Irrespective of the polyvalent textual nuances and the variations in narration, the story of Sundiata is basically the story of a prince whose birth as a prodigy king was prophesied in very strange circumstances that eventually came to be. His birth, his early life as a cripple, his exile and his return as a powerful king after conquering the powerful Sosso king – Sumanguru are the unmistakable episodes of every version.
Dani Kouyaté’s film version of the Sundiata story is basically that of Griot Kuyateh’s attempt to leave his village, Wagadu, to teach a teenager – Mabo - the history of his ancestor and about the the pride of his roots as a prince. This teaching comes against the background of a formal school education which followed the scripts
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of Evolution Theory in teaching that Mabo’s ancestors were gorillas whose mental capacities were never developed. Dani Kouyaté’s version therefore is a story of Griot Kuyateh’s successes and failures in taking Mabo back to his roots. Dani Kouyaté, a griot himself, even by the fact of his name, uses this background in the film to lend a particular slant to the narrative perspective which is manifestly didactic and asymmetrical. The flow of knowledge has only one direction: from the old and the elderly to the young. Its most evident demonstration as the climax of the film in the parting words of the griot to Mabo in the: “remember it is an old world…” The story has a tripartite structure: a prelude, the heart of the intrigue and an epilogue.
The first part (1-14) is the preliminary mythical reality of Wagadu where the story takes off with a direct narrative voice accompanied by vivid footage of the landscapes, of how the world began and how a man – Maghan Kon Fatta – stepped out to define himself as the head of all humanity. In what seems a ritual comissioning of the Griot Kuyateh after this introductory scene at Wagadu, the griot is visited in his sleep by the master hunter and from that point he gets up and takes up the mission to go to the city to teach Mabo his rich …show more content…
origins. The second part of the story (15-329), which is basically the core of the plot, takes off from the time when Mabo, the narratee, meets Griot Kouyaté, who calls his name from the moment of their first contact, and then promises to tells him the history of his ancestors. Mabo is spellbound by the antics of a perfect stranger, and they develop a liking for each other. This second segment covers practically from the first point of contact between Mabo and the griot right through the sessions of story telling and their effect on the young lad to the climax of the story when Griot Kouyaté finally decides to leave the house and return home, as his presence was menacing the family’s peace. The third part, the epilogue (329 – 345), accounts for what happens to the disorientated Mabo after Griot Kouyaté had disappeared.
It is an account of the lasting effect the entire story of Sundiata had on Mabo’ s personality. Following the mysterious disappearance of Griot Kouyaté, the disorientated Mabo who goes in search of him, bumps into the hunter who had appeared at decisive moments in the course of the film’s narrative, and he asks him to answer the unanswered question – the meaning of his name. This episode helps establish the fact that the result of Mabo’s contact with the griot has paid off: he gets absorbed in a kind of mythical thinking and invokes the protection of the bird flying right up in the
sky. The film is mold and cast in a multiplicity of typological contrapositions that lend an aura of an unresolved tension between the new and the old; evolution theory versus a story in which Mabo identifies his own roots; the city versus the village; the school versus the teachings of the griot; the frenetic pace of traffic versus the peaceful and placid nature of the griot who can afford to sleep all day in his hammock. It is this tension that equally characterizes the humour and also the tropes that define and embellish the leitmotif of the film. The dinner of spaghetti with Griot Kouyaté that he could not eat well, the embarrassing situation of the teacher of Mabo who could not explain the meaning of his name, the modern day extorting griot – a travesty of the original trade from which Griot Kouyaté distances himself, the refrigerator carried on a cart pulled by a donkey, etc. are all vivid iconic representations that make the film rich in tropes. The basic story is recounted in the past tense and has a rather slow evolving performance-oriented character that assumes evident variations with the changing of the audience. The story has a sort of prefabricated design about it that shows its uneasiness to be fixed from outside, especially with the constant needling questions of Mabo from another mentality and mindset against which the griot was trying to form his mind. The pace is kept in check by the initial interest Griot Kouyaté, the principal narrator - sows in the heart of Mabo, the narratee that is always waiting for an answer to that question: the meaning of his name. For Mabo, the response to his question about the origin of his name gets a reply in frame 45, with the expression that it cannot be explained in a day or in a year, but in all of life. Every reference to the use of time or the dating of an event is imprecise and should be taken to be approximate: The mythical start of the story in the epilogue – “In those days (3)”; the formal start of the story: “A long time ago” (19); Do Kamissa’s expression of her end in view: “My time has come” (110); the conflict of time in the exchange between Sitan and Boicar (136-137); the length of Sogolon’s pregnancy from 18 months to 7 years (205); Mabo’s elliptical explanation of the passage of time in the life of Sundiata: “At five years” (240), “ten years later” (253), “five years later” (269); Noumoufairi’s berating of man’s impatience: “man is always in a hurry” (264); and finally the promised return of Sundiata for the final conquest (319).
An interesting aspect of reading Sunjata is that it allows the reader to get a glimpse into the past. An unmissable trait that the story brings up is the power and control that women hold within their marriages and families overall. Part of this power comes from the West African people carrying on their family through a matrilineal system. Familial ties are a significant motif in Sunjata with even the storyteller tracing his ancestry back to the strong women told about in the oral tale. The matrilineal system means that instead of children taking the name of their father, as seen in many European societies, they would take the name of their mother and hold closer to the ties of her ancestors. This system allows for a sense of feminism to sprinkle all over the story of Sunjata and, ultimately, on the
Lots of people have received gift that is not particularly favored. Those people know exactly how Ana and Dori feel. Ana is a character in Erin Fanning’s “The Quinceanera Text”. Dori is a character in Rachel Vail’s story “Good Enough”. Both of these characters received disappointing gifts, but later the girls realized how much these present represent the love the families show towards the young ladies. “Good Enough and “The Quinceanera Text” have similarities and differences such as author's tone and types of characters.
AP English Literature and Composition MAJOR WORKS DATA SHEET Title: A Raisin In the Sun Author: Lorraine Hansberry Date of Publication: 1951 Genre: Realistic Drama Biographical Information about the Author Lorraine Hansberry was born in Chicago on May 19, 1930. She grew up as the youngest in her family. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a real estate broker.
Storytellers use the picaresque form and the quest motif as standard literary devices in film, song, and the written word. The characters in such a story encounter many trials, setbacks, and triumphs on their quest to find what they so diligently seek. There is often much adventure and drama along they way, leading to their ultimate test. The three works discussed in this essay embody these themes. Voltaire's Candide, A Narrative of a Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, and Terry Gilliam's masterpiece The Fisher King present very different journeys using vastly different characters and time periods. Each, however, examines the human spirit as each main character navigates both grizzly and joyous circumstances. End in the end, all is endured in the name of their quest.
The film illuminates the life of the Wampanoag language and cultural meanings. How there had been threats posed to both since the times of European colonization, when the Wampanoag people had put up little resistance. The film is not a recap of the Wampanoag
The episode entitled “The Buffalo Woman” of Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali begins to delve into several ideas prevalent throughout the entirety of the novel, most notably the concept of destiny and an exploration of its influence on how the events of the story unfold. Other ideas present in this chapter that are of great significance include the supernatural and the virtue of generosity.
Everyone has the tendency to think or act immaturely when something does not happen the way they wanted it to. How people behave and develop in such situations can uncover hidden sides and the true inner self of their character. The changes that occur to them through conflict can depict how mature they really are. Nazneen Sadiq’s story “Shonar Arches” shows the impact on a character’s maturity as a result of the main conflict. The happy resolution of Amit’s conflict shows how through time, even a rude little boy can mature into becoming a gentleman.
For years Western scholars and novelists have been drawn to the story, yet until now there has been no documentary. Ric Burns's film is a first.
The play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry has many interesting characters. In my opinion, the most fascinating character is Ruth because of her many emotions and captivating personality. She goes through extreme emotions in the play such as happiness, sadness, anger, stress, and confusion. Ruth is very independent, firm, kind, witty, and loving.
The roles of the griot in Sundiata and epic of old Mali by D.T Niane, is to protect the king. "Griots are men of the spoken word, and by the spoken word we give life to the gestures of kings. But words are nothing but words; power lies in deeds. Be a man of action; do not answer me any more with your mouth, but tomorrow, on the plain of Krina, show me what you have me recount to coming generations. “Balla Fasséké, p. 63
Sundiata is an epic of a powerful king who expanded the Mali empire to a great territorial area and he did so because he was destined. My mother read me a more simplified story of Sundiata as a child and through reading this book, I remembered so many lessons and African cultural traditions that I learned as a child. There were several interesting aspects of this epic that reflected some of the material we have learned thus far in class as well as other interesting themes that are repeated throughout it. Sundiata is an epic that recounts a historical event while teaching various African ideologies.
• AW’s work is deeply rooted in oral tradition; in the passing on of stories from generation to generation in the language of the people. To AW the language had a great importance. She uses the “Slave language”, which by others is seen as “not correct language”, but this is because of the effect she wants the reader to understand.
Gordon accurately depicts the varied and vibrant Asian culture, by showing the reader this world instead of simply describing it. Each of the men whom Gordon uses to tell the story undertakes expeditions which are mixed with hardships and triumphs. The varied spectrum of Asian cultures is covered. Readers will find Gordon’s take on tackling this topic fresh and straightforward.
The path of true love has never run smoothly. These short stories, “The Lovers,” by Bessie Head, and “The Rain Came,” by Grace Ogot, were made noteworthy because of their tragedies. Each story reveals the misfortunes and predicaments associated with love. The stories expose that the path of true love is not smooth, and must never be smooth, if we are to fully appreciate what true love is. A core concept portrayed in both stories is the notion of different kinds of love. Passion between couples is the form more commonly thought of when referring to true love. In “The Lovers,” Tselane, a young woman, and Keaja, a young man, are a passionate couple who have a love affair in a society where that sort of thing is forbidden. In “The Rain Came,” Oganda, chief Lbong’o’s daughter, and Osinda, a young man from another tribe, are madly in love as well. The affectionate love between kin, however, can be just as profound. Tselane is very fond of her father’s second wife, Mma-Monosi, while Keaja and his father, Rra-Keaja, are also quite friendly. Oganda and Lbong’o also have a very close relationship, because L’bongo is especially fond of his daughter. The stories “The Lovers” and “The Rain Came” show that no matter whom you care for there will always be hardships along the way on the path of true love.
The drama surrounds the story of a young woman called Anowa who disobeys her parents by marrying Kofi Ako, a man who has a reputation for indolence and migrates with him to a far place. Childless after several years of marriage Anowa realises that Kofi had sacrificed his manhood for wealth. Upon Anowa’s realisation Kofi in disgrace shoots himself whiles Anowa too drowns herself.