AS ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
ELLA 1 THINGS FALL APART
ANALYTICAL PARAGRAPH - examples
Below are two examples of analytical paragraphs from Things Fall Apart.` They would form part of an essay on the presentation of Okonkwo's character through the novel.
Paragraph 1 108 words
FEATURE
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TEXT
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Topic sentence
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Okonkwo sees emotion as a weak and womanly thing. Not appropriate for a man.
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Introduce quote /Develop point
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This can be seen when he tells himself off when feeling bad about Ikemufuna’s death where he says to himself.
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Quotation
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When did you become a shivering old woman?’
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Comment / technical term / effect
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Achebe has Okonkwo speaking an interrogative sentence to himself to accuse himself for behaving like a woman. This makes us see Okonkwo as a man very hard on himself as well as other people. The verb ‘shivering’ is used to emphasis weakness and timidity. This makes us feel that Okonkwo is pathetic. And the noun ‘old woman’ is used to show how disgusted Okonkwo sees himself.
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Okonkwo sees emotion as a weak and womanly thing. Not appropriate for a man. This can be seen when he tells himself off when feeling bad about Ikemufuna’s death where he says to himself. When did you become a shivering old woman?’ Achebe has Okonkwo speaking an interrogative sentence to himself to accuse himself for behaving like a woman. This makes us see Okonkwo as a man very hard on himself as well as other people. The verb ‘shivering’ is used to emphasis weakness and timidity. This makes us feel that Okonkwo is pathetic. And the noun ‘old woman’ is used to show how disgusted Okonkwo sees himself.
Interogative sentence - a sentence that contains a question - syntax
Verb - an action word - grammar
Noun - a naming word - grammar
Paragraph 2 110 words
FEATURE
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TEXT
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Topic sentence
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Okonkwo is presented throughout the novel as a very determined man.
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Introduce quote /Develop point
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This is illustrated in the way the narrative describes Okomkwo’s attitude to his farming. It says
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Quotation
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‘Okonkwo threw himself into everything he did like a man possessed’
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Comment / technical term / effect
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This simple declarative sentence gives us a direct and clear statement about Okonkwo’s character. However the word ‘threw’ is used metaphorically here and gives us a strong and powerful picture of Okonkwo’s energy and determination. The word ‘like’ transforms the sentence into a simile and again helps readers imagine Okonkwo. We associate with the word ‘possessed’ ideas of single mindedness, a man addicted to unhealthy action, a man controlled by external forces.
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Okonkwo is presented throughout the novel as a very determined man. This is illustrated in the way the narrative describes Okomkwo’s attitude to his farming. It says ‘Okonkwo threw himself into everything he did like a man possessed’. This simple declarative sentence gives us a direct and clear statement about Okonkwo’s character. However the word ‘threw’ is used metaphorically here and gives us a strong and powerful picture of Okonkwo’s energy and determination. The word ‘like’ transforms the sentence into a simile and again helps readers imagine Okonkwo. We associate with the word ‘possessed’ ideas of single mindedness, a man addicted to unhealthy action, a man controlled by external forces.
Declarative sentence - a sentence that reveals information - syntax
Simple sentence - a sentence that contains one clause - syntax
Metaphorically - a word used to create an mental image different from the meaning - imagery
Simile - a word that compares an object with something else unrelated - imagery
Associate - connotations - words associated in meaning -
