To bring together your learning both
in and out of class, and to demonstrate how understanding of the past can help
deal with the future in a spirit of compassionate hope, you will write a
reflective paper. It should be a
carefully-constructed, well-thought-out essay comparing one character from
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
with one character from “The Mission.” The setting of this analysis is,
of course, the 500-year story of “The West and the World.” The focus of
this analysis is to reflect on the question: “How can someone in a situation of
powerlessness find hope for the future?”
But this is no glib opinion piece: the paper should
- indicate your close familiarity with the two works by summarizing each character’s role in the story
- reflect and comment on (1) how the character had to confront powerful outside influences, and (2) how (if at all) the character found grounds for hope
- place these fictionalized characters into the concrete, real-world context of both (1) particular events from their own time and place and (2) broad, long-term historical trends
- include a paragraph or two evaluating whether such fictionalized accounts (novels, plays, films, legends, etc) can provide true historical insight—and if so, how
- conclude, in light of your analysis, with a personal statement—either from an explicitly Christian or honestly non-Christian perspective—on the sources of hope in a world of power
Field of study:
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