianity “The church had led many astray…the white men had also brought a government”. He is furious and enraged at the fact that Umuofia does not fight back “He had spoken violently…on their action” (Achebe, 108) he makes this point known at the meeting of the elders, and offers a solution to kill the white man. When the people of Umuofia do not yield his advice he follows his emotions and commits suicide. Okonkwo did not think logically about this because if he had, he would have seen a perspective where his death does not solve the problem of colonization, or his death causing Umuofia to go to war. From Okonkwo’s story, it is clear how solving a problem two different ways leads to two different
Problems are impending dangers that man-kind has to endure at some point in his lifetime. Problem is defined as “a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome”; the crux in the definition is ‘solve’. Eliminating a problem is a way to overcome it; any other approach is diverting the problem. As a living creature there are two conflicting ways of confronting problems; emotionally and logically. To logically fix a problem one observes the problem from all perspectives; and analyzes almost all possibilities before attempting to solve it, while acting by impulse in the face of problems is an emotional way of solving the problem; all angles are not considered …show more content…
Things Fall Apart, Othello, and The Narrative of Fredrick Douglass have a similarity, each has three important characters who experiences problems at different phases in their lives, reacts differently to these problems, and solves the problem in an emotionally or logically.
Starting off with Things Fall Apart’s main character, whose name is Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a very strong willed man who encountered problems from the very beginning of his life. He had a father who did not do much with his life and therefore when he died, he left nothing for Okonkwo to go by “Okonkwo did not have the start in life…inherit” (Achebe 11). This is one of the first problems that Okonkwo faces in his life. He has a decision to make to overcome this problem, either to take the impulsive or emotional decision to …show more content…
On Okonkwo’s return to Umuofia after his exile, he meets a different Umuofia that is being controlled by the white men from Europe and a Umuofia that is drifting to Christianity “The church had led many astray…the white men had also brought a government”. He is furious and enraged at the fact that Umuofia does not fight back “He had spoken violently…on their action” (Achebe, 108) he makes this point known at the meeting of the elders, and offers a solution to kill the white man. When the people of Umuofia do not yield his advice he follows his emotions and commits suicide. Okonkwo did not think logically about this because if he had, he would have seen a perspective where his death does not solve the problem of colonization, or his death causing Umuofia to go to war. From Okonkwo’s story, it is clear how solving a problem two different ways leads to two different