Luz Zapata
Professor Lui
Reading Journal
Week 14
5/8/19
Reading Journal
The book “Sundiata an epic of old Mali” has a very interesting tone. This week I decided to talk about tone in my reading journal because the tone of the narrator is very important since it can affect how we interpret the book. To begin with, the narrator of Sundiata, has firm tone. He is confident about his tradition and about who they are. The narrator stablishes his authority from the first paragraph which make him powerful and credible. The opening sentence is very strong because it shows that he is confident. The book starts with, “I am a griot” he is stablishing who he is, which shows that he is confident, strong and powerful. This is very important because it gives the narrator more credibility. Also, in the book it says, “I, Djeli Mamoudou Kouyate, son of Bintou Kouyate and Djeli Keidan Kouyate, master of te art of the eloquence.” This shows that the narrator is proud about his family and his ancestors, which also give him more credibility. Aditionally, in the book it says, “Without us the names of kings would vanish into oblivion” this shows that they are powerful. If the narrator has a firm and confident tone, the reader can believe him, by thinking that his character is real since he stablished an authority. On the other hand, in the Rig Veda: the Creation Hymn, the narrator is not credible and this negatively impact how the reader feel about the book. the Creation Hymn is harder to understand because the narrator does not have a firm tone. The narrator has a more uncertain and questioning tone. According to verse six, it says, “Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.? Who then knows whence it has arisen?” This shows how the narrator is questioning himself and the reader. This make him less credible which affect how we interpret the book. I personally don’t believe him because I think he is not sure of what he is talking about, but I do believe the narrator of Sundiata because he stablished his authority from the beginning.
