Linking analysis to context and the writer’s perspective

Example task

Read the following PEA paragraph and then complete the task underneath.

From the very start, Adichie presents Papa as a tyrant who controls through fear. The novel begins on Palm Sunday with Jaja’s refusal to take communion, which he calls “the wafer”, after which Kambili’s “shocked eyes beg him” to be quiet before Papa says, “It is the body of our Lord” in a voice that is “low, very low.” Right away, in this first family scene, Adichie creates a sense of menace. Yes, Jaja’s insolent dismissal of the Catholic mass is deliberately confrontational. However, this kind of behaviour is not uncommon among teenagers. Yet Kambili’s genuine fear, highlighted by the verb “beg”, conveys Papa’s rule by fear. This impression is compounded by Papa’s own matter-of-fact reply: it is just a statement of fact, as he sees it. People with real power do not need to make their threats explicit, and that is true of Papa here. The threat comes in the tone of voice (not just “low” but “very low”) and in the implied power dynamics of the family. Like all tyrants, Papa controls primarily through the threat of violence, rather than through violence itself. Throughout the novel, Adichie uses Papa to explore how tyrants function, both on the small scale of the family and the large scale of a country. We see real violence in the story of course – both from Papa and Big Oga – but it is the ambient fear that exists in between the violence that Adichie most frequently shows. It is how Papa keeps control of his family, and it is the real nightmare of tyranny.

 At present this paragraph includes methods analysis and links to big ideas, but it lacks any links to the historical context of the text or to the perspective of the writer. Where could you add this AO3 content to the paragraph in such a way that it would make the argument in the paragraph more detailed and convincing? Choose 1 or 2 places where contextual links could be added, and write *1 or *2 in the paragraph above. Then write the contextual links you would add in your book, with 1 or 2 in the margin. You need to phrase them as if they are part of the paragraph above.