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This is an extension of our classroom. You will use this blog to communicate as a class, either in response to an assignment or in the aftermath of a seminar discussion when class flew by too quickly and there simply wasn't time to make all of your points. These posts are graded, and must use appropriate language.
Welcome to our class blog!
You should use this space for engaging in academic and school related conversations for which you will receive a grade. You should be respectful and intelligent in your posts. Treat this space, and what you say here, as if it were the classroom. Inappropriate, derogatory, and inflamatory remarks will not be tolerated.
About Me
- Ms. Soderquist
- That's me with Ishmael Beah at the writing workshop he taught with his mom, Laura Simms!
Night
Dante's Inferno
After reading the first section of the novel, I had some mixed feelings about it. The first thing that stood out to me to be intriguing was the way in which the villagers lived, especially Okonkwo. Apart from having three wives and eight children, Okonkwo is a fierce warrior and drank palm wine from the head of one of his victims at war. It was also interesting that one of the reasons Okonkwo works so hard is because his father was a failure and he was ashamed of the image he gave him. I was shocked at the way women are treated in the novel. There was one instance where one of Okonkwo's wives did not prepare dinner before she left and he beat her for that. That was probably one of the more unforgettable moments in the novel. I also thought that it was interesting that they have festivals such as the Feast of the New Yam, giving thanks to all of their gods. The most moving part of the novel was when you could see the influence that Ikemefuna had on all the other children when he was taken in by the family.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first four chapters of the novel, I feel synoathy for the anger Onkonkwo has for his father. Parents are a vital part of any child's life. Although Oknonkwo has grown up to be famous through out the village for his strength he is clearly not as strong with his emotions. Oknkwo's father was extremly lazy through out Okonkwo's life, but this was the main reason Okonkwo became such a good farmer with his drive. With this drive he has made great progress becoming a high ranked citizen, but his hatred for any person like his father, including Okonkwo's own son, creates many emotional problems. Okonkwo constantly beats his son for his laziness, and puts down villagers with not status, such as his father had no status. Even if Okonkwo wants to apologize for his behavior he admits his emotions and fear of showing weakness like his father stops him every time.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first part of Things Fall Apart, I thought that Okonkwo was a very intriguing person and that his past made him who he was. He was able to beat Amazaline the Cat and he was a strong warrior, killing more people than the best fighters of the village. He had three wives and eight children and he was a man of status. All of his accomplishments were stemmed from his father whom I find the most unforgettable. His father was a man of no status, considered a women, he was in debt to everyone in the village from small to very large amounts and never planned to pay anyone back. He would drink whenever he got money, and Okonkwo was very ashamed of him. The most moving part was that Okonkwo father never let any of this get to him he did not care what others thought of him, not even his son, and did what he wanted. He was in debt to everyone and had not status in the kingdom but never let any of it get him down.
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ReplyDeleteIt surprises me to see how greatly affected Okonkwo is when Ikemefuna is killed. Although he is “not a man of thought but of action,” (69) Okonkwo can not stop thinking about his death. He treats Ikemefuna like his son and is proud of his hard work. Okonkwo sees himself in Ikemefuna but sees his father in Nwoye. He disagrees with Obierika when he insists that Nwoye is still very young. Okonkwo remembers his responsibilities that he had at Nwoye’s age. Because of Ikemefuna's hard work, Okonkwo feels closer to him. I am moved to see how upset Okonkwo is over the death. He usually shows no emotion however, now he can barely eat or sleep. The way the group of elders can sacrifice a young boy so easily is unforgettable to me. Ikemefuna has done nothing wrong however, he must die just because “Umuofia has decided to kill him” (57). I understand that sacrificing animals is part of many cultures however, I can not imagine any culture sacrificing a human.
ReplyDeleteThis novel is defniately a contraversial one. The most unforgettable aspect of it for me is Okonkwo's persona. He is such a bruttish, harsh, tough loving, spiteful man. He can be a good father to his daughter in one instance and in the next he could be beating his wife or son. Okonkwo trying to be anything but what his father was is what i find intriguing. His father loved him and treated him well, but his laziness inevetably made Oknonkwo dispise him and turn him into a very mean man.
ReplyDeleteupon reading the beginning chapters of Things Fall Apart, i am most moved by the work ethic of the warrior Okonkwo. his demeanor is fierce and his mentality is brutal. He is a man of all men and keeps his family in line. He controls all of his situations and molds outcomes in his favor. i was drastically intrigued by the respect Okonkwo recieved amoung his peers. Out of all of his harsh actions like beating his wife and kids, and being a tyrant titan, people remain fond of Okonkwo. In our day and age his actions would be deemed completely unecessary. lastly the most unforgettable action i endured is when he beat his wife for sneaking out to get her hair done. the poor women was trying to make herself more presentable to him and he punished her severly for it. i was not a fan of the women and child beating it does not sit well with me
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the first four chapters of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, I am moved by Okonkwo. To think that he had defeated the great wrestler Amalinze the Cat, and won fame as the greatest wrestler in all of the nine villages was inspiring to me. It clearly shows that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Also, i am intrigued by the fact that Okonkwo will not follow after his fathers wrong doings. Even though his father, Unoka was a lazy and improvident man and owed many people money, Okonwo was not anything like that. He learned from his father's mistakes in order to better himself. What was unforgettable to me was reading of all of the debts that Unoka owed to many different people, and the amount of money that he owed. It was difficult to comprehend the fact that he was thousands and thousands of dollars in debt and died before paying off all of the debts. All of these debts caused Unoka to have a poor reputation among his peers in the village and a majority of the village had no trust for him whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Things Fall Apart, I find Ikemefuna's stay at Okonkwo's house and death the most intriguing, moving and unforgettable. Ikemefuna is forced to live with Okonkwo after someone is murdered in Ikemefuna's town. Ikemefuna at first has a hard time fitting in at Okonkwo's house. But as time prgresses he becomes a part of the family. I find it very intriguing that Okonkwo likes Ikemefuna. I thought that Okonkwo was going to resent him because he now has to take care of him. Ikemefuna's stay at Okonkwo's house is unforgettable because he has such a big impact on the family. He calls Okonkwo "father" and he eats with Okonkwo. Also, Ikemefuna has the greatest impact on Okonkwo's son. Ikemefuna tells the son many stories and bonds with him. The two become great friends and learn from each other. Okonkwo's son becomes more mature because of Ikemefuna's presence and impact on his life. Ikemefuna's death is a very moving scene. Okonkwo allows him to be killed after three long years of Ikemefuna living with him. Ikemefuna was like a son to Okonkwo and Okonkwo lies to Ikemefuna and watches him die.
ReplyDeleteIn When Things Fall Apart, I found the most interesting and unforgettable part was when Okwono beat his wife when he thought she cut down the banana tree. The wife had just cut off a leaf to wrap up some of the food, but she was still horribly beaten by Okwono. It was the most interesting and unforgetable becuase people now a days would not beat a wife over that, only the most sick of the men in our society. Especailly the vision he gave when he left she and her daughter sobbing becuase of what he did.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the first section of TFA,a few things that i have found to be intruiging and/or most unforgttable is the following. I thought that it was harsh that Okwwono had beat his wife. In fact that the beating of the female spouse was common around the country. The reason this is so unforgettable because the beating of the spouses is excepted, where as in the U.S this is frowned upon and women have somewhere to go if something of this nature does happen.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the opening the first few chapters the most unforgettable aspect of the novel is Oknonkwo himself. Oknonkwo is constantly striving to be better then his father was yet he refuses to embrace what made his father "great". Like his dislike for war and violence, or love of music. The one part of the novel that stuck out the most was when Oknonkwo would have the audacity to go against the tenents of his tribes weak of peace and beat his wife cruely for disobeying him.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the beginning chapters of Things Fall Apart, I found many points in the story to be unforgettable ones. For intsnace, when Okonkwo had beaten his wife DURING the Week of Peace. Okonkwo's second wife had told Okonkwo that Ojiugo had "gone to plait her hair" (29). Because Omonkwo sensed that Nwoye's mother was lying about Ojiugo feeding the chiildren before she left, Okonkwo ultimately beats Ojiugo. This part of the novel symbolizes that even though Okonkwo holds a prestigious title of ozo, he still is not a kind husband. This shows that though one may hold a big title and may be well-liked by some, in his heart, he is not a good or real man.
ReplyDeleteNikki