Title: The Wrestling Contest between the Cat and the Tortoise

(Source: Linking the World through English II, pp. 130-132) I. Introduction
African literature refers to the literary works of the African continent. African literature consists of a body of work in different languages and various genres, ranging from oral literature to literature written in colonial languages such as French, Portuguese, and English. Oral literature, including stories, dramas, riddles, histories, myths, songs, proverbs, and other expressions, is frequently employed to educate and entertain children. Oral histories, myths, and proverbs additionally serve to remind whole communities of their ancestors' heroic deeds, their past, and the precedents for their customs and traditions. Essential to oral literature is a concern for presentation and oratory. Folktale tellers use call-response techniques. A griot (praise singer) will accompany a narrative with music. Some of the first African writings to gain attention in the West were the poignant slave narratives, such as The Interesting Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789), which described vividly the horrors of slavery and the slave trade. As Africans became literate in their own languages, they often reacted against colonial repression in their writings. Others looked to their own past for subjects. Thomas Mofolo, for example, wrote Chaka (tr. 1931), about the famous Zulu military leader, in Susuto. Since the early 19th century, writers from western Africa have used newspapers to air their views. Several founded newspapers that served as vehicles for expressing nascent nationalist feelings. Frenchspeaking Africans in France, led by Lopold Senghor, were active in the ngritude movement from the 1930s, along with Lon Damas and Aim Csaire, French speakers from French Guiana and Martinique. Their poetry not only denounced colonialism, it proudly asserted the validity of the cultures that the colonials had tried to crush. After World War II, as Africans began demanding their independence, more African writers were published. Such writers as, in western Africa, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ousmane Sembene, Kofi Awooner, Agostinho Neto, Tchicaya u tam'si, Camera Laye, Mongo Beti, Ben Okri, and Ferdinand Oyono and, in eastern Africa, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Okot p'Bitek, and Jacques Rabmananjara produced poetry, short stories, novels, essays, and plays. All were writing in European languages, and often they shared the same themes: the clash between indigenous and colonial cultures, condemnation of European subjugation, pride in the African past, and hope for the continent's independent future.

III. Elements of a Narrative

A. Setting
The story took place in the country of the animals.

B. Characters
The Cat proclaimed to be the champion wrestler in the land of the animals and the protagonist of the story. The Tortoise The cats former friend who soon became the antagonist in the later part of the story. The tortoises supporters The most encouraging people the tortoise could ever depend on. (supporting characters)

C. Plot
The Exposition
In the country of the animals, the cat was regarded as the champion wrestler of all the animals for he was able to overpower anyone who challenged him. And because of this, his friendship and company were greatly sought after by those who praised and admired his strength and supremacy. One animal who wanted to become his close friend was the incredibly sly and exceptionally clever tortoise, who, even after his first invitation was unsympathetically rejected by the ever infamous cat, was still able to convince and persuade him to come over and dine to their hearts content.

The Rising Action

Having eaten to satisfaction, the cat stretched himself out under the cool shade of some banana leaves, thinking fuzzily to himself that the appalling rumors about the tortoise were untrue and he was in fact, not such a devious person after all. And through his painstaking efforts, the tortoise managed to become the cats closest friend. They valued their quality time and friendship so much that they would often get together at their uber-special meeting place which was comfortably found under the banana leaves behind the tortoises compound. And after several meetings, the tortoise who completely knew how much of a champion his friend really is, asked his friend about his secret of attaining effortless victories against the numerous opponents he fought with.

The Climax
After comprehending everything that the cat had said, the tortoise was fullydetermined to become an amateur wrestling player, with hopes of succeeding the cats

title as champion wrestler of the animal kingdom. He undertook multitudinous competitions and obtained great admiration from his fellow animals and co-wrestlers alike. Due to his implausibly astounding achievements, his supporters wanted to test his strength by asking him to fight against his ultimate mentor, the cat. Since he had no dominion over the verdicts of his supporters, he had no choice but to agree. And indeed, a date for the special event had been appointed, and the tortoise himself made strategic preparations to knock his rival out of the designated border. On the day of what was to be the most interesting wrestling match ever in the history of the animal kingdom, the participants wasted no time and readied themselvesand the clash had commenced. The first two rounds of their thrilling bout both resulted in ties yet the equally-thrilled audience eagerly insisted on starting a third round in spite of the tortoises petition to equally distribute the championship between the both of them.

The Falling Action

The tortoise, who had no more jujus at his disposal, quickly thought of a seemingly useless plan & immediately followed the request of the audience and proceeded directly with the wrestling match. The third round had been initiated and the cat had released a third juju while the hesitant tortoise used a combination of his first and second jujus, hoping that what he did would be enough to equal the intense amount of energy that the cat possess because of the jujus power to manipulate and tweak with the physical capabilities and skills of its user.

The Denouement
The battle went on even further than what the audience had expected, but the outcome by that time was clear as crystal. Despite the monumental efforts of the monotonous-looking tortoise, he finally faced how silent and deadly karma could be. He was soundly beaten while the cat emerged victorious and was able to defend his title as the champion wrestler across the animal kingdom. Having realized his villainous and unrighteous ways, the tortoise firmly made up his mind to end his journey as a wrestler and begin an expedition, free from any form of competition-related obscurity.

D. Conflict
Man VS Man
Explanation: The story talks about a Man VS Man type of conflict between it features the lives of two people (or in our case, animals) or more. Stories that show this type of

narrative conflict often involve numerous scenes that show the contradictory opinions of the Protagonist and the Antagonist.

E. Point of View
Third-Person Point of View Explanation: The story used the third-person point of view due to the fact that each and every character in the story is referred to by the narrator as he, she, it, or they, but never as I, We, or You. The narrator in this point of view is always an indefinite entity or detached person that conveys or tells the story, but not a character of any kind within the story being told

F. Theme
We rely on our friends for pragmatic solutions and improbable-yet-hysterical resolutions, so the least we could do is strengthen the connection by showing our undisputed affection. Explanation: Our friends have always been there to provide opinionated solutions to solve our rather puzzling problems while their seemingly impossible-yet-laughable decisions have never failed to brighten up the mood of even the most humorless of conversations. So as a sign of gratitude and appreciation, we must at least show how valuable they are to us in the most appropriate way possible.

IV. Lexis
1. conceited having or showing an excessively high opinion of oneself

The conceited tortoise was very confident in his decision of competing against the cat in the wrestling ring.

2. concourse a voluntary or spontaneous meeting The concourse of animals continuously contradicted one anothers opinions of who might emerge victorious in the battle. 3. juju a fetish charm or amulet worn by West African people

The magical capabilities of each sides juju made it quite difficult to determine who the winner of the contest was. 4. tussle a physical contest or struggle The tussle between the cat and the tortoise went on even further than what the audience had expected. 5. merit individual significance or justification; excellence The restless-looking audience saw merit in the competition between the cat and the tortoise.

V. Creative Presentation

Explanation:
To show that I fully understand the message that the story wants to convey, I have decided to choose the human body as my representation. I can profoundly relate my chosen symbol to the story because like the condition of a babys body at birth, friendship also starts off fresh, clean, and without any form of malice. At the start of the cat and tortoises friendship, they were as happy as can be because they have finally found people whom they can entrust anything with. As the years pass, we start to take in lots of distinctive substances that have either large or minimal amounts of unknown ingredients that could severely affect the normal functioning of our organs and tissues. This statement is very much relatable to the part of the story where the tortoise unexpectedly asked his friend, the cat, about his secret. And because the tortoise asked his question with foolish and insincere intentions, the essence of their friendship started to diminish little-by-little. As a result of our reckless actions, we start to feel the bad effects and dangerous consequences of these substances caused by irresponsibility itself. This line goes the same way during the downfall of the tortoise which was mainly caused by his lack of experience and skill compared to the cat. And because of his embarrassing loss, he finally decided to quit wrestling and avoid any contact with the cat. We are somehow similar to the condition of the tortoise at the end of the story. I said so because like him, we have also regretted every bad thing that we have done to our bodies or to someone else. And this event pursues the call for change and amendment.

VI. Learnings

1. Would you choose fame and fortune over friendship? Why or why not?
I would choose friendship over fame and fortune because first of all, money cant us friends; friends are earned, not bought. Being popular also means that a lot of simulated people start coming towards you to mingle, socialize, and make friends. That isnt something to be proud of because in real life, we need genuine-hearted people who will always be there and stick with us through thick and thin. We need friends whom we can rely on whenever we feel down or depressed. We need friends who would completely understand us because we wouldnt exactly have any close friends once were popular, so who would we share most of our problems with? Another reason is because popularity doesnt last. Itll come and gowe would end up dumped and ill-treated like garbage in the next several years of our career. This is what makes friendship completely different from fameit lasts forever. This is actually our mindset when it comes to choosing friendship over something else. We would patently choose our friends bluntly because we are certain that our friends would equal to a much greater value than the one we rejected. Having said all these, we can still feel the pleasure brought about by popularity in our own little ways because our friends are there to make us feel super specialand thats what counts.

2. What are the basic ingredients of a true and lasting friendship? Just like any other form of relationship, friendship must be strengthened and preserved to boost the connection between the people involved in the process. A true and lasting friendship possesses Trust, Honesty, Respect, Understanding and Integrity. The first trait of a close intimate relationship is Trust. To be trustworthy refers to being loyal to the person at all times and being cautious and mindful with what we say, considering that our words/mode of speaking could easily hurt our companion. Friendship ultimately means remaining faithful to the ones we care about especially when they are not present to defend themselves in front of people who emotionally break them. Second is Respect. Befriending someone means that we respect them for who they are and what they do. We value the importance of privacy and courtesy so that we can develop equality within a relationship. Friends must also understand the personality of one another. Adjustment plays a vital role in a relationship, but blending-in too much can be hazardous to our personal way of living due to the fact that we cannot easily adapt to the new changes that we have just created. We must accept them wholly because once a person is understood and accepted, he/she will grow as a person who value the importance of dignity. Friendship, as a whole, is not really that complex to understand. People only need to enjoy the company that their friends have to offer so that he/she can fully understand how important friendship really is.

3. What is the impact of the story to my life?

The story made me realize how beneficial, and at the same time, of how fragile friendship is. It taught me to value the existence of my ever-supportive friends who have never failed to uplift my mood every time I feel uninterested and forlorn. The story was somewhat accurate in terms of how a close relationship can be easily broken through deceitful thoughts and backstabbing actions. My friends and I have never been so attached to a problem such as the one stated in the story. Our strong will and devotion to remain as friends in spite of the harsh difficulties and trials that life throws at us keep us strong and united. We merely shrug off most of the problems that hinder our development as a whole and as a family because we strongly believe that with enough cooperation and determination, nothing remains impossible to achieve. The story also made me realize the true reason of why individuals establish a relationship. They become friends because they have learned to fully trust one another to securely treasure everything that must remain a secret. I consider friendship a didactic relationship because as we continue our journey as joyous individuals, we encounter problems that only people with enough inspiration and devotion can solvewe are those people. And it is because of these challenges that we are able to fully appreciate one anothers company. To make things short, the story dug deep into my mind and placed a very comprehensive and understandable concept that completely changed my recently-revise understanding of friendship.