Sample Paper 2 Answer

Show how and to what effect Achebe makes use of myth, legend or other stories and tales. 

The central aim of Things Fall Apart was to write against the colonial oppressors and upset the imbalance of 'storytelling power' through providing an African narrative that readers from all over the world can identify with. One of the central ways author Chinua Achebe achieves this is by presenting the audience with an African cultural experience that fully immerses the reader in the fictional world of Umuofia. 

Before we can understand the effect of myths, legends, and tales in the Umuofia community, we need to understand a bit more about the Igbo culture. We have seen thus far that it is primarily an oral culture, where wisdom and education are passed down verbally. The myths thus take on a greater significance, as they form a core part of African culture. It is also important to recognize that without this strong background of African culture, the novel would consist just of a bare plot line, and would lose much of the richness and significance that gave it the significance and prestige it holds in literary circles today. 

In order to explore the specific ways in which myths, legends, and other stories are used within the novel, I will focus on three examples which each accomplish Achebe's aims. 

One of the first instances of a myth was in Chapter 7 where Achebe describes to us the internal conflict within Okonkwo's son Nwoye, over preferring his mother's tales but wanting to please his father, "Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and violent" (p.53). Following this, one of Nwoye's favourite myths is recounted, allowing the reader to learn about the quarrel between the Earth and the Sky. As we mentioned earlier, the primary aim that myths like these serve is creating a richer environment for the audience to immerse themselves in. 

Aside from this general aim, however, it is also interesting to note that this particular myth serves the additional purpose of representing femininity. There are many elements within the language of the myth that imply this, for example "Vulture was sent...to soften his heart", "the sons of men", "rain wrapped in leaves of cocoyam." (cocoyam is a 'woman's' crop). This works hand in hand with the fact that these stories were told by the mothers to their children to imply that femininity forms a strong part of Igbo culture. It also reinforces the theme of balance, and gives the Igbo women a quieter form of control over the community as purveyors of their educational system. This could serve as foreshadowing that a character as unrelentingly masculine as Okonkwo will not survive and flourish in a culture like this. 

Within Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses myths more than just directly through stating them. He also relates them as part of explaining the significance behind proverbs, which occur throughout the text and add to the cultural authenticity of the novel. Proverbs do this by acting as condensed pieces of wisdom that constantly inform the reader on the cultural values and norms of the Igbo. An example of a proverb that does this very well occurs in Chapter 4, "when a man says yes his chi says yes also". It was used in the context of explaining Okonkwo's success despite his meager start in life, and enriches the novel by revealing the cultural values of the Igbo that allowed Okonkwo to succeed for the first part of his life. 

Like all elements of Igbo culture that are revealed to the audience, this proverb has a very deliberate function aside from the overarching purpose of enriching culture. The values expressed here are those of independence and self-sufficiency, and they are very impactful especially at the end in Okonkwo's suicide, because they imply that it was his own choices that led him to that plight. Contrarily, however, Okonkwo is often considered by western audiences to be a tragic hero, but this differs from Igbo tradition in that tragic heroes are often fated to an unfortunate end. By providing this proverb to audiences who would likely associate Okonkwo with the tragic hero (he has many other hallmarks, such as hamartia) Achebe further provokes them into questioning how much of Okonkwo's downfall was his own doing and thus engages them in the text. This also plays a role in the ambiguity of Okonkwo's 'goodness'. It is hard to decide whether he is a good or bad character, adding to the multivocality of our understanding of the text and protagonist. 

The final example of myths and stories that we will consider are those in the forms of songs. These are sprinkled throughout the text, and provide the audience with another form of culture to associate with the Igbo. The songs serve a slightly different function than the stories, since they are common in most cultures (even when education isn't mainly verbal). This would allow a more diverse group to identify with them. The act of including lyrics without accompanying tunes or music, however, can perhaps also be interpreted as a comment by Achebe on the integrity of his text. It's almost as if he is reminding us that no matter how much we sing or read these songs, there is still an element of Igbo culture that has been irreparably lost due to colonization. This is represented symbolically via the medium of his novel: as a book we cannot include a song within it, and books embody civilization and education (which the colonizers 'brought' to the African people). 

One memorable instance where a song is related occurs in Chapter 7, where Ikemefuna sings a song  (p.60) in his head before the men close in to kill him. The song is purely in Igbo, and the audience is not provided with any additional context of what it means. Igbo songs such as this one strongly contrast the language of the narrative: English. They act as a marker, reminding us of the African culture behind this text, providing the audience with raw 'culture packets' that even though we can't understand, we are trained to accept. Our understanding of the other events going on at the time songs like these come up also add to our acceptance of these songs. 

In conclusion, Achebe uses different forms of myths, tales, and stories to add to the richness of African culture. Within these examples, his usage also adds depth to the events going on in the novel at that time. Links back to western literary structures also further engage the audience in the text. His usage is especially significant since the majority of his readers may not as detailed a knowledge of Igbo culture as he does. 

The Death of My Culture (Obierika's Memoir)

It’s hard to imagine that things were ever any different. The white washed hospitals and Christian schools in the afternoon sun opposite the hut where I’m writing this stand tall and deliberate – almost as if they belong there.  

Just like their buildings, the white men are now scattered amongst us, preaching their religion and culture to our people. They have grown so accustomed to us that we sometimes even see white women, hiding underneath umbrellas and flowing dresses as they shyly look our way and avoid eye contact. They should know that they have nothing to fear, for their race has sufficiently broken us.

I remember coming in to my compound after working with the yams one day, and seeing my son Maduka reading in his hut. This was many years ago, and reading was still rare. We the Igbo people are a culture founded in oral tradition – it is the stories a man learns from his mother that makes him who he is.

Intrigued, I went forward to my boy’s hut to ask him what he was doing. So enamored was he with his book that he did not hear my footsteps until I stood in front of him and called his name. Maduka jumped, startled. He hastily looked up and slammed the book shut, stammering out a hesitant “Yes, father?”.

“I thought you were going wrestling this evening?”

“Y-yes, but I also had school…”

It was then that I looked down and saw the book he held in his hands. Sitting regally in his dark palms, the blood red leather bound cover had ‘The Bible’ inscribed in gold on the cover. I recall picking it up, leafing through it, and thinking how ironic it was that the words of the white man’s faith were bound in the colour of our earth.

I looked down at Maduka and I smiled. What else could I do? I left the hut, and he continued reading happily. His peaceful silhouette lay against the sun, oblivious of his culture trickling away like palm wine being tapped from a palm tree by a bad tapper.

I have given this much thought, and decided that this is how the white man has managed to break us apart. He came from within, slowly taking our brothers and sisters over to his side, creating a shield that our strongest war medicine could not break – for how could we fight our own people? How can I tell my son that the white man is wrong, and in this way preach hatred in such a young soul?

At the start we believed that the missionaries would eventually be destroyed by the Evil Forest, and so we let him be. But he survived, and our people began to think that his medicine was stronger than ours. We say that living fire begets cold, impotent ash. The power and appeal of his God was too great for Chukwu to stand next to.

And looking back, can I say that I blame my people? The white man’s God did not make us throw away our twins, he did not make us kill our sons, he did not make us exile our brothers. In short he was so much easier to follow – he did not demand animals nor sacrifices, just our thoughts and prayers.

It is in this ease that I think we allowed ourselves to be captured – we did not even notice we had forgotten Chukwu and Ani and Agbala and our ancestors until we saw that the paths to the oracles had become faint. And this was the worst part – why had our Gods not punished us already? Our neglect went unheeded, making many of us miserable. If the Gods do the same whether or not we sacrifice to them or not, then what is the point? At least the white man’s God protects him from the Evil Forest and does not forget his people.

As our religion changed, so did our customs. The stories we told our children changed. They heard passages of Moses and Joseph, and turtles and birds become no more than animals. These children grew up to tell these stories to their children, and so our entire lives became infected with the disease of the albino. 

Through these decades I had to watch wretchedly this painful cycle everyday as my home and life fell apart. 

Paper 2: Things Fall Apart

To what extent has an awareness of context enriched or enhanced your understanding of Things Fall Apart?

The way I understood Things Fall Apart changed a lot after the class developed an understanding of the context. This is due to the highly specific aims of the text – author Chinua Achebe was writing against the colonial oppressors with the aim of changing the way Nigerians (and other colonized cultures) saw their histories. With this understanding of context in mind, many of the decisions Achebe made regarding what aspects of Igbo culture to include and which to exclude made more sense. In this essay, I will be exploring examples of how an understanding of context and culture has furthered the depth at which we understand the text.

One of the most apparent examples of this is the debate concerning the text’s sexist connotations. On a casual reading without additional cultural context, it appears as if Things Fall Apart is very sexist – wife beating is accepted as a normal part of society, men can take more than one wife, and husbands are expected to have “control” over their households.

After reading essays on the Igbo cultural background, however, we learn of the existence of women’s groups like the “Umuada” or daughters of the clan. These groups controlled the “civil and familial spheres of influence”, and contained powerful women who even had the power to take titles and (in some tribes) marry other women. This is unsurprising if we consider that the central cultural axiom of Igbo life is Balance. Although this disparity between the way Igbo culture is portrayed by Achebe and the way it actually was may be even more infuriating at first, upon greater consideration it deepens the personal connections we form to the text.

In Rhonda Cobham’s essay Problems of Gender and History in the teaching of Things Fall Apart, she proposes that Achebe purposefully leaves out the traditional power that Igbo women had because it does not fit our Western culture. While the idea that Achebe was trying to “fit” western culture seems absurd at first, it makes more sense when considering the context of the novel. Things Fall Apart was written in 1958, with the aim of giving the world a traditional African narrative and character to identify with. One of the devices Achebe used to make sure we identified with Okonkwo is reducing the disparity between Western and African culture and customs.

Apart from not giving autonomous women’s societies more power, Achebe also focuses on the seemingly ‘polygamous’ relationship of Okonkwo and Ekwefi by not describing in as much detail the love between Okonkwo and his other two wives. This is strengthened when we realize that in the majority of instances where Okonkwo shows caring emotion, Ezinma and Ekwefi are involved (e.g. when Okonkwo follows Ekwefi to the Oracle; when we learn of his worry before this event; and when he prepares medicine to cure Ezinma’s fever). Through this, the difference between these cultures seems smaller, and allows the non-African audience another potential facet to identify with.

In the same vein, Achebe excluded some realistic actions that actual Igbo women could have taken during the course of the novel. For example, in the case of the wife-beating Uzowulu, the earlier mentioned Umuada (or daughters of the clan) could have organized a “sexual strike” until his wife got the justice she deserved. Cases like these are unheard of in the west, however, and so their exclusion give the non-African readers a structure that they can identify with. By doing so, Achebe is able to focus on building cultural similarities in Part One of the novel, which play a big role in allowing the audience to identify with Okonkwo when Igbo society falls apart in Part Two.

This decision of his also helps the audience center on the focal point of the text: the reality of colonization. If Igbo culture had been described in all it’s glory, it’s likely that many other issues would have been raised (e.g. sexism), not pertaining to Achebe’s original plan. We see him exercising his right as an author to create (to a certain extent) his own version of Umuofia, which is ideal for telling his story.

This idea that Achebe’s Umuofia is just one interpretation of an African village of many others that could exist also introduces the readers to the fact that “there is no truly objective, unbiased version of traditional life” (Cobham). The observer effect comes into play – once the village is being recorded it’s reality has been affected by the person recording it. This realization is one that goes beyond just Things Fall Apart, enriching our understanding of any texts we may read in the future (especially those relating to traditional life).

A cultural concept that enriched my understanding of the text was that of Balance. In the essays we read, a lot of emphasis was placed on how much the Igbo value Balance in all forms – seen in the novel, for example, when the male is the ‘lead’ of the household but the concept of ‘Nneka’, or mother being supreme, also exists.

This understanding of the Igbo culture sheds light on why Okonkwo is so conflicted – he interprets his own tribe’s values as being direct and clear-cut, whereas in reality there are often two sides to the same coin. Okonkwo associates masculinity solely with courage and strength, and he fails to realize the complex system of morals encompassing both compassion and strength that the Igbo value. One example of this is in the case of Ndule and Ozeomena, where Okonkwo’s counterpart Obierika positively recognizes their inseparability while Okonkwo questions the masculinity of Ndule.

This concept of balance also helps us understand the wider narrative that Achebe is weaving – that of the intertwining western and African stories. This is done very interestingly in Part One, where Achebe tells a western story structure with African characters and cultural practices. For example, in the biblical parallels he includes relating the Okonkwo-Nwoye dynamic to Abraham and Isaac, he balances Christian and Igbo values by showing their similarities. The earlier discussed selectivity that Achebe employs when discussing Igbo women also elaborates to the concept of balance: we see an Umuofia that is closer to our cultural practices and so are more likely to understand it better.

In conclusion, the increased awareness of context (relating to place, agenda, and time) have greatly strengthened our understanding of the many layers of Things Fall Apart. On hindsight, these contexts are crucial to a full comprehension of the many subtleties of the text, and are especially relevant when making sure readers don’t make sweeping judgmental statements on Igbo culture. 

Okonkwo, Tragic Heroes and Storytelling

Blog Prompts:

-Why does Achebe use a tragic hero for his protagonist in his colonial counter narrative?

-How does Achebe use Okonkwo to develop specific things in TFA?

In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, the protagonist Okonkwo is a tragic hero. With his choice of a main character, Achebe deviates from the traditional aim of the colonial counter narrative (which is to write against the colonizers), and instead fulfills his aim of making us understand and identify with this culture. 

The classic trope of the tragic hero is one that was (and still is) very common in literature, with a host of European examples including Antigone, Oedipus, Hamlet etc. Most western audiences already know the basic story of a tragic hero, and I believe this is one of the reasons why Achebe 'chose' this role for Okonkwo. By structuring the novel in a way that 'fit' the minds of consumers of western media, Achebe established a stronger connection with them. This is because the general "scaffolding" is the same - except a different culture has been applied. In this sense it balances the 'culture-shock' that the audience might experience with a predictable (to a certain extent) plot line, making them more receptive to the novel. This may even have been instrumental in making Things Fall Apart stand out as a colonial counter narrative. 

Another question that crops up when considering Okonkwo's role as a tragic hero is whether that placement really was Achebe's choice to make. The author has been quoted saying "When you're an African the world is upside down". In his observation that the world is not the same for people of his culture, the role as the tragic hero may have been the only one available to a protagonist in this context.  This is especially significant when considering the view that Okonkwo is symbolic of his Igbo culture. Just like the cultures, belief systems and methods of government of many tribes were destroyed by the colonizers, so will any African character whose life tells a counter colonial narrative have to be characterized by the ending of a tragic hero. 

For example, we know that Obierika is known to challenge the belief systems of his own faith (Chapter 13, last passage), albeit only internally. If one character consciously questions Igbo society, how can we be sure that others are not doing the same? After all, Obierika still respects the customs of their society, so outwardly things seem fine - as is the case with most of the other tribe members. This doubt of Igbo customs can be translated into peripeteia - an error in judgment on behalf of the clan. While the individual flaws and reversal of fortunes may be different, the concluding fate of all tribe members was the same - being resigned to submission by the colonizing forces. 

It seems that almost any character within this context (of colonization) could fit into the tragic hero mold - especially when the focus is telling the story of the subaltern people. Supporting this were the contradictory Igbo values of the individual and the community, which provided the perfect grounds for their culture to falter (since it wasn't well defined). The tragic hero seems to become almost default to telling this story truthfully. 

Okonkwo's role as a mirror to the fate of his culture was one of the major themes he was used to develop. His internal struggle also develops a 'real' character, and an identification within any audiences with Okonkwo. His struggles do not outwardly seem like things we will identify with (e.g. following the advice of an Oracle), but the umbrella of 'individual vs. society' under which they occur allow us to relate. I personally believe this is the most significant thing Okonkwo was used to develop - a genuine desire to hear someone else's story. Even someone not from our culture or time period. Achebe devotes half the book to doing this, and it could be argued that even without the arrival of the colonizers, Okonkwo's narrative alone would still have made a fascinating read. 

Shared Inquiry Discussion: An African Voice

Discussion Questions to Get us Started.

(Interpretive questions are marked with an 'I', Evaluative an 'E' and Factual an 'F')

• I: Why do you think Achebe wasn't aware of the resonance that 'Things Fall Apart' would have on other cultures while he was writing it? 

• F:According to Achebe, when does literature perform its wonders?

• E: Is it necessary to "allow yourself" to identify with people in a story in order for us to do so? Is it possible to avoid identifying? 

• I: Based on the third question, why did Achebe title the novel "Things Fall Apart"? 

• E: In the context of a nation, do the "rules of independence" really have to be learnt? Why or why not? 

• F: What was the European portrayal of Africans in literature during colonial times? Why was this so? 

• I: What does storytelling have to do with power? Explain. 

• E: Do you know any examples of stories that have created a "shift in power"? 

• I: Why do some African writers choose to tell their stories in English? 

• I/E: Have the opinions held by Europeans on Africans in colonial literature been eradicated? Are there any examples? 

• I: Does the place where a story is written have an effect on a story? What?

Most Meaningful Takeaway.

In today's discussion on the cultural and literary contexts of Achebe's work, the main idea that interested me was that of identification. 

We discussed this from a variety of perspectives, looking at who Achebe identified with, which cultures were able to identify with the book, and even who amongst ourselves could personally identify with his story. 

One of the interesting points that came up was whether or not Achebe could really identify with Nigeria. We argued that this 'bond' to his country may not be as strong -  especially keeping in mind the historical context of the country's unification, which was a product of British colonization. This, we felt, might explain why he emphasized the "great diversity of vibrant peoples" when speaking about Nigeria in his interview. 

With this in mind, our view of the text changes. I realized anew how important the relationships within a village were - because in the context of those people 'Nigeria' does not exist. Our modern affiliation and patriotism to our countries can be applied to how the characters felt about their clan - perhaps giving us a better idea of how strong and important these bonds were. I believe that drawing these comparisons (e.g. ozo = political figure?) helps us to better understand how the characters thought and acted. It also gives an added severity to Okonkwo's exile. 

When discussing whether we personally identified, it was also very interesting to see varied answers depending on different cultural backgrounds. Another point that was raised was that identifying with these characters does not necessarily always feel good, for what if it is oppression that we are identifying with? For example, in the book Okonkwo hangs himself in the end - a depressing conclusion if readers could relate to his struggle against society. I also thought that perhaps Achebe intended this as a taunt, daring readers who also felt oppressed to change their ending and warning them of what would happen if they remained inert against the oppressive forces. 

333 Words

The Speech: A Practice Paper One Commentary

Practice Paper 1 Commentary

Before Beginning:

The speech we will be analyzing today is General George Patton's speech to the Third Army on the 5th of June 1944, the eve of the Allied invasion of France (Normandy Landings/D-Day). This analysis is different to the one I completed for my FOA, which used the format found here. I chose to analyze this speech again, because of it's obvious success. It's direct aims were achieved since D-Day was successful, which is not something many speeches can boast. A version of the speech can be found here.

Commentary:

General George Patton's address to the third army can be identified as a speech. When reading it we see that it contains elements which are designed to be spoken, such as direct orders to the audience - 'be seated'. The text convention is also evident in his direct appeals to the audience with 'you'; 'we' and 'you men' recurring. Throughout Patton's speech, his main goal is to incite patriotic feelings in the soldiers and instill in them faith in the army. He accomplishes this using multiple literary devices, which we will now explore in detail.

Even out of context and without a title, we can assume that this speech is addressing an army unit. Phrases like 'through your army career' and 'each man must...think...of his buddy fighting beside him' also lead us to that conclusion. We can also conclude that the soldiers are American, as seen from Patton's usage of pathos in 'Americans love to fight'. These soldiers are also men, as the General repeatedly refers to them as 'you men'. Without a context these clues can thus lead us to guess that the speech was given at a traditional time when it was still solely men in the military.

The purpose of this speech, as we stated earlier, is to incite patriotic feelings in the soldiers and make them believe in the army. Patton's purpose is obvious through his opening statements, where he convinces the men that real Americans would fight. Later on, his repeated references to the army 'as a team' and the cohesive bravery of the men working as a whole, also serve to instill faith in the soldiers.

The recurring themes throughout the text are those of aggression and bravery, and they are  reinforced through the content of the speech. The text opens with a description of the American love of fighting, which rouses the soldiers. This appeal through patriotism is especially effective in the context of this speech - a world war. Patton follows this with a passage on death, which again is relevant as that was likely the greatest fear on the soldiers' minds then. After this, he tells short stories of soldiers who have died (German) and extremely strong soldiers ('the lieutenant in Libya') that reinforce the severity of what Patton is asking of these men. He continues his speech by emphasizing on the importance of every single man in the army, not just the combat soldiers. This is another clue on his audience, which broadens it to include more than just the troops. Patton carries on with two more stories of outstanding bravery that he has witnessed, and finally ends off with military strategy and a memorable ending (a punchline?).

The minimal emphasis on actual military strategy reinforces the thesis, as it proves that the speech is designed to mentally prepare the soldiers, by making them believe in the army and in their country. This is supported by the many real life examples given by Patton. These allowed the soldiers to interact with the emotions aroused in a more direct way (they know exactly how to fulfill his orders, i.e. what constitutes a 'brave' man).

Apart from the content of the speech, the themes of aggression and bravery are also enforced through the repeated swearing that punctuates Patton's speech. According to linguist Steven Pinker, one of the reasons swearing may be used for is to create a light-hearted atmosphere, and this is what Patton has done here. By using words that the soldiers themselves are more likely to use, the General established himself as 'one of them' - thereby lending authenticity to everything he says. By quoting statements from his troops, e.g. 'chickensh*t drilling', Patton again establishes the friendly mood.

When combining this trusting, familiar mood with the aggressive, definite tone, one gets an interesting effect - allowing Patton's high modality statements, like 'when you get home', to be made believable. When recounting his experiences however, the aggressive tone allows Patton to underline his position as the authority. He also makes statements like 'drilling and discipline must be maintained in any army', which makes sure the men don't get too chummy, and still take his word seriously. Aggressiveness is also shown in how strongly the General speaks against the weak. He says 'kill off the goddamn cowards' even when speaking of his own men. The profanity's importance in creating a friendly mood comes in making Patton seem like a part of the team - which directly supports his purpose of instilling faith in the men for the army. The aggressive tone of the speech, on the other hand, is instrumental in rousing the soldiers to be patriotic to their country.

Throughout this speech, Patton employs literary devices very frequently, most for the purpose of drawing attention to his cause: getting the soldiers to fight fearlessly. One of the most common ones is ethos, where Patton says 'All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle'. This affects the men emotionally by stating that if they did not act, they would not be real Americans.  The later sentence 'That's why Americans have never lost, nor ever will lose a war, for the very thought of losing is hateful to an American' is an example of conduplicatio, and draws attention to how much the soldiers must not lose.

Later on, the hyperbole 'every man is frightened at first in battle' also creates a more inclusive environment, encouraging even the fearful soldiers to fight. Patton also says 'Some men are cowards, yes! but they fight just the same', using the literary device of expletive to emphasize on the fact that the men continue to fight despite being scared. The later sentences 'some get over their fright in a minute...some take an hour...for some it takes days' are examples of anaphora, and they draw attention not to themselves (since they are all the same), but to the fact (again) that real army troops will battle no matter what they are feeling. Further down, there is also amplification in 'instant obedience to orders and to create constant alertness'.

Patton also uses asyndeton to draw attention to the unity of an army in 'lives, sleeps, eats, fights as a team'. When he mentions 'I actually pity those poor sons of b*tches we are going up against. By God, I do!', faith is instilled in the men through the fact that Patton, a figure who has established himself as having a lot of experience (by recounting stories), believes they are worthy. Patton also uses hypophora, in his questioning the audience 'Where in the hell would we be now?' without every member of the army. This sentiment is reinforced with his metaphor 'All the links in the chain pulled together and that chain became unbreakable'.

Finally, Patton says his last paragraph with very high modality, even saying 'with your grandson on your knees', implying that the men will go home and they will have grandsons. This is an uplifting note to end on - reminding the soldiers of the personal things they are fighting for, which may be more direct than patriotism and faith in the army.

The main structure of the speech is in its opening and closing statements. Apart from this, the body flows smoothly but not with coherent movement from idea to idea. This jumbled up mix of repeated ideas and stories made the speech more organic, and perhaps more 'friendly' - in line with Patton's aims as we mentioned earlier. The very brief introduction also sets the tone from the opening as straightforward and 'no nonsense'.

In conclusion, we have shown how General George Patton has employed literary devices and appropriate content to instill patriotic feelings in the soldiers and imbibe them with faith in the army. We can reason, from the result of the D-day invasion, that Patton's speech was a successful one.

Sample IOC

The Tempest Sample IOC

Act 1 Scene 2,

Lines 310-362

Link:

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/sampleIOC.wav?_subject_uid=229562542&w=AAAw7SgpXgOTqHSG23PSOMWC7CaLB_t2w1uYOFGtBSc-MQ

Thanks!

(Update 4/March/2015) 
Possible Guiding Questions:
-How do the Elizabethan sensibilities on colonization influence the depiction of Caliban in the text?
-What does this text reveal about the relationship between Caliban and Prospero?
-What atmosphere does Shakespeare convey and why is this significant in terms of plot?