| | 2 | 3/26/2011 11:57 PM | Twins I was re-reading TFA for my essay, and noticed the twins part. Why were twins seen as evil? Possibly because of they though that twins were of two and randomly thought they were both bad. I found it odd. and then the missionaries saw it as a way too kill the natives too if they threw their twins in to the evil forest. Why would two children be the same and be evil. |
| | 7 | 3/20/2011 4:43 PM | TFA Conclusion So, here's a post open for discussion: what do you think about Achebe's choice to end TFA from the viewpoint of the District Commissioner? Do you think it entails a certain stance that Achebe has towards colonization? Is it a twist on the story? |
| | 1 | 3/20/2011 11:42 AM | Things Fall Apart as a tragedy Things Fall Apart (based upon my own interpretation, feel free to voice your own opinion) is indeed a sad story. However, much class time has been devoted to the discussion of whether or not this story is a true tragedy. I guess to really decide whether or not this novel falls under the category of "tragedy" we must first define the word. I think in class we defined a tragedy as being a story in which the protaganist to does of his acts in the right but still fails at achieving his ultimate aspiration. Yet dictionary.com defines the word as "a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society, to downfall or destruction." What do you guys think? Should we define TFA as a tragedy or does it fail to meet the requirements and why? |
| | 11 | 3/20/2011 11:31 AM | Suicide So normally, I would associate suicide with weakness. In my opinion, when a person takes their own life, it is out of desperation and fear, there is no honor in suicide. But when Okonkwo decides to kill himself, rather than desperation, I believe his actions are fueled by pride, stubbornness and strength. Instead of letting western civilization ruin his life, he defies all norms of his society and kills himself. |
| | 1 | 3/20/2011 10:56 AM | Religous Parallels Once the missionaries began to move in I began to notice a plethora of religious parallels such as Nwyoe's left the tribe to live with the Missionaries. Like how many disciples left their homes to follow Jesus for the Church. I found that the word "begotten" was used quite often which rang up one of the versioins of John 3:16, with that I found many more parallels. |
| | 8 | 3/17/2011 9:51 PM | conflicting points of view This book made me have a lot of different almost conflicting feelings because from my christian point of view missionaries are supposed to be good, but from the point of view the book has the missionaries are made into the bad guys and I even found myself feeling that way in some parts of the book. I think that means Achebe did a great job writing this book, and also I thought about it and I think it was easy for me to feel that way because I strongly disagree with the tactics of these missionaries. |
| | 8 | 3/13/2011 2:59 PM | Okonkwo's I feel like in this book Okonkwo's main goal was to have people look up to him and to break his fathers lazy and worthless pattern. Instead he ended up having almost every single person that is close to him go against him and resents him. He gets close with people and gets people to trust him and in the end of almost every relationship, the other person does not like him. For example Nwoye, and even the one friend that visited him while in exile says to Okonkwo's question of what he could do to repay him he says to hang himself? Everyone resents Okokwo but still idolizes his wealth and his hard work mentality. |
| | 4 | 3/13/2011 1:31 PM | The fire To me Reading about all the fire presented in the book reminded me of Okonkwo. He wants to be seen heard and not messed with. People understand to not touch fore for fear of people burned and with Okonkwo all the people in almost every tribe understands Okonkwo is a powerful feared and dangerous person. Fire also symbolizes destruction and to me Okonkwo is no different he is destroying himself and those around him. He gets in trouble with he tribe for killing a messenger he beats his wives. He is a destructive fire that has no intentions of slowing down his burn. |
| | 4 | 3/6/2011 8:25 PM | Achebe's/Narrator's View on Religon While Things Fall Apart clearly blames the Christians for their unjust assault on the Ibo culture, it repeatedly depicts the zealous worship of indigenous, polytheistic beliefs in a cynical manner. One instance of this occurs during the trial in chapter ten, when it is mentioned that Okonkwo's wives noticed that one of the masked egwugwu, or masked ancestral spirits which represent the nine villages of Umuofia, is likely their husband. However, instead of pointing out their observation, they feign fear of the egwugwu like they are expected to as women. Another such instance occurs at the end of chapter thirteen when Obierka questions the reasoning behind forcing Okonkwo out of the village for accidently killing the son of Ezeudu, as is required according to clan tradition. These instances show that, even though the Ibo people have developed a complex, ritualistic set of religious beliefs, they often have the awareness to question the rationality or morality of certain beliefs that seem too extreme or inhumane. Even though Achebe most clearly opposes the Christian missionaries attack on the Ibo people, I believe that he more generally is opposed to religious zeal which motivates people act with violence toward those of different beliefs, including when the residents of Abame kill a white man and tie his body to a tree, as well as when Okonkwo kills the Christian messenger at the end of the novel. |
| | 6 | 3/6/2011 7:17 PM | Racism Conrad was a man that separated the human race into two categories: civilized and savage. The Europeans he described as being the pure end of the spectrum, while the Africans on the Congo river were not so politely described. Conrad commonly refers to the Africans as animals, and describes them to have little or no value. Also in context it was rare that an African would say a word with meaning, a word of the English language in this case. Instead they would only be "allowed" by Conrad to speak gibberish. |
| | 15 | 3/6/2011 3:50 PM | Is this book racist? I was wondering what everyone thought about this book. In class we were agreeing or disagreeing whether or not Things Fall Apart was racist. Now we were taught that it is always and and never or. So in a way it is both racist and not at the same time. But someone in my class said that he didn't view it as racist at all. Just that the author was critizing humanity because of the fact that both the Missionaries and the tribe were victims of racism and leaders in racism. That view caught my attention. I never looked at the book that way before. It was an interesting well thoughtout theory that had evidence to it. I was wondering if anyone else had a theory like that? |
| | 10 | 3/6/2011 3:06 PM | Snakes I found it interesting that there is a group of people that worship the snake in their culture, and found it more interesting that Achebe included this detail. This snake worshippping is introduced in the same chapters where the missionaries are starting to impact the culture there and snakes in the missionaries religion stand for the devil, while in Umofia's culture snakes are worshipped. |
| | 5 | 3/5/2011 11:07 AM | Agbala So on page 13, Oknokwo is ashamed when a peer calls his father "agbala" also meaning "a man with no titles." But then on pages 17, Achebe describes Agbala the Oracle of the Hills as a very powerful spirit, "no one who had ever crawled into his awful shrine had come out without the fear of his power." So obviously there is a contradiction between these two descriptions, does that mean that even though Unoka had no titles he was a powerful man? |
| | 11 | 3/2/2011 12:45 PM | Yams in IM and Things Fall Apart I've never eaten a yam and to be honest with you, I never knew what a yam was until this year. Yams are symbols in both the novels IM and now, Things Fall Apart. I was just wondering, is there anything special about them that would cause this? Or are they part of an allusion to something else? This is just me wondering more than anything else, it could quite possibly a coincidence. |
| | 18 | 3/2/2011 12:43 PM | The customs of marriage I found it interesting how the woman was only welcomed into the place where the men were meeting about her to look at her as if she was an item in a store being sold. Then once the men looked her over she was sent away while they decided her bride price. This way of choosing, well buying, a bride shows how they value women as an item for sale not a partner or even a helper really. |
| | 6 | 3/2/2011 12:39 PM | Nwoye Okonkwo treats his oldest son poorly. He is trying so hard to do everything the opposite of his dad he's hurting his son in a different way. He abuses him, he mistreats him, he's overly hard on him, and because of it Nwoye will end up resenting Okonkwo. Nwoye tries so hard for Okonkwo's approval and when he does he doesn't get much happier. He misses his mother and in the end he looses Okonkwo's approval and he disowns Nwoye. He was better off without Okonkwo and has a much better and happy life without him. Idk if it will last because he will miss having a father like he missed having a mother but he'll turn out like Okonkwo resenting his father and taking it out on his possible future son. |
| | 11 | 3/2/2011 12:38 PM | Translations When writing "Things Fall Apart" Achebe chose to translate his book from Igbo to English. I find this significant because it represents the audience Achebe is trying to channel. He is specifically writing this to the Westerners. I think he might be doing this to change the views that people had of Africa. Before this book not many other novels were written to where Westerners could not read them or they were just not written at all. Achebe gave the raw truth he was telling the Westerns tales of the mistreated acts of the whites on the blacks, and how a single man controlled an area. He chose to write this for the westerners to show them the truth being the real Africa not the lies that had been carelessly spread. |
| | 8 | 3/2/2011 12:36 PM | Missionaries There are some side discussions of the missionaries. They have both negative and positive aspects, but I was wondering how everyone else viewed them. They saved outcasts and welcomed whoever wanted to join, but then they hung and beat the villagers if they didn't agree about something. They were spreading the word of Christ, but did they spread more bad than good? |
| | 13 | 2/27/2011 8:20 PM | ***SPOILER*** the end of the book So why does Okonkwo hang himself? I personally think that that he did it because of his fading culture. His entire life was devoted to becoming a lord of his clan by obtaining the four titles. When he finally returns from exile however, much of Umuofia is converted to Christianity and a lot of other things have changed too. Does he even want to become lord of a society that lacks the warrior mentality that he finds so important to his clan?
When the messengers come to disband the meeting that forms after the mask of an egwugugu is broken, the people don't even wage war as Okonkwo would have wanted. I think they didn't go to war because of the changes in custom and culture that arrive with the white man. Rather than exhibit the violence of their past, the people choose to take a more pacified option and work with him. Ironically however, despite the huge cultural additions to their society, like Christianity, the people still do not touch him since touching the bodies of those who have comitted suicide is taboo in their culture.
Okonkwo's return to a culture in transition is what drove him to suicide. The things that were once valued so highly in his clan no longer were as important and he couldn't take it any longer. |
| | 3 | 2/27/2011 4:32 PM | The Feast I thought it was interesting that at the end of Okonkwo's going away feast when one of the oldest members of the tribe spoke. He basically said that it was nice that Okonkwo, being part of the younger generation, held a feast to bring the kinsmen together. The old member said, "But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship...I fear for you; I fear for the clan" (167). When I finished the book, I wondered if the village would hold up, but I think the older member of the other tribe had a good point. When the village people are not close, there will be separation, like what happened in Umofia. |
| | 10 | 2/27/2011 12:18 PM | Ezinma - Okonkwo Ezinma, Okonkwo's daugher, reminds me of Okonkwo in many ways. She also said she had wished she was born a boy, in order to do the most she could for her dad. She manages to gain Okonkwo's full approval and acceptance and she thinks like Okonkwo. She decides to put off marriage until her parents are out of their exile reminding of Okonkwo. He always puts logic before emotion and Ezinma is obviously following her fathers foot steps. |
| | 7 | 2/27/2011 10:20 AM | Ikemefuna Ikemefuna was a gift given to Okonkwo from another tribe. He was close with Okonkwo and calls him "father" on multiple occasions. But what was interesting was that he became so close with Nwoye. Nwoye looked up to Ikemefuna. Thats ironic to me because the "man of the house" okonkwo who should be the one he looks up to is actually the man he resents. And the kid who was given to Okonkwo became the one he looked up to the most. |
| | 5 | 2/27/2011 10:18 AM | "the heart of the forest" Reading TFA as a direct response to Heart of Darkness, the line on page 59 stands out: "The footway had now become a narrow line in the heart of the forest. The short trees and sparse undergrowth began to give way to giant trees and climbers which perhaps stood from the beginning of things, untouched by the ax and the bush fire."
This passage demonstrates the subtle similarities between Western and African perspectives of the jungle. In HOD, the European explorers view the Jungle as a dense mystery and the Africans as a component of the wilderness. Ironically, the Africans, within their own land, look to the deepest area of the region, the "untouched" forest, with equal awe and uncertainty. The Europeans view the Africans as a part of the mysterious heart, however Achebe reveals that in actuality they too are separate from the mystery of the immense dark heart of nature, isolated and undeveloped, whose existence seems permanent and unalterable. |
| | 5 | 2/27/2011 10:16 AM | okonkwos friend When okonkwos friend comes to see him the first time when okonkwo is in exile he brings okonkwo money for his yams and brings him news of things in town and is helping okonkwo out alot he asks how he could ever thank his friend, okonkwos friend says he could do that by hanging himself. i really dont understand why his friend said this other than that he was embarrased by okonkwo but im not sure, |
| | 0 | 2/27/2011 10:09 AM | Nwoye Even in the beginning of the novel you see that Nwoye is nothing like his father or anything thing he thrives to be. It seems that the same family tradition keeps repeating itself: not accepting or liking your father. Achebe describes how much Nwoye loved stories, but he didn't especially love the ones Okonkwo told him, because most of them were grizzly and obscene. Nwoye loved the stories his mother told him, but when Ikemefuna came into the picture, Nwoye looked up to Ikemefuna like an older brother, and seeing Ikemefuna appreciate and love Okonkwo as a father, Nwoye wants to prove his love to his father by giving up the stories his mother told him and the ones he loved for other ones that his father would tell. This part of the novel describes how naive and young Nwoye is, because watching someone come into your house and accepting them like an older brother and watching them love your father and want to be just like him made him see that he can love his father and appreciate things his father does for him, like tell him stories. Though Okonkwo wants Nwoye to be a man, Achebe foreshadows here that Nwoye would follow anyone that he could look up to and love, like his mother before Ikemefuna. |
| | 1 | 2/27/2011 9:50 AM | "A proud heart can survive" On page 22 when talking about the terrible harvest month, Okonkwo's father says to him that "A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone", Okonkwo's patience is "tried beyond words", even though it was in the last days of his father's existence. The relationship between Okonkwo and his father is nonexistant, but I feel bad for his father; he tries to be a good father, but knowing that he failed, he knows that his son doesn't accept him the way he would appreciate. When his father says this to him, it shows that even in struggle, he describes what a real man would do, knowing that Okonkwo was a real man and a good man who could succeed in growing yams. Even though his father struggles, Okonkwo refuses to be anything like a man who can't even grow a couple of yams. |
| | 0 | 2/27/2011 9:46 AM | week of peace During the sacred week, Okonkwo's youngest wife Ojiugo is plaiting her hair while the his first wife is watching her children. Okonkwo is raging with anger to know that Ojiugo left and did something else when it was time for the children to eat and when his first wife lies for her and confirms that she had asked her to feed the children before she left, Okonkwo waits for Ojiugo and beats her "heavily". The resentment that Okonkwo feels and shows towards his wives is quite frightening to me. During the week of peace though, there is no such thing as beating your wife because she messed up; it's the week of peace, the sacred week where forefathers of Umofia ordained the week before the cropping of plants because with peace within the village, the gods of earth will honor and bless the crops that will grow. Achebe uses this scene to describe the complicated life in Umofia; even though this African village is dominated by tradition and culture, Okonkwo finds a way to disobey the rules and get himself into trouble. |
| | 4 | 2/27/2011 8:07 AM | Drums The drums definitely symbolize the people. Except deeper than that, their hearts. As the drums beat, the people are more alive: their hearts beat faster.
"The crowd had surrounded and swallowed up the drummers, whose frantic rhythym was no longer a mere disembodied sound but the very heartbeat of the people" pg 50.
I really found this interesting, because the drums play when there's a match going on and the people cheeer for one person to beat up another. We see it as Okonkwo is a jerk for all the violent things he does, (and maybe he took it too far with the gun), but other native males probably beat their wife... It seems like in this setting, violence is power and we all know that every surrounding city is afraid of Umuofia. |
| | 6 | 2/27/2011 7:37 AM | Chi I'm not a religious person at all. I don't necessarily believe in god and I often question the platform of Christianity and other major religions, but I really like this idea of a Chi or personal god. On page 131 Achebe writes "A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his Chi." This personal god gives one something to have faith in, but unlike Christianity, it personalizes the faith and removes it from all of the silly rules and interjections associated with large religions. What do ya think? |
| | 12 | 2/26/2011 11:56 PM | Locusts During the seventh chapter, a swarm of locusts flood the village. The people welcome the locusts because they capture, cook, and eat them. The locusts were so rare that "old people had seen them before" (56). When I first read this, it occurred to me that locusts are usually a sign of a plague. In the Bible, there is the part where the locusts come. Is this passage relevant to the Bible or the plague? |
| | 2 | 2/26/2011 11:38 PM | "effeminate men" On page 58 it says "At the beginning of their journey, the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts, about their women, and about some effeminate men who had refused to come with them. But as they drew near to the outskirts of Umuofia silence fell upon them too."
The contrast between the initial and final attitudes of the men reveals that they are in as sense hypocritical in their accusations of effeminacy. Their logic suggests that a man is feminine if he will join the execution of Ikemefuna. However, the word "but" reveals the fault in their logic: ironically, they "too" are effeminate by their own reasoning. We know, however, that they are men, not women, One could argue that it is therefore not feminine to fear execution of a child, but it is equally possible that Achebe is actually revealing the necessity of a feminine side to every man--the gender balance motif reappearing--something Okonkwo fails to grasp. |
| | 3 | 2/22/2011 11:44 PM | Fire as a Symbol
Okonkwo is associated with burning, fire, and flame throughout the novel, alluding to his intense and dangerous anger—the only emotion that he allows himself to display.
The problem with fire, as Okonkwo acknowledges in Chapters 17 and 24, is that it destroys everything it consumes. Okonkwo is both physically destructive (he kills Ikemefuna and Ogbuefi Ezeudu’s son) and emotionally destructive.
He suppresses his fondness for Ikemefuna and Ezinma in favor of a colder, more masculine aura. Just as fire feeds on itself until all that is left is a pile of ash, Okonkwo eventually surrenders to his intense rage, allowing it to rule his actions until it destroys him. |
| | 3 | 2/22/2011 11:17 PM | Locust The locust in the book, to me, symbolized the white people invading the village. And invading the surrounding areas. They came into the tribes Community their homes their lives without warning and they have infested the tribes everyday lives. They want to change the tribe they want to force the blacks to conform to what they say and what they want. The white people are acting lik the locust and getting into everything the tribe has known and charished all this time and destroying it and making it into something they want it to be. |
| | 0 | 2/21/2011 9:40 PM | literal proverbs The proverbs the villages of Umofia use are very literal and straightfoward; they describe a situation to relate to something in comparison in real life. The proverb Achebe uses to describe the help and fate the gods and goddesses give to Okonkwo, "let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wings break", suggests that is the gods believe they possess the power that he is asking for or the gods will not help in fate the Okonkwo is hoping for in regards to his farm. I think that these proverbs are used to literally enhance a person's beliefs in the gods and enhance their understanding life skills so they can succeed in doing what they want to become and how they do it. |
| | 0 | 2/21/2011 9:33 PM | fear and weakness in Okonkwo and his father Okonkwo wanted to hate everything that his father had loved. Because his father lacked in farming, Okonkwo compelled himself at a young age to take up farming in large amounts, and not coco-yams or cassava, Okonkwo wanted to crop yams, a man's crop, the king of crops. Okonkwo doesn't want family history to repeat itself after his father; he wants to become something his father never had the ambition to do, which is to be a man and live to make something of his life. Okonkwo's fear is to be afraid and weak like his father. The differences between Okonkwo and his father contrast immensely, because Okonkwo does not show fear in trying to succeed, whereas his father did. Achebe creates the fear and weakness in Unoka to show the drive and ambition Okonkwo has to be the complete opposite. |
| | 0 | 2/21/2011 9:26 PM | Okonkwo's human heads When suggesting war against outside villages, Achebe references back to Okonkwo being "a man of action" and someone to be feared. After Umofia's latest war Okonkwo brought home his fifth human head. This symbolizes the power Okonkwo has over others, not just animals but humans as well. This possession of power he has over other villages describe his hunger for power and strength. "On great occasions such as the funeral of a village celebrity he drank his palm-wine from his first human head." This scene suggests that Okonkwo wants to be feared of and wants to be a symbol of power and strength over others in contrast to his father being worthless and weak in the village of Umofia. |
| | 6 | 2/20/2011 11:10 PM | Nwoye's conversion Nwoye chose a path very different from what his father had intended. He really doesn't care either. Okonkwo, on the other hand, is fully disgusted. He cannot believe that his first son, would go against him like this. The fact the Nwoye converted to Christianity has another heavy effect on Okonkwo as I thought about it. Okonkwo's first born son, the main carrier of the blood line, has dishonored him and Okonkwo is furious that something like this would happen. The furture generations of his line will be in vain. |
| | 8 | 2/20/2011 10:06 PM | Okonkwo and Ikemenfuna Okonkwo and Ikemenfuna both had one link between them that I feel made their bond stronger than Okonkwo intended. Both of their lives were shaped by the actions of their fathers; Okonkwo worked as hard as possible to avoid becoming his father and Ikemenfuna was sent to the villiage to pay for the crimes of his father. It seems to me that Okonkwo saw a little of himself in the boy, because they shared a simliar background, and this is what created such a paternal bond between the two. This made it difficult for Okonkwo to kill him, but he was stuck in his goal to avoid becoming his father. |
| | 11 | 2/20/2011 10:01 PM | Nwoye The difference between Nwoye and Okonkwo is very apparent. Nwoye does not seem to possess the same thirst for success and dominance that his father does. He also seems to disagree with some of the traditional Umofian ways of life. "Something snapped inside of him" when he came across two twin babies left in the forest to die, a ritual that is common in Umofia. This emotional shift shows that Nwoye does not support traditional customs, setting him apart from his father and the overall archetype of a male in his society. |
| | 9 | 2/20/2011 9:55 PM | Men vs. Women Male dominance is at the foundation of this specific African society. It is accepted in Umofia that men are the heads of house and that women should be under the control of a man, but it seems that Okonkwo tries almost to hard to assert his dominance. I think his insecurities might have something to do with his father and the fact that he was not successful. The repulsion of both feminine and lazy ways drive Okonkwo in his dicision making, including the murder of Ikemefuna |
| | 4 | 2/20/2011 6:14 PM | Opposites It's very evident that Okonkwo is tryng to be the exact opposite of his father. His father was poor and gentle. He connected to his community and enjoyed the small things in life. Okonkwo strives to be masculine, rich and powerful, and he leads a very materialistic life. This plotline is very familiar to real life. Kids always say they never want to be like their parents! It's something that happens in every culture. |
| | 2 | 2/20/2011 5:11 PM | Okonkwo still doesn't get the gender balance On page 68 their is a dialogue between Obierika, Ofoedu, and Okonkwo regarding the respectable elder who had recently passed away and his spouse Ozoemena.
"'It was always said the Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind,' said Obierika. 'I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. He could not do anything without telling her.'
'I did not know that,' said Okonkwo, "I thought he was a strong man in his youth.'
'He was indeed,' said Ofoedu.
Okonkwo shook his head doubtfully.
'He led Umuofia into war in those days,' said Obierika."
Okonkwo's flawed logic is demonstrated: clearly, if he has any sort of dependence upon or obligation to a woman, Ndulue must be effeminate, weak. However the other men correct him: of course Ndulue was strong; he led the village into war. A man is not strong because he is overtly masculine, he is strong because he is a leader (particularly in war) and because he is strong emotionally, and not just the emotion of anger. Ndulue is a very honorable man, and is respectably noted for the strong bond he had with his wife, something that is in no way a sign if weakness in the Umuofian culture, contrary Okonkwo's distorted understanding which he bases of off observations of his father. |
| | 3 | 2/20/2011 12:34 PM | Ezinma
Ezinma is bold in the way that she approaches—and even sometimes contradicts—her father. Okonkwo remarks to himself multiple times that he wishes she had been born a boy, since he considers her to have such a masculine spirit.
Ezinma alone seems to win Okonkwo’s full attention, affection, and, ironically, respect. She and he are kindred spirits, which boosts her confidence and precociousness.
She ends up sensibly agreeing to put off marriage until her family returns from exile so as to help her father gain back his sociopolitical power most effectively. In doing so, she shows an approach similar to that of Okonkwo: she puts strategy ahead of emotion. |
| | 1 | 2/20/2011 12:14 PM | The celebration in the distance On their way to the execution of Ikemefuna, the men hear an "ozo dance" in the far off distance. There is a contrast between the solemn event of the execution and the jubilation of "music dancing and a great feast," but also the reminder that other cultures exist outside of Umuofia. Likewise, the cultural differences between Umuofia and the West remind Western readers of the existence of others: our way is not the only way. This motif is complicated by the reminder that although the differences are notable, such as the humor we find in the remark that another culture's ways were so backwards that one one might as well say the woman is on top in the making of children (quite laughable!), we are also not as different as we think: we believe condone Abraham nearly killing HIS son for the sake of a God we accept often unquestionably, as well as that an angel came down to stop him. Ironically, we readily dimiss the Umuofians' (is that a word?) belief in the Oracle and condemn Okonkwo for killing his "adopted" son. |
| | 9 | 2/20/2011 11:22 AM | Pitying of Okonkwo? Does anyone feel bad for the way that Okonkwo's life spirals downward, or is it justified by his actions? I am torn between thinking that he is an awful man for the ways that he goes against the ways of his society and breaks the rules (beating his wife during the week of peace), or thinking that he should be pitied because he is a man who is trying to prove his masculinity to his community but is failing. What does everyone else think? |
| | 9 | 2/20/2011 11:08 AM | Suicide Okay, I'm not completely sure where this actually goes, but anyways, Wednesday we were talking about suicide and what would lead a person to commit it. All leading up to Okonkwo's suicide at the end of the book. Now to be completely honest, I have yet to finish the book, and I was thinking that did Okonkwo show the signs that we know of a person, when they are depressed and.or about to commit suicide? And does it seem out of character for Okonkwo to commit suicide? |
| | 8 | 2/20/2011 11:03 AM | Ikmefuna Alright, this connection might be totally off base, but I'm gonna go ahead and make it anyway. In the scene where Okonkwo cuts Ikmefuna down to avoid seeming weak, it seemed strange that he would decide to kill the boy to prove his strength and "manliness." But it sort of just reminded me of a scene from a novel totally unrelated to this one. If you've read Of Mice and Men then you'll probably remember the scene where the old guy's dog needs to be put down, but instead of killing his own dog, the old man lets one of the other guys do it. Later he says something like, "I shoulda killed my own dog."
It's a really random connection, I know, but it kinda put Okonkwo's position in a different perspective for me. Maybe he decided to deliver the final blow to Ikmefuna because he didn't want the boy to die by some stranger's hand? |
| | 8 | 2/20/2011 10:58 AM | Title Relation Once I finish a book I usually see if the title fit the book. And I did the same with this novel. Achebe did give it a fair title "Things Fall Apart" is vague enough to entice a reader when looking in a book store. But is almost too vague when it come to the actual story. The entire book basically on the surface is about Okonkwo's life falling apart. Could the title have been A Failed Tragedy. In all reality how important is a title to the actual piece of work. Does it really matter, could the book have been called Polygamy Practices and would it have made a difference to our impression? |
| | 12 | 2/20/2011 10:44 AM | Speech and diction I found the words of this book to be fairly simple. For some reason, it instantaneously reminded me of stories told by native Americans in a sort of folk styling. Do you guys think there is a purpose for the simplistic language and frequent use of proverbs? And why is it in English? |
| | 9 | 2/20/2011 10:38 AM | Okonkwo's Mistake At the end of Part 1, Okonkwo's gun accidentally fires a bullet and a boy is killed. When this happened I was so let down because it had seemed up to that point as if Okonkwo had started to be successful and prove to people that he was not like his father. The banishment from his tribe sets him back further from achieving a higher status. |
| | 6 | 2/20/2011 10:36 AM | Dead Children The concept of iyi-uwa, a way to torment you mother when you die? Weirdest thing. I guess it is just another sexist dynamic with the women being to blame for a sick child. Why would they do this? Ezinma is deeply saddens when she has to tell the medicine man, she feels guilty that she had to do such a thing for her mother. They hope that maybe it will stop ezinma's sicknesses. What also really grossed out was the babies being mutilated then dragged in to the scary forest which name I currently can not find. But it was kind of sad that they would mutilate and "drag" it when it was already dead. |
| | 0 | 2/20/2011 7:19 AM | Okonkwo As I read through about half of TFA, I found a connection between the book and the TV show Stargate. One of the characters is somewhat similar to Okonkwo - Teal'c (played by Christopher Judge - look at IMDB). He is an alien (still resembling a human) but he plays the character that is considerably tougher than anyone else and sees value in ones strength. The only difference between himself and Okonkwo is that Teal'c treats most people respectfully. And doesn't die. |
| | 6 | 2/20/2011 1:02 AM | Suicide our 3rd hour went back and fourth on the topic of suicide, wether it is an act or martyrdom, selfishness, or stupidity.in the case of okonkwo, i believe it was out of selfishness and ignorance, but his idea of martyrdom. he wanted to show his village they were losing sight of their culture, but was he trying to escape? or be a permanent symbol? |
| | 7 | 2/19/2011 11:36 PM | Locust symbolize the missionaries When the locust come to Umuofia in chapter 7 it cind of draws a parallel the the missionaries that collonized the area.
In the quote "And at last the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. Mighty tree branches broke away under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast, hungry swarm" (Pg. 48 in the hardcover book) the locusts symbolize the white colonists descending upon the Africans, seeming to foretell good but actually foreshadowing troublesome encounters.
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| | 7 | 2/19/2011 10:52 PM | His fear brings weakness Okonkwo is described as being brave and respected and feared, but his life is "dominated by fear." He has fear of failure and of weakness. I think it kind of ironic that he has a fear of weakness even though his fear of failure is a weakness. He fears becoming a failure like his father which causes him to work hard. But if was to lose his everything he had he would be crippled by loss bringing weakness upon him. |
| | 9 | 2/19/2011 10:46 PM | Weakness So far as I've read I've been noticing the extreme dislike that Okonkwo has towards weakness. More specifically, women his father and those are are weaker than him. It says, "He has no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his father." I feel that because Okonkwos father was so unsuccessful, caniving and manipulative, Okonkwo wanted more than anything to become the opposite of his father. He doesn't like those "beneath" him or of lower class. And in the book it talks about how their trib based their reputations on achievements rather than the successes of ones father. It just seemed to me that Okonkwo chose to be the opposite of his father and because of it he is successful but also bitter and resentful towards others and he doesn't truly find full success. |
| | 5 | 2/19/2011 10:37 PM | Darkness brings weekness In the beginning of chapter 2 when the men were called to the meeting, the narrator said "Darkness helld a vague terror for these people, even the bravest among them." I felt this quote was kind of ironic. Umuofia and its people were "feared by all its neighbors" yet they themselves fear the Darkness of the night. |
| | 8 | 2/19/2011 9:04 PM | Stories Okonkwo said that stories were for women and children. In chapter 11, the women tell stories of a tortoise and birds (98-99). I was wondering if there was any importance to these stories. Since it was included in the book, there must be some importance or underlying meaning. Any thoughts?? |
| | 5 | 2/19/2011 7:23 PM | Cultural balance Killing Ikemefuna demonstrates Okonkwo's lack of acceptance of the balance in Umuofia's culture between female and male, violence and peace. War is approved, but only when warranted by specific guidelines. Okonkwo seems to exemplify the ideals of his culture, but he often oversteps boundaries. He is one extreme, his father another. But Umuofia values equilibrium. |
| | 12 | 2/19/2011 7:18 PM | Ikemefuna I was surprised when Ikemefuna was killed suddenly after living with Okonkwo for three years or so. Okonkwo looked upon his to be stronger than his own son Nwoye, and he was pleased when they would spend time together. The shocking part was when Ikemefuna was lend into the forest to be killed outside the village, Okonkwo went with the group of men. Consequently, he was "forced" into killing his own son. If he would have protected him, then he would have been looked at as weak and a woman. He cut Ikemefuna with his blade, for his own selfishness and stubbornness. |
| | 11 | 2/19/2011 7:12 PM | Unoka and Okonkwo similar? It's pretty obvious from the beginning of the of TFA that Okonkwo and his father have very different perspectives and virtues. However, they do share their unhappiness with their lives. On page 6, while talking about Unoka and his flute it says, "..one saw that there was sorrow and grief there". This shows that although Unoka was known for being careless, underneath it he wasn't satisfied with the life he was living. Okonkwo's is dissatisfied with his life because he has to live in constant fear of succeeding his father's reputation, making his anger and aggression so much worst. |
| | 9 | 2/19/2011 7:04 PM | Date...? Can I just say that for Achebe not to put a specific date in his writing of this novel is so lame. Who cares if the people in Okonkwo's village, or even Africa as a continent, didn't mark time by the Gregorian calendar? If he wrote the book in English, he should've realized that the people reading it would be English, and thus marking their time by a normal Gregorian calendar. It's pretty sensitive and impractical of him to exclude a date to better show his "African-ness". Get over it. Nothing about having a date in there would've lessened the quality of the literature, or its message, if it has one. And furthermore, the Axum kingdom in Ethiopa practiced Christianity for over a thousand years, so Christianity can be African too. |
| | 5 | 2/19/2011 5:53 PM | The last line of TFA "He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger."
What did you guys think of the last line in the book? Did you think it was fitting? A bad ending? Did you laugh at the DC's ignorance? |
| | 6 | 2/19/2011 3:58 PM | Chinua's claim that Heart of Darkness is racist I was bored so I looked up Chinua Achebe and I saw that he wrote an essay on Conrad's Heart of Darkness, claiming that it is a racist book that dehumanizes Africans and African culture. Could Things Fall Apart be a response to Conrad's dehumanization? Is TFA an attempt to reveal that Africans are more than just the savages in a dark forest that Conrad described them as so many times?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Image_of_Africa:_Racism_in_Conrad's_%22Heart_of_Darkness%22 |
| | 2 | 2/19/2011 10:42 AM | Irritation in the form of Accusation When is it that people can draw the line between history and emotion? I for one have never colonized a group of people, an area, or even a single plot of land. The book is angling to seek retribution from a culture which cannot be at fault for past wrongs? No matter how I present this I am on the side of the "politically incorrect." And yet I do not believe this is a time for emotion. It is to be remembered in coldly accurate ways, as far as history can provide, and acknoledged as a learning experience. If the world is a capitalist society, of which it undeniably is, then in the economy of a nation we cannot fault them for past historic "mistakes. " It is impossible to judge the past in modern standards. No, I do not feel this way because I am a member of the "dominant race". First of all, that term is inaccurate, in multiple ways, based on pure percentage, geography and action. Thus I am ruffled in the holier than thou way that Achebe points his finger. How is it that he so clearly understands my culture? I proclaim that he most certainly does not. Furthermore he cannot critique Conrad for being racist, and to do so is a gross misreading of the book. I do not begrudge him his right to convert any story to ink and paper, but remain turned off by the presentation of his accusatory pen. |
| | 3 | 2/18/2011 6:25 PM | Another allusion to Western Culture? page 60:
"Eze elina, elina!
Sala
Eze ilikwa ya
Ikwaba akwa oligboli
Ebe Danda necbi eze
Ebe uzuzu nete egwu sala"
this song I felt was unconsciously connected to the rhyme we have in the west:
Step on a crack break your mother's back, we discussed it in 6th hour...do you think it's alluding to the west or making connections to "humanize" Africans moreso, as opposed to what H of D did? |
| | 1 | 2/18/2011 6:15 PM | Okonkwo and his connections to other people From the book, Okonkwo is very closed off and seems to have no true friends. He would rather be working and making a name for himself than feasting and taking part in traditions (yes, he does take a part in all of the traditions of his community) but he didn't seem to enjoy it. He seemed to thought that it was a waste of time.
He is desperate to make sure that he becomes nothing like his father that he pushes his son Nwoye to the point where Nwoye turns his back on Okonkwo and turns to Christianity. Is his desparation to become a completely different person than his father and to shun out anything that reminds him of his father the true reason his connections to people is not very good? |
| | 3 | 2/18/2011 5:43 PM | leprosy I thought the discussion about "white men" on page 74 was pretty interesting. They describe white men as the men who "have no toes." I was confused at first, but then after finishing out the page realized that "the white skin" was a polite term used to describe lepers. Is this name used to insult the white race? or is it simply how the lepers looked? |
| | 2 | 2/18/2011 5:05 PM | Colonists pull the knife “Does the white man understand our custom about land?” “How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”
This is a quote from the end of chapter 20 between Obierika and Okonkwo. This is one of the points in the book, I think, where Achebe's voice shows. Obierika shows that it's impossible for the white men to understand the people and culture of Umuofia when they do not speak their tongue. However, he doesn't completely blame them for Umuofians converting. The converts have wrongly betrayed their "brothers". Who is really at fault for the destruction of Umofia? In this quote, both sides are criticized. What do you think? |
| | 4 | 2/18/2011 4:37 PM | Connections to western culture So in the scene when Okonwo kills Ikemefuna because the community declares it, it has a relation to when Abraham is told that he needs to take his son up the mountian and kill him to prove his devotion to God. I was wondering how many other similarities that we could find in this book to the western culture. |
| | 3 | 2/18/2011 4:06 PM | Kola nuts I can't help but looking at symbols that keep showing up throughout the book. I notice that kola nuts are eaten when Okonkwo meets with other members of the village. I was curious so I looked up kola nuts on the internet. Kola nuts contain caffeine, it typically is presented to tribal chiefs, and it can effect the central nervous system. If anyone else knows anything about these, please share! |
| | 5 | 2/18/2011 2:04 PM | Achebe calling out Americans? Idk but as far as I have read, it seems like Achebe is calling out Americans. Using simple language, the filler words, and at the end of ch. 1, talking about Okonkwo and his father Unoka, that for Okonkwo's sake, "among these people a mas was judged according to his worth and not acccording to the worth of his father. Many americans today are placed in a category based on where they came from. Maybe it's just me. |
| | 3 | 2/18/2011 12:16 PM | Time In third hour on Tuesday, I think, we were talking about when this book took place. We know it wasn't like 500 BC because the natives had guns, and they had to be imported. Also, us in AP World know that some coastal Africans accepted trade items (specifically, GUNS, bullets, and booze) from Europeans in turn for capturing inland Africans and bringing them to Europeans for the slave trade. This started occurring in the fifteenth century, but really peaked in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century. So my best guess is this occurred probably around 1810, because Okonkwo's village was pretty far into Africa, and it would've taken time for the European goods to travel into Africa's interior via the Slave Trade. |
| | 9 | 2/18/2011 12:14 PM | Comparison to HOD I find it very amusing to read Things Fall Apart as a direct response to HOD ( i know that is what we are supposed to do, but i think people forget) because when you think about how Achebe puts weird scenes in or overemphasizes the empowerment of men over women, he is basically saying to Conrad, we're not all that different than you! Through Conrad we saw the African people as barbarians and crazy people, but through Achebe, we are getting a view point from the inside perspective, and when alluding to the Bible, or portraying men as a dominant power, there is no denying that Westerners have not done the same. So as a response to Heart of Darkness, Achebe is basically saying FU! (just kidding) But i think he did a great job of contradicting Conrad's view. |
| | 3 | 2/17/2011 7:29 PM | "Things fall apart" by The Roots I like these guys a lot, but it's funny they have a little song that corresponds to the title of the book :P
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| | 4 | 2/17/2011 2:43 PM | Okonkwo Okonkwo, unlike others of Umofia, is rooted in tradition. He does everything by the book, abides by every "law of the land" and even kills his own son because the oracle told him to. He represents the older more traditional citizen of Umofia who clings to its ancient rituals and beliefs. When discussing palm wine with Okonkwo, Obierika, echoing the Lorax, defends the palm trees saying "it kills my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping." Okonkwo agrees with the man, but states that "the law of the land must be obeyed." |
| | 5 | 2/13/2011 7:13 PM | Simple. So not only have I gotten the simplistic style the author chose to write in (such as the easy to read words.. Except names.. And the repetition of facts/statements), but there's been several examples that have stood out to me that made me believe that there isn't much complexity to this book. I mean, yeah, sometimes the sentences or proverbs are weird, but that's only because we don't speak like that in our society. So on page 11, my favorite proverb is "the active principle in that medicine had been an old woman with one leg." It then goes on to say that medicine is in fact called "old woman." This really stood out to me and after discussing it aloud, have come to terms that maybe they have to take something scientifically explainable to us and turn it into something simple to grasp and visually understandable to them. |
| | 6 | 2/13/2011 4:00 PM | Ekwefi's curse When I read about all the children that Ekwefi had given birth to, i was mildly surprised. Each of her children had passed very early in their lives, that was not the uncommon part. She had lost numerous children, I think it may have gotten up to 10. This is such a tragic and painful experience, especially the vast amount of times it occurred. Her child now, Ezinma, had lived past the age of six and things looked promising for her to live. A sudden sickness told hold of Enzima that put Ekwefi in a familar position, but fortunately Enzima did not pass, yet? Im assuming that if the daughter dies, then Ekwefi could no longer find happiness in life and may take her own life. |
| | 5 | 2/13/2011 3:12 PM | Unoka Okonkwo's contempt of his father completely shapes his future. It brings him reverence within the clan and it turns him into a very hard worker. Though this is all true, it also does its part to hide parts of his personality that would otherwise shine through. For example, when Okonkwo sees Nwakibie to ask for a loan of seeds, Okonkwo does not laugh when the rest of the men do. He is so determined to be different from his father that he actually holds in his own laughter, "an old women is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb. Okonkwo remembered his own father." |
| | 8 | 2/13/2011 2:49 PM | Irony The quote "they lack understanding" on the top of page 32 really stood out to me. Ogbuefi Ezeudu says this of the Obodoani people who throw the bodies of men who die during the week of peace into the forest to rot rather than giving them a proper burial. It's ironic that he criticizes these people for a custom that almost completely resembles one of their own. They carry men infected with "the swelling" out in the forest to die, also refraining from burying them properly. |
| | 9 | 2/13/2011 1:41 PM | Yams Ok idk how dumb this probably sounds but, I've been feeling that the yams that Okonkwo works so hard to have symbolizes worth to him. Like his dad was a loser and poor and be works hard to get those yams. It's almost like the love he always wanted from his dad now lies with the yams. Like Everytime he hasthe yams he's happy and making money and I feel like if his dad would have been wealthy and cared for him more he wouldn't be so attached to the yams. Just a thought idk how concrete or relevant it is. |
| | 3 | 2/13/2011 12:34 PM | Leprosy At the end of chapter 8, the refer to the man with the white skin being a "leper" (74). I knew that leprosy was a skin disease that people were shunned for, but that does not relate to white skin. On Webster's dictionary online, leprosy is defined as, "a chronic infectious disease caused by a mycobacterium (Mycobacterium leprae) affecting especially the skin and peripheral nerves and characterized by the formation of nodules or macules that enlarge and spread accompanied by loss of sensation with eventual paralysis, wasting of muscle, and production of deformities" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leprosy. How is having white skin related to leprosy? Any ideas? |
| | 4 | 2/13/2011 12:30 PM | Anger Okonkwo's anger issues show up several times throughout the first six or so chapters. He always vents the frustrations in a violent manner toward one of his wives, which almost results in death for the youngest of the three. The thing I don't get, though, is why he's so angry all the time? Yeah, the guy's got Daddy issues. Alright, cool. I suppose it's in his character formula that he wants to make a better reputation for himself by doing better for himself and his family than his father ever did, in regards to his successes. He's obviously a hard worker, and his toleration for laziness is in the negatives. But why so angry, Okonkwo? If emotion = weakness, but anger = strength, then alright, I guess I can understand that. It's a pretty common stereotype amongst men. But no one else in the village seems so constantly angry. Okonkwo's over-compensation is a bit (okay, very) unsettling in that I'm never sure what he's going to do. I find myself sort of nervous for his children and his wives. |
| | 8 | 2/13/2011 11:05 AM | Culture When the white missionaries arrived at the village Okonkwo was at, they spoke of a world that most of us know today. I do not like how the white men, are converting these Africans. The tribes of Africa have their own culture and their own beliefs. It don't think that its ethical to either have them be converted or massacre them. Leave them be. It actually angers me, because the tribes culture as a whole is being destroyed, even though most of it may not truly exist. The white men do not have a right to come in, and change what the Africans have. |
| | 6 | 2/13/2011 10:52 AM | Chielo, priestess of Agbala I found Chielo interesting because she is a normal widowed woman with two children, and also considers Ezinma her daughter. On the other hand Chielo has a connection with the African spiritual world. It is interesting how a woman has this spiritual power where it has seemed up to this point that the men have all the power. Reminds me of the Greek gods and goddesses |
| | 8 | 2/13/2011 10:22 AM | Ikemefuna When Ikemefuna is taken by Okonkwo he is rightly afraid. He has been taken from his home and basically adopted into an entire new life. It just surprised me how everyone accepted this displacement as an act of repentance for the murder of a girl of Umuofia. Ikemefuna himself even begins to accept it, calling Okonkwo father and forgetting his real life back in Mbaino. |
| | 0 | 2/13/2011 6:27 AM | anyone seen alpha dog? Alright so Alpha Dog is one of my favorite movies, and right when i read about Okonkwo killing Ikemefuna i thought of that movie. If anyone has seen it, this will make sense. If not,...this is awkward. FYI this is an alpha dog spoiler alert... hah. Anyways, there's a point when they tell Justin Timberlake to take the kid they've kidnapped, (who Justin also befriends and treats like a brother,) and kill him. Justin talks about how he can't do it, and is then forced to tell the kid that they're taking him home, all the while promising the kid things are going to be okay. They then take him to a canyon mountain trail thing and kill him, leaving Justin to feel terrible, but he still put up a front like he was okay. This is much like Okonkwo's killing of Ikemefuna-he tells him he's going back to the village, Ikemefuna thinks about seeing his family, Ikemefuna thinks that Okonkwo will help him. I hope that someone has seen this movie, because they are actually really weirdly alike situations. |
| | 10 | 2/13/2011 6:21 AM | Okonkwo's Front I think throughout a lot of the events so far Okonkwo really puts up a front so that others will only see him as a strong successful man. He doesn't want anyone to compare him to his father, and he wants to set a strong example for his sons so that they won't be like his father either. But when he kills Ikemefuna he did it out of fear of being seen as weak, not because he thought it was the right thing to do for his people. After he kills Ikemefuna he is visibly distraught because he won't eat or leave his obi, but he still puts on a front that he doesn't care about Ikemefuna. |
| | 8 | 2/12/2011 6:24 PM | Kola Nut It seems like the Kola Nut is everywhere throughout this book. It was mentioned at the wrestling match and when someone visits a friend or another person's house. So I was curious if this nut had a deeper meaning to it and from what I found that the Igbo tribe believes that it is a channel of communitcation to the ancestral gods. I thought it was an interesting meaning behind it. I see it almost as another way of prayer or paying respect to their gods by sharing this Kola Nut. |
| | 4 | 2/12/2011 5:21 PM | Okonkwo’s behavior Okonkwo’s relationship with this late father shapes much of his violent behavior. He wants to rise above his father’s reputation of being weak and lazy. Okonkwo’s idea of masculinity is aggression and anger, which is why he frequently beats his wives. I think he is afraid to be considered weak and just be like his father was and this is the way he chooses to rise above it. |
| | 7 | 2/12/2011 4:14 PM | Quotes On Tuesday, we were assigned to pick out 3 or 4 quotes/ passages from the book that stood out to us. One that was founded by my group was " No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and childern (and especially his women) he was not really a man" (53) It stood out to me because it shows how vastly different cultures are. In Umuofia, Okonkwo can beat one of his wives and it is acceptable (excluding the week of peace). Where as in a western type of city and culture it is a horrible thing to do. I liked because it showed the differnces and how those differnces can shape a person. |
| | 11 | 2/6/2011 1:32 PM | Farming The stess of agriculture is really prevelant in the novel, there are the yam cermonies and the story of when Okinkwo is really in need and the farming was supposed to help his situations. It seems like in every chapter that they are either farming or celebrating the farming time. I can't really decipher what the reason is? Is it just a huge part of their culture? |
| | 9 | 2/6/2011 1:28 PM | Agbala In Chapter 3 it mentions that the Oracle's name was Agbala. but early it says that agbala was "another name for a women" or "a man who had taken no title." I felt it was kind of weird that they would associate such a figure like the Oracle with a word that was meant to be an insult for men. |
| | 5 | 2/6/2011 1:26 PM | Locusts I'm surprised no one has started a thread about the Locusts in the book. I think the locusts symbolize the white colonists. They just appeared and suddenly seemed to be "settled" everywhere. They seemed like good things, but turn out to cause trouble. A prime example is when Obierika says: “the Oracle... said that other white men were on their way. They were locusts...” |
| | 6 | 2/6/2011 12:37 PM | Language We were talking about this in class, about how the language of the novel is simplistic and it is full of filler words. I think its kinda funny how the narrator was saying that Okoye would talk and talk around the topic and then finally getting to the point. I just thought it was interesting how people in class was saying that Achebe uses filler words and relates it to Okoye. |
| | 8 | 2/6/2011 12:32 PM | Interesting quote When Unoka is talking to Okonkwo he says, "It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone" (pg 25). This was one of my groups quotes in class and it emphasizes how Okonkwo needs alliances in the village to succeed. He needs to be known in the city and have support from fellow men in the tribe, he must be trusted. His father failed alone because he constantly borrowed money and never returned it, causing everyone to resist trusting him. With no alliances and no help from family and friends, a man will fail alone. |
| | 4 | 2/6/2011 12:23 PM | Posessed While describing the wrestling match, (pg. 46) Achebe wrote that "three men beat them with sticks, working feverishly from one drum to another. They were possessed by the spirit of the drums." He then goes to say that "the drummers stopped for a brief rest before the real matches. Their bodies shone with sweat, and they took up fans and began to fan themselves. They also drank water from small pots and ate kola nuts. They became ordinary human beings again, talking and laughing among themselves and with others stood near them." I thought this was interesting, because possessed is a strong word choice, and with so much talk about the different gods and personal gods, I thought that it was probably important. I think there is definitely a conflict between real life and the idea of a sort of spiritual possession in this novel, and I'm interested to see if this idea expands. |
| | 5 | 2/6/2011 11:49 AM | Allusions to Western Culture I thought what we talked about in 6th hr was really interesting about the Bible being alluded when Okonkwo killed his sun. I am not familiar with the Bible so when i read this scene i was blown away, i thought how could a man just kill his son to prove himself. But the discussion we had in class helped me realize that no, they are not just crazy African people who kill each other, the scene was extremely similar to the Catholic views. We didn't get to talk about it for very long but did anyone else think anything more about it? |
| | 8 | 2/6/2011 10:39 AM | Okonkwo The character of OK is very diverse. He has been like a phoneix and risen from the ashes of his past problems and troubles with Unoka being his father. The aggression during the week of peace, was kind of fascinating. How he was to beat one of his wives during the time of peace, he has an uncontrollable anger, and rejects any kind of serentity or happiness it seems. He is a very perplexing character. |
| | 4 | 2/5/2011 11:51 PM | Genders "His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew women’s crops, like coco-yams, beans and cassava. Yam, the king of crops, was a man’s crop." (20) Pretty much everything in their society is gendered, even crops. Because the yam is the dominant crop, it is considered a man's crop. "Inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams. But he thought that one could not begin too early. Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one gravest to another was a very great man indeed. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him." (28) It is clearly stated in the text that Okonkwo associates yams with manliness. The more yams a man grows, the more respect he gains in society. Okonkwo, having suffered embarrassment and poverty from his rather unmanly father, will stop at nothing to keep his sons from the same fate. (Okonkwo)“I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands.” (28) He would rather kill his son than have a womanish one. He only thinks of his ow reputation. |