Writing a Literary Commentary Read the passage you are given a few times. Read it once through to get a gist of what the speaker is saying. Jot down your initial reactions to certain parts of the text so you can refer to them when you are writing. When you have finished‚ go back and read it again‚ this time underlining key words and phrases and jotting notes to yourself in the margins. While the minimum number of times you should read something is two‚ it is ideal that you read each passage three
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Influential Speaker Commentary Political views aside‚ most can agree that Barack Obama is an influential and very effective speaker. He is able to inspire masses of people with his simple‚ yet articulate use of words. He always speaks with a sense of smooth confidence‚ yet never near the spectrum of arrogance. Most importantly‚ he is so effective because he accurately knows his audience before performing the speech. Obama is truly talented in his ability to make people identify with him‚ because
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Things Fall Apart (Chapters 1-4) Conflict between tradition and change “Okonkwo did not have the start in life in which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit” (Achebe 16). Traditionally in Umuofia‚ when a man dies‚ his son inherits his assets. Okonkwo’s father‚ Unoka‚ was scared by the sight of blood‚ in an immense amount of debt and did not support his family. As a result of Okonkwo’s father having no title‚ Okonkwo was left
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“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe‚ the identity of Okonkwo is revealed‚ proving he is a tragic hero by fatal flaw. When Okonkwo came face to face with who he really was he could understand that he was not who he truly wanted to be. Over time he tried to achieve the unachievable‚ but could not succeed. Okonkwo is the main character in the novel Things Fall Apart‚ the novel takes place in the town of Umuofia‚ Umuofia was a town that “was feared by all its neighbors”(Achebe 10). This town supported
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Ruby Brown Commentary Ruby Brown‚ a poem written by Langston Hughes is describing a black woman that faced both racism and sexism in her life. Like in most of his work‚ Langston Hughes uses motifs of color and white. Hughes characterizes Ruby in a way that allows us to see the restrictions she had in her way and her ability to mentally over come them. The visual imagery in the beginning talks about bright and golden sunshine but in actuality it was not. The characterization of Ruby shows her to
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- It is often said that literature is a voice for social commentary. How is this true of The Crucible? Literature is the reflection of society; through literature people are introduced to many dilemmas around the world of different societies. It is an expression of economical‚ political and social gains throughout several eras. Through the play‚ “The Crucible”‚ by Arthur Miller‚ the readers are introduced to the Puritan society and the theocracy within it. In the puritan society‚ the church
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REINDEER AND ENGINE – COMMENTARY The poem ’Reindeer and Engine’ by Josephine Jacobsen is an extract from the poet’s 1966 work ’The Animal Inside’. The poem is about a reindeer who is fleeing from a steam engine‚ in the forests of Finland. However‚ wherever the reindeer seems to turn‚ engine tends to follow. The poet Josephine Jacobsen introduces a very relevant issue‚ from the title of the poem itself – that of nature versus technology. In a sense‚ the reindeer and the engine are contrasting ideas
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members may feel uncomfortable‚ separate themselves‚ and grow stronger to their own set of beliefs. However‚ with the introduction of another perspective‚ others will feel enlightened and truly captivated by the unique ideas. This concept is apparent in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart‚ where Nwoye‚ the oldest son of Okonkwo‚ a greatly respected leader within his village‚ is introduced to an entirely different set of beliefs via European missionaries. While Nwoye notably struggles to agree with and find
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light. The Second Coming‚ and Things Fall Apart‚ have striking similarities in their themes‚ and the ideas present in both of the pieces‚ making them seem as if they are written by the same person‚ or are somehow connected. In Things Fall Apart‚ Chinua Achebe chose the title of his book to illustrate the tragedy of losing a culture to the destruction of evil. William Yeats’ poem The Second Coming reveals a great deal about the evils of war‚ and the corruption of the human mind. Although the poems true
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Passage Commentary: Lord of the Flies‚ Pages 109-111 In this passage from Lord of the Flies by William Golding‚ the reader gets deep insight into Ralph’s mind and how the boys are adapting to life on the island. Occurring around the middle of the novel‚ this passage dives into the thoughts of Ralph to see what he is really feeling about being stranded. It shows how the other boys are coping‚ and it demonstrates the two different sides of the island; the reader now sees the dangerous‚ wild side
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