Lit Soc Independent Research Presentation
Senior Lit Soc was treated to an erudite talk by Leo H and Krish B in Fifth聽Year on their independent research into Orientalism, which they then used to inform their analysis of their GCSE set text 鈥楾hings Fall Apart鈥� by Chinua Achebe. Leo and Krish moved seamlessly from close analysis of poetry extracts from Byron鈥檚 鈥楾he Giaour鈥� to Dante鈥檚 鈥楲鈥橧nferno鈥�, then applying this critical interpretation of Christian supernaturalism to 20th Century novels, considering Conrad鈥檚 鈥楬eart of Darkness鈥� and how 鈥楾hings Fall Apart鈥� responds to the latent racism that a post-colonial view can recognise, seeking to redress this with a depiction of Igbo culture that is complex, frank and celebratory.
Leo and Krish spoke with superb eloquence and insight, preparing a detailed and thought-provoking presentation, which was only bettered by their responses to the difficult questions posed in the discussion at the end, in which they showcased intellectual agility and maturity, particularly when discussing their wider reading, such as Adichie鈥檚 novel 鈥楶urple Hibiscus鈥�, which was inspired by 鈥楾hings Fall Apart鈥�. This academic voraciousness certainly augurs well for their performance in their upcoming GCSE exams!
