Writing Assignment # 1

This essay should be submitted through the on-line service Turnitin at some time before class at 10:40 on Thursday, January 13th. A hard copy of the assignment should be turned in at class. No late papers will be accepted. You can read about and access the Turnitin service at the following UF web-site: http://lss.at.ufl.edu/services/turnitin/students.html The password necessary to submit the exam to the account established for this class is: kano, and the class ID # is 1235890.

Consider the essay question below and respond in an essay of 3-4 double-spaced pages (750-1000 words). Your work should be typed, double-spaced, and in 12-pt. font, with margins no greater than 1” on all sides.



1) In musing about the role of the novelist as an educator, acclaimed Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe once wrote:


“I would be quite satisfied if my novels (especially the ones I set in the past) did no more than teach my readers that their past - with all its imperfections - was not one long night of savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them.”

In your opinion, does Achebe succeed in doing this with his novel Things Fall Apart?

Whether you argue that he does or does not succeed, support your position through reference to at least three specific examples from the novel.



*** Answers will be graded on the clarity of your thought (as judged by the strength of your thesis, argument, and evidence) and your writing.***

*** Be sure to use specific examples and evidence from the reading to support your argument, and cite the  pages from which you draw your  evidence or direct quotes in the following format: (Achebe, p. 50).***