Whole Essay

Here is my essay. I will also be printing a hard copy since the blog changes my paragraphing.


Allende uses multiple narratives to show all sides of the family and to complete the story. She uses the narratives of Esteban Trueba, Alba, and an all knowing third person narrative in the novel House of Spirits. These narratives allow for many different perspectives on events and allows for a wider account of the events in the novel.
The narrative of Esteban Trueba is provided in two different manners. There is one side of his narrative where he is speaking in the present. At these points he describes the events currently occurring within the story and he gives his opinions and perspectives on these events. These perspectives are affected by his mood and opinions of the activities that are occurring. A good example of this narrative is when Esteban is going to the Christopher Columbus near the end of the novel,
““Of course I’m alone” I shouted. The woman handed me the rose and asked me which room I preferred. “It makes no difference,” I replied, surprised. “We can offer you the Stable, the Temple, and the Thousand and One Nights. Which do you want?” “The Thousand and One Nights,” I said, for no particular reason.” (415)
This quotation shows how in this side of his narrative he is talking in the present. It also shows his thoughts during the proceedings and not reflections on the events. This narrative allows the readers to see many of the events differently than any of the other narratives, such as the events of Rosa’s death, the early days in Tres Marias, the meetings with Transito Soto.
The other side of the narrative of Esteban Trueba is his reflective narrative. This is when he is thinking about the past from his old self and stating opinions on his actions of the past and stating what he would have done if he had known what would happen. An example of this would be “I remember perfectly. It had been a very happy day for me, because a new lode had appeared, the thick, magnificent seam that had eluded me throughout that time of sacrifice, absence, and hope, and that might represent the wealth I had been seeking for so long.” (32) It is clear in this quote that he is reflecting on his past specifically from the first part. The account of the old reflective Esteban Trueba seems more reliable of an account to the reader since it is being more objective and is not modified by the strong emotions that were present during the events.
Like Esteban Trueba, the narrative of Alba is provided in two different ways. The first of these methods is used throughout most of the novel. This method is Alba reading the journals which Clara wrote throughout her life. Alba uses these to tell the story of the family before she was born. Allende uses this narrative to show the events which Esteban Trueba was not present for as well as the thoughts of Clara. This narrative allows events such as the history of the Del Valle family and many details of Rosa’s death to be told in the novel. An example of this would be during Rosa’s autopsy, “The night that Dr. Cuevas and his assistant cut open Rosa’s corpse in the kitchen to establish the cause of her death, Clara lay in bed with her eyes wide open, trembling in the dark. She was terrified that Rosa had died because she had said she would.” (37) In this quote it is obviously Clara’s account of the event since her thoughts are given and there was no one else who witnessed Clara that night. Clara then wrote these in her journal with which the narrative of Alba used them to tell the story. This narrative ends aside from minor references after Clara’s death. Since Clara had a tendency to ignore events that did not interest her, this is not the most complete recount of the events but it does provide another perspective of the events and helps to tell the story Esteban Trueba could not.
The other narrative of Alba is present in the last few chapters of the novel. This is Alba’s own account of the events she witnesses. Alba performs many actions which the rest of her family remains oblivious to for the duration of the novel. Examples of these include her meetings with Miguel and when she stole the food from Blanca. Also the details of her period of captivity and torture were unknown to the rest of her family. A quote from Alba’s narrative is “When I was in the doghouse, I wrote in my mind that one day Colonel Garcia would stand before me in defeat and that I would avenge myself on all those who need to be avenged. But now I have begun to question my own hatred.” (431) This quote is Alba talking about her memories of captivity and the thoughts she had at that time. Since she was blindfolded and being tortured at this time her memories may not have been the clearest but even with this limitation and the fact of her pro socialist bias the narrative of Alba still gives an in depth look at some of the methods of the fascist regime of the later part of the book.
The final narrative in the book is an all knowing third person narrative. The purpose of this narrative is to fill in the gaps in the narratives of Esteban Trueba and Alba. This narrative shows some events that could not possibly be told without it. These events include the death of Uncle Marcos, the meetings of Blanca and Pedro by the river at Tres Marias and also the details and thoughts of Jaime during the military coup and his torture and death. During all of these events none of the other narrators Esteban Trueba, Clara or Alba were present or ever heard a detailed description of them. This narrative is objective so the reader receives a believable recount of the events. A quote from this narrative would be, ““What’s this companeros? Have we gone to war with China?” Jaime smiled. “Keep going. You can’t stop here. Traffic is prohibited,” and officer ordered. “I’m sorry, but I received a call from the President’s office,” Jaime said, showing them his identification card. “I’m a doctor.” (366-367) This conversation was not heard by any other members of the family. This situation was very important to the novel and without the third person narrative we would know very little about the military coup.
The three narrators with their multiple sides of their narration allow the reader to be provided a broader view of the events in the novel and allow all of the sides of the family to be seen. Allende used all of these narratives for this purpose and succeeded in providing an interesting and well narrated story.


Chris Cook.

next paragraph

The other side of the narrative of Esteban Trueba is his reflective narrative. This is when he is thinking about the past from his old self and stating opinions on his actions of the past and stating what he would have done if he had known what would happen. An example of this would be “I remember perfectly. It had been a very happy day for me, because a new lode had appeared, the thick, magnificent seam that had eluded me throughout that time of sacrifice, absence, and hope, and that might represent the wealth I had been seeking for so long.” (32) It is clear in this quote that he is reflecting on his past specifically from the first part. The account of the old reflective Esteban Trueba seems more reliable of an account to the reader since it is being more objective and is not modified by the strong emotions that were present during the events.

1st two paragraphs

Allende uses multiple narratives to show all sides of the family and to complete the story. She uses the narratives of Esteban Trueba, Alba, and an all knowing third person narrative in the novel House of Spirits. These narratives allow for many different perspectives on events and allows for a wider account of the events in the novel.
The narrative of Esteban Trueba is provided in two different manners. There is one side of his narrative where he is speaking in the present. At these points he describes the events currently occurring within the story and he gives his opinions and perspectives on these events. These perspectives are affected by his mood and opinions of the activities that are occurring. A good example of this narrative is when Esteban is going to the Christopher Columbus near the end of the novel,
““Of course I’m alone” I shouted. The woman handed me the rose and asked me which room I preferred. “It makes no difference,” I replied, surprised. “We can offer you the Stable, the Temple, and the Thousand and One Nights. Which do you want?” “The Thousand and One Nights,” I said, for no particular reason.” (415)

This quotation shows how in this side of his narrative he is talking in the present. It also shows his thoughts during the proceedings and not reflections on the events. This narrative allows the readers to see many of the events differently than any of the other narratives, such as the events of Rosa’s death, the early days in Tres Marias, the meetings with Transito Soto.



(The blog messed up the quote format and paragraphs)

I'm back

Rough Draft (no quotes)

Here is the rough draft of my essay. I don't have quotes inserted yet but i will be adding them in the final draft. All feedback is appreciated.

The European colonization of Nigeria was represented more negatively in Things Fall Apart than in The Lion and the Jewel. In Things Fall Apart the colonization was shown as the destruction of the Ibo culture and religion and in The Lion and the Jewel it seemed almost idolized more than disliked.
Things Fall Apart begins by showing an explanation of what life in the Ibo tribes of Nigeria was like. It showed what was considered to be a positive trait for men and woman and how people became powerful and influential. The main character Okonkwo was a man considered highly in his tribe. He had 3 wives and was strong and hard working all of which were positive traits for men to have in the Ibo culture. The more wives you had demonstrated power and influence as well. When marrying a wife you had to pay a bride price in the Ibo culture and therefore the more wives you paid to get the better.
The book continued to have the Europeans arrive with their Christian beliefs and new and different ideas. At first this was thought of as no threat but then Christianity began to expand and schools were built. More and more people began converting to Christianity including Okonkwo’s son Nwoye. As the title of the novel suggests the book was written showing how the Ibo culture fell apart when the Europeans arrived. Okonkwo’s life was completely changed and he hated all of the changes that were occurring. One of the main reasons this book shows the European colonization negatively is because it is mainly from the point of view of Okonkwo who hated all of the changes. When Nwoye converted to Christianity the book showed some positive aspects of European colonization but it also showed how they were negatively received by many of the Ibo people and since the perspective was Okonkwo it was thought of as completely negative. Things get really tough between the Ibo and the Christians as the Christians grew in number and power. An Ibo ritual was then interrupted by some diehard Christians which caused major problems and some actions against the Christians. One of the actions was the burning of a church. Finally near the end the Okonkwo and 4 other powerful men from the tribe were held captive for ransom. After the ransom was paid the tribe considered going to war against the Christians like Okonkwo wanted. During a tribe meeting on the topic some Christians came and Okonkwo killed one of them. The rest fled and no chase was given. Okonkwo knew they had now lost the battle against Christianity and there would be no war. He hanged himself.
Okonkwo’s suicide shows just how negative the book showed the European colonization. It showed that they destroyed the Ibo culture as well as there religion and drove a once strong and influential individual like Okonkwo to commit suicide and force his people to bury him no better than a dog giving him no funeral or proper burial. Things Fall Apart focused on the destruction of the Ibo culture caused by the Europeans which led to negatively representing the European colonization of Nigeria. This was very different in The Lion and the Jewel.
In The Lion and the Jewel the European colonization was shown much more positively. One of the main characters (Lakunle) especially was completely accepting and even idolized the European culture. Even Baroka the Bale who was the leader of the tribe accepted some parts of the European culture. Sidi also loved the magazine created by the Europeans although she didn’t like some parts of the European culture like the lack of bride price. Another form of idolizing the Europeans was the mimes that were done by the tribe to show the Europeans actions. Baroka was opposed to a railroad and any other changes that could affect his position of power but he accepted the idea of a postal service which could benefit him. Schools were common now in Nigeria which is another part of European culture that was accepted by the tribe. Lakunle who was a school teacher loved the big European controlled cities and wanted to make his small town like them. He wouldn’t accept the idea of a bride price and wanted to have a European like relationship with Sidi. Sidi didn’t accept his idea of a wedding but not because it was a European idea but because she felt she would be degraded if Lakunle didn’t pay the bride price. In The Lion and the Jewel everyone accepted the European colonization to an extent.
The 2 books showed similar events of the European colonization. The Lion and the Jewel occurred later than Things Fall Apart which is one reason the attitudes towards the European colonization were more negative in Things Fall Apart. Many of the characters were completely opposed to European colonization in Things Fall Apart and it was partially accepted by everyone in The Lion and the Jewel. Therefore the European colonization was shown as more negative Things Fall Apart than in The Lion and the Jewel.

Chris

P.S. Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been very busy and wasn't home on March break.

I posted this in comments by accedent

I'm fairly busy right now but i'll work on a paragraph before I leave on Friday. I feel that Nwoye is used to show positive aspects of European culture but also his part of the story shows how those positive aspects were negativly viewed by many Ibo people (including Okonkwo). As for Merchant of Venice it's fairly good and probably will get better since we have only seen/read the first act.Chris

My thesis statement

The European colonialisation of Nigeria was shown more negatively in Things Fall Apart than The Lion and the Jewel.