On "The Voter" by Chinua Achebe At the end of the story we had to read, "The Voter", the protagonist, Roof, makes a surprising decision. He rips his paper (ballot) in half, for he has rationalized that his actions to each candidate make a vote for either 'the right thing to do'. As I read that section I sort of see myself in this situation. Although I believe given the choice between two I might not have voted, because bec ause too many people might be voting for one o r the other because of the respect you have being Roof's person. Then again, Roof's admirers might not have voted either, and then there would be less votes. Either way, his paper (vote) appears to have some e ffect on the people, or Maduka (the other candidate) would not have tried so hard to persuade him with money. I suppose I would not know what to do, and sort of leave it for chaos to decide where my paper (opinion) lies. (Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a tiger by its toe, if he hollers, let 'im go...) That's just me and politics though, possibly. Maybe a better person could make a dec ision. Returning to my thoughts during the last paragraphs of the story, I figured the story would have ended abruptly and not told us who he voted for. It did not do that exactly, it ended suddenly, but only after he split and inserted (cast) his paper. Another aspect of the story I found interesting was the time period. We cannot be sure when this takes place, but we do know that during this time cars were in existence, and the English language had spread into Africa. I debated the setting with myself for a while. It was also hard to identify a theme, as they gave many abstract details to things t hat only seemed unimportant, but might have had a deeper meaning I m issed out on for one reason or another. The part after the beginning sounded to me like trivial details, and the reader might have done just as well without them. The words were also sometimes c onfusing, you had to stop and think about what they just said, get meaning from it, and move on. Unfortunately, this tripped up many people who read it who have "absolutely no idea what happened." That's just patience though, you got it or you don't, and if you don't got it you gotta get g et it soon... The theme I did get from this was along the lines of, 'do what you think is right'? Honestly, this is based mainly off of the middle-end and end of the story because much of the rest was worded confusingly, and unnecessarily in some cases. That's my opinion. I also wish you were not absent today, so that maybe you could have helped explain this one pa rt. It's also difficult to do anything when nobody is motivated -at all- to do much of anything. I am about as motivated as the next guy, but I want to find something to do besides sit and gossip, and often the only thing is ... work. I don't feel like there is much to reflect on this wee k. Kind of a pointless reflection, when there is only one, small thing to reflect on. ("The Voter", Page 95 in the textbook. You probably knew that.)
POSTED BY B.C. BRAMMER AT 22:59 LABELS: EDUCATION, LITERATURE 3 COMMENTS: Anonymous said... You wrote "Maybe a better person c ould make a decision." - I almost think a "better person" recognizes the significance of the decision and therefore has a hard time making it. It almost seems like a decision that should not be made easily. I like your point about patience. There are many things in life that are hard to "get" at first and it concerns me that so many people give up so quickly and so easily. I think "do what you think is right" is a fine theme. Though, I also think that calls into question "what is right" and if outside observers think Roof was "right". Sorry you were in an unmotivated group. It surprises me to learn that about a couple people who were with you. I don't think your reflection was pointless at all. I think you did some solid thinking and some strong reflecting on the story (which you understand much bette r than you give yourself credit for). What is the the short story the voter by chinua achebe about? Answer *'The voter' is about this main character t hat has to choose between the moder n culture and the traditional culture and this has to be through his c ampaigns. Some of his other short stories are 'Civil Peace', 'Certain Winds from the South', 'Minutes of Glory' and many others. *its all about corruption in politics.
