Stories are composed of plot and character, among other elements. In fiction, the response of events demonstrates character and propels plot. This means that for a story to be believable, the character must take a single drive to explore what the author intends to achieve. Aristotle in The Poetics states that tragedy is “an imitation of an action, and the persons employed in that action being necessarily characterized by their manner and their sentiments, since it is from these that actions themselves derive their character, it follow that there must also be manner and sentiments as the two causes of action”(part2:14). Hence a study of a literary text reveals the proximal symbiotic relationship between plot and character as one can not exist without the other. This study sets out to evaluate the interrelationship of plot and character in Guy de Maupassant “The Necklace”.
Plot maybe described as a sequential arrangement of the events of a story which forms the structure in which other elements such as language, setting, spectacle, music, and character are contained therein. Klarar defines plot as “the logical interaction of the various thematic elements of a texts which leads to a change of the original situation as presented at the onset of the narrative”(15). On his part, Abrams sees plot as “a dramatic narrative work; it is constituted by its events and actions which are rendered toward achieving a particular artistic emotional effect” (233). Hearwrite is of the view that “plot is the problem that the character has to solve, followed by further obstacle as he begins to solve section of plot”(par3). Neil and Sarah state that “plot is the writer’s organization of interconnected events in a play, a story which build up the overall storyline” (127). Wikipedia on the other hand, defines plot as “a literary term for the events a story comprises, a sequence, through cause and effect or by coincidence” (par1). To Aristotle, of the elements of drama “the most important is the combination of incidents or the fable” (15). He referred to the fable as plot. Thus, plot is the melting pot of other elements in a story because the plot brings other elements to reality.
Characters are the living entities, humans or animals that an author employs to convey the events of a story. Events, happenings and actions do not just happen on their own; they must be propelled by a force which comes from the living entities undertaking them. This means that conventionally and in normal circumstance every action and event is the handy work of a particular person engineering it. Therefore, it is the human person or such animal characters that an author may decide to use like in Animal Farm (1945) by George Orwell. The characters used are animals that bring the story to life. Abrams sees character as “the persons who are interpreted by the reader as possessing a particular moral, intellectual and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it-the action”(33). Neil and Sarah on their part define character as “a created person in a play or story whose particular qualities are reveal by actions, descriptions and conversations” (68).
Consequently, if plot is the arrangement of event in a story, characters are the instigators of the actions of the story. This is because plot and character must work in harmony for the story to be brought to life. Plot and character development in a story are totally entwined and each is rap around the other. If the two terms are divorced from each other, there is bound to be serious problem since plot which represents the framework of the whole story in which everything hinges on can not come to reality except it is acted out by the characters. Thus, characters bring the events, situations in the plot by their use of voice and body and it is these activities of the characters by way of dialogue and action that tell the story which is imbued in the plot. What this implied is that there is a symbiosis between plot and character which is difficult to separate. Therefore, the plot can not exist without the character just as the character can not exist without the plot.
‘The Necklace’ is about the materialistic nature of human beings represented in the character of Mathilde. The plot of the story narrates her rise and fall. Through Mathilde’s action, the plot which runs in a linear order from beginning where her personality is reveal to the middle where she is engulfed in a web of problems and finally to the end which costs her entire family’s fortune is showcase.
In this story, the entire plot structure is undertaking by the actions, activities and dialogues of Mathilde alongside other characters such as her husband and madame Forestier. Without the plot, the characters above could not have been known and without the characters the events and every other thing contained there in, could not have been brought to existence or reality. We are able to understand the story through the characters. The thematic content of the story is made possible by the characters acting them out. Likewise, every character in the story is disclosed as the story unfolds, which is the plot. In the beginning she is portray as one who is not happy with where life places her “she was as unhappy as if she has really fallen from a higher station…She was distress at the poverty of her dwelling” (111). At the middle, her unsatisfied desires lead her to borrow a necklace from Madame Forestier to attend the ball. In the end, the necklace gets missing and her entire family’s fortune is gone.
Finally, plot and character are interdependently and mutually related to each other. Hence it is not possible to have a plot without a character just as it is not possible to have a character without a plot. According to Aristotle, “the action and the ‘fabal’ (plot) are the end of tragedy; and in everything, the end is of principle importance”(15 -16). Adams hence points to this fact when he states, “the verbal discourse is physical action (plot) is perform by a particular character who engineers the movement of the story” (233). To this end therefore it can be said that plot is character and character is plot and this has aptly being demonstrated by Guy de Maupassant in his highly ironic story.
WORKS CITED.
Aristotle. Poetics on Style Demetrius. London and New york: J.M. Dent and Sons LTD, 1934.
Guy de Maupassant. A day in the Country and Other Stories. Trans. Coward, David. London and U.S.A: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Hearwrite. Plot versus Character. http://hearwritenow.com|writing|plot-vs-character/.
http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/plot-(narrative).
Mario, klarer. An Introduction To Literary Studies. 2nd.ed.London and New york : Routledge, 2004.
M.H. Abrams. A Glossory of Literary Terms. 8th.ed. U.S.A: Thomson Wads Worth, 2005.
Neil King and Sarah King. Dictionary of Literary in English. London and Chicago: Fitroy Deaborn,2001.
by Peace Kyauta Solomon
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
AN ESSAY ON ROMANTICISM
Following the Enlightenment age, literary and philosophical movements began to spring up in Europe and America with the conscious aim of changing the prevailing statusquo. Arguments and counter arguments emerged all in an attempt to explain contemporary phenomenon of the period of enlightenment, scientific and industrial advancement. Movements like Realism, Naturalism and Romanticism came onboard. This essay focuses on Romanticism, its historical background, description, writers and major features.
Historically, Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe. Romanticism did not emerge until the Victorian Age which also coincides with the time Britain industrialized itself. Factories sprung up in towns and cities across the country and there was a massive exodus of people from the country side into the city centers in search of better economic opportunity to improve their livelihood. This period marked a turning point in modern literary history, as the railway, printing press and other progressive instruments change the ways in which things are perceived and done.
According to Hoffmann (2003) Romanticism represents various tendencies for change in such areas as subject matter, attitude and form. It is concern essentially with artistic depiction in which the ordinary and prosaic were imbued with the extra-ordinary and incomprehensible; where “the super-natural agency was given full sway”. It largely began as a reaction against the prevailing Enlightenment ideals. Or, “in a part It was a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the age of the Enlightenment and in another it is a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature and validate strong emotions as an authentic source of aesthetic experience”(Hodgson, 1988).
Poets such as James Macpherson, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats and William Blake were actively engaged in trying to create a new kind of poetry that emphasized intuition over reason and the pastoral over the urban. These poets according to Blamiers (1991) “deal with the natural aspect of life focusing on the feelings of sadness or great happiness because nature is the force which binds man to mother earth”. Romanticism decries the harsh and debased conditions of man in the modern era such as poverty, misery, frustration, war, destruction and alienation. It questioned the dogmatism of the period of Enlightenment. To this end therefore, artistic creativity is credited with new dimensions especially the human psyche or does areas of the human experience not easily upon to logic and reason.
To the Romanists, art is not a mirror that reflects society, but a lamb the shines the way for people to choose their path. They created the sense that the simple or the ordinary can be elevated to the level of the sublime through creativity and introspect. In this way, they object to the view that the object of literary composition must be noble, beautiful and perfect. Literature they argued is capable of elevating the ordinary or common to the level of sublimity. Samuel Taylor Coleridge posits that “great art is the margical blend of thought and emotion”. This means that art sprung from the sanity of thought and the accessibility of expression in order to present or represent the perception and truthfulness of nature and its components.
Romanticism was also a phenomenon in other fields such as history, religion and philosophy. “It was the hope of the poet that a large cultural synthesis could be achieved to erase the artificial boundaries separating these intellectual areas so that such polar concepts such as intellect and feeling, art and life would be fused. This is what the German writer, Freidrich Von Herdenberg meant when he announced that “the world must be Romanticized” Hoffmann (2003).
In 1798 William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published the Lyrical Ballad. In its preface they proclaimed the features of Romanticism and what it stands for. Some of these features are:
Transcendentalism-This means that their work can not be decipher through scientific means or reason, but through imagination or what they termed as transcendentalism, a concept in philosophy that understanding goes beyond human reason to the intuitive.
Nature - This is a major subject matter in all romantics works, they have an intense love for nature and all its agents. This emanates from the belief that nature is close to the creator and is pure and unpolluted by man. However, what interest them most is not just nature for its own sake, but how it affects the human mind and personality.
Pantheism-This is the notion that God is everywhere as against monotheism. However, this is only possible in the country side because as they argued the city canters are polluted and corrupted. With this they reject the idea of established institution such as the church. They argued that one does not need to go to church before he can experience God; that God is everywhere.
Emotional and Subjective Experience of the Poet. Romanists belief that in composing literary work it is the subjective and emotional feelings of the writer that should be the essential resource from which such works will get their production. All good poetry according to Wordsworth, “is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility. Poetic diction is rejected. Wordsworth says that the poet “use the real language of men not a specialized poetic diction”.
They also recognized the cyclic nature of existence recognizing the spiritual verities as holy and a source of existence.
To conclude, Romanticism is a conscious breakaway from the preoccupations of the Enlightenment ideals to set a new record on how literature should be perceived and designed and what the picture of life seems to them. It did not just reacted to the tenets of the previous writers which it found artificial, destructive and debilitating; it developed its own ideologies and premises based on the working of nature and its various elements. It returned to nature which it belief gives the semblance of perfection, beauty, tranquility, harmony and exuberance of untained vibrant emotions which is the opposite to the mechanic world of the industrial age.
Works Cited.
Duncan, Wu.(2007)ed.Romanticism:An Anthrology.3rd, ed. USA: Blackwell.
E.T.A. Hoffmann(2003). The Sandman. Retrieved from http://www.the literarylink.com/Hoffmann.html. on 18th January 2011.
M.H. Abrams.(2005). A glossaryof literary terms.8th, ed. USA:Thomson Wadswoth.
Terry, Hodgson.(1988).The Batsford Dictionary of Drama.London, B.T Batsford ltd
William, Wodswoth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.(1798).Lyrical Ballad.
Historically, Romanticism is a complex artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe. Romanticism did not emerge until the Victorian Age which also coincides with the time Britain industrialized itself. Factories sprung up in towns and cities across the country and there was a massive exodus of people from the country side into the city centers in search of better economic opportunity to improve their livelihood. This period marked a turning point in modern literary history, as the railway, printing press and other progressive instruments change the ways in which things are perceived and done.
According to Hoffmann (2003) Romanticism represents various tendencies for change in such areas as subject matter, attitude and form. It is concern essentially with artistic depiction in which the ordinary and prosaic were imbued with the extra-ordinary and incomprehensible; where “the super-natural agency was given full sway”. It largely began as a reaction against the prevailing Enlightenment ideals. Or, “in a part It was a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the age of the Enlightenment and in another it is a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature and validate strong emotions as an authentic source of aesthetic experience”(Hodgson, 1988).
Poets such as James Macpherson, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats and William Blake were actively engaged in trying to create a new kind of poetry that emphasized intuition over reason and the pastoral over the urban. These poets according to Blamiers (1991) “deal with the natural aspect of life focusing on the feelings of sadness or great happiness because nature is the force which binds man to mother earth”. Romanticism decries the harsh and debased conditions of man in the modern era such as poverty, misery, frustration, war, destruction and alienation. It questioned the dogmatism of the period of Enlightenment. To this end therefore, artistic creativity is credited with new dimensions especially the human psyche or does areas of the human experience not easily upon to logic and reason.
To the Romanists, art is not a mirror that reflects society, but a lamb the shines the way for people to choose their path. They created the sense that the simple or the ordinary can be elevated to the level of the sublime through creativity and introspect. In this way, they object to the view that the object of literary composition must be noble, beautiful and perfect. Literature they argued is capable of elevating the ordinary or common to the level of sublimity. Samuel Taylor Coleridge posits that “great art is the margical blend of thought and emotion”. This means that art sprung from the sanity of thought and the accessibility of expression in order to present or represent the perception and truthfulness of nature and its components.
Romanticism was also a phenomenon in other fields such as history, religion and philosophy. “It was the hope of the poet that a large cultural synthesis could be achieved to erase the artificial boundaries separating these intellectual areas so that such polar concepts such as intellect and feeling, art and life would be fused. This is what the German writer, Freidrich Von Herdenberg meant when he announced that “the world must be Romanticized” Hoffmann (2003).
In 1798 William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge published the Lyrical Ballad. In its preface they proclaimed the features of Romanticism and what it stands for. Some of these features are:
Transcendentalism-This means that their work can not be decipher through scientific means or reason, but through imagination or what they termed as transcendentalism, a concept in philosophy that understanding goes beyond human reason to the intuitive.
Nature - This is a major subject matter in all romantics works, they have an intense love for nature and all its agents. This emanates from the belief that nature is close to the creator and is pure and unpolluted by man. However, what interest them most is not just nature for its own sake, but how it affects the human mind and personality.
Pantheism-This is the notion that God is everywhere as against monotheism. However, this is only possible in the country side because as they argued the city canters are polluted and corrupted. With this they reject the idea of established institution such as the church. They argued that one does not need to go to church before he can experience God; that God is everywhere.
Emotional and Subjective Experience of the Poet. Romanists belief that in composing literary work it is the subjective and emotional feelings of the writer that should be the essential resource from which such works will get their production. All good poetry according to Wordsworth, “is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility. Poetic diction is rejected. Wordsworth says that the poet “use the real language of men not a specialized poetic diction”.
They also recognized the cyclic nature of existence recognizing the spiritual verities as holy and a source of existence.
To conclude, Romanticism is a conscious breakaway from the preoccupations of the Enlightenment ideals to set a new record on how literature should be perceived and designed and what the picture of life seems to them. It did not just reacted to the tenets of the previous writers which it found artificial, destructive and debilitating; it developed its own ideologies and premises based on the working of nature and its various elements. It returned to nature which it belief gives the semblance of perfection, beauty, tranquility, harmony and exuberance of untained vibrant emotions which is the opposite to the mechanic world of the industrial age.
Works Cited.
Duncan, Wu.(2007)ed.Romanticism:An Anthrology.3rd, ed. USA: Blackwell.
E.T.A. Hoffmann(2003). The Sandman. Retrieved from http://www.the literarylink.com/Hoffmann.html. on 18th January 2011.
M.H. Abrams.(2005). A glossaryof literary terms.8th, ed. USA:Thomson Wadswoth.
Terry, Hodgson.(1988).The Batsford Dictionary of Drama.London, B.T Batsford ltd
William, Wodswoth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.(1798).Lyrical Ballad.
Friday, June 3, 2011
THE NECESSITY OF SELF-ESTEEM
Self-esteem is a compound word made up of 'self' meaning a person’s personality or character that makes them different from another people and 'esteem' meaning great respect and admiration; a good opinion of somebody. It is a term commonly referred to as self-worth, self-image or self-ascertain by different people. What is self-esteem? Who need it? Why is it important? How does one bolster a waning or sagging self-esteem? Constitute the basis of this article.
According to word net, self-esteem is a feeling of pride in you.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (6th edition) concurs by saying that, “it is a feeling of being happy with your own character and abilities.” Nathaniel Braden, in his book, The Art of Living Consciously. (1997), also affirms that, “self-esteem is the disposition to experience oneself as being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and of being worthy of happiness. It is the experience that success, achievement, fulfillment happiness are right natural for us”. It is clear from these definitions that self-esteem is an integral part of human soul. It is the condiment, the ingredient that gives dignity to human existence. Self-esteem is not and should not be seen as the ecstatic of buoyancy that is temporarily induced by a love affair, a drug or a compliment. It is not an illusion or hallucination it is grounded in reality, it is build overtime through appropriate operation of the mind. One writer said, “Sometimes the adolescent with a weak identity and low self-esteem tries to develop a false front or façade with which to face the world, the role. Some assume are familiar; the tough guy, the promiscuous socialite, the outrageously clad punts rockets, but beneath the façade such youth still grapple with the feeling of inferiority.”
Building your self-esteem is a first step towards your happiness and a better life. Self-esteem increases your confidence your confidence in turn, makes you to respect yourself and others which helps you become happier. This is not a selfish goal as you will contribute more and share yourself with the world and those around you. Low self-esteem causes depression, unhappiness, insecurity, inner criticisms; that nagging voice of disapproval inside you causes you to stumble at every challenge. Your ability to assert yourself at work, in school and daily life activities will either make or mar you. Having negative feelings about yourself, hurtfully criticizing yourself even when there is no bases for that should be scotched with immediate effect. Instead of criticizing and complaining, ask your self; what can I do to make things work. The question shouldn’t be who is to blame, but what I can do to improve the status quo, no blame game.
A sagging self-esteem needs to be bolstered or else it goes completely dead. The following practices will help to bolster and nurture a waning or low self-esteem:
a. Face your fears
b. Forget you failures learn from them.
c. Know what you want and ask for it.
d. Praise yourself when you succeed and don’t condemn yourself when you don’t seem to.
Face your fears: Challenges might seem scary, but most of the times your fears are usually exaggerated. Facing your fears increases your confidence and boosts your esteem, running from them mean cowardice and will never take away the fact that they exist. Show the stuff you are made up with by facing them boldly-you are not a coward. Are you?
Forget your failures, but learn from them: Failure has become a nightmare to some people. Agreed, it is debilitating, but it is not worth the trouble it caused such people. Looking at failure as an opportunity to try another thing more intelligently will help take away the nightmarishing feeling. When asked by a journalist if he considers himself a failure after his 99 fail attempt to discover the light bulb, Thomas Edison confidently reply that he did not fail at each attempt; rather, he succeeded at discovering another idea that wouldn’t work. Persistence, endurance and vision firmly directed at a destination culminate to be success. As Karl Max will say, “error which is not corrected is a sign of intellectual immorality.” Avoid making the same mistakes, but don’t limit yourself by assuming you fail before so you can’t succeed this time. Try again, you are wiser and stronger don’t be trapped in the past! You are not going to be defeated by one failed attempt. Are you? Don’t people fail before they succeed? All you need is a different approach.
Know what you want and ask for it: Don’t keep mute when you are supposed to speak, you have to show where you belong. Life does not give you what you deserve, but what you demand. Speak out! You need to be heard, you need to be self-assertive. You deserve your dreams to come through! But no body will come and put that dream in your hand, you will have to go and get it. Ask question if you have any doubt, don’t assume you know when you don't.
Praise yourself when you succeed and don’t condemn yourself when you don’t seem to.Completely away from being conceited, you must learn to cultivate the habit of congratulating yourself and feeling good on your skilful and diligent effort at all you do. Isn’t everything easier when you take time to help yourself? Make it a habit not to do shoddy work and be positive. Do not underestimate your skill and the repertoire of what you can do. For instance, you may not think that being able to cook or to fix a flat tyre is that important, but a hungry person or a stranded motorist will admire you for having such skills.
The importance of self-esteem can not be over emphasized. Begin to see yourself as really someone deserving of respect and dignity. Be optimistic and feel valuable. Break down the habit of seeing yourself as someone who can not accomplish anything spectacular. Don’t just wish , do something because action is necessary step to take no mater what habit you desire to break. Don’t make a trifling effort; it wouldn’t work-make a gigantic determination. You have to see your life as an answer and not a problem.
According to word net, self-esteem is a feeling of pride in you.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (6th edition) concurs by saying that, “it is a feeling of being happy with your own character and abilities.” Nathaniel Braden, in his book, The Art of Living Consciously. (1997), also affirms that, “self-esteem is the disposition to experience oneself as being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and of being worthy of happiness. It is the experience that success, achievement, fulfillment happiness are right natural for us”. It is clear from these definitions that self-esteem is an integral part of human soul. It is the condiment, the ingredient that gives dignity to human existence. Self-esteem is not and should not be seen as the ecstatic of buoyancy that is temporarily induced by a love affair, a drug or a compliment. It is not an illusion or hallucination it is grounded in reality, it is build overtime through appropriate operation of the mind. One writer said, “Sometimes the adolescent with a weak identity and low self-esteem tries to develop a false front or façade with which to face the world, the role. Some assume are familiar; the tough guy, the promiscuous socialite, the outrageously clad punts rockets, but beneath the façade such youth still grapple with the feeling of inferiority.”
Building your self-esteem is a first step towards your happiness and a better life. Self-esteem increases your confidence your confidence in turn, makes you to respect yourself and others which helps you become happier. This is not a selfish goal as you will contribute more and share yourself with the world and those around you. Low self-esteem causes depression, unhappiness, insecurity, inner criticisms; that nagging voice of disapproval inside you causes you to stumble at every challenge. Your ability to assert yourself at work, in school and daily life activities will either make or mar you. Having negative feelings about yourself, hurtfully criticizing yourself even when there is no bases for that should be scotched with immediate effect. Instead of criticizing and complaining, ask your self; what can I do to make things work. The question shouldn’t be who is to blame, but what I can do to improve the status quo, no blame game.
A sagging self-esteem needs to be bolstered or else it goes completely dead. The following practices will help to bolster and nurture a waning or low self-esteem:
a. Face your fears
b. Forget you failures learn from them.
c. Know what you want and ask for it.
d. Praise yourself when you succeed and don’t condemn yourself when you don’t seem to.
Face your fears: Challenges might seem scary, but most of the times your fears are usually exaggerated. Facing your fears increases your confidence and boosts your esteem, running from them mean cowardice and will never take away the fact that they exist. Show the stuff you are made up with by facing them boldly-you are not a coward. Are you?
Forget your failures, but learn from them: Failure has become a nightmare to some people. Agreed, it is debilitating, but it is not worth the trouble it caused such people. Looking at failure as an opportunity to try another thing more intelligently will help take away the nightmarishing feeling. When asked by a journalist if he considers himself a failure after his 99 fail attempt to discover the light bulb, Thomas Edison confidently reply that he did not fail at each attempt; rather, he succeeded at discovering another idea that wouldn’t work. Persistence, endurance and vision firmly directed at a destination culminate to be success. As Karl Max will say, “error which is not corrected is a sign of intellectual immorality.” Avoid making the same mistakes, but don’t limit yourself by assuming you fail before so you can’t succeed this time. Try again, you are wiser and stronger don’t be trapped in the past! You are not going to be defeated by one failed attempt. Are you? Don’t people fail before they succeed? All you need is a different approach.
Know what you want and ask for it: Don’t keep mute when you are supposed to speak, you have to show where you belong. Life does not give you what you deserve, but what you demand. Speak out! You need to be heard, you need to be self-assertive. You deserve your dreams to come through! But no body will come and put that dream in your hand, you will have to go and get it. Ask question if you have any doubt, don’t assume you know when you don't.
Praise yourself when you succeed and don’t condemn yourself when you don’t seem to.Completely away from being conceited, you must learn to cultivate the habit of congratulating yourself and feeling good on your skilful and diligent effort at all you do. Isn’t everything easier when you take time to help yourself? Make it a habit not to do shoddy work and be positive. Do not underestimate your skill and the repertoire of what you can do. For instance, you may not think that being able to cook or to fix a flat tyre is that important, but a hungry person or a stranded motorist will admire you for having such skills.
The importance of self-esteem can not be over emphasized. Begin to see yourself as really someone deserving of respect and dignity. Be optimistic and feel valuable. Break down the habit of seeing yourself as someone who can not accomplish anything spectacular. Don’t just wish , do something because action is necessary step to take no mater what habit you desire to break. Don’t make a trifling effort; it wouldn’t work-make a gigantic determination. You have to see your life as an answer and not a problem.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
From Khaki to Baban-riga
The military due to mistake of some sort ruled this contraption called Nigeria for over 30 years. Before their reign finally came to a halt in 1999, majority of Nigerians complained bitterly over the militariness of the ‘Khaki boys’ and their characteristic looting and siphoning of the country’s resources; intolerance to opposition, denial of freedom of speech, stark brutality, injustice and political imprisonment. History books and literary materials rebuked it in all its manifestations through a creative escape from censorship in favour of democratic rule. This period was even termed Nigeria’s Dark Age by many. A period of suspended human right, an age of fear and anxiety, a time of misery and mishap and a period that engenders massive exodus of creative minds to other lands. It was indeed a time of harassment and crippling of the economic stability in an unprecedented scale. This sweet bitter military regime and the pleasant painful experience of the people created almost an irrevocable and irredeemable vestige even after its demise in the banal of our history.
May 29, 1999 it appeared that wishes have finally turned to reality when the gentle and honorable general, General Abdulsalam Abubakar brought to fruition the yearning and aspiration of a country that have long awaited for a democratic governance that is anchored on the principles of fairness, equality, justice and development.
Today is May 26, 2011 some ten years after the military relinquished the mantle of leadership to the civilians. The drums were beating, voices joyfully sang and people happily danced heralding a new beginning. Hope was rekindled and progressive growth assured, so that the people possessed an unflinching faith in the new system. Indeed appreciation goes to some of these politicians who have lived up to their responsibilities Like the Sarkin Yakin Gombe, Alh. Danjuma Goje, a world standard democratic leader of outstanding repute.
Unfortunately today, ten years into this craved democratic rule, the sirens are still blaring, the guns are still shooting, the rulers are still flaunting their avaricious tendencies for looting and corruption, traditional rulers who are suppose to be the custodians of the people’s culture are taking part in exploiting their own people, the leaders are still parading their insensitivity to the suffering of the people; the people are still hungry and dehumanized and voices that refused to give-up are voicing out the dilapidated, deplorable, marred, unhealthy and suffocating hot dusty air the people are coerced to breath in. Post military regime has not being able to heal the wounds of military regime. Post military rulers have not being able to correct the mistakes of their predecessors. This is because there was just a mere change of uniform from khaki to babanriga; there was no change of purpose and intention. Somehow they have not gone back to the barracks; they only entered a dressing room and change attires to continue from where they stopped. Many of these politicians are former soldiers; some of them are trained by soldiers; there is something militaristic in them. What has suddenly gone wrong with the hope of the people? Deceits, hypocrisy, disgusting shenanigans have characterized this nascent democracy. To solve these problems will require that an honest intention is undertaking to identify their direct opposites and reverse them or substitute them.
In the next few days, May 29, 2011 there is another inauguration. We hope that it is not going to be an inauguration of improved deceit, selfishness, jiggery-pokkery and complete lack of commitment and responsibility to Nigeria. We in Gombe State are grateful to God for given us the best replacement of Alh. Danjuma Goje in the person of Alh. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwanbo (OON) whom we belief will follow in his selfless foot steps. Gombawas lets pray for him, he is another TRANSFORMER.
Nigerian politicians do not fail democracy. Do not make it look like it is not going to work here, because it will. It is the best we can get for now. God bless Nigeria. Happy Democracy day.
May 29, 1999 it appeared that wishes have finally turned to reality when the gentle and honorable general, General Abdulsalam Abubakar brought to fruition the yearning and aspiration of a country that have long awaited for a democratic governance that is anchored on the principles of fairness, equality, justice and development.
Today is May 26, 2011 some ten years after the military relinquished the mantle of leadership to the civilians. The drums were beating, voices joyfully sang and people happily danced heralding a new beginning. Hope was rekindled and progressive growth assured, so that the people possessed an unflinching faith in the new system. Indeed appreciation goes to some of these politicians who have lived up to their responsibilities Like the Sarkin Yakin Gombe, Alh. Danjuma Goje, a world standard democratic leader of outstanding repute.
Unfortunately today, ten years into this craved democratic rule, the sirens are still blaring, the guns are still shooting, the rulers are still flaunting their avaricious tendencies for looting and corruption, traditional rulers who are suppose to be the custodians of the people’s culture are taking part in exploiting their own people, the leaders are still parading their insensitivity to the suffering of the people; the people are still hungry and dehumanized and voices that refused to give-up are voicing out the dilapidated, deplorable, marred, unhealthy and suffocating hot dusty air the people are coerced to breath in. Post military regime has not being able to heal the wounds of military regime. Post military rulers have not being able to correct the mistakes of their predecessors. This is because there was just a mere change of uniform from khaki to babanriga; there was no change of purpose and intention. Somehow they have not gone back to the barracks; they only entered a dressing room and change attires to continue from where they stopped. Many of these politicians are former soldiers; some of them are trained by soldiers; there is something militaristic in them. What has suddenly gone wrong with the hope of the people? Deceits, hypocrisy, disgusting shenanigans have characterized this nascent democracy. To solve these problems will require that an honest intention is undertaking to identify their direct opposites and reverse them or substitute them.
In the next few days, May 29, 2011 there is another inauguration. We hope that it is not going to be an inauguration of improved deceit, selfishness, jiggery-pokkery and complete lack of commitment and responsibility to Nigeria. We in Gombe State are grateful to God for given us the best replacement of Alh. Danjuma Goje in the person of Alh. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwanbo (OON) whom we belief will follow in his selfless foot steps. Gombawas lets pray for him, he is another TRANSFORMER.
Nigerian politicians do not fail democracy. Do not make it look like it is not going to work here, because it will. It is the best we can get for now. God bless Nigeria. Happy Democracy day.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Aftermath
Every action is undertaken for the purpose of achieving a particular goal. What have we achieved by our recent actions?
we have killed, maimed and destroyed the properties of the same people we share the same problems with, while the real enemies are out there doing fine, living fat and still oppressing and victimizing
We can’t fight them like that and win! They have all the soldiers, navy air force and the police at their disposal.
Why are the poor still blind, killing fellow poor men with the same scar of brutality just because of religious inclination?
The oppressors always win in Nigeria because we fail to know when and where the rains begin to beat us and where the rains come from.
Instead of uniting against the common enemy, we cowardly turn to the same people we share the same problems with.
As long as we perpetuate this act, the justice, transparency, accountability and honesty that we have been looking for will continue to elude us.
Guns, machetes, spears, bows and arrows, bombs and knives don’t bring the required change, but dialogue; a peaceful and decent way of turning things around.
Even though we burnt their houses and property, they have lost a little, if any. in fact, we are the greater losers because we have opened more doors for them to steal our money and refurbish what we destroyed, three times the normal cost.
It is now over but the situation has not changed. In the aftermath of burning, killing and maiming innocent people, we have suffered double losses. We wasted energy and valuable time compounding our problems.
We also failed because we did not confront the actual problem.
Now, they have sent soldiers to us because we were killing ourselves like animals in the bush. What an insult! When will the eyes of the poor Nigerians see well and their minds act well?
we have killed, maimed and destroyed the properties of the same people we share the same problems with, while the real enemies are out there doing fine, living fat and still oppressing and victimizing
We can’t fight them like that and win! They have all the soldiers, navy air force and the police at their disposal.
Why are the poor still blind, killing fellow poor men with the same scar of brutality just because of religious inclination?
The oppressors always win in Nigeria because we fail to know when and where the rains begin to beat us and where the rains come from.
Instead of uniting against the common enemy, we cowardly turn to the same people we share the same problems with.
As long as we perpetuate this act, the justice, transparency, accountability and honesty that we have been looking for will continue to elude us.
Guns, machetes, spears, bows and arrows, bombs and knives don’t bring the required change, but dialogue; a peaceful and decent way of turning things around.
Even though we burnt their houses and property, they have lost a little, if any. in fact, we are the greater losers because we have opened more doors for them to steal our money and refurbish what we destroyed, three times the normal cost.
It is now over but the situation has not changed. In the aftermath of burning, killing and maiming innocent people, we have suffered double losses. We wasted energy and valuable time compounding our problems.
We also failed because we did not confront the actual problem.
Now, they have sent soldiers to us because we were killing ourselves like animals in the bush. What an insult! When will the eyes of the poor Nigerians see well and their minds act well?
Saturday, April 30, 2011
LOGS OF WOOD ON THE HIGH-WAY.
It baffles me! I am utterly astounded beyond the conceptual frame of rationality. It is yet another experiential encounter of the perpetuation of conservatism and incompetence. Everything was black from the unfortunate act, to the road it occurred on, to the time of the day it mostly happen, to the livery worn by the perpetrators. I am left without any choice but to ruminate that there is a direct symbiosis between the attire they deck on and their behavioural temperament, mental disposition and habitual manner of operation. If otherwise, why should such an institution that is saddled with the constitutional obligation of upholding the rules of the land and protecting the citizenry from injuries either to themselves or to there properties becomes the very one that in a most savage mannerism of impropriety put the people they are suppose to safeguard into suffocating pains, sometimes complete annihilation and most often the destruction and ruin of the means of their livelihood. If this were to be reported in a foreign tabloid or other media, I couldn’t have given it an iota of belief.
The Nigeria Police Force (N P F) was a 1930s creation during the hostile draconian and parasitic colonial administration of the British government. The (N P F) since its creation was bestowed with the legal duties of maintaining peace, law and order, safeguarding the lives and properties of the people among other responsibilities. Susan Martins (1990) states that, law enforcement officers ‘are supposed to prevent crime, protect life and property, enforce the laws, and maintain peace and public order’.
The ancient Greek philosopher, Hiraclitus declares that, ‘change is the only permanent thing in life… It is the law of nature and conditions of all things, for all things are ceaselessly changing. All things are in the state of flux’. Old things and ways die out to give space for new things and ways to come on board. Fortunately, some law enforcement institutions have wholly metamorphose from their old operative tendencies to a new sophisticated and technologically driven ones in response to the changing times. Unfortunately, some do not. They still clutch to the old ways even when it has become necessary and logical to adjust for either being blind or too insensitive to modern and safer trends in their field. Such institutions like the (N P F) are an aberration to what constitute modern operative techniques especially on the high-way operations at night.
Police check points are intended to cope and prevent criminal activities of some bad fellows who have taken it upon themselves to live like predators. To the contrary, this is not the state of check points in Nigerian roads as they constitute a menace to motorists among other dubious acts of the police.
Frequently, these roadblocks or check points are set up in the high-way and usually in an inauspicious location like road bends and hill brows using heavy trunks of trees that were mercilessly chopped down. This bizarre and unmodern act most often leave the motorists crying in the pool of their blood and sometimes deceased as such barricades or obstruction could not be seen in due time, so that the driver avoids running into them. Worst still, is the fact that these heavy blockades are left as they are set abreast the dual lanes at night without any form of modern means of illumination to signal to the road users that they are approaching a security check point. Instead, some abso-bloody-lutely anachronistic lanterns that emit fuliginous and nebulous red flames are set across the edges of the road; these red flames only become apparent when the driver is right at them. Many a times, fatal accidents occur for this careless, thoughtless and retrogressive act. As a result, properties worth substantial amount of Naira are lost and some times innocent lives go with them. Recently, a friend had to suffer great lost as a result of this along Bauchi-Gombe road. Yet, many have lost love ones already and these check points will continue to do harm instead of good to the people.
Time is more than right and appropriate for the (N P F) to mutate from their prehistoric mentality and perilous acts especially with regard to the issues afore mentioned and embrace modern and better ways of doing things especially as they relate to the general public, so that they can serve the people effectively and honourably. A simple illuminating light box with ‘POLICE CHECK POINT’ boldly written in it and placed on a conspicuous spot on the road should not be beyond the reach of the Nigerian Police Force.
To go journalistic, Daily Trust of the April 5th 2011carried the story ‘Scores die along Jos-Bauchi highway auto crash’. In the story, over 20 people are feared dead, not to mention the injured ones and the destroyed vehicles and other properties caught in the mayhem. This accident was caused by a roadblock outfit along Jos- Bauchi highway. Our politicians never care because it is one of the place that reminds them of their super-human feelings as the road blockers never fail to freeze in salutation, beside the better the car the less the scrutiny.
More so, these roadblocks are models for the wayward-armed robbers who mount similar outfits to cause additional hardship to the already over traumatized citizens of this country. If these roadblocks are necessary on the highway, then they should be given human face scientifically, technologically and safely. At least we are in the 21st century and there are models, even if our police are so uncreative to initiate road safety checkpoints.
Although this write-up may not enjoy the readership of the ‘right people’ but the right minds will not miss the points being made.
The Nigeria Police Force (N P F) was a 1930s creation during the hostile draconian and parasitic colonial administration of the British government. The (N P F) since its creation was bestowed with the legal duties of maintaining peace, law and order, safeguarding the lives and properties of the people among other responsibilities. Susan Martins (1990) states that, law enforcement officers ‘are supposed to prevent crime, protect life and property, enforce the laws, and maintain peace and public order’.
The ancient Greek philosopher, Hiraclitus declares that, ‘change is the only permanent thing in life… It is the law of nature and conditions of all things, for all things are ceaselessly changing. All things are in the state of flux’. Old things and ways die out to give space for new things and ways to come on board. Fortunately, some law enforcement institutions have wholly metamorphose from their old operative tendencies to a new sophisticated and technologically driven ones in response to the changing times. Unfortunately, some do not. They still clutch to the old ways even when it has become necessary and logical to adjust for either being blind or too insensitive to modern and safer trends in their field. Such institutions like the (N P F) are an aberration to what constitute modern operative techniques especially on the high-way operations at night.
Police check points are intended to cope and prevent criminal activities of some bad fellows who have taken it upon themselves to live like predators. To the contrary, this is not the state of check points in Nigerian roads as they constitute a menace to motorists among other dubious acts of the police.
Frequently, these roadblocks or check points are set up in the high-way and usually in an inauspicious location like road bends and hill brows using heavy trunks of trees that were mercilessly chopped down. This bizarre and unmodern act most often leave the motorists crying in the pool of their blood and sometimes deceased as such barricades or obstruction could not be seen in due time, so that the driver avoids running into them. Worst still, is the fact that these heavy blockades are left as they are set abreast the dual lanes at night without any form of modern means of illumination to signal to the road users that they are approaching a security check point. Instead, some abso-bloody-lutely anachronistic lanterns that emit fuliginous and nebulous red flames are set across the edges of the road; these red flames only become apparent when the driver is right at them. Many a times, fatal accidents occur for this careless, thoughtless and retrogressive act. As a result, properties worth substantial amount of Naira are lost and some times innocent lives go with them. Recently, a friend had to suffer great lost as a result of this along Bauchi-Gombe road. Yet, many have lost love ones already and these check points will continue to do harm instead of good to the people.
Time is more than right and appropriate for the (N P F) to mutate from their prehistoric mentality and perilous acts especially with regard to the issues afore mentioned and embrace modern and better ways of doing things especially as they relate to the general public, so that they can serve the people effectively and honourably. A simple illuminating light box with ‘POLICE CHECK POINT’ boldly written in it and placed on a conspicuous spot on the road should not be beyond the reach of the Nigerian Police Force.
To go journalistic, Daily Trust of the April 5th 2011carried the story ‘Scores die along Jos-Bauchi highway auto crash’. In the story, over 20 people are feared dead, not to mention the injured ones and the destroyed vehicles and other properties caught in the mayhem. This accident was caused by a roadblock outfit along Jos- Bauchi highway. Our politicians never care because it is one of the place that reminds them of their super-human feelings as the road blockers never fail to freeze in salutation, beside the better the car the less the scrutiny.
More so, these roadblocks are models for the wayward-armed robbers who mount similar outfits to cause additional hardship to the already over traumatized citizens of this country. If these roadblocks are necessary on the highway, then they should be given human face scientifically, technologically and safely. At least we are in the 21st century and there are models, even if our police are so uncreative to initiate road safety checkpoints.
Although this write-up may not enjoy the readership of the ‘right people’ but the right minds will not miss the points being made.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
‘A SHORT STORY SHOULD HAVE A CERTAIN UNIQUE OR SINGLE EFFECT TO BE WROUGHT OUT’ A CASE STUDY OF THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER BY EDGAR ALLAN POE.
As a prose narrative, the short story is defined in numerous ways by several scholars-as a result, there is no one universal definition of the term that cut-across. Yet, the definitions given by Edgar Allan Poe and Gordon and Kuehner do not negate and misrepresent what the short story is. According to Gordon and Kuehner quoted by bookbyte.com, a short story is ‘a short prose narrative if it contains some 5000 words it is usually characterized as short story, if its length reaches 15000 words it could be characterized as a novel.’ Allan Poe on his part as quoted by William Boyd in Prospect Magazine says it is, ‘a short prose narrative requiring from a half hour to two hours of perusal.’ In his review of Nathaniel Hawthome’s collection of stories titled Twice Told Tales, poe states that ‘we allude to the short prose narrative, requiring from a half to one or two hours in its perusal. The ordinary novel is objectionable, from its length, it can not be read at one sitting, it deprives itself of course of the immense force derivable from totality’. These two perspectives by Gordon and Kuehner and Allan Poe looked at the short story in terms of its length and duration of reading. Essentially therefore, what they have succeeded in doing is presenting a presenting a prescriptive meaning of what the short story is perceived to be today.
However, the short story discusses a wide range of subject from historical, to topical, political to socio-economic and cultural. For example, O’ Henry’s The Gift of the Maggi deals with the issues of unconditional love and sacrifice. Alice Walker’s ‘Every day Use’ handles issues related to cultural heritages. While Zainab Alkali’s ‘Saltless Ash’ and ‘The Vagabond’ exposes the social ills in a patriarchal society engineered and manipulated by the men folks. The domain of the short story is hence not; limited to the number of subject it can discuss-it is open to all forms of discuss. Its only limitation lies in the number of ideas that can be discuss at a time, usually it makes room for a considerable few ideas at a time.
The statement, ‘A short story should have a certain unique or single effect to be wrought out’ was made in The Theory of the Short Story (1842) by one of America Hawthorne
“A skillful literary artist has constructed a tale. If wise, he has not fashioned his thought to accommodate his incidents; but having conceived with deliberate care, a certain unique or single effect to be wrought out, he then invents such incidents and then combines such events as may best aid him in establishing his preconceived effect. If his very initial sentence tends not to be out bringing this effect, then he has failed this first step. In the whole composition, there should be no word written of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design.”
The whole notion of Poe’s unity of mood or singleness of effect implies that the short story concentrates on a particular mood, sober, hopeful, optimistic, horror or pessimistic. This is because the milieu of the short story is limited in space, length, setting, themes and characters-so that there is no space to deal with varied moods. One mood usually predominates in the story. As Eric affirms, “a great short story is generally about one thing, one situation, one feeling-which it introduces then gradually builds it to climax”. Each choice made in the construction of the narrative must contribute to the dominant and pre-conceived effect so as to lend the story a sense of consequence. The complete purpose of this Poe remarks, is to “evoke Excessive” emotions at the story’s climax. He stresses that, “only then can we get the satisfaction of ‘totality’ or enjoying a work in its totality”. “When we read something of this length, we are less likely to become distracted” (brainstorm).
The Fall of the House of Usher is considered by most critics to be the best example of Poe’s ‘totality’, where every element and detail is related and relevant. Eric Rosenfield states that the notion of the “certain unique or single effect to be wrought out informs Poe’s own story which generally follow a straight forward path to a definite climax and then are finished”
The Fall of the House of Usher (1839) is a gothic horror story, written in the first person by Poe. It encompasses this notion of singularity of effect as the entire story revolves around Roderick Usher, Lady Madeline, his twin sister and the unnamed narrator revealed as Usher’s friend. It focuses on the generational malaise and terror and subsequent annihilation of the Usher’s family.
In this story, Poe harmonizes and synthesizes all or each element of the short story to contribute to the overall effect of the work. He makes every word, every phrase and every sentence part of the organic whole. Together, they develop and buttress the major theme of horror that characterize not only the setting, but the characters and the situations surrounding them. For example, words, phrases and sentences like, dull, dark, soundless autumn, clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, insufferable gloom, alone, sorrow, melancholy and singularly dreary all establish the one single mood of this masterpiece which is horror accompanied by gloom.
From his arrival, the narrator notices a gloomy vicinity surrounding the fungus covered Usher’s house. When the narrator arrives by horseback one autumn evening at the House of Usher, the sight of its bleak walls and desolate grounds fills him with gloom. Everything from inception gives the signal of terror and fear. His contact with Roderick Usher and later glimpse of Lady Madeline feels him with woe which he describes as ‘insufferable gloom’. At the denouement of the story, the narrator continues to come into constant touch with yet another picture of terrific doom as lady Madeline apparently demise now resurrect and collapses on her brother, Usher- and then the colossal ruin of the Usher’s house which split into two. This very act signals the utter annihilation of the Usher’s family.
In this terrifying gothic tale finally, Poe’s ingenuity with symmetrical coherence of elements that synthesized to produced a unifying work heavy laden with intrigue and meaning presents itself. Right from the beginning Poe develops one p0articular effect, horror and continues to build on it till the end. Each detail, each atmosphere and each picture depicted obviously in one way or the other correlates to the overwhelming effect of horror in the story. The intention as stated earlier is to achieve what Poe calls ‘excessive’ emotion at the story’s climax. This conscious arrangement has bestowed on The Fall of the House of Usher a classical paradigm of a short story at least to Poe’s standard. It puts aside every element that is not related to the single effect and utilizes every other thing within reach that will succor in the success of the effort.
WORKS CITED.
Brainstorm. Approaching the Art of Fiction. As appeared in http://brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2005/pdf/authors-define-fiction.pdf.
Edgar Allan Poe. The Fall of the House of Usher. (1839)
Eric, Rosenfield. The Nature of the Short Story. As appeared in http:www.wetasphalt.com/?q=node/221. Retrieved 26th march, 2011.
Martin. Fiction (2002). As appeared in www.bookbyte.com/1/1/112900.fiction. Retrieved 20th january, 2011.
Michael. Theory of the Short Story:An analysis. As appeared in www.arts.ualberta.ca/~d miall/project-la htm.
Michael J Cunnings. Analysis of The-Fall-of –the-House-of Usher. As appeared in http://www.cunnings studyguides.net/Guides/usher.html. Retrieved 21st January, 2011.
William, Boyd. The Short Story(2006). As appeared in http://www.prospect magazine.co.uk/2006/07. Retrieved 12th February, 2011.
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