Rhetoric in African Fiction- a Postcolonial Analysis to Ngugi’s A Grain of Wheat, Petals of Blood, Devil on the Cross and Wizard of the Crow
- Project Research
- 1-5 Chapters
- Abstract : Available
- Table of Content: Available
- Reference Style: APA
- Recommended for : Student Researchers
- NGN 3000
Background to the Study
Rhetoric is the ancient art of argumentation and discourse from primordial Greece to the twentyfirst century. Rhetoric has been central to Western and African education, filling the need to train public speakers, orators and writers to move audiences to action with arguments. In Western perspective, the word ‗rhetoric‘ originated from the Greek word ‗rhetor‘ which means speaker and it is often seen as the art of public speaking. In Africa, from time immemorial, rhetoric originated from orality and this anchors its significance on persuasive verbal expressions. The thrust of rhetoric quite often is the intellectual ability of a speaker to compose and arrange a speech that would be persuasive through its intellectual, emotional and dramatic appeal to an audience. Western rhetoric in its historic framework had its origin in ancient Greece in the fifth century B.C. The earliest known studies of it come from Greek philosophers of the classical period; the Sophists, Aristotle and then, in the Roman world, Cato, Cicero and Quintilian. For Marcus Cicero, classical rhetoric has five canons: invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery. ―Invention‖ referred to the content of a speech; whether it is persuasive, and logical or appealing. The second part is ―arrangement‖ of the speech into a given order. The third part is ―style‖. This refers to diction (word choice) and composition that makes use of rhythm and figurative language. The other two canons often made popular by Aristotle are ―memory‖ which meant memorization of the speech for oratory purpose and delivery signified by the control of one‘s 2 voice, tone and gesture when speaking. Rafey Habib explains the origin of rhetoric with these words The art of rhetoric was formally founded in 476 BC by a native of Syracuse, Corax, whose student Tisias transmitted his master‘s teachings to the mainland. Rhetoric was an integral part of the political process in ancient Greece, especially in Athens and Syracuse of the fifth century BC… On the ability to speak persuasively could depend the entire future of a State, family or individual. On rhetoric, often hung the balance of life or death, war or peace, prosperity or destruction, freedom or slavery. (24) In ancient Athens, a group of professional teachers, called Sophists (from ‗Sophos‘, meaning ―wise‖) emerged. They taught art for use in the courts, the legislature, and political forums, as well as for philosophical reflection and debate. Through their influence, rhetoric came to assume a central role in Greek education. The most influential of the Sophists were Protagoras, Gorgias, Antiphon, Lysias, and Isocrates (Habib 24). Chinwe Okechukwu remarks that ―rhetoric has been seen as the bedrock of an organized society from the classical times to the present. It embraces the different arms of government in society, including the judicial, the political and the ceremonial‖ (45). The views captured here clearly define the nature and manifestation of rhetoric by the Greeks, Romans and Britons but against the backdrop of this explanation, other postcolonial communities of the world have rhetoric and have been interested in studying and projecting their rhetoric in diverse forms and perceptions of humanity. However, Mbanefo Ogene avers that ―rhetoric started from the oral tradition before it developed to the written. The early Greece scholars started from the oral tradition before they evolved a system of the written text‖ (98). Duckworth succinctly stressed that: 3 Indeed, the search
Related Project Materials
MODAL ANALYSIS OF VERTICALLY CURVED CONCRETE FLYOVER BRIDGES
ABSTRACT
The effectiveness and sensitivity of vertically curved concrete flyover bridge (VCCFB) profile is presented. Modal analysis was...
Distributed Communication for Streetlight Systems A decentralized solution
Abstract
Streetlights are usually lit during all dark hours even though vehicles or other objects are not using the road. Instead of wast...
IMPACT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The development of the fetus begins immediately upon conception. The usual peri...
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PROCESSING AND MARKETING OF CASHEW PRODUCTS
ABSTRACT
Cashew processing using manual techniques, was started in Nigeria in the first half of the twentieth century. I...
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN NIGERIAN POLITICS: (CASE STUDY OF UDI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA)
Abstract
This study or research on women empowerment in Nigerian politics is divided into five (5) chapters. The first chapter is on the...
BANKING REGULATION AND THE PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGERIA BANKING INDUSTRY (1990-2006)
ABSTRACT
This study is intended to evaluation the effect of banking regulation on the performance of the Nigeria b...
PROBLEMS AND PROSPECT OF HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY AT GRASSROOT LEVEL
Abstract
This study seeks to highlight the recent activities of local government in health care delivery. Health care i...
THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION IN MEETING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS
THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION IN MEETING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS
This study explored the role of customer segmentation in meeting custo...
THE EFFECT OF ACCOUNTING FOR CROSS-BORDER COMPLIANCE AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
ABSTRACT
This study investigates THE EFFECT OF ACCOUNTING FOR CROSS-BORDER COMPLIANCE AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS, focusing on understand...
THE INFLUENCE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
ABSTRACT
This study assessed how celebrity endorsements influenced consumers’ behavior and other factors that predispose people to...
