Luis Acevedo
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
1 January 2009
Night Vocabulary
1.prostrate: lying stretched out on the ground with one's face downward;lay oneself flat on the ground face downward, esp. in reverence or.
2.interlude: an intervening period of time ;something performed during a theater intermission.
3.reprieve : cancel or postpone the punishment of someone given the penalty of death;a cancellation or postponement of a punishment; a temporary escape from an undesirable fate or unpleasant situation.
4.rations : a fixed amount of a commodity officially allowed to each person during a time of shortage, as in wartime;food; provisions;fixed amount of a particular thing.
5.dysentery: infection of the intestines resulting in severe diarrhea with the presence of blood and mucus in the feces;bacterial dysentery can be spread by contact.
6.robust: strong and healthy; vigorous; able to withstand or overcome adverse conditions.
7.quarantine: a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.
8.apathy: lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern
9.humane:having or showing compassion or benevolence;intended to have a civilizing or refining effect on people.
10.grimace: an ugly, twisted expression on a person's face, typically expressing disgust, pain, or wry amusement.
11.nocturnal:done, occurring, or active at night; any act doing during the night would be a nocturnal act.
12.livid:furiously angry;having a dark inflamed skin tone.
13.pious:making a hypocritical display of virtue;dutiful or loyal.
14.interminable: endless;eternal; neverending.
15.wizened: shriveled or wrinkled with age.
16.morale:the confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group at any given time.
17.infernal:of, relating to, or characteristic of hell or the underworld;irritating and tiresome.
18.refuge:a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble;something providing shelter.
19.oppressive:unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint;weighing heavily on the mind or spirits; causing depression or discomfort
20.expelled: deprive someone of membership; force to make someone leave a place;force out or eject.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Night Essay (Prompt 1)
Luis Acevedo
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
1 January 2009
Dehumanization of Night
At the sound of the word, “Holocaust” one can only help but shudder, for these were times of unparalleled pain for the people of Jewish descent So much pain in fact, that the cruel and inhumane ways of the SS were so horrid that it stripped the Jewish people of their very morality. Slowly but surely the Jewish people were rid of their civility and turned into things, instead of people. The autobiography Night, by Elie Wiesel, depicts the appalling transformation of the Jewish people by the hands of their great oppressors. This piece makes it clear that the dehumanization of the people that were a part of the tragedy that was the Holocaust can be better analyzed through three phases. The dehumanization of Elie Wiesel and his people begins with the stripping of their past lives, continuing with the horrid conditions of the concentration camps, and finally, the effect of the putrid de-evolution can be seen when they finally were purged from the awful place that was the camp. Descendants of that awful place could not possibly come back out as they did in after witnessing, and partaking, in the events they did.
The autobiography Night commences in Sighet Romania, and the never-ending nightmare of Wiesel and his people began at the sight of the first German soldier. At the arrival of the soldiers, they first occupied some of the Jewish homes. Then, they began to make decrees, which would only affect the Jewish. Finally, they established ghettos in which the Jewish people were forced to occupy. Their lives were so restricted by the decrees that it could no longer have been said that it was their home in which the Jewish people resided. The German soldiers slowly stole their town away from them. They took all their possessions, their rights, their past lives. Since the past tends to linger in the present, a major part of their present time was deprived from the Jewish people of Sighet. Everything they had worked for and collaborated to establish over the years was taken away from them in one fell swoop. The sanctity that was the synagogue was now condemned to be unattended and in some cases, it would be set ablaze and burned to ashes. Losing everything that was once reality, causes confusion and begins to make one's hope for salvation and retribution whither away for there was no possible way to counter the German threat. However, although Wiesel and his people were oppressed by the new living conditions enforced with the absurd penalty of death, a shred of hope remained for they were still living in their hometown. The soldiers reassured the Jewish people of their unforgiving genocidal methods by completely demolishing any fragments of hope they had miraculously maintained. The unforgiving, spine chilling shrill of those three overwhelming words projected from the ruthless uncaring German soldiers would soon change everything for Elie and his people, “All Jews, outside!” (Wiesel 16). Transportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp would soon be established for the immediate shipment of the Jewish from Sighet. With their past lives obliterated before their very eyes, and their arrival at one of the dreaded concentration camps drawing ever closer, Elie Wiesel and his fellow Jewish people were disillusioned and turning insane; “And so an hour or two passed. Another scream jolted us. The woman had broken free of her bonds and was shouting louder than before”(26). The never-ending tyrannical oppression would soon run more viciously than ever and the path to dehumanization shall now grow deeper upon Elie Wiesel and his fellow Jews.
The twisted dirty-handed tactics of the SS on the concentration camps are what would turn these people who before, were law-abiding citizens, into little more than savages. On the concentration camps, there would be crematoriums in which the Jewish would have to throw their own people into. Even the most innocent of all, children, would be treated with the utmost brutality and hatred; “A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes...children thrown into the flames”(Wiesel 32). The Jewish people were also separated from their families and the bonds between them, torn forever. “And I walked on with my father, with the men. I didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever” (28). Primarily, they were torn from their homes and their lives were ripped away from them, afterwards, it was their families that were ripped away from them. After these horrible conditions, to have everything you ever knew and loved to be taken away from you without any opposition at all, it is no wonder why the Jewish people were defeated and lost their morality. In addition to the crematorium and constant fear of death, the Jewish people of the concentration camps were not allowed food at various times. According to an essay written by Michelle Maiese, a graduate student of philosophy, "We typically think that all people have some basic human rights that should not be violated... HYPERLINK "http://www.beyondintractability.org/action/author.jsp?id=26170"They deserve to have their basic needs met, and to have some freedom to make autonomous decisions”(Maiese) and the SS were restricting these needs from them thus they would be dehumanized. Because of the insufficient amount of food allotted to them mixed with the constant fear of death ever-lingering through their thoughts and the irrevocable memories forever engraved into them, it is only understandable that their previous way of living would not be the proper way to live in these camps, thus it would be pertinent for this previous living manner to be replaced with one more suited with the madness and the death that was the camp. The body requires food and sleep in order to function properly and to be able to have thought processes at a normal level, but because they lived in such conditions that “selections” were a thing of normality, the bare basic needs were a luxury to the Jewish people in the camps. Their dehumanization could be visualized when their religion became second in importance to them. The conditions that they lived under removed all hope they had of salvation and even the will to live. Their merciful God was soon replaced by the ruthless demons that were the SS. “Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever” (Wiesel 34). The conditions in which they were forced to live in were so deplorable and rank, that the once extremely religious Elie Wiesel was upset at his father for praying because Wiesel believed he no longer had anything to thank Him for. Deprived of all normal necessities to live, morals begin to twist and twist until they are unrecognizable, and survival is of utmost importance. Everything else is omitted and survival through the use of primal instincts was forged the only thought process available. Sight of their dehumanization is made possible through a quote from Wiesel's autobiography. “In the wagon where the bread had landed, a battle had ensued. Men were hurling themselves against each other, trampling, tearing at and mauling each other”(101). Also, when he descends forth a scene from which one could not have envisioned possible,“' Meir, my little Meir! Don't you recognize me...You're killing your father...I have bread...for you too....for you too...”(191). Death was such thing of normality and food such a thing of luxury at these facilities, that killing one's own family for the most basic provisions was not shamefully looked down upon. Nonchalant were the people when their neighbor had died, for it seemed as though to be the only fate available---death. “Our minds numb with indifference. Here or elsewhere, what did it matter? Die today or tomorrow, or later”(98). It was said that six million Jewish people died during the time of these genocidal acts against them thus life was a mere string holding up an entire society of people that were imprisoned in the camps. Deprived from food, their families, rest, sleep, sufficient clothing, and the thought of dying ever-present, the Jewish people of these camps were slowly dehumanized into ravenous creatures instead of moral humans.
After finally being saved from these hellholes, the aftermath of what had happened is a sign of how detrimentally the Jewish people were mutated. Even after being rescued by the resistance movement, Elie writes, “Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. That's all we though about. No thought of revenge, or of parents. Only of bread”(Wiesel 115). Food was such a luxury to them that after being entrapped for the time they were, that is all they thought of. No more thoughts of revenge and the unimaginably awful things that the SS did to them, but just food. So re-wired they were that food was now the grand prize. All other spoils of being free men came long after they had their fill. They were so defeated that they did not even think of revenge against those that brutally beat them and denied them food. Ultimately, even those whom survived being beaten all those years, lost everything in those camps and were essentially dead themselves for their remnants were unrecognizable and defeated even though in triumph. “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me”(115).
Due to the constant one handed oppression of Elie Wiesel and his Jewish brethren by the German soldiers, melded in with the freezing snowy nights, those who were imprisoned into the concentration camps had their morality turned to dust and ashes of themselves were both literally and figuratively left at those infernal facilities that would proliferate death at alarming rates. The Jewish people were impacted greatly by these camps---so greatly that they were turned into things, instead of humans. Slowly the gradual trend towards barbarism became commonplace through the entire camp within weeks and the Jewish people were not who they once were and even when they were finally alleviated from their pain by being rescued, they still could not re-cooperate from those dreaded experiences at the hellish camps were death was a thing of normality and sometimes sought for after so much pain. One cannot be expected to remain as they were when they experience such awful things, and the Jewish people were no exception to this generalization, thus, the disastrous factors at the facilities of death, dehumanized and demoralized them.Works Cited
Wiesel, Elie . Night. 1958. New York: Hill And Wang, 1958.
Maiese, Michelle. "Dehumanization." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003 /"http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/dehumanization/>.
Acevedo PAGE 6
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
1 January 2009
Dehumanization of Night
At the sound of the word, “Holocaust” one can only help but shudder, for these were times of unparalleled pain for the people of Jewish descent So much pain in fact, that the cruel and inhumane ways of the SS were so horrid that it stripped the Jewish people of their very morality. Slowly but surely the Jewish people were rid of their civility and turned into things, instead of people. The autobiography Night, by Elie Wiesel, depicts the appalling transformation of the Jewish people by the hands of their great oppressors. This piece makes it clear that the dehumanization of the people that were a part of the tragedy that was the Holocaust can be better analyzed through three phases. The dehumanization of Elie Wiesel and his people begins with the stripping of their past lives, continuing with the horrid conditions of the concentration camps, and finally, the effect of the putrid de-evolution can be seen when they finally were purged from the awful place that was the camp. Descendants of that awful place could not possibly come back out as they did in after witnessing, and partaking, in the events they did.
The autobiography Night commences in Sighet Romania, and the never-ending nightmare of Wiesel and his people began at the sight of the first German soldier. At the arrival of the soldiers, they first occupied some of the Jewish homes. Then, they began to make decrees, which would only affect the Jewish. Finally, they established ghettos in which the Jewish people were forced to occupy. Their lives were so restricted by the decrees that it could no longer have been said that it was their home in which the Jewish people resided. The German soldiers slowly stole their town away from them. They took all their possessions, their rights, their past lives. Since the past tends to linger in the present, a major part of their present time was deprived from the Jewish people of Sighet. Everything they had worked for and collaborated to establish over the years was taken away from them in one fell swoop. The sanctity that was the synagogue was now condemned to be unattended and in some cases, it would be set ablaze and burned to ashes. Losing everything that was once reality, causes confusion and begins to make one's hope for salvation and retribution whither away for there was no possible way to counter the German threat. However, although Wiesel and his people were oppressed by the new living conditions enforced with the absurd penalty of death, a shred of hope remained for they were still living in their hometown. The soldiers reassured the Jewish people of their unforgiving genocidal methods by completely demolishing any fragments of hope they had miraculously maintained. The unforgiving, spine chilling shrill of those three overwhelming words projected from the ruthless uncaring German soldiers would soon change everything for Elie and his people, “All Jews, outside!” (Wiesel 16). Transportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp would soon be established for the immediate shipment of the Jewish from Sighet. With their past lives obliterated before their very eyes, and their arrival at one of the dreaded concentration camps drawing ever closer, Elie Wiesel and his fellow Jewish people were disillusioned and turning insane; “And so an hour or two passed. Another scream jolted us. The woman had broken free of her bonds and was shouting louder than before”(26). The never-ending tyrannical oppression would soon run more viciously than ever and the path to dehumanization shall now grow deeper upon Elie Wiesel and his fellow Jews.
The twisted dirty-handed tactics of the SS on the concentration camps are what would turn these people who before, were law-abiding citizens, into little more than savages. On the concentration camps, there would be crematoriums in which the Jewish would have to throw their own people into. Even the most innocent of all, children, would be treated with the utmost brutality and hatred; “A truck drew close and unloaded its hold: small children. Babies! Yes, I did see this, with my own eyes...children thrown into the flames”(Wiesel 32). The Jewish people were also separated from their families and the bonds between them, torn forever. “And I walked on with my father, with the men. I didn't know that this was the moment in time and the place where I was leaving my mother and Tzipora forever” (28). Primarily, they were torn from their homes and their lives were ripped away from them, afterwards, it was their families that were ripped away from them. After these horrible conditions, to have everything you ever knew and loved to be taken away from you without any opposition at all, it is no wonder why the Jewish people were defeated and lost their morality. In addition to the crematorium and constant fear of death, the Jewish people of the concentration camps were not allowed food at various times. According to an essay written by Michelle Maiese, a graduate student of philosophy, "We typically think that all people have some basic human rights that should not be violated... HYPERLINK "http://www.beyondintractability.org/action/author.jsp?id=26170"They deserve to have their basic needs met, and to have some freedom to make autonomous decisions”(Maiese) and the SS were restricting these needs from them thus they would be dehumanized. Because of the insufficient amount of food allotted to them mixed with the constant fear of death ever-lingering through their thoughts and the irrevocable memories forever engraved into them, it is only understandable that their previous way of living would not be the proper way to live in these camps, thus it would be pertinent for this previous living manner to be replaced with one more suited with the madness and the death that was the camp. The body requires food and sleep in order to function properly and to be able to have thought processes at a normal level, but because they lived in such conditions that “selections” were a thing of normality, the bare basic needs were a luxury to the Jewish people in the camps. Their dehumanization could be visualized when their religion became second in importance to them. The conditions that they lived under removed all hope they had of salvation and even the will to live. Their merciful God was soon replaced by the ruthless demons that were the SS. “Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever” (Wiesel 34). The conditions in which they were forced to live in were so deplorable and rank, that the once extremely religious Elie Wiesel was upset at his father for praying because Wiesel believed he no longer had anything to thank Him for. Deprived of all normal necessities to live, morals begin to twist and twist until they are unrecognizable, and survival is of utmost importance. Everything else is omitted and survival through the use of primal instincts was forged the only thought process available. Sight of their dehumanization is made possible through a quote from Wiesel's autobiography. “In the wagon where the bread had landed, a battle had ensued. Men were hurling themselves against each other, trampling, tearing at and mauling each other”(101). Also, when he descends forth a scene from which one could not have envisioned possible,“' Meir, my little Meir! Don't you recognize me...You're killing your father...I have bread...for you too....for you too...”(191). Death was such thing of normality and food such a thing of luxury at these facilities, that killing one's own family for the most basic provisions was not shamefully looked down upon. Nonchalant were the people when their neighbor had died, for it seemed as though to be the only fate available---death. “Our minds numb with indifference. Here or elsewhere, what did it matter? Die today or tomorrow, or later”(98). It was said that six million Jewish people died during the time of these genocidal acts against them thus life was a mere string holding up an entire society of people that were imprisoned in the camps. Deprived from food, their families, rest, sleep, sufficient clothing, and the thought of dying ever-present, the Jewish people of these camps were slowly dehumanized into ravenous creatures instead of moral humans.
After finally being saved from these hellholes, the aftermath of what had happened is a sign of how detrimentally the Jewish people were mutated. Even after being rescued by the resistance movement, Elie writes, “Our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. That's all we though about. No thought of revenge, or of parents. Only of bread”(Wiesel 115). Food was such a luxury to them that after being entrapped for the time they were, that is all they thought of. No more thoughts of revenge and the unimaginably awful things that the SS did to them, but just food. So re-wired they were that food was now the grand prize. All other spoils of being free men came long after they had their fill. They were so defeated that they did not even think of revenge against those that brutally beat them and denied them food. Ultimately, even those whom survived being beaten all those years, lost everything in those camps and were essentially dead themselves for their remnants were unrecognizable and defeated even though in triumph. “From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me”(115).
Due to the constant one handed oppression of Elie Wiesel and his Jewish brethren by the German soldiers, melded in with the freezing snowy nights, those who were imprisoned into the concentration camps had their morality turned to dust and ashes of themselves were both literally and figuratively left at those infernal facilities that would proliferate death at alarming rates. The Jewish people were impacted greatly by these camps---so greatly that they were turned into things, instead of humans. Slowly the gradual trend towards barbarism became commonplace through the entire camp within weeks and the Jewish people were not who they once were and even when they were finally alleviated from their pain by being rescued, they still could not re-cooperate from those dreaded experiences at the hellish camps were death was a thing of normality and sometimes sought for after so much pain. One cannot be expected to remain as they were when they experience such awful things, and the Jewish people were no exception to this generalization, thus, the disastrous factors at the facilities of death, dehumanized and demoralized them.Works Cited
Wiesel, Elie . Night. 1958. New York: Hill And Wang, 1958.
Maiese, Michelle. "Dehumanization." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003 /"http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/dehumanization/>.
Acevedo PAGE 6
Monday, January 5, 2009
Night Questions
Luis Acevedo
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
1 January 2009
Night Questions
1) Wiesel's childhood home is in Sighet. The country that Sighet resides in is Romania.
2) The Cabbala is the Jewish Bible.
3) The kind of truths that Wiesel was referring to in the beginning was the truths about religion and the afterlife and the will of God. His religion would pave the way to the truth about the world. The kinds of truths that Elie was ignorant of was the truth of the cruelness of man. He didn't realize that not everyone wanted to go into His kingdom and he didn't realize how barbaric the world truly was.
4) Moishe the Beadle was a significant character because he warned Elie and his people about the terrible things that were to come if they didn't leave their homes. He became a prophetic symbol. He tells Elie that the truth lies within the question and the question, not the answer, is more important.
5) The people of Sighet ignore Moishe after he returns from his escape because they think that is impossible and he is a poor man so they think he has gone insane. They have heared other news that says that the war is almost over and of course they take that news instead of Moishe's. The people ignore Moishe because maybe they don't want to hear the truth he has to say. Mostly though, because they think he is insane.
6) Madame Schachter is an old woman who was on the cart alongside with Elie and his father. She is similar to Moishe the Beadle because she warned them of flames and burning bodies and they ignored her just as Moishe had warned them about the soldiers and the troubles to come. They are both prophetic figures. Both ignored, and that caused the overall downfall of the people in this piece.
7) Consider this passage on pg. 32:Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desires to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never.
8) The context of this passage is that what Elie witnessed is forever engraved into his mind. There, in that concentration camp, his religion turned to nothing. He no longer begged for mercy for he knew that he would receive nothing for his pleas. His hope was shattered. The cruelness of man was the only reality for him now.
9) Elie's understanding of God and God's presence changes throughout Night. In the beginning, he didn't know a lot about His work and actions. Elie then begins to learn more about His mystical action through the help of Moishe the Beadle. He was readily instilled into the learning of his religion and he would pray often. However, once he reached the concentration camp, Elie then begins to believe that there is no God. Elie believes that if there is, He remains silent, and this upsets Elie. Elie believes that His absence is unacceptable. By the end, Elie does not pray anymore. The first time that he denied prayer, but did it hesitantly, was when they first arrived at the camp and they were being directed towards the flames. He refused to say Kaddish for himself. What was more, was that he was upset at his father for saying Kaddish. When fellow inmates die, such as Akila Drummer, he no longer prayed for him. They soon forgot about prayer. The next time Elie prayed was when he heared of Rabbi's son and he prayed for Him to give Elie the strength never to do what Rabbi's son did. Elie prays very less frequently because he no longer believes that prayer will do anything anymore.
10)The symbolic meanings that night has in Night are plentiful. Night being such a powerful piece with a lot of cruelty depicted, only negative connotations can be derived from night in the piece. The word night represents an oblivion. The darkness that comes with the night sky envelops all else that was during the days that the sun would shine brightly. The darkness engulfs everything and a pure black is left. Because of the black, nothing can be seen, and since nothing can be seen, nothing is known. When nothing is known, the mind tends to create things on its own. Confusion. Being in such a camp, it would create awful things. The awful things that the mind creates becomes reality and what the people are. Because the night is darkness, all their beliefs are omitted. Everything the people once were, are no longer. They, by the SS soldiers, are easily mended into what they would want them to become. Machines.
Night is such a slim book because it is so powerful because it is slim. Every sentence that the book contains sends a tingle down the reader's spine. It contains no sort of “fluff”. Everything is powerful, and anymore included in there would probably skew away from its strength. Anymore would make it weaker.
12) Night is a memoir of tragedy. It can not be both for the Jewish people did not gain anything. They lost everything. Even when they were saved from the camp all the gained was simple freedom, which, they already had before. They did not gain anything but lost everything for they lost years in that camp, they lost what they once possessed, they lost their religious beliefs. They did not gain anything in that camp. It could be said that they gained the understandment of life and death, but is that really something would want to gain?
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
1 January 2009
Night Questions
1) Wiesel's childhood home is in Sighet. The country that Sighet resides in is Romania.
2) The Cabbala is the Jewish Bible.
3) The kind of truths that Wiesel was referring to in the beginning was the truths about religion and the afterlife and the will of God. His religion would pave the way to the truth about the world. The kinds of truths that Elie was ignorant of was the truth of the cruelness of man. He didn't realize that not everyone wanted to go into His kingdom and he didn't realize how barbaric the world truly was.
4) Moishe the Beadle was a significant character because he warned Elie and his people about the terrible things that were to come if they didn't leave their homes. He became a prophetic symbol. He tells Elie that the truth lies within the question and the question, not the answer, is more important.
5) The people of Sighet ignore Moishe after he returns from his escape because they think that is impossible and he is a poor man so they think he has gone insane. They have heared other news that says that the war is almost over and of course they take that news instead of Moishe's. The people ignore Moishe because maybe they don't want to hear the truth he has to say. Mostly though, because they think he is insane.
6) Madame Schachter is an old woman who was on the cart alongside with Elie and his father. She is similar to Moishe the Beadle because she warned them of flames and burning bodies and they ignored her just as Moishe had warned them about the soldiers and the troubles to come. They are both prophetic figures. Both ignored, and that caused the overall downfall of the people in this piece.
7) Consider this passage on pg. 32:Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desires to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never.
8) The context of this passage is that what Elie witnessed is forever engraved into his mind. There, in that concentration camp, his religion turned to nothing. He no longer begged for mercy for he knew that he would receive nothing for his pleas. His hope was shattered. The cruelness of man was the only reality for him now.
9) Elie's understanding of God and God's presence changes throughout Night. In the beginning, he didn't know a lot about His work and actions. Elie then begins to learn more about His mystical action through the help of Moishe the Beadle. He was readily instilled into the learning of his religion and he would pray often. However, once he reached the concentration camp, Elie then begins to believe that there is no God. Elie believes that if there is, He remains silent, and this upsets Elie. Elie believes that His absence is unacceptable. By the end, Elie does not pray anymore. The first time that he denied prayer, but did it hesitantly, was when they first arrived at the camp and they were being directed towards the flames. He refused to say Kaddish for himself. What was more, was that he was upset at his father for saying Kaddish. When fellow inmates die, such as Akila Drummer, he no longer prayed for him. They soon forgot about prayer. The next time Elie prayed was when he heared of Rabbi's son and he prayed for Him to give Elie the strength never to do what Rabbi's son did. Elie prays very less frequently because he no longer believes that prayer will do anything anymore.
10)The symbolic meanings that night has in Night are plentiful. Night being such a powerful piece with a lot of cruelty depicted, only negative connotations can be derived from night in the piece. The word night represents an oblivion. The darkness that comes with the night sky envelops all else that was during the days that the sun would shine brightly. The darkness engulfs everything and a pure black is left. Because of the black, nothing can be seen, and since nothing can be seen, nothing is known. When nothing is known, the mind tends to create things on its own. Confusion. Being in such a camp, it would create awful things. The awful things that the mind creates becomes reality and what the people are. Because the night is darkness, all their beliefs are omitted. Everything the people once were, are no longer. They, by the SS soldiers, are easily mended into what they would want them to become. Machines.
Night is such a slim book because it is so powerful because it is slim. Every sentence that the book contains sends a tingle down the reader's spine. It contains no sort of “fluff”. Everything is powerful, and anymore included in there would probably skew away from its strength. Anymore would make it weaker.
12) Night is a memoir of tragedy. It can not be both for the Jewish people did not gain anything. They lost everything. Even when they were saved from the camp all the gained was simple freedom, which, they already had before. They did not gain anything but lost everything for they lost years in that camp, they lost what they once possessed, they lost their religious beliefs. They did not gain anything in that camp. It could be said that they gained the understandment of life and death, but is that really something would want to gain?
Friday, September 12, 2008
Theme
Luis Acevedo
English Honors 10
Mrs. Bosch
Per. 2
11 September 2008
Julius Caesar Theme Questions
1. The qualities of a good leader is one of the play's important themes. To explore this theme, students can do one or more of the following:
• Discuss the qualities possessed by a good leader. Generate a list of these qualities • Make a list of the leadership qualities that the class feels are legitimate. Compare and contrast the two lists and compile one list of leadership qualities that the class feels a good leader should have. Prioritize the list.
• Examine the effect a leader's domestic relationships, physical condition, and/or athletic ability may have on his or her leadership abilities.
The qualities of a good leader are: they must be persuasive, must be responsible, must have mental strength, maybe have physical strength, must be loyal, must support the common people, must serve others, must be trustworthy, must be fair and just, must be educated an intelligent, must have political understanding and experience, must be feared and respected by others, must have a foreign policy, and finally, must be confident, courageous, and charismatic.
2. Friendship is another major theme in the play. Explore this theme by answering the following questions:
• How far would you go to stop a friend from harming your country?
• How far would you go to obtain revenge on someone or some group who destroyed your best friend?
• Is there anything for which you would betray a friend?
• Which is more important to you, friendship or personal principles? Why?
In order to secure the happiness and well-being of the masses, friends would have to be stopped from harming the country by any means necessary, for it would be selfish, and foolish, to let one bond cause the destruction of an entire society of people. Although the first statement would make it seem as though bonds are of little or no value at all, friends are really significant in this life for they are there in the good and the bad and are one of the things that give life meaning , henceforth, if they were ever to be destroyed any lengths necessary in order to avenge their deaths would definitely be applied. The only reason for which betrayal of a friend is justified would be to serve a greater good; such as they were going to harm others or killed others and one must hunt them down, for many lives is more significant than just one. However, any other reason, i.e. girls, money, personal possessions, or personal gain of any mean, would not be a good enough reason in order to betray those close to you. Friendship is to be held very highly, but not the highest. When one's personal principles are put on the line, they are to be more important than the friend, for one is brought into this world alone and one can continue their lives holding to be true to their beliefs. However, if a friend believes in anything else other than what one believes in, it should be acknowledged but it doesn't mean that one should change their own beliefs or try to change other's beliefs and should just live with their differences. Although it would seem that the meaning of friendship has contradicted itself, it is not so. If one is faced with a friend jeopardizing one's belief system, then they are to be held lower, similarly if they are to be jeopardizing the existence of other's or something greater than themselves, then they should be destroyed. However, friends are of great importance in this life for they give one happiness and give life more reason. It was stated beforehand that if a friend were to ever be of harm to one's own country, they should be destroyed for the society is more than them and anything that is beyond them would be of higher value and yet it was also stated that one's own belief system is greater than them, yet one's own belief system is only the belief system for one particular person and they should normally be held to be equal, however one's own belief system goes beyond only one's self. The personal principles one believes in were composed of many sources, i.e. society's beliefs, religion, culture, and the like. Thus meaning that one's personal belief system would be greater than one friendship for it is composed of more than one source, so it is of more importance.
3. One of the most sensitive issues in the play is suicide. Research attitudes toward suicide held by the following cultures: ancient Roman, modern Japanese, and modern American. Compare and contrast these attitudes in class presentations or in written essays.
The view of suicide contrasts greatly from one place to the next. In America, we relate suicide to many things. Especially if one is christian, and even if one isn't christian, if they live in America, they are bombarded by these thoughts and might be influenced by them and accept them. The views of suicide amongst Americans seems to be that they associate it with: primarily going to hell, being depressed, as a sign of escape, as being weak and selfish if one suicides, they having fear so they end their life, they are outcasts so they seek to kill themselves as a way of escape, and as basically a disgraceful way to go, however those who do it seem to want to escape from this world that they hate so much and leave all their troubles. The Japanese notion towards suicide seems to be that it brings honor towards oneself for they aren't surrendering to their enemy. However, it seems that the modern Japanese also believe as suicide as a way of escape from economic and familiar troubles. The Roman's believed as suicide to be an honorable to die, however it was only to be honorable at a certain time and way. Suiciding in the ancient Roman's belief system is that it was accepted to suicide, sometimes honorable. The modern American and modern Japanese thoughts on suicide seem to be similar in that they believe in it as an escape, however, the Japanese believed it to be an rite to die in some cults and societies, whist the Roman's believe that suicide was honorable and was accepted overall.
4. The role of fate and superstition is another theme.
• To what extent can we control the future?
• How superstitious are you? Do you have any good luck rituals that you perform before important occasions?
• Do you watch for omens before important events?
• Do you read your horoscope every day, and do you follow its advice?
There is a certain extent that we can control our future. It seems that we can control who we are friends with, and what our life would turn out to be by careful planning. If one trains hard for a certain task or a competition, one has a better chance of getting the results one would see as favorable, same thing would go for studying a test and receiving a good grade. However, there are some things, most things, which are uncontrollable no matter how much one plans or how many steps one takes beforehand, the results of any given thing, including one's life, is sometimes completely random. One cannot control every aspect of one's life, however they can control some things. I would not say that I am really superstitious for I do not believe in things such as bad luck or anything like that. There is the here and now only and it is not controlled by some thing that is known as bad luck or good luck. However, I do in fact believe that God has some control of what happens in one's life for when one prays, I believe that He does listen and helps out in any ways He can. Henceforth, I believe that we can control somethings in our lives, but not everything, and God does manipulate some things when asked for help. I believe that we can control our futures only to a slight extent. As for omens, I do not watch out for any before an important event and i do not have any good luck rituals in order to improve my lifestyle. I also do not believe in the “power” of horoscopes and I never read it for the reasons stated beforehand which would be that we control our future to an extent and God manipulates it just a tad bit, and I strongly do not believe in luck, rituals, or anything of the sort.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Things Fall Apart Essay Two
Luis Acevedo
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
06 August 2008
Background Influences
It is said that no two people are the same and that all are special in their own ways. Everyone seems to have an opinion on a certain subject and all have their likes and dislikes, be it in art, school, sports, or politics. These are all formed because of influences that impacted them enough to have those opinions. Their seems to be a whole field of science dedicated to figuring out what shapes people to be who they are. Since I am no scientist, those theories are unavailable to me, however there are some theories of which I know that seem to ring true. There seems to be undeniable evidence that my geography, family history, and family memories have shaped me and still continue to shape me this day.
Geography plays a major role in shaping a person in various ways. The first of which would be their dialect. Growing up in California, one is bombarded by slang and sayings; of course I learned to adapt myself to this language and use it very frequently and am very knowledgeable of what terms mean what, however, those terms and sayings may not make sense to everyone else in the world. Now, because of where I live, I say certain things that would be considered inappropriate use of the modern day English language. Another way that my geography has shaped me is the amount of liberty I have. I was lucky enough to be born in The United States, for this country is a peaceful one and thus it has manipulated my nature for aggressiveness is not needed as much as other countries and thus I have become a more peaceful person whom hardly resorts to violence. I also don’t have to be sold off as a slave to some strange family like in some other countries because of their poverty, or be forced to go to war, unless one considers being drafted equal to this. Because I was born in such a great place, so many opportunities were available to me. Because of these opportunities, the way I live my life is a little different than those with less freedom. I am able to go to a good school, learn a few things, go to college, and get involved in a career that I am truly passionate about—that is of course if I work hard. Nevertheless, the opportunities are there for me because of my geography, so my life and the goals that I expect out of myself are shaped. On less of a broader scale than the state or country that I live in, my place of birth has shaped me as well. I was born in San Leandro, but I was raised in Oakland. In this city there were so many cultures and races coming together that I was able to live with them and never thought of them other than equals, unlike the way some of the populace think about others. This also made me see so many different cultures and thus I became more open to new thoughts and was quite liberal minded, whoever my relationship with people cannot be described in the same manner as being open minded, for because of my childhood I was never too accepting of new people. Currently, where I reside now I still see some of the different cultures and continue to see them the same way. Also because of this, I am able to understand more things about the world as I speak to them and learn their history and ways. Because of my geography, my way of thinking of others, my way of living, and my dialect, was shaped.
Although my geography greatly shaped me, my family history has also had a major impact on me. My mother and father were both immigrants that had come to this country looking for better opportunities. My mother took the legal way, while my father did not. At the age of fourteen my father illegally crossed the border. Now, although illegal, he had no mal intentions. Having said this, I was the first generation that was born here, so I try to take advantage of this opportunity more than others that have many generations that reside here. This may be because I really want to, or because I somewhat feel obligated to succeed for my parents went through all the trouble in getting here for more opportunities, and who am I to destroy all their hopes and hardships? Anyway, because of my Mexican heritage, I am expected to be a hard worker and to give it my all in whatever it is I do for my people are people that have hard work rooted into their blood. Although different work than they do, because of my family history, I give it my all in school in order to take advantage of the opportunities that they have given me through all of their hardships. My family history has also shaped my language, for instead of just speaking English, Spanish is also available to me. With the knowledge of two languages, it seems to be easier to understand other languages for they have common ancestry. Also, because of my family history, my thoughts on several things were influenced, such as religion. Growing up in a family that had Catholics in the tree for the longest time, it was obvious that I would eventually become a Catholic myself, for religion is not something that is changed suddenly from one generation to the next, and again who am I to change such an ongoing line? Because of this religion that was passed down from generation to generation, my thoughts on many things were influenced. All of my thought of what is ethical and what is not is all influenced because of the religion that was in my family history. Thus because of my family history, my thoughts on ethics were formed. Although old enough to decide for myself, I am still a Catholic for it was the way I was raised and I believe that it is a good religion. However, I am not implying that I believe that all have to be Catholic and that other religions are wrong, I have just grown accustomed to the ways and I truly believe in them, but does not mean that I would like all others to believe in the same thing for I cannot change one’s mind on such a delicate subject. Growing up being the second child, I was not given as much attention as my older brother and sister. It seems as though that no matter how hard I tried, I would never receive praise for my hard work that I would do like they would. Because of this, and my Mexican heritage, I worked even harder in school because of the slightest chance to receive some amount of congratulation, and this still rings true today. For all parents want their children to flourish in, for it is said to be the passport to success. All in all, because of my family history, my thoughts on ethics, my religion, my language, and my drive to succeed and work hard, are influenced and shaped.
For as long as I can remember, my family has always been pretty close and they’ve made strong bonds. Strangely enough however, growing up I hardly remember my mother and father being there with me to play or do some sort of activity. My mother would always be busy cleaning the house, or taking care of some other kid for a friend and my father would always be working, and still always works, so I would never find myself having some sort of commemorative activity with them. Instead I would try to find refuge with my brother and sister. They would always be there for me thus throughout the years, have made strong bonds. Because of these strong bonds, it impacted the relationship that I would have with people. Because I could trust my brother and sister with everything, although still keeping things secret from them, I thought that the same could be done with others. However, because it took so long for the strong bonds to form, I do not trust people whom I have not known for a long time, but, when I do trust someone I completely trust them with everything as I do with my brother and sister. Although growing up I could be able to play with them, we really didn’t have much to play with, we were not very wealthy and thus our toys were very limited, and thus the struggle of who will play with what and what was whose begun. Thus I became very protective of my things, and still am. Although we didn’t have much, we would always have a kickball to play with. A family memory that continues to shape me today was a time when we were still kids. My brother, a couple of his friends, and I were playing kickball and It was my turn to kick it, and I did, I kicked it with all my might, however the trajectory of my kick was off and it ended up hitting a car. The alarm went off, however when the owner of the vehicle came out screaming, my brother took the blame for it. This really meant a lot to me because I was always a shy little kid, and was scared of adults. This memory continues to shape me today for I see because of this selfless act, it made me realize that I should give people more of a chance and that maybe they could be trusted. Thus I began to be more open to people and less shy, but I never had an interest in sports after that. Because of those family memories and the collaboration of my family, my views on people and the relationship that I will have with others, is influenced, and they continue to influence me today.
There are many things that shape people. Their unique personalities are created by their personal lives. If one has abusive parents, he will probably be emotionally scarred and not be trusting of people for his entire life. If they are of a certain country that sends kids forcefully to go and fight for their country, they will become strong and really uncaring for the individual. People’s beliefs, thoughts, and opinions of everything are shaped through certain factors of their lives. The way people will look at the world are all because certain things come together to shape who they are.
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
06 August 2008
Background Influences
It is said that no two people are the same and that all are special in their own ways. Everyone seems to have an opinion on a certain subject and all have their likes and dislikes, be it in art, school, sports, or politics. These are all formed because of influences that impacted them enough to have those opinions. Their seems to be a whole field of science dedicated to figuring out what shapes people to be who they are. Since I am no scientist, those theories are unavailable to me, however there are some theories of which I know that seem to ring true. There seems to be undeniable evidence that my geography, family history, and family memories have shaped me and still continue to shape me this day.
Geography plays a major role in shaping a person in various ways. The first of which would be their dialect. Growing up in California, one is bombarded by slang and sayings; of course I learned to adapt myself to this language and use it very frequently and am very knowledgeable of what terms mean what, however, those terms and sayings may not make sense to everyone else in the world. Now, because of where I live, I say certain things that would be considered inappropriate use of the modern day English language. Another way that my geography has shaped me is the amount of liberty I have. I was lucky enough to be born in The United States, for this country is a peaceful one and thus it has manipulated my nature for aggressiveness is not needed as much as other countries and thus I have become a more peaceful person whom hardly resorts to violence. I also don’t have to be sold off as a slave to some strange family like in some other countries because of their poverty, or be forced to go to war, unless one considers being drafted equal to this. Because I was born in such a great place, so many opportunities were available to me. Because of these opportunities, the way I live my life is a little different than those with less freedom. I am able to go to a good school, learn a few things, go to college, and get involved in a career that I am truly passionate about—that is of course if I work hard. Nevertheless, the opportunities are there for me because of my geography, so my life and the goals that I expect out of myself are shaped. On less of a broader scale than the state or country that I live in, my place of birth has shaped me as well. I was born in San Leandro, but I was raised in Oakland. In this city there were so many cultures and races coming together that I was able to live with them and never thought of them other than equals, unlike the way some of the populace think about others. This also made me see so many different cultures and thus I became more open to new thoughts and was quite liberal minded, whoever my relationship with people cannot be described in the same manner as being open minded, for because of my childhood I was never too accepting of new people. Currently, where I reside now I still see some of the different cultures and continue to see them the same way. Also because of this, I am able to understand more things about the world as I speak to them and learn their history and ways. Because of my geography, my way of thinking of others, my way of living, and my dialect, was shaped.
Although my geography greatly shaped me, my family history has also had a major impact on me. My mother and father were both immigrants that had come to this country looking for better opportunities. My mother took the legal way, while my father did not. At the age of fourteen my father illegally crossed the border. Now, although illegal, he had no mal intentions. Having said this, I was the first generation that was born here, so I try to take advantage of this opportunity more than others that have many generations that reside here. This may be because I really want to, or because I somewhat feel obligated to succeed for my parents went through all the trouble in getting here for more opportunities, and who am I to destroy all their hopes and hardships? Anyway, because of my Mexican heritage, I am expected to be a hard worker and to give it my all in whatever it is I do for my people are people that have hard work rooted into their blood. Although different work than they do, because of my family history, I give it my all in school in order to take advantage of the opportunities that they have given me through all of their hardships. My family history has also shaped my language, for instead of just speaking English, Spanish is also available to me. With the knowledge of two languages, it seems to be easier to understand other languages for they have common ancestry. Also, because of my family history, my thoughts on several things were influenced, such as religion. Growing up in a family that had Catholics in the tree for the longest time, it was obvious that I would eventually become a Catholic myself, for religion is not something that is changed suddenly from one generation to the next, and again who am I to change such an ongoing line? Because of this religion that was passed down from generation to generation, my thoughts on many things were influenced. All of my thought of what is ethical and what is not is all influenced because of the religion that was in my family history. Thus because of my family history, my thoughts on ethics were formed. Although old enough to decide for myself, I am still a Catholic for it was the way I was raised and I believe that it is a good religion. However, I am not implying that I believe that all have to be Catholic and that other religions are wrong, I have just grown accustomed to the ways and I truly believe in them, but does not mean that I would like all others to believe in the same thing for I cannot change one’s mind on such a delicate subject. Growing up being the second child, I was not given as much attention as my older brother and sister. It seems as though that no matter how hard I tried, I would never receive praise for my hard work that I would do like they would. Because of this, and my Mexican heritage, I worked even harder in school because of the slightest chance to receive some amount of congratulation, and this still rings true today. For all parents want their children to flourish in, for it is said to be the passport to success. All in all, because of my family history, my thoughts on ethics, my religion, my language, and my drive to succeed and work hard, are influenced and shaped.
For as long as I can remember, my family has always been pretty close and they’ve made strong bonds. Strangely enough however, growing up I hardly remember my mother and father being there with me to play or do some sort of activity. My mother would always be busy cleaning the house, or taking care of some other kid for a friend and my father would always be working, and still always works, so I would never find myself having some sort of commemorative activity with them. Instead I would try to find refuge with my brother and sister. They would always be there for me thus throughout the years, have made strong bonds. Because of these strong bonds, it impacted the relationship that I would have with people. Because I could trust my brother and sister with everything, although still keeping things secret from them, I thought that the same could be done with others. However, because it took so long for the strong bonds to form, I do not trust people whom I have not known for a long time, but, when I do trust someone I completely trust them with everything as I do with my brother and sister. Although growing up I could be able to play with them, we really didn’t have much to play with, we were not very wealthy and thus our toys were very limited, and thus the struggle of who will play with what and what was whose begun. Thus I became very protective of my things, and still am. Although we didn’t have much, we would always have a kickball to play with. A family memory that continues to shape me today was a time when we were still kids. My brother, a couple of his friends, and I were playing kickball and It was my turn to kick it, and I did, I kicked it with all my might, however the trajectory of my kick was off and it ended up hitting a car. The alarm went off, however when the owner of the vehicle came out screaming, my brother took the blame for it. This really meant a lot to me because I was always a shy little kid, and was scared of adults. This memory continues to shape me today for I see because of this selfless act, it made me realize that I should give people more of a chance and that maybe they could be trusted. Thus I began to be more open to people and less shy, but I never had an interest in sports after that. Because of those family memories and the collaboration of my family, my views on people and the relationship that I will have with others, is influenced, and they continue to influence me today.
There are many things that shape people. Their unique personalities are created by their personal lives. If one has abusive parents, he will probably be emotionally scarred and not be trusting of people for his entire life. If they are of a certain country that sends kids forcefully to go and fight for their country, they will become strong and really uncaring for the individual. People’s beliefs, thoughts, and opinions of everything are shaped through certain factors of their lives. The way people will look at the world are all because certain things come together to shape who they are.
Things Fall Apart Essay Number one
Luis Acevedo
Mrs. Bosch
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
05 August 2008
Chinua Achebe’s Pride
In all novels there seem to be characters and occurrences that happen because of the author’s tone towards his subjects. While the creation of a novel is occurring, the author speedily tries to put his thoughts on paper before they dissipate and they are no longer his thoughts. The formation of a novel is purely based on the author’s true beliefs, thus the novel reflects on its author’s feelings, and Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, is no exception. Things Fall Apart displays Achebe’s pride in family, heritage, memory, language, and lives through the manipulation of the characters, plot, dialect, and settings in the novel.
The author’s pride of family is expressed in various ways throughout the novel. First and foremost, all of the characters in the novel had a family, and a relatively large one at that. Okonkwo had several wives and children as well as his friend Obierika, though only two characters, the most dynamic of which described in the novel, so the example will suffice. The families in Things Fall Apart are all structured and all have jobs in their environment that best suits them, and throughout these daily jobs, they bond with each other and in the end of the day, success is only available because of the entire family’s efforts. The novel depicts families to be of great importance very much so. When it was decided that Ikemefuna was to be killed--since he had been almost a part of Okonkwo’s family— Okonkwo was told not to take part in his demise; “‘That boy calls you father,’ he had said. “Bear no hand in his death.” (Achebe 121) When Okonkwo was exiled from his community and was sent to his motherland, he “was well received by his mother’s kinsmen in Mbanta.” (Achebe 129) because he was family. In the most desperate times, Achebe made his family be the only one there for Okonkwo; when Okonkwo was separated from the village, his family followed him to his motherland for they were a family and could not be kept apart. Through the most diverse situations, the collaboration of the families in Things Fall Apart is what makes them prevail. When Ezinma was taken to meet Agbala, because of the bonds between Okonkwo, Ekwefi, and Ezinma, they followed her despite going against what their beliefs were, thus family is held above all else. Even in the addition of a new member of the family through marriage, it is taken very seriously and, after the matter of the bride-price is discussed, the bride is asked rigorous questions with awful consequences if she had not spoken the truth, “‘Remember that if you do not answer truthfully you will suffer or even die at childbirth…”’ (Achebe 132) The novel also depicted Okonkwo’s family telling stories together and bonding meaning that he really cared for family. Clearly through the characters, Things Fall Apart illustrates Achebe’s pride in family.
Another thing that the novel, Things Fall Apart illustrates about the author is his care for heritage. An example of Achebe’s admiration for heritage is shown through Okonkwo. Okonkwo was said to have hated his father because he was a lazy man, but he might have really been angry with him because he never left him anything to inherit because of his idleness, “Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father.”(Achebe 16) thus meaning that heritage was very important among the people for it decided whether they would have an easy beginning or a hard one. Throughout the entire novel, the people’s lives were controlled by their ancient beliefs and even killed their own kind for them. Their beliefs are held very highly and it dictated the way they live their lives such as the week of peace and ceremonies they make. Their entire court system and laws only existed and functioned because of the people’s belief in the egwugwu. The egwugwu would be the judges and their decision on the turnout of a scenario was unquestioned. The entire existence of the setting in the novel was due to heritage “The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the nine sons of the first father of the clan.” (Achebe 89) Finally, the whole fact that every explanation of things was due to stories that were passed down verbally through generations, shows that the people held heritage to be very important. Undoubtfully, because of the way the people lived their lives, Things Fall Apart depicted Achebe’s pride in heritage.
The novel also depicts Achebe’s pride in memory. Constantly there are sacrifices and such given to the ancestors, and those memories of them are what keep them alive. The masses in the novel would try not to do harm because of fear that their ancestors will be upset; this preservation of the ancestors is seen throughout the novel, such as when Uchendu was giving Okonkwo a pep talk when he was exiled to his motherland, he said “‘Is it right that you, Okonkwo, should bring to your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead.” (Achebe 134) The people do not easily forget about their ancestors and seem to be ever vigilant of what they do for fear of punishment from them “‘...who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?’” (Achebe 146) Even if Okonkwo hated his father, he would still honor his death by remembering things about him and giving him sacrifices hoping for a good harvest. Showing great prowess in a particular manner is also not forgotten very easily. Although it had happened long ago, the villagers would still talk about Okonkwo’s victories in war and in wrestling, “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nice villages and even beyond…as a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat.” (Achebe 3) Even after all the years had passed, Okonkwo’s achievements were still preserved by the people’s minds. All in all, through the characters, the authors pride in memory is displayed.
Through the reading of the novel the reader may find some strange vocabulary and dialect that the characters use. Through this strange vocabulary, the author’s pride in language is portrayed. The language of the people is of great importance to them, for it is one of the ever-present customs that they preserve. There are endless encounters in the novel where one is presented with words of the Ibo language such as “ogbanje”, “Oye”, “ozo”, “umuada”, “umunna”, and “Uri.” The language in the novel is greatly needed to set up the tribal ways of the people of Umuofia and it vividly displays their dialect in sayings they have that have great meaning, “‘For whom is it well, for whom is it well? There is no one for whom it is well.’” (Achebe 135) Communication is expressed throughout the novel in important events and such, thus making language very important, for a miscommunication would cause great troubles, such as in an egwugwu trial. The language in the novel also consists of the drum, which tells the villagers of current events, and is very useful for things of great importance are announced and that is the only way the villagers will hear of the news in such a quick manner. The novel portrays some of the Ibo language countless times, showing that language is very important, otherwise English would have been used, but in keeping the original Ibo words, it reflects the pride of the author towards language.
Lives are of severe importance in the novel, thus being of great importance to the author. The characters in the novel all lead lives full of hard work, are very devoted to their ways, and never are they just being idle like we see so much of in our modern day time, unless it be at an important ceremony or a meeting in which is hardly of little importance enough to be considered being idle. All of the characters work for a living and really seem to make use of their lives and are never without something that they must do; they are ants that must work to bring nourishment to the queen, the queen being his family and himself. Everyone in the novel really makes use of their lives by working and accomplishing great things, however, those who don’t earn a title or have ambition are really looked down by all as lazy and disgraceful because it is a waste to be idle. Lives are very important in the novel and after the loss of one life there is much mourning even in the strongest households, “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna.” (Achebe 63) Although Okonkwo had always been depicted as an uncaring, cruel, and strong man, the death of Ikemefuna had impacted his life more than he would have liked. Lives are not easily wasted in the novel, for they are too important to waste. The greatest offence one can do, and it brings much shame to those related to the person, is for the person to kill themselves, “‘It is an abomination for a man to take his own life. It is an offense against the Earth, and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen.” (Achebe 207); this is only so because it is such a waste for a man to kill himself because he could have contributed so much, such as when Okonkwo killed himself in the end, but only because he had to do something very drastic to make the villagers of Umuofia realize that something had to be done. Finally, through the characters’ actions—which the author made—the significance of lives in the novel is shown, thus making the author’s pride in lives be shown.
The settings, actions and characteristics of characters, and the dialect show many things about the novel. It may show that they hold certain things to be of importance, or they may hold some things to be unimportant, and the ways of the people are shown. Because the author is the one who manipulates these matters, they put their thoughts and feelings on paper. Thus the novel reflects on the feelings of its author. In this case, Chinua Achebe’s pride towards family, heritage, memory, language, and lives is shown through his novel, Things Fall Apart.
Work Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 50th Anniversary Edition. New York: Random
House Inc, 1994
Things Fall Apart Journals
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 June 2008
Entry Number: 1
Quote: “Ever nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms, on their backs and their thighs, and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point.” Page 1
There are several reasons why I found this quote to be interesting. The first reason is while the reader peruses over this passage, the imagery is so vivid that one can’t help but to have a clear perspective of what is occurring. Another reason, which was my main reason of finding this quote to be very interesting, is that Okonkwo and “the Cat” are giving it their all to throw each other out of the ring and win the fierce battle. While reading this I wondered what drove those two to actually reach their breaking point. Why would they go so far in some ridiculous sporting event? Could it have been just for self-satisfaction, or to boost their ego? To be able to say that they were the best or the strongest? Or was it simply to be accepted by the village? To be acknowledged for their strength and to be the central point of everybody’s focus. Or could it simply have been the cheering of the crowd that drove them so far? I found this fascinating because it easily connects to our day and age. Many kids do so much to be accepted by their peers. For their skills to be acknowledged and to be able to fit in and be a part of something important, they go so far. What drives a human to their breaking point? I think that’s what was trying to be established in this quote and it is why I found this quote to be interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 June 2008
Entry Number: 2
Quote:” The crowd then shouted with thirst for blood.” Page 11
There are several reasons why this particular quote struck me as interesting. One reason is the vivid and gory imagery that is depicted by this one sentence. It really captures the barbaric and tribal ways of the location of the novel. Another reason why this struck me as interesting is that because of one man’s daughter the whole village was united and shared the same feelings the father felt and they weren’t even related. Although this novel is set in the past, and the characters are barbaric, they have created a unity that our modern day and age will never acquire. If a fellow in the community one lives in nowadays were to die, only the family were to grieve and the rest would just say things like “that’s too bad.” We really don’t care much for others and only have concern for things that affect us. The characters truly cared for that man’s lost. And we are supposed to be the ones that are “civilized”. It says that Umuofia is one of the strongest villages and I believe that is so because of the unity they have within their village. Although I don’t approve of going to war with others for whatever reason, the villagers were only willing to go to war because of the strong emotions that the death of that one girl who wasn’t even related to them, was murdered. I was also impressed that they set up a system to give the other village a choice whether to give a virgin and a young boy, or to go to war ; sort of an eye for an eye concept. These are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 June 2008
Entry Number: 3
Date: 14 June 2008
Quote: “Unoka was an ill-fated man. He had a bad chi or personal god, and evil fortune followed him to the grave, or rather to his death, for he had no grave.” Page 18
There are several reasons why this particular quote struck me. One of the reasons why it struck me was because its interesting that Okonkwo’s father seems to be an important person, yet he is already dead. It’s interesting how the author made him such a character. It says he was a very lazy man and that he had an ill-fate because of it. He couldn’t grow many crops and couldn’t feed his wives or children. He owed so many debts, yet he didn’t seem unhappy. Okonkwo had to start his life with nothing and he turned out to be so successful. Unoka and Okonkwo are such a big contrast because Unoka was unsuccessful, lazy, owed many debts, yet he was happy. On the other hand, Okonkwo was so strong and successful, had no debts, was a titled man in his village, yet he was unhappy; which of the two is a better fate who knows. I also found it interesting how badly Unoka had it; for one to have a bad personal god must be a torturous life filled with miss happenings. I think that by him being lazy he had bad fortune. By doing this with Unoka, I think he shows that ones fate is somewhat controlled by other beings to a certain point that one can shape their one way to live. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 July2008
Entry Number: 4
Quote: “She walked up to her husband and accepted the horn from him. She then went down on one knee, drank a little and handed back the horn. She rose, called him by his name and went back to her hut. The other wives drank in the same way, in their proper order, and went away.” Page 20
There are many reasons why this quote was interesting. First of all I was stunned by this quote because of how impersonal and cold the relationship between husband and wife is. In our modern day place and time, the bond and relationship between a husband and wife is treasured--at least it’s supposed to be. However in Okonkwo’s time and place one is able to have multiple wives and their relationship is based only on what the wife can do for the husband. In this quote it describes the relationship between a husband and wife like that of a master and a slave. “In their proper order, and went away,” that sounds very mechanical and seem to have no ties of friendship, trust, or love in their relationship. This description, although very cruel and uncaring, really shows the culture and barbaric ways of Okonkwo and his people. I also found this interesting because the women in the novel don’t really seem to care about how their relationship with their husband is being shared by other women. Now a day if another woman even glances at a married man, it is sure to make a “provoked” wife yell unpleasant things at the woman whom merely glanced at the man on accident. Although barbaric, the people in the novel seem to have a real sense of themselves and are not insecure like men and women now a day. Those are the reasons why I found this particular quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 July 2008
Entry Number: 5
Quote: “But the year had gone mad. Rain fell as it had never fallen before. For days and nights together it poured down in violent torrents, and washed away the yam heaps.” Page 24
There are several reasons why this quote stuck me to be interesting. The first reason is that it’s very strange how nature can be. One day it could be perfectly sunny, and then the following day water pours from the heavens like it never had before. Mother Nature can be so unforgiving and unpredictable. I also found interesting how the land, how nature, was the people in the novel’s only form of income and food and that same nature that gave them all of which they had to eat, took it away from them. This particular quote was also interesting because it can relate to modern day time. When one is only reliant on one source of income and is loyal to that income, such as an office, and then suddenly one day the corporation for which they worked for suddenly closes or decides to fire you. Then one is left with nothing, such as the many farmers in the novel because of the sudden rains and lack of sunshine. However, if one is bright he or she will have a back up plan just in case something troubling come around like money in the bank, or in Okonkwo’s case, yams stored away from past reaping. I find that Okonkwo is very knowledgeable in all things that are related to the land. Since this land is most people’s only source of food and nutrition, it is only obvious why Okonkwo is so highly respected. Those are the reasons why these quotes were interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 July 2008
Entry Number: 6
Quote: “He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily.” Page 29
There are many reasons for this quote to have struck me. First of all it never ceases to amaze me how cruelly the women in this novel are treated. First Okonkwo doesn’t show any love, compassion, or even a single sign of emotion, other than anger, towards his wives, but now he has gone so far as to heavily beat his wife! And most of all during a holy week in which none must show any kind of disrespect to anyone in the village. It is also very interesting how angry Okonkwo is capable of getting. He treasures the land and in the holy week it is said that if anyone does anything bad that the crops will not grow that year and mere chaos will strike their village, and Okonkwo seems to really believe all of the towns traditions and myths. For him to disregard it all just to beat his wife because diner ran a little late show no signs of control over his anger at all. It is possible that Okonkwo gets very angry in order to not look cowardly or weak how he thought his father, whom was a very kind old man, to be. It also surprises me that after all that they have experienced, Okonkwo’s wives do not leave him and take the children and leave Okonkwo to be the miserable angry man that he is. Those are the reasons why this quote was of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 15 July 2008
Entry Number: 7
Quote: “It is a bad custom which these people observe because they lack understanding. They throw away large numbers of men and women without burial. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead, hungry to do harm to the living.” Page 32
There are several reasons for why I found this particular quote to be of interest. The first reason why I found it interesting is because of the strange beliefs all of the people in the book have. Whether it’s Umuofia or their neighboring towns, they all preserve strange beliefs. To throw your people in some strange forest without burial is both disrespectful and cruel. It also shows humor because of the fact that the people of Umuofia call the others’ customs bad because they have a lack of understanding and saying that their ideas are ludicrous, when in fact the people of Umuofia share the same crazy notions. They believe that it is not right for the dead to not be buried and say it’s a strange idea, yet they end their argument with the insane idea that the spirits of the dead will come back to haunt the living! It kind of shares a sense of irony and contradiction. Which of the twos ridiculous ideas are correct is hard to determine, however it is always interesting to see what others believe and why they do the things they do. It is also interesting to see how devoted to their beliefs the characters in the novel are—even though I believe that most of their beliefs are sort of far fetched. For those reasons I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 15 July 2008
Entry Number: 8
Quote: “Unfortunately for her, Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for his loaded fun, ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children.” Page 39
This quote was striking to me for several reasons. The first of which is the entire fact that Okonkwo is easily angered and is too hasty on whatever he does. Going to get a gun to shoot at your wife because you heard her utter something about guns that don’t fire is certainly not normal behavior. His anger problems and hasty decisions are bound to get him in a world of problems one day. What I found very interesting is that the novel tries to portray Okonkwo as a very vicious, angry, powerful, and unjust full man, and the women in the novel are not respected at all because the man is supposed to be the stronger sex, I find that the women in the novel are even stronger because they have to live with the beast that is their husbands. For one to live with such a man and not flee right away at the first glimpse of what he is capable of doing, shows true courage-or just plain stupidity. While picking on a woman are just cowardly actions. It is also interesting that Okonkwo is even married at all. The reasons for marriage must be for conformity and to have a regular diet of food everyday. These barbaric people don’t seem to care for any amount of emotion at all, which may just be the reason why they are so strong. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 15 July 2008
Entry Number: 9
Quote: “The fact was that Obiageli had been making inyanga with her pot. She had balanced it on her head, folded her arms in front of her and began to sway her waist like a grown up young lady…She only began to weep when they got near the iroko tree outside their compound.” Page 44
There are several interesting reasons why this quote struck me--the first of which leads to the rest. The first reason I found this interesting is that even though the people in this novel are supposed to be barbaric, they are advanced enough to know how to manipulate others. At the young age that Obiageli is, she is already making her mother believe all of her twisted lies. Also, her ability to cry on the spot is remarkable. It seems as though no matter how far you go back in time, people have always lied in order to twist any situation to their liking and to benefit them. However, I find it very strange that her mother believed her so easily instead of having a little sense of doubt feeling some deception. It is very interesting that her brothers were going to tell their mother the truth of what really happened, yet Obiageli just gave them a stern look and they shut their mouths as if she were the older child. Thus showing that even though the novel tries to depict women as weak, they are actually really deceptive and controlling. However, Obiageli’s mother was too easily convinced that that was the truth that her daughter was speaking and Okonkwo would have sensed that she was lying, so to say which of the sexes come out on top would be too hasty of a move. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 16 July 2008
Entry Number: 10
Quote: “That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children, and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women’s stories.” Page 54
There are several reasons for why this quote is interesting. The first of which is that Nwoye longed for something, but to please his father, he acted like he didn’t care for them at all. This is interesting because kids all throughout time, even now, have done things against their will or licking in order to please their guardians. They act like they like something or do things so they can be accepted by their parents otherwise they feel that their parents will not love them-- which in most cases is true. This is very strange because a father’s love is supposed to be unconditional. Now even though this quote may seem that Nwoye’s father is cruel and unjust because he basically forced him to grow up, Okonkwo is really just doing his fatherly duties to make sure that Nwoye grows up to be strong and have enough to feed his family and give regular sacrifices. Whether it was the correct way to raise his son or not is debatable, but in his strange and twisted way Okonkwo loved his son. However, on the surface it seemed that Okonkwo only first started to show compassion towards his son when he started to act like he stopped liking things that were deemed “womanly” because then and only then did Okonkwo stop beating Nwoye for unjust full reasons. Those are the reasons why this quote was of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 16 July 2008
Entry Number: 11
Quote: ‘“Locusts are descending,’ was joyfully chanted everywhere, and men, women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight.” Page 55
There are several reasons why this quote struck me as interesting. The first of which is that the locusts only come once in a very great while and I find that interesting. Also the novel describes the locusts’ actions as if it were human. The main reason for why I found this to be interesting is that the description of the locusts’ appearance at first was a very frightening one, yet the people seemed very excited. When they saw the dark cloud of the swarm they even went as far as to pray that they would spend the night in Umuofia. Also, in other villages from other countries it is an ill omen for locusts to be descending for they will terrorize everyone and destroy the crops for which they worked so hard on. However the people of Umuofia seemed very happy that locusts finally came to their village. It is clear that the old saying that one man’s trash is another mans treasure is applied here, but I find it interesting that the locusts did not terrorize and consume all the people of Umuofia’s crops like they would in other villages, and actually became food for a long time for the people in Okonkwo’s village. What changed their course of action and what made Umuofia not be attacked by the swarm is beyond my understanding, so that was very interesting. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 16 July 2008
Entry Number: 12
Quote: “He heard Ikemefuna cry, ‘My father, they have killed me!’ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.” Page 61
There are many reasons why this quote was of interest to read. This quote actually makes the reader stop because of the sheer horror that the quote’s image portrays. To have been killed by the village that had grown to be like to Ikemefuna is bad enough, but to have Okonkwo, whom he thought of as a father is just horrible. What would drive Okonkwo to do such a mad thing is beyond my comprehension. For he had more fear to be thought of as weak than to have to kill a boy whom lived with him for a long time and made his son the way he thought a man should be, a feat that Okonkwo would have never been able to do for his rage is too intimidating. One can understand that Okonkwo strongly believed in the village and what they had decided. However even the villagers who decided he should be killed thought if it were best if Okonkwo wouldn’t take any part in Ikemefuna’s death. For it is not cowardly to not want to kill his own son-and Ikemefuna had become a son to Okonkwo-but Okonkwo decided to kill him anyway out of fear of being thought of weak. Therefore he truly is weak for doing such a drastic thing that none would judge him for not doing, because he was afraid of being thought weak. A man with fears is a weak man indeed. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 17 July 2008
Entry Number: 13
Quote: “Then something had given way inside him. It descended on him again, this feeling, when his father walked in, that night after killing Ikemefuna.” Page 62
This particular quote was very interesting for several reasons. The first reason this was interesting was because the quote describes anger, yet Nwoye doesn’t know what’s going on with him. As if he never felt angry towards anyone-possibly because he was always in fear of his father. How oppressive his father’s anger and rage must have been that Nwoye himself had never experienced anger for it would be a sign of resentment towards his father and he was too afraid of him to try to go against him. It is also very interesting because, because of Okonkwo’s hasty and unthought-of actions, of killing Ikemefuna, others suffer in his place. Thus making him killing Ikemefuna an even more selfish action, for he never thought of what Nwoye, Ikemefuna’s closest friend, would feel. What excruciating pain Nwoye would feel after his closest friend--no, his brother had been taken from this world by his own father. Sure Nwoye will never have the same relationship, even though it was never good to begin with, with his father for he will never forget what he did. It is also interesting because of the recklessness and uncontrollable anger that Okonkwo possess, slowly one by one things will fall apart and he will lose his family and friends and be left with nothing but his ego—which in fact may very well be the theme of the novel. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 17 July 2008
Entry Number: 14
Quote: “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm-wine from morning till night, and his eyes were red and fierce…He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna but the more he tried the more he thought about him.” Page 63
I found this quote to be interesting for one general reason. That reason is that it depicts Okonkwo who was always depicted as a very strong and fearsome man, to a man who is actually hurting from something irrational that he did. When he shot his wife or beat his children, he felt nothing. But now that he went so far as to kill someone who called him father, he finally felt guilty. He was drinking and couldn’t get his mind off of Ikemefuna so this quote depicts Okonkwo as the shell of a man he once was which is very unlike Okonkwo thus making it interesting. Perhaps this tragedy will open Okonkwo’s eyes and make him a more generous and kind hearted man in order to repent for all of the cruel things he has committed. Although when you devote your life to doing cruel things to people in order to preserve the image of being “strong” it is difficult to find redemption. It is also interesting that even though were are supposed to be an advanced civilization compared to Okonkwo’s, when we are hurting for whatever reason we also turn to alcohol like Okonkwo did. Which in fact makes him a cowardly person for not taking responsibility of his actions and staying to take the pain that he has induced on himself and on his family, but instead he turns to alcohol in order to sooth his pain. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 17 July 2008
Entry Number: 15
Quote: “‘Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title,’ said Obierika. ‘It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping.” Page 69
There are several reasons why this quote was interesting. The first reason why this was interesting to me is that Okonkwo’s tribe’s ways never seize to be of interest to me. This quote reveals another of Okonkwo’s village’s ways which is that a man of title is forbidden to do something as simple as to tap palm trees. This is very strange because a man of title seems to have luxuries that other men don’t yet he is not allowed to do something simple if he wants to do it. Usually a man of luxuries now a day is permitted to do more than normal citizens but never less. If he would want to do something simple he is let, however in Okonkwo’s village Obierika is forbidden from tapping tall palm trees because he has a title and men of title shouldn’t be do something demeaning as to tap palm trees even if he wants to do it for the ones who are currently tapping have no skill and the palm trees are dying. Very strange how the village of Umuofia works, it seems that once you pass a level and become a man of title and can do things that others without a title can, you are not permitted to go back down a level and do things other without a title can unless your title is removed. Although this might seem strange to others, Okonkwo likes that the title is so highly esteemed for it makes him better than other citizens and shuns other villages that let men become of title so easily, even though he is forbidden from doing some things he might want to do. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 18 July 2008
Entry Number: 16
Quote: “After the death of Ekwefi’s second child, Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man…This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers’ wombs to be born again.” Page 77
There are many reasons why this quote was interesting to read. The first reason this quote was interesting is that Ekwefi’s children kept on dying and that must have been horrible to continually give birth and then have the child who was not born too long ago to die and the cycle continuing. It is also interesting that when Okonkwo called for medical help, the man told him that the child was evil and it will go into the womb again and again just to be born and die. While we know that it is scientifically impossible for a child to die and come back again by re-entering the mother’s womb, the people really seem to believe that that was the cause of her children’s deaths. As one from our time would probably guess they die from mal nutrition or lingering bacteria that is strong enough only to harm a baby. However, even though his explanation is bizarre it would somewhat explain things for coincidences are hard for people to accept, and it seems to be human nature to try to find an explanation for things that they do not understand. The ways of the people in the village of Umuofia seem far fetched, however, with the resources they had at the time they actually serve pretty good explanations to what happens in their village. For a profession would not be a profession without there being vast knowledge of that field. Because of the strange explanations of the village’s professionals at medicine, this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 18 July 2008
Entry Number: 17
Quote: “Ezinma went deeper and deeper and the crowd went with her. Then she suddenly turned around and began to walk back to the road…Ezinma led the way back to the road, looked left and right and turned right. And so they arrived home again. Page 82
This quote is very interesting for several reasons. The first of which is that the village of Umuofia actually believed that a little girl like Ezinma was some sort of a demon like creature that would only be born to die again. It is also very interesting, more so humorous, that the people of Umuofia followed Ezinma, who obviously had no idea what she was trying to look for, a long distance only to be back were they had started. It is even more so interesting that when Okonkwo was angry at her for leading them back where they started, the medicine man told him to keep quiet and actually thought that Ezinma knew where she was leading them to. This sort of situation is one where it proves the people of Umuofia’s beliefs wrong; however they kept on believing in their ways as if she knew what she was doing, and if their ways were never proven to be wrong. It is interesting how much they believe in their seemingly insane ways. But again everyone has to believe in something or else the world would be shrouded with mystery, and mystery scares people. It is even more so interesting that even though she had no idea where she was supposed to lead the crowd that followed her every move, she actually pointed them to a location in which held what they were looking for. Whether it is a coincidence or their ways actually proved to be correct, is disputable. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 18 July 2008
Entry Number: 18
Quote: “And then the egwugwu appeared. The women and children sent up a great shout and took to their heels. It was instinctive…And when, as on that day, nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle.” Page 89
This quote is interesting for many reasons. First of which is that the people of the village seem to fear the egwugwu even though it is a part of their beliefs that they resolve conflict. The egwugwu seem to posses a grand amount of power and respect, although they are just the villagers in costumes impersonating to be the gods. Which makes it ridiculous to fear them for they are the same as other villagers and they only have power because the villagers worship them, for without the villagers believing in their power and consent from the actual gods they believe in, they are nothing but villagers playing make believe. For the reason why the villagers dress up as the gods is vague. Could it be to fuel their beliefs with “actual” proof that the gods they believe in exist? Or could it be their way of producing results of a scenario where there is conflict in a justified manner, such as our modern day court system. In which the judge is the villagers dressed as the egwugwu so they will have a presence of power and their word will not be undermined or questioned and the villagers present their case with evidence and discuss their stand point of the situation. Although their village has many differences superficially, this in fact would make their supposed “barbaric” civilization very close to the way we run our “advanced” civilization. Because of the way they run their village, this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 19 July 2008
Entry Number: 19
Quote: ‘“And then like the sound of his cannon he crashed on the compound…His shell broke into pieces. But there was a great medicine man in the neighborhood…he gathered all the bits of shell and stuck them together. That is why Tortoise’s shell is not smooth.”’ Page 99
This was interesting to read for several reasons. The first of which is that, although it was nice of that the family of Okonkwo was together having fun sharing stories, it was also very strange. Usually the family would only get together to eat or to do some work, but in this particular scenario, they all seemed happy and together like a typical modern family, meaning that maybe their ways aren’t so different than ours. On the most basic level, their family units are the same as a typical one from our time. The husband is in charge of bringing in the main income, while the mother works around the house, cooks, raises the children, and handles everything and anything else that needs to be done. I also found it very peculiar how when there is some sort of a problem, in this case it was the night as “black as charcoal”, families seem to come closer together. Such as when a member of that family dies, the entire family mourns over their death together. Cousins that haven’t seen each other are reunited, brothers and sisters that haven’t spoken are once again family, and the separation of that one member unites the rest of that family. Such as a when tying a bow, the end of the string that you pull goes further away from the loop, however the loop become stronger and more united. What was also interesting was that they also created stories to attempt to explain things such as many other people have. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting to read
Luis Acevedo
Date: 19 July 2008
Entry Number: 20
Quote: ‘“She will bring her back soon,’ Nwoye’s mother said. But Ekwefi did not here these consolations. She stood for a while, and then, all of a sudden, made up her mind. She hurried through Okonkwo’s hut and went outside… ‘I am following Chielo,’ she replied and disappeared in the darkness.” Page 103
There are many reasons why this particular quote was of interest to read. The first reason it was interesting is that this quote really shows the true bond between a mother and daughter. Even in this “barbaric” and “tribal” community there are bonds between people that cause them to do inexplicable, and sometimes insane, things for the ones they hold very dear and cherish. Throughout the entire novel the statement that the religion of the people and their beliefs was priority above everything else and that nothing opposed it held very firmly and nothing was ever more important. However because the one thing that was truly precious to Ekwefi was taken from her without further explanation other than Agbala, a god they believe in, requested her presence, she thought that this explanation did not suffice and was truly worried about her daughter so she went after her. Even though the night outside was pitch black, which the villagers were very afraid of, and it would be an ill omen to chase after her, she did because she was worried about her daughter. Against everything she feared, she still feared what would happen to her daughter more. Bonds between people do cause them to do things which one is incapable of explaining, even in this “barbaric” village that throughout the entire novel seemed to have no human affection for one another inside their family, and families only existed for conformity and survival. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 19 July 2008
Entry Number: 21
Quote: “As they stood there together, Ekwefi’s mind went back to the days when they were young. She had married Anene because Okonkwo was too poor then to marry. Two years after her marriage to Anene she could bear it no longer and she ran away to Okonkwo.” Page 109
There are several reasons for this quote to be striking. The first of which is that Okonkwo chased after Ekwefi who was chasing after Ezinma even though that would go against their beliefs and would put them in danger. After all of the cruel and unforgivable things he has done throughout the novel, the reader would have never expected for him to go after Ekwefi because of all the dangers that were included in following her. It is very strange indeed that Okonkwo would go after her, meaning that he truly cared for his daughter and wife, which is so unlike Okonkwo’s character, thus making it interesting to read. It is also interesting that Ekwefi would marry someone because they were financially secure, a scam that some women do now a day. Making it seem as thought the thought of marriage in the village is purely for conformity and nothing more. However this is somewhat disproved because even though she married Anene, she went back to Okonkwo because “she could bear it no longer”, meaning that maybe there are marriages that transcend conformity in the village of Umuofia; which makes it an interesting quote to read because one would be baffled to read that Okonkwo would truly care for one of his wives after all that he has done to them. Perhaps only one of the many marriages one has in the village is cause of emotion and the others are for comfort and stability. Those are the reasons why this quote was striking to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 20 July 2008
Entry Number: 22
Quote: “It was the day on which her suitor (having already paid the greater part of her bride-price) would bring palm-wine not only to her parents and immediate relatives but to the wide and extensive group of kinsmen called umunna.” Page 110
This quote was very interesting for one main reason which is once more once circulated on the very peculiar ways of the people of the village of Umuofia. In our modern day time and place, a bride is allowed to choose the person she is going to spend the rest of her life with, but here in tribal Umuofia, the brides are bought from the father of the bride by paying her “pride-price” and then customarily he brings palm-oil to celebrate then he takes the bride away to his father land; whether it is a better custom the way of the Umuofia, or the way that people are married now a day is disputable. On one hand, there will never be under population because there are more married couples that spawn children because once girls reach a certain age, they are married. Also, men wouldn’t have to try to impress the women and have to go on ridiculous activities to try to woo them. However, if they are not rich, they will probably die single, but now a day the financial income is only thing that is of importance when marrying, unless the marriage is false and the bride only wishes to mooch off of the husband figure. However, in the way of the Umuofia, the bride has no say in whether she would want to be married to the man that chooses her, so long as he pays her bride price. In the modern day and time, it is solely up to the women if she would want to marry the man that chooses her to be the one; both ways have their positives and negatives such as many things in life. Those are the reasons why this particular quote was interesting to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 20 July 2008
Entry Number: 23
Quote: “The first cock had not crowed, and Umuofia was still swallowed up in sleep and silence when the ekwe began to talk, and the cannon shattered the silence. Men stirred on their bamboo beds and listened anxiously. Somebody was dead.” Page 120
This quote struck me for several reasons. One of which was that the death of every man was declared in the village of Umuofia with a loud drum and the whole village knows of his death. Now a day the world is much less sympathetic and hardly anyone, if no one, besides the blood relatives, cares if a person has died. In this “barbaric” village, the people seem a lot more personable with their neighbors, while in modern day times, one is lucky to know their neighbors faces. What was truly interesting is that although these people don’t have technology as complex as we do now a day, the word of everything gets around relatively quickly. This drum was not merely a piece of instrument to pass the time; it was their broadcast of current events. If something had happened in the village that was of importance, the entire village was informed by the sound of a single drum, somewhat like our television sets and news programming, although that shrouds the truth sometimes. What was also interesting is that the men knew what each sound of the drum meant. To be able to remember such things one must retain a fairly big amount of sound and that would take quite the memory, although their minds are not tainted with modern television programming that televise unneeded broadcastings such as cartoons that only serve to distract the mind of necessary things. So undoubtedly the people of Umuofia are much more focused, which in a sense would make them more advanced. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 30 July 2008
Entry Number: 24
Quote: “The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land.” Page 124
There are various reasons why this quote was striking. The first reason is that accidents happen so unexpectedly and so quickly, but in that one instant can cause great tumult and completely change everything. It was interesting that after all the hard work that Okonkwo had put in, all the people he crushed on the way to getting his title and much respect from the entire village, he had to be cast away for seven years, because of tradition. It sometimes seems ridiculous what tradition makes people do, but without tradition, those people would be nothing. All their insane ways would be gone and they would be lost in confusion of not knowing, for it is in human nature to try to explain the inexplicable. It seemed so easy how Okonkwo had lost his title and was banished from the village that it almost seemed unreal. Mishaps had occurred in Okonkwo’s life, but nothing as severe as being banished from the village that he so greatly treasured. Although, it seemed as though it hardly had affected Okonkwo that all his hard work had been for naught. It also seemed ridiculous that Okonkwo’s house had to be destroyed, because he was going to come back after seven years, they weren’t going to kill him. I found it very humane that the family had to go with Okonkwo and that way they can remain a family, although his children and wives seemed reluctant to go with him. Those are the particular reasons why I found this quote to be interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 30 July 2008
Entry Number: 25
Quote: “Okonkwo was only a boy then and Uchendu still remembered him crying the traditional farewell: ‘Mother, mother, mother is going.’” Page 129
There are several reasons for why this quote was striking. The first reason is that it was interesting to learn more about Okonkwo’s past. It was also strange for the novel to depict him as a young boy, when throughout the entire novel he had been depicted as a strong and big man who hardly cared for others. Although this small portion of his past life explains a great ordeal about what he was in the present. It is reasonable that Okonkwo would be so harsh on everybody around him for his mother died when he was still young, and his father had to work a lot so he mainly had to teach himself everything and was never given any love. However, at such a young age Okonkwo was already very mature. He understood that his mother was gone but was not completely saddened; he knew that she had to leave sometime. He was also already bombarded by traditions and perhaps that also made him more mature for he understood life more, well according to their traditions he did, and knew how things worked. It is also interesting that at such a young age the people of the village are introduced to the traditions of the village. Perhaps his tumultuous childhood explained his later success; for he had nothing else but himself and his father, but he would always owed everyone money and was no success at all, so he was forced to grow up and do everything on his own thus enriching his life skills. Whether it’s worth having a rocky childhood like the one Okonkwo had in order to be successful is debatable. Because of his rough childhood, this particular quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 30 July 2008
Entry Number: 26
Quote: “‘You think you are the greatest sufferer in the world? Do you know that men are sometimes banished for life? Do you know that men sometimes lose all their yams and even their children? I had six wives once. I have none now except for that young girl who knows not her right from her left.’” Page 135
This particular quote was interesting for several reasons. The first of which is that this quote depicts that Okonkwo was really hurting that he was banished from his village. Of course he had every right to be angry and depressed for he spent his entire life to get recognition from that village and he lost it all in an instant. It is always interesting to see Okonkwo, the fearsome beast who has gone to war and killed, as a human. It is also interesting that this quote depicted all the pain that the world goes through, that makes ones own troubles seem insignificant and nothing to worry about. Seeing the grand scheme of things also makes ones self seem insignificant and ones accomplishments not even worthwhile. It was quite humorous when the man said “sometimes lose all their yams and even their children” as if the yams are so much more important that they had to be mentioned first, although if one lives in a place such as theirs, food would be more important than children, for food replenishes ones strength and children are just more mouths to feed. It was also interesting that Uchendu would say such a thing that he lost everything he had, for that shows the hardships that one has to go through in life. Lastly, it was interesting that even though Uchendu was complaining that he only had that one wife that wasn’t very bright, but he still married her! Perhaps he married her for sheer pleasure, but it was interesting that even though she’s not very bright, she survived longer than the rest. Those are the reasons why this particular quote was interesting
Luis Acevedo
Date: 30 July 2008
Entry Number: 27
Quote: “‘Their clan is now completely empty. Even the sacred fish in their mysterious lake have fled and the lake has turned the color of blood. A great evil has come upon their land as the Oracle had warned.’” Page 140
There are many reasons for why this quote was striking. The first of which is that Okonkwo, Obierika, and Uchendu were talking about this unfortunate mishap as if it were nothing at all. An entire clan was wiped out and they can still sit there eating their kola nut nonchalantly. Whether that makes them strong men or just plain uncaring is debatable. It was also interesting that Obierika had visited Okonkwo in his time of exile, meaning that although Okonkwo was feared by many, he had one true friend that helped him in his time of need, and that shows that human relationships transcend time. It was surprising that an entire village was destroyed over night. A massive sheer force would have been needed for that to be accomplished, but somehow it was done. Although Okonkwo, Obierika, and Uchendu thought that it was the village’s fault because they had killed the white man that their village was killed, it is also reasonable that they killed him, for he was someone no one knew, so they were scared because it was something new, and quite possibly a threat. Finally it this quote was interesting because the Oracle had warned them that that would happen, meaning that their ways were true and that their beliefs were the actual way things work, or it could have been a huge coincidence; although one like the destruction of an entire village is too big to be a mere coincidence and one would lean to the ways of the villagers after witnessing the power of the Oracle. Those are the reasons why I found this particular quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 31 July 2008
Entry Number: 28
Quote: “Okonkwo’s first wife soon finished her cooking and set before their guests a big mean of pounded yams and bitter-leaf soup. Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, brought in a pot of sweet wine tapped from the raffia palm.” Page 141
This particular quote struck me for several reasons. The first reason it struck me is because of the ways of the people in that time. There, the entire family, excluding the father, had to help set up the table and dinner. The people in this time are the ones supposed to be barbaric yet the family all contributes to daily tasks. Nowadays, all the children in a family are either forced to help and reluctantly do it, or the mother has to do all the work. This generation is so pampered that we even complain when doing common tasks such as take out our own garbage or clean our own room. Although they are supposed to be barbaric, the people from Okonkwo’s time seem more orderly and know their place. Their children aren’t told to do something, or complain whilst they do it, but they do something because they know they have to do it, and are neither reluctant, nor angry whilst doing it. Their system of getting things done is so much more advanced than our modern family units, for the most part. Also although they got everything done in an orderly and timely manner, their end products don’t seem so replenishing and satisfactory to a modern day man. However, although they don’t have very tasteful food, they do get through every day in such a desolate place. For the amount of resources the people of that time have, a bitter-leaf soup, some wine, and pounded yams are the caviar of modern day time. Because of the family ways of the people of that time, this quote was made interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 31 July 2008
Entry Number: 29
Quote: “The missionaries had come to Umuofia. They had built their church there, won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan.” Page 143
This quote was very striking for several reasons. The first of which is that it is interesting that Obierika, Uchendu, and Okonkwo were first speeking of the village that had been destroyed by the missionaries nonchalantly and really didn’t care about the destruction of that village, and even called them fools. However, now that the conflict had finally slung itself upon them, they care. It seems that all throughout time, people never really care for the problems of others until it becomes their own. Whether it serves Okonkwo and Umuofia’s people right, because of their cruel words about the destruction of the other village, is definitely debatable, or if it was karma, or some kind of god was that was punishing them and caused them ill fortune, is debatable as well. However, what holds true is that people are truly selfish and self centered, only caring about their own problems and never asking if they can help others in their time of need. What was also striking is that a great village like Umuofia can be infected with the virus that had infected the other villages. The people of Umuofia always seemed to be really devoted to their traditional ways and their beliefs was the only thing fueling them throughout the day, but suddenly several of the members converted to another unheard of, new, religion. This was very striking for the people of Umuofia had held their ways and beliefs above everything else, and because of their beliefs, their overall downfall had been put in action; if Okonkwo would’ve been there, he would not have stood this new religion and would’ve definitely done something to try to stop it. Those are the reasons why this quote was striking.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 31 July 2008
Entry Number: 30
Quote: “‘All the gods you have named are not gods at all. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children. There is only one true God and He has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us”’ Page 146
This particular quote was interesting for several reasons. The first reason it was of interest is because of the battle of religions that is currently going on in the novel. Throughout the novel the reader was only introduced into the ways and beliefs of the people of Umuofia and because of the conflict-resolution that every novel takes, these ways were somewhat proven to be true. However, now there is a single antigen that wants to destroy all of the people’s beliefs. Of course, this would definitely result in a battle of whose religion holds true. In modern day and time there are myriads of debates and quarrels about who’s religion is true, but one can never prove that their religion is The correct religion. Religions are just things to try to explain the creation of the universe, why things happen, and what happens after death. Religions are things that give people hope, thus they hold on as tightly as possible, hoping that they’ve prayed enough, were nice enough, or did things that are customarily in their religion, correctly. It is ridiculous to try to say that someone else’s religion is wrong, like the Christian preacher did here, because there is no right or wrong way to believe in something. There is also no definite and solid evidence on any one religion, so they are not at liberty to say that they are correct and that one has cast his entire life away to fake gods, or empty beliefs about something that was entirely made up, because if they believe it exists, and makes sense in the world that we cohabitate, then there is no disproving them.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 31 July 2008
Entry Number: 31
Quote: “In it were buried all those who died of the really evil diseases, like leprosy and smallpox. It was also the dumping ground for the potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. An “evil forest” was, therefore, alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness. It was such a forest that the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries. Page 149
This particular quote struck me for several reasons. The first of which is how cruel the people of these villagers were; for because someone was ill with some horrible disease, they thought that they didn’t deserve a proper burial and just threw them aside in the “evil forest.” If one is so unfortunate to fall ill of a disease that has no known cures, they are exiled from society, for fear of contagion and because they are different, and lead horrible lives. At least one with a disease can say that they will have a proper burial, but no, the people of the villages in the novel take that away from them. They neither have a good life, nor a good death; although, in this time period and with their resources, it would be smart to cast away all those who have the disease for the sake of village’s well being. Surely however, since the people are bombarded by the traditions in the village, the ones cast away into the “evil forest” understand that it is for the well-being of the entire village and most likely accept their disgraceful burial into a land of great fear. What was also interesting here is that the beliefs of the people are based on some kind of truth. The “sinister forces and powers of darkness” only exist in the people’s hearts because of the diseases of those that were buried there. It was also interesting how evil the people of Mbanta can be, for they gave the Christians some land of that forsaken and evil place for them to build their spiritual sanctity, yet the Christians were not at all in the least bit worried, for they didn’t believe that the forest held evil forces, therefore they didn’t exist. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 01 August 2008
Entry Number: 32
Quote: “‘Let us not reason like cowards,’ said Okonkwo. ‘If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? Do I shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head. That is what a man does.” Page 158
There are several reasons why this quote was interesting. The first of which is Okonkwo’s everlasting humor, although it is a bit cruel. Okonkwo has always been a very aggressive man, however he did this because he didn’t want to seem weak, and one does this by being aggressive and he was especially aggressive and brutal because he lived in a very “strong” village, however the village seems to be weak because they didn’t want start any quarrels with the Christians. Although the village has always been depicted as a hasty village to start fights, this time they seem to recede from any violence and that was very strange indeed. Throughout the entire novel Okonkwo was depicted as one that was cruel and quick to fight, and that always seemed unfair and oppressed his family, however, this time his ways of waging a quick war seem to be correct for the current situation. The Christians are getting more and more converts and quickly gaining power and authority within the village and seem to be a great threat. In order to get rid of a problem, it must be eliminated as soon as possible, before it becomes too great of a problem where there is no longer a remedy. However, Okonkwo’s scenario of a man defecating in his house was a tad bit too cruel, but it was necessary in order to open the villagers’ eyes. However that attempt proved to be in vain for the villagers still wanted to live in peace among them. The Christians, in this situation, are like a single cell amoeba that will multiply and eventually take over the entire village, for they proved to be perseverant when they established their church in the “evil forest”, although not really evil, building your place of worship and actually having converts in that forsaken place, proves that they will not give up so easily. Those are the reasons why this quote was of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 04 August 2008
Entry Number: 33
Quote: “Seven years was a long time to be away from one’s clan. A man’s place was not always there, waiting for him. As soon as he left, someone else rose and filled it. The clan was like a lizard; if it lost its tail it soon grew another.” Page 171
There are several reasons for this quote to be interesting. The first of the reasons is that the seven years of exile that Okonkwo was put through was finally over and he could finally go back home. The tone is much more upbeat, for Okonkwo will finally be reunited with the village that he held so dearly. However, this tone is somewhat derailed with this sentence for there is a sense of anxiety and misplacement. It is interesting how the clan repairs each of its losses with another. This seems very efficient for the clan will always have enough people for it to be strong and prosperous; however, if the man that replaces the lost one is not as strong physically or mentally, say “a bad tail”, then there is a major flaw in the system and that loss can be a drastic one. Although it’s interesting how Okonkwo was in “exile” and he was so depressed that he lost his beloved village, however, he was treated very nicely and was with loved ones, so the punishment was not so much of a punishment unless one lets it be. Okonkwo could have lived prosperously if he had not been so depressed and full of sorrow. He could have done so much, but because he lost his precious title, he was dismayed and decided not to do anything that would be good for him. It’s the thought of being disconnected from something that one held so dear that makes one feel out of place, for not many enjoy new things and would much rather continue the same routinely process living the same lives, and that holds true today. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 04 August 2008
Entry Number: 34
Quote: “But apart from the church, the white men had also brought a government. They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance. He had court messengers came from Umuru on the bank of the Great River…” Page 174
This quote was interesting for many reasons. The first of which would be how successful and witty “the white men” are. They had everything planned out how they would take control. First they implement their new0 happy, prosperous religion in which all are equal and accepted. This catches the people of the village’s attentions and sees the “white men” as good and noble people. Thus the “white men” capture the masses hearts and that way they are under their control, and are perceptible to new ideas since they have already adapted their new religion in which is so different from their past religion. Then, when they have captured their hearts, their minds and ways are so easily manipulated. The “white men” then deploy their plot to control the people’s ways in their village and their laws, deploying their new government. They thus are in control of the people’s hearts and actions. The “white men” are very clever indeed to plot the capturing and recruitment of the villagers. This is very interesting how religion was manipulated in order to capture the masses and control their thoughts and beliefs, and this has happened many times throughout history. It was interesting how many people from the village can just drop their old beliefs, in which they were bombarded with their entire lives, and just start on an unknown religion that is very different than their previous one, almost unbelievable. They held their thoughts and beliefs above everything else and for some to change their ways because some strange man gives them promises of greatness, truly is striking. Those are the reasons why this particular quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 04 August 2008
Entry Number: 35
Quote: “In this way Mr. Brown learned a good deal about the religion of the clan and he came to the conclusion that a frontal attack on it would not succeed. And so he built a school and a little hospital in Umuofia. He went from family to family begging people to send their children to his school.” Page 181
There are several reasons why this quote was striking. The first reason is because of how witty Mr. Brown is. Instead of just blindly going into battle, he studies the enemy and evaluates the best form of attack on how to conquer his formidable foe. This proves to be very witty for he doesn’t scared the people away with a front head-on attack, but instead curves his attack and makes it seem like its much a better change from their old ways. Mr. Brown, instead of forcing the villagers to change their ways and obviously receive opposition, he hands them out gifts and promises. He tells everyone that if they change their ways, then He will forgive them, and that He will accept anyone, and that all are equals under Him. For the people of Umuofia, this would sound very tempting, for there are those with a title, and those without one, and those without one are not seen as equal to those with one and are looked down upon by those with a title, so to be able to live in a society were everyone is equal is a grand opportunity that one must act on quickly. It was very interesting how Mr. Brown took the time to study them and use their own religion against them in the battle to persuade for conversion. He would speak of his god and interpret it by using their gods in such a way that the people would understand. This move was very witty indeed, although many at first were still reluctant to change, with such a plan of attack, the strongest of wills can be conquered. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 04 August 2008
Entry Number: 36
Quote: “In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body.” Page 204
“Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead.” Page 207
There are several reasons for why these quotes were striking. The first of which is that Okonkwo finally took his course of action where he would fight back against “the white men” and he killed a messenger. It was very surprising that Okonkwo would do that so suddenly and what was even more striking, the reaction of the villagers. Umuofia was always depicted as a very strong village, yet they did nothing. Instead of praising him for getting rid of such an abomination, they scorned him, instead of getting their arms and finally driving back the virus that was “the white men” and their new religion, they stood there. Okonkwo had given them the perfect opportunity in which they could drive back that virus, yet they were reluctant to do it. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo had been depicted as one who was quick to start fights, yet in this scenario, that was what was needed to be done, yet the villagers didn’t see that. The most surprising thing is that there is a force so tremendous in the novel that would cause Okonkwo to hang himself. Okonkwo was always a strong man, who feared none, yet he hung himself; going against all their beliefs, which he held more important than anything else, knowing that he would not be buried and that he would be labeled as a coward. Okonkwo was impressive, for he knew that his village was not the village he once loved and that it would never be. Because of a single antigen, his world fell apart. Those are the reasons why these quotes were of interest.
Date: 14 June 2008
Entry Number: 1
Quote: “Ever nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms, on their backs and their thighs, and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point.” Page 1
There are several reasons why I found this quote to be interesting. The first reason is while the reader peruses over this passage, the imagery is so vivid that one can’t help but to have a clear perspective of what is occurring. Another reason, which was my main reason of finding this quote to be very interesting, is that Okonkwo and “the Cat” are giving it their all to throw each other out of the ring and win the fierce battle. While reading this I wondered what drove those two to actually reach their breaking point. Why would they go so far in some ridiculous sporting event? Could it have been just for self-satisfaction, or to boost their ego? To be able to say that they were the best or the strongest? Or was it simply to be accepted by the village? To be acknowledged for their strength and to be the central point of everybody’s focus. Or could it simply have been the cheering of the crowd that drove them so far? I found this fascinating because it easily connects to our day and age. Many kids do so much to be accepted by their peers. For their skills to be acknowledged and to be able to fit in and be a part of something important, they go so far. What drives a human to their breaking point? I think that’s what was trying to be established in this quote and it is why I found this quote to be interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 June 2008
Entry Number: 2
Quote:” The crowd then shouted with thirst for blood.” Page 11
There are several reasons why this particular quote struck me as interesting. One reason is the vivid and gory imagery that is depicted by this one sentence. It really captures the barbaric and tribal ways of the location of the novel. Another reason why this struck me as interesting is that because of one man’s daughter the whole village was united and shared the same feelings the father felt and they weren’t even related. Although this novel is set in the past, and the characters are barbaric, they have created a unity that our modern day and age will never acquire. If a fellow in the community one lives in nowadays were to die, only the family were to grieve and the rest would just say things like “that’s too bad.” We really don’t care much for others and only have concern for things that affect us. The characters truly cared for that man’s lost. And we are supposed to be the ones that are “civilized”. It says that Umuofia is one of the strongest villages and I believe that is so because of the unity they have within their village. Although I don’t approve of going to war with others for whatever reason, the villagers were only willing to go to war because of the strong emotions that the death of that one girl who wasn’t even related to them, was murdered. I was also impressed that they set up a system to give the other village a choice whether to give a virgin and a young boy, or to go to war ; sort of an eye for an eye concept. These are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 June 2008
Entry Number: 3
Date: 14 June 2008
Quote: “Unoka was an ill-fated man. He had a bad chi or personal god, and evil fortune followed him to the grave, or rather to his death, for he had no grave.” Page 18
There are several reasons why this particular quote struck me. One of the reasons why it struck me was because its interesting that Okonkwo’s father seems to be an important person, yet he is already dead. It’s interesting how the author made him such a character. It says he was a very lazy man and that he had an ill-fate because of it. He couldn’t grow many crops and couldn’t feed his wives or children. He owed so many debts, yet he didn’t seem unhappy. Okonkwo had to start his life with nothing and he turned out to be so successful. Unoka and Okonkwo are such a big contrast because Unoka was unsuccessful, lazy, owed many debts, yet he was happy. On the other hand, Okonkwo was so strong and successful, had no debts, was a titled man in his village, yet he was unhappy; which of the two is a better fate who knows. I also found it interesting how badly Unoka had it; for one to have a bad personal god must be a torturous life filled with miss happenings. I think that by him being lazy he had bad fortune. By doing this with Unoka, I think he shows that ones fate is somewhat controlled by other beings to a certain point that one can shape their one way to live. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 July2008
Entry Number: 4
Quote: “She walked up to her husband and accepted the horn from him. She then went down on one knee, drank a little and handed back the horn. She rose, called him by his name and went back to her hut. The other wives drank in the same way, in their proper order, and went away.” Page 20
There are many reasons why this quote was interesting. First of all I was stunned by this quote because of how impersonal and cold the relationship between husband and wife is. In our modern day place and time, the bond and relationship between a husband and wife is treasured--at least it’s supposed to be. However in Okonkwo’s time and place one is able to have multiple wives and their relationship is based only on what the wife can do for the husband. In this quote it describes the relationship between a husband and wife like that of a master and a slave. “In their proper order, and went away,” that sounds very mechanical and seem to have no ties of friendship, trust, or love in their relationship. This description, although very cruel and uncaring, really shows the culture and barbaric ways of Okonkwo and his people. I also found this interesting because the women in the novel don’t really seem to care about how their relationship with their husband is being shared by other women. Now a day if another woman even glances at a married man, it is sure to make a “provoked” wife yell unpleasant things at the woman whom merely glanced at the man on accident. Although barbaric, the people in the novel seem to have a real sense of themselves and are not insecure like men and women now a day. Those are the reasons why I found this particular quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 July 2008
Entry Number: 5
Quote: “But the year had gone mad. Rain fell as it had never fallen before. For days and nights together it poured down in violent torrents, and washed away the yam heaps.” Page 24
There are several reasons why this quote stuck me to be interesting. The first reason is that it’s very strange how nature can be. One day it could be perfectly sunny, and then the following day water pours from the heavens like it never had before. Mother Nature can be so unforgiving and unpredictable. I also found interesting how the land, how nature, was the people in the novel’s only form of income and food and that same nature that gave them all of which they had to eat, took it away from them. This particular quote was also interesting because it can relate to modern day time. When one is only reliant on one source of income and is loyal to that income, such as an office, and then suddenly one day the corporation for which they worked for suddenly closes or decides to fire you. Then one is left with nothing, such as the many farmers in the novel because of the sudden rains and lack of sunshine. However, if one is bright he or she will have a back up plan just in case something troubling come around like money in the bank, or in Okonkwo’s case, yams stored away from past reaping. I find that Okonkwo is very knowledgeable in all things that are related to the land. Since this land is most people’s only source of food and nutrition, it is only obvious why Okonkwo is so highly respected. Those are the reasons why these quotes were interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 14 July 2008
Entry Number: 6
Quote: “He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily.” Page 29
There are many reasons for this quote to have struck me. First of all it never ceases to amaze me how cruelly the women in this novel are treated. First Okonkwo doesn’t show any love, compassion, or even a single sign of emotion, other than anger, towards his wives, but now he has gone so far as to heavily beat his wife! And most of all during a holy week in which none must show any kind of disrespect to anyone in the village. It is also very interesting how angry Okonkwo is capable of getting. He treasures the land and in the holy week it is said that if anyone does anything bad that the crops will not grow that year and mere chaos will strike their village, and Okonkwo seems to really believe all of the towns traditions and myths. For him to disregard it all just to beat his wife because diner ran a little late show no signs of control over his anger at all. It is possible that Okonkwo gets very angry in order to not look cowardly or weak how he thought his father, whom was a very kind old man, to be. It also surprises me that after all that they have experienced, Okonkwo’s wives do not leave him and take the children and leave Okonkwo to be the miserable angry man that he is. Those are the reasons why this quote was of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 15 July 2008
Entry Number: 7
Quote: “It is a bad custom which these people observe because they lack understanding. They throw away large numbers of men and women without burial. And what is the result? Their clan is full of the evil spirits of these unburied dead, hungry to do harm to the living.” Page 32
There are several reasons for why I found this particular quote to be of interest. The first reason why I found it interesting is because of the strange beliefs all of the people in the book have. Whether it’s Umuofia or their neighboring towns, they all preserve strange beliefs. To throw your people in some strange forest without burial is both disrespectful and cruel. It also shows humor because of the fact that the people of Umuofia call the others’ customs bad because they have a lack of understanding and saying that their ideas are ludicrous, when in fact the people of Umuofia share the same crazy notions. They believe that it is not right for the dead to not be buried and say it’s a strange idea, yet they end their argument with the insane idea that the spirits of the dead will come back to haunt the living! It kind of shares a sense of irony and contradiction. Which of the twos ridiculous ideas are correct is hard to determine, however it is always interesting to see what others believe and why they do the things they do. It is also interesting to see how devoted to their beliefs the characters in the novel are—even though I believe that most of their beliefs are sort of far fetched. For those reasons I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 15 July 2008
Entry Number: 8
Quote: “Unfortunately for her, Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for his loaded fun, ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children.” Page 39
This quote was striking to me for several reasons. The first of which is the entire fact that Okonkwo is easily angered and is too hasty on whatever he does. Going to get a gun to shoot at your wife because you heard her utter something about guns that don’t fire is certainly not normal behavior. His anger problems and hasty decisions are bound to get him in a world of problems one day. What I found very interesting is that the novel tries to portray Okonkwo as a very vicious, angry, powerful, and unjust full man, and the women in the novel are not respected at all because the man is supposed to be the stronger sex, I find that the women in the novel are even stronger because they have to live with the beast that is their husbands. For one to live with such a man and not flee right away at the first glimpse of what he is capable of doing, shows true courage-or just plain stupidity. While picking on a woman are just cowardly actions. It is also interesting that Okonkwo is even married at all. The reasons for marriage must be for conformity and to have a regular diet of food everyday. These barbaric people don’t seem to care for any amount of emotion at all, which may just be the reason why they are so strong. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 15 July 2008
Entry Number: 9
Quote: “The fact was that Obiageli had been making inyanga with her pot. She had balanced it on her head, folded her arms in front of her and began to sway her waist like a grown up young lady…She only began to weep when they got near the iroko tree outside their compound.” Page 44
There are several interesting reasons why this quote struck me--the first of which leads to the rest. The first reason I found this interesting is that even though the people in this novel are supposed to be barbaric, they are advanced enough to know how to manipulate others. At the young age that Obiageli is, she is already making her mother believe all of her twisted lies. Also, her ability to cry on the spot is remarkable. It seems as though no matter how far you go back in time, people have always lied in order to twist any situation to their liking and to benefit them. However, I find it very strange that her mother believed her so easily instead of having a little sense of doubt feeling some deception. It is very interesting that her brothers were going to tell their mother the truth of what really happened, yet Obiageli just gave them a stern look and they shut their mouths as if she were the older child. Thus showing that even though the novel tries to depict women as weak, they are actually really deceptive and controlling. However, Obiageli’s mother was too easily convinced that that was the truth that her daughter was speaking and Okonkwo would have sensed that she was lying, so to say which of the sexes come out on top would be too hasty of a move. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 16 July 2008
Entry Number: 10
Quote: “That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children, and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women’s stories.” Page 54
There are several reasons for why this quote is interesting. The first of which is that Nwoye longed for something, but to please his father, he acted like he didn’t care for them at all. This is interesting because kids all throughout time, even now, have done things against their will or licking in order to please their guardians. They act like they like something or do things so they can be accepted by their parents otherwise they feel that their parents will not love them-- which in most cases is true. This is very strange because a father’s love is supposed to be unconditional. Now even though this quote may seem that Nwoye’s father is cruel and unjust because he basically forced him to grow up, Okonkwo is really just doing his fatherly duties to make sure that Nwoye grows up to be strong and have enough to feed his family and give regular sacrifices. Whether it was the correct way to raise his son or not is debatable, but in his strange and twisted way Okonkwo loved his son. However, on the surface it seemed that Okonkwo only first started to show compassion towards his son when he started to act like he stopped liking things that were deemed “womanly” because then and only then did Okonkwo stop beating Nwoye for unjust full reasons. Those are the reasons why this quote was of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 16 July 2008
Entry Number: 11
Quote: ‘“Locusts are descending,’ was joyfully chanted everywhere, and men, women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight.” Page 55
There are several reasons why this quote struck me as interesting. The first of which is that the locusts only come once in a very great while and I find that interesting. Also the novel describes the locusts’ actions as if it were human. The main reason for why I found this to be interesting is that the description of the locusts’ appearance at first was a very frightening one, yet the people seemed very excited. When they saw the dark cloud of the swarm they even went as far as to pray that they would spend the night in Umuofia. Also, in other villages from other countries it is an ill omen for locusts to be descending for they will terrorize everyone and destroy the crops for which they worked so hard on. However the people of Umuofia seemed very happy that locusts finally came to their village. It is clear that the old saying that one man’s trash is another mans treasure is applied here, but I find it interesting that the locusts did not terrorize and consume all the people of Umuofia’s crops like they would in other villages, and actually became food for a long time for the people in Okonkwo’s village. What changed their course of action and what made Umuofia not be attacked by the swarm is beyond my understanding, so that was very interesting. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 16 July 2008
Entry Number: 12
Quote: “He heard Ikemefuna cry, ‘My father, they have killed me!’ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.” Page 61
There are many reasons why this quote was of interest to read. This quote actually makes the reader stop because of the sheer horror that the quote’s image portrays. To have been killed by the village that had grown to be like to Ikemefuna is bad enough, but to have Okonkwo, whom he thought of as a father is just horrible. What would drive Okonkwo to do such a mad thing is beyond my comprehension. For he had more fear to be thought of as weak than to have to kill a boy whom lived with him for a long time and made his son the way he thought a man should be, a feat that Okonkwo would have never been able to do for his rage is too intimidating. One can understand that Okonkwo strongly believed in the village and what they had decided. However even the villagers who decided he should be killed thought if it were best if Okonkwo wouldn’t take any part in Ikemefuna’s death. For it is not cowardly to not want to kill his own son-and Ikemefuna had become a son to Okonkwo-but Okonkwo decided to kill him anyway out of fear of being thought of weak. Therefore he truly is weak for doing such a drastic thing that none would judge him for not doing, because he was afraid of being thought weak. A man with fears is a weak man indeed. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 17 July 2008
Entry Number: 13
Quote: “Then something had given way inside him. It descended on him again, this feeling, when his father walked in, that night after killing Ikemefuna.” Page 62
This particular quote was very interesting for several reasons. The first reason this was interesting was because the quote describes anger, yet Nwoye doesn’t know what’s going on with him. As if he never felt angry towards anyone-possibly because he was always in fear of his father. How oppressive his father’s anger and rage must have been that Nwoye himself had never experienced anger for it would be a sign of resentment towards his father and he was too afraid of him to try to go against him. It is also very interesting because, because of Okonkwo’s hasty and unthought-of actions, of killing Ikemefuna, others suffer in his place. Thus making him killing Ikemefuna an even more selfish action, for he never thought of what Nwoye, Ikemefuna’s closest friend, would feel. What excruciating pain Nwoye would feel after his closest friend--no, his brother had been taken from this world by his own father. Sure Nwoye will never have the same relationship, even though it was never good to begin with, with his father for he will never forget what he did. It is also interesting because of the recklessness and uncontrollable anger that Okonkwo possess, slowly one by one things will fall apart and he will lose his family and friends and be left with nothing but his ego—which in fact may very well be the theme of the novel. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 17 July 2008
Entry Number: 14
Quote: “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm-wine from morning till night, and his eyes were red and fierce…He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna but the more he tried the more he thought about him.” Page 63
I found this quote to be interesting for one general reason. That reason is that it depicts Okonkwo who was always depicted as a very strong and fearsome man, to a man who is actually hurting from something irrational that he did. When he shot his wife or beat his children, he felt nothing. But now that he went so far as to kill someone who called him father, he finally felt guilty. He was drinking and couldn’t get his mind off of Ikemefuna so this quote depicts Okonkwo as the shell of a man he once was which is very unlike Okonkwo thus making it interesting. Perhaps this tragedy will open Okonkwo’s eyes and make him a more generous and kind hearted man in order to repent for all of the cruel things he has committed. Although when you devote your life to doing cruel things to people in order to preserve the image of being “strong” it is difficult to find redemption. It is also interesting that even though were are supposed to be an advanced civilization compared to Okonkwo’s, when we are hurting for whatever reason we also turn to alcohol like Okonkwo did. Which in fact makes him a cowardly person for not taking responsibility of his actions and staying to take the pain that he has induced on himself and on his family, but instead he turns to alcohol in order to sooth his pain. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 17 July 2008
Entry Number: 15
Quote: “‘Sometimes I wish I had not taken the ozo title,’ said Obierika. ‘It wounds my heart to see these young men killing palm trees in the name of tapping.” Page 69
There are several reasons why this quote was interesting. The first reason why this was interesting to me is that Okonkwo’s tribe’s ways never seize to be of interest to me. This quote reveals another of Okonkwo’s village’s ways which is that a man of title is forbidden to do something as simple as to tap palm trees. This is very strange because a man of title seems to have luxuries that other men don’t yet he is not allowed to do something simple if he wants to do it. Usually a man of luxuries now a day is permitted to do more than normal citizens but never less. If he would want to do something simple he is let, however in Okonkwo’s village Obierika is forbidden from tapping tall palm trees because he has a title and men of title shouldn’t be do something demeaning as to tap palm trees even if he wants to do it for the ones who are currently tapping have no skill and the palm trees are dying. Very strange how the village of Umuofia works, it seems that once you pass a level and become a man of title and can do things that others without a title can, you are not permitted to go back down a level and do things other without a title can unless your title is removed. Although this might seem strange to others, Okonkwo likes that the title is so highly esteemed for it makes him better than other citizens and shuns other villages that let men become of title so easily, even though he is forbidden from doing some things he might want to do. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 18 July 2008
Entry Number: 16
Quote: “After the death of Ekwefi’s second child, Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man…This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers’ wombs to be born again.” Page 77
There are many reasons why this quote was interesting to read. The first reason this quote was interesting is that Ekwefi’s children kept on dying and that must have been horrible to continually give birth and then have the child who was not born too long ago to die and the cycle continuing. It is also interesting that when Okonkwo called for medical help, the man told him that the child was evil and it will go into the womb again and again just to be born and die. While we know that it is scientifically impossible for a child to die and come back again by re-entering the mother’s womb, the people really seem to believe that that was the cause of her children’s deaths. As one from our time would probably guess they die from mal nutrition or lingering bacteria that is strong enough only to harm a baby. However, even though his explanation is bizarre it would somewhat explain things for coincidences are hard for people to accept, and it seems to be human nature to try to find an explanation for things that they do not understand. The ways of the people in the village of Umuofia seem far fetched, however, with the resources they had at the time they actually serve pretty good explanations to what happens in their village. For a profession would not be a profession without there being vast knowledge of that field. Because of the strange explanations of the village’s professionals at medicine, this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 18 July 2008
Entry Number: 17
Quote: “Ezinma went deeper and deeper and the crowd went with her. Then she suddenly turned around and began to walk back to the road…Ezinma led the way back to the road, looked left and right and turned right. And so they arrived home again. Page 82
This quote is very interesting for several reasons. The first of which is that the village of Umuofia actually believed that a little girl like Ezinma was some sort of a demon like creature that would only be born to die again. It is also very interesting, more so humorous, that the people of Umuofia followed Ezinma, who obviously had no idea what she was trying to look for, a long distance only to be back were they had started. It is even more so interesting that when Okonkwo was angry at her for leading them back where they started, the medicine man told him to keep quiet and actually thought that Ezinma knew where she was leading them to. This sort of situation is one where it proves the people of Umuofia’s beliefs wrong; however they kept on believing in their ways as if she knew what she was doing, and if their ways were never proven to be wrong. It is interesting how much they believe in their seemingly insane ways. But again everyone has to believe in something or else the world would be shrouded with mystery, and mystery scares people. It is even more so interesting that even though she had no idea where she was supposed to lead the crowd that followed her every move, she actually pointed them to a location in which held what they were looking for. Whether it is a coincidence or their ways actually proved to be correct, is disputable. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 18 July 2008
Entry Number: 18
Quote: “And then the egwugwu appeared. The women and children sent up a great shout and took to their heels. It was instinctive…And when, as on that day, nine of the greatest masked spirits in the clan came out together it was a terrifying spectacle.” Page 89
This quote is interesting for many reasons. First of which is that the people of the village seem to fear the egwugwu even though it is a part of their beliefs that they resolve conflict. The egwugwu seem to posses a grand amount of power and respect, although they are just the villagers in costumes impersonating to be the gods. Which makes it ridiculous to fear them for they are the same as other villagers and they only have power because the villagers worship them, for without the villagers believing in their power and consent from the actual gods they believe in, they are nothing but villagers playing make believe. For the reason why the villagers dress up as the gods is vague. Could it be to fuel their beliefs with “actual” proof that the gods they believe in exist? Or could it be their way of producing results of a scenario where there is conflict in a justified manner, such as our modern day court system. In which the judge is the villagers dressed as the egwugwu so they will have a presence of power and their word will not be undermined or questioned and the villagers present their case with evidence and discuss their stand point of the situation. Although their village has many differences superficially, this in fact would make their supposed “barbaric” civilization very close to the way we run our “advanced” civilization. Because of the way they run their village, this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 19 July 2008
Entry Number: 19
Quote: ‘“And then like the sound of his cannon he crashed on the compound…His shell broke into pieces. But there was a great medicine man in the neighborhood…he gathered all the bits of shell and stuck them together. That is why Tortoise’s shell is not smooth.”’ Page 99
This was interesting to read for several reasons. The first of which is that, although it was nice of that the family of Okonkwo was together having fun sharing stories, it was also very strange. Usually the family would only get together to eat or to do some work, but in this particular scenario, they all seemed happy and together like a typical modern family, meaning that maybe their ways aren’t so different than ours. On the most basic level, their family units are the same as a typical one from our time. The husband is in charge of bringing in the main income, while the mother works around the house, cooks, raises the children, and handles everything and anything else that needs to be done. I also found it very peculiar how when there is some sort of a problem, in this case it was the night as “black as charcoal”, families seem to come closer together. Such as when a member of that family dies, the entire family mourns over their death together. Cousins that haven’t seen each other are reunited, brothers and sisters that haven’t spoken are once again family, and the separation of that one member unites the rest of that family. Such as a when tying a bow, the end of the string that you pull goes further away from the loop, however the loop become stronger and more united. What was also interesting was that they also created stories to attempt to explain things such as many other people have. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting to read
Luis Acevedo
Date: 19 July 2008
Entry Number: 20
Quote: ‘“She will bring her back soon,’ Nwoye’s mother said. But Ekwefi did not here these consolations. She stood for a while, and then, all of a sudden, made up her mind. She hurried through Okonkwo’s hut and went outside… ‘I am following Chielo,’ she replied and disappeared in the darkness.” Page 103
There are many reasons why this particular quote was of interest to read. The first reason it was interesting is that this quote really shows the true bond between a mother and daughter. Even in this “barbaric” and “tribal” community there are bonds between people that cause them to do inexplicable, and sometimes insane, things for the ones they hold very dear and cherish. Throughout the entire novel the statement that the religion of the people and their beliefs was priority above everything else and that nothing opposed it held very firmly and nothing was ever more important. However because the one thing that was truly precious to Ekwefi was taken from her without further explanation other than Agbala, a god they believe in, requested her presence, she thought that this explanation did not suffice and was truly worried about her daughter so she went after her. Even though the night outside was pitch black, which the villagers were very afraid of, and it would be an ill omen to chase after her, she did because she was worried about her daughter. Against everything she feared, she still feared what would happen to her daughter more. Bonds between people do cause them to do things which one is incapable of explaining, even in this “barbaric” village that throughout the entire novel seemed to have no human affection for one another inside their family, and families only existed for conformity and survival. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 19 July 2008
Entry Number: 21
Quote: “As they stood there together, Ekwefi’s mind went back to the days when they were young. She had married Anene because Okonkwo was too poor then to marry. Two years after her marriage to Anene she could bear it no longer and she ran away to Okonkwo.” Page 109
There are several reasons for this quote to be striking. The first of which is that Okonkwo chased after Ekwefi who was chasing after Ezinma even though that would go against their beliefs and would put them in danger. After all of the cruel and unforgivable things he has done throughout the novel, the reader would have never expected for him to go after Ekwefi because of all the dangers that were included in following her. It is very strange indeed that Okonkwo would go after her, meaning that he truly cared for his daughter and wife, which is so unlike Okonkwo’s character, thus making it interesting to read. It is also interesting that Ekwefi would marry someone because they were financially secure, a scam that some women do now a day. Making it seem as thought the thought of marriage in the village is purely for conformity and nothing more. However this is somewhat disproved because even though she married Anene, she went back to Okonkwo because “she could bear it no longer”, meaning that maybe there are marriages that transcend conformity in the village of Umuofia; which makes it an interesting quote to read because one would be baffled to read that Okonkwo would truly care for one of his wives after all that he has done to them. Perhaps only one of the many marriages one has in the village is cause of emotion and the others are for comfort and stability. Those are the reasons why this quote was striking to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 20 July 2008
Entry Number: 22
Quote: “It was the day on which her suitor (having already paid the greater part of her bride-price) would bring palm-wine not only to her parents and immediate relatives but to the wide and extensive group of kinsmen called umunna.” Page 110
This quote was very interesting for one main reason which is once more once circulated on the very peculiar ways of the people of the village of Umuofia. In our modern day time and place, a bride is allowed to choose the person she is going to spend the rest of her life with, but here in tribal Umuofia, the brides are bought from the father of the bride by paying her “pride-price” and then customarily he brings palm-oil to celebrate then he takes the bride away to his father land; whether it is a better custom the way of the Umuofia, or the way that people are married now a day is disputable. On one hand, there will never be under population because there are more married couples that spawn children because once girls reach a certain age, they are married. Also, men wouldn’t have to try to impress the women and have to go on ridiculous activities to try to woo them. However, if they are not rich, they will probably die single, but now a day the financial income is only thing that is of importance when marrying, unless the marriage is false and the bride only wishes to mooch off of the husband figure. However, in the way of the Umuofia, the bride has no say in whether she would want to be married to the man that chooses her, so long as he pays her bride price. In the modern day and time, it is solely up to the women if she would want to marry the man that chooses her to be the one; both ways have their positives and negatives such as many things in life. Those are the reasons why this particular quote was interesting to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 20 July 2008
Entry Number: 23
Quote: “The first cock had not crowed, and Umuofia was still swallowed up in sleep and silence when the ekwe began to talk, and the cannon shattered the silence. Men stirred on their bamboo beds and listened anxiously. Somebody was dead.” Page 120
This quote struck me for several reasons. One of which was that the death of every man was declared in the village of Umuofia with a loud drum and the whole village knows of his death. Now a day the world is much less sympathetic and hardly anyone, if no one, besides the blood relatives, cares if a person has died. In this “barbaric” village, the people seem a lot more personable with their neighbors, while in modern day times, one is lucky to know their neighbors faces. What was truly interesting is that although these people don’t have technology as complex as we do now a day, the word of everything gets around relatively quickly. This drum was not merely a piece of instrument to pass the time; it was their broadcast of current events. If something had happened in the village that was of importance, the entire village was informed by the sound of a single drum, somewhat like our television sets and news programming, although that shrouds the truth sometimes. What was also interesting is that the men knew what each sound of the drum meant. To be able to remember such things one must retain a fairly big amount of sound and that would take quite the memory, although their minds are not tainted with modern television programming that televise unneeded broadcastings such as cartoons that only serve to distract the mind of necessary things. So undoubtedly the people of Umuofia are much more focused, which in a sense would make them more advanced. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 30 July 2008
Entry Number: 24
Quote: “The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land.” Page 124
There are various reasons why this quote was striking. The first reason is that accidents happen so unexpectedly and so quickly, but in that one instant can cause great tumult and completely change everything. It was interesting that after all the hard work that Okonkwo had put in, all the people he crushed on the way to getting his title and much respect from the entire village, he had to be cast away for seven years, because of tradition. It sometimes seems ridiculous what tradition makes people do, but without tradition, those people would be nothing. All their insane ways would be gone and they would be lost in confusion of not knowing, for it is in human nature to try to explain the inexplicable. It seemed so easy how Okonkwo had lost his title and was banished from the village that it almost seemed unreal. Mishaps had occurred in Okonkwo’s life, but nothing as severe as being banished from the village that he so greatly treasured. Although, it seemed as though it hardly had affected Okonkwo that all his hard work had been for naught. It also seemed ridiculous that Okonkwo’s house had to be destroyed, because he was going to come back after seven years, they weren’t going to kill him. I found it very humane that the family had to go with Okonkwo and that way they can remain a family, although his children and wives seemed reluctant to go with him. Those are the particular reasons why I found this quote to be interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 30 July 2008
Entry Number: 25
Quote: “Okonkwo was only a boy then and Uchendu still remembered him crying the traditional farewell: ‘Mother, mother, mother is going.’” Page 129
There are several reasons for why this quote was striking. The first reason is that it was interesting to learn more about Okonkwo’s past. It was also strange for the novel to depict him as a young boy, when throughout the entire novel he had been depicted as a strong and big man who hardly cared for others. Although this small portion of his past life explains a great ordeal about what he was in the present. It is reasonable that Okonkwo would be so harsh on everybody around him for his mother died when he was still young, and his father had to work a lot so he mainly had to teach himself everything and was never given any love. However, at such a young age Okonkwo was already very mature. He understood that his mother was gone but was not completely saddened; he knew that she had to leave sometime. He was also already bombarded by traditions and perhaps that also made him more mature for he understood life more, well according to their traditions he did, and knew how things worked. It is also interesting that at such a young age the people of the village are introduced to the traditions of the village. Perhaps his tumultuous childhood explained his later success; for he had nothing else but himself and his father, but he would always owed everyone money and was no success at all, so he was forced to grow up and do everything on his own thus enriching his life skills. Whether it’s worth having a rocky childhood like the one Okonkwo had in order to be successful is debatable. Because of his rough childhood, this particular quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 30 July 2008
Entry Number: 26
Quote: “‘You think you are the greatest sufferer in the world? Do you know that men are sometimes banished for life? Do you know that men sometimes lose all their yams and even their children? I had six wives once. I have none now except for that young girl who knows not her right from her left.’” Page 135
This particular quote was interesting for several reasons. The first of which is that this quote depicts that Okonkwo was really hurting that he was banished from his village. Of course he had every right to be angry and depressed for he spent his entire life to get recognition from that village and he lost it all in an instant. It is always interesting to see Okonkwo, the fearsome beast who has gone to war and killed, as a human. It is also interesting that this quote depicted all the pain that the world goes through, that makes ones own troubles seem insignificant and nothing to worry about. Seeing the grand scheme of things also makes ones self seem insignificant and ones accomplishments not even worthwhile. It was quite humorous when the man said “sometimes lose all their yams and even their children” as if the yams are so much more important that they had to be mentioned first, although if one lives in a place such as theirs, food would be more important than children, for food replenishes ones strength and children are just more mouths to feed. It was also interesting that Uchendu would say such a thing that he lost everything he had, for that shows the hardships that one has to go through in life. Lastly, it was interesting that even though Uchendu was complaining that he only had that one wife that wasn’t very bright, but he still married her! Perhaps he married her for sheer pleasure, but it was interesting that even though she’s not very bright, she survived longer than the rest. Those are the reasons why this particular quote was interesting
Luis Acevedo
Date: 30 July 2008
Entry Number: 27
Quote: “‘Their clan is now completely empty. Even the sacred fish in their mysterious lake have fled and the lake has turned the color of blood. A great evil has come upon their land as the Oracle had warned.’” Page 140
There are many reasons for why this quote was striking. The first of which is that Okonkwo, Obierika, and Uchendu were talking about this unfortunate mishap as if it were nothing at all. An entire clan was wiped out and they can still sit there eating their kola nut nonchalantly. Whether that makes them strong men or just plain uncaring is debatable. It was also interesting that Obierika had visited Okonkwo in his time of exile, meaning that although Okonkwo was feared by many, he had one true friend that helped him in his time of need, and that shows that human relationships transcend time. It was surprising that an entire village was destroyed over night. A massive sheer force would have been needed for that to be accomplished, but somehow it was done. Although Okonkwo, Obierika, and Uchendu thought that it was the village’s fault because they had killed the white man that their village was killed, it is also reasonable that they killed him, for he was someone no one knew, so they were scared because it was something new, and quite possibly a threat. Finally it this quote was interesting because the Oracle had warned them that that would happen, meaning that their ways were true and that their beliefs were the actual way things work, or it could have been a huge coincidence; although one like the destruction of an entire village is too big to be a mere coincidence and one would lean to the ways of the villagers after witnessing the power of the Oracle. Those are the reasons why I found this particular quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 31 July 2008
Entry Number: 28
Quote: “Okonkwo’s first wife soon finished her cooking and set before their guests a big mean of pounded yams and bitter-leaf soup. Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, brought in a pot of sweet wine tapped from the raffia palm.” Page 141
This particular quote struck me for several reasons. The first reason it struck me is because of the ways of the people in that time. There, the entire family, excluding the father, had to help set up the table and dinner. The people in this time are the ones supposed to be barbaric yet the family all contributes to daily tasks. Nowadays, all the children in a family are either forced to help and reluctantly do it, or the mother has to do all the work. This generation is so pampered that we even complain when doing common tasks such as take out our own garbage or clean our own room. Although they are supposed to be barbaric, the people from Okonkwo’s time seem more orderly and know their place. Their children aren’t told to do something, or complain whilst they do it, but they do something because they know they have to do it, and are neither reluctant, nor angry whilst doing it. Their system of getting things done is so much more advanced than our modern family units, for the most part. Also although they got everything done in an orderly and timely manner, their end products don’t seem so replenishing and satisfactory to a modern day man. However, although they don’t have very tasteful food, they do get through every day in such a desolate place. For the amount of resources the people of that time have, a bitter-leaf soup, some wine, and pounded yams are the caviar of modern day time. Because of the family ways of the people of that time, this quote was made interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 31 July 2008
Entry Number: 29
Quote: “The missionaries had come to Umuofia. They had built their church there, won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages. That was a source of great sorrow to the leaders of the clan.” Page 143
This quote was very striking for several reasons. The first of which is that it is interesting that Obierika, Uchendu, and Okonkwo were first speeking of the village that had been destroyed by the missionaries nonchalantly and really didn’t care about the destruction of that village, and even called them fools. However, now that the conflict had finally slung itself upon them, they care. It seems that all throughout time, people never really care for the problems of others until it becomes their own. Whether it serves Okonkwo and Umuofia’s people right, because of their cruel words about the destruction of the other village, is definitely debatable, or if it was karma, or some kind of god was that was punishing them and caused them ill fortune, is debatable as well. However, what holds true is that people are truly selfish and self centered, only caring about their own problems and never asking if they can help others in their time of need. What was also striking is that a great village like Umuofia can be infected with the virus that had infected the other villages. The people of Umuofia always seemed to be really devoted to their traditional ways and their beliefs was the only thing fueling them throughout the day, but suddenly several of the members converted to another unheard of, new, religion. This was very striking for the people of Umuofia had held their ways and beliefs above everything else, and because of their beliefs, their overall downfall had been put in action; if Okonkwo would’ve been there, he would not have stood this new religion and would’ve definitely done something to try to stop it. Those are the reasons why this quote was striking.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 31 July 2008
Entry Number: 30
Quote: “‘All the gods you have named are not gods at all. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children. There is only one true God and He has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us”’ Page 146
This particular quote was interesting for several reasons. The first reason it was of interest is because of the battle of religions that is currently going on in the novel. Throughout the novel the reader was only introduced into the ways and beliefs of the people of Umuofia and because of the conflict-resolution that every novel takes, these ways were somewhat proven to be true. However, now there is a single antigen that wants to destroy all of the people’s beliefs. Of course, this would definitely result in a battle of whose religion holds true. In modern day and time there are myriads of debates and quarrels about who’s religion is true, but one can never prove that their religion is The correct religion. Religions are just things to try to explain the creation of the universe, why things happen, and what happens after death. Religions are things that give people hope, thus they hold on as tightly as possible, hoping that they’ve prayed enough, were nice enough, or did things that are customarily in their religion, correctly. It is ridiculous to try to say that someone else’s religion is wrong, like the Christian preacher did here, because there is no right or wrong way to believe in something. There is also no definite and solid evidence on any one religion, so they are not at liberty to say that they are correct and that one has cast his entire life away to fake gods, or empty beliefs about something that was entirely made up, because if they believe it exists, and makes sense in the world that we cohabitate, then there is no disproving them.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 31 July 2008
Entry Number: 31
Quote: “In it were buried all those who died of the really evil diseases, like leprosy and smallpox. It was also the dumping ground for the potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. An “evil forest” was, therefore, alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness. It was such a forest that the rulers of Mbanta gave to the missionaries. Page 149
This particular quote struck me for several reasons. The first of which is how cruel the people of these villagers were; for because someone was ill with some horrible disease, they thought that they didn’t deserve a proper burial and just threw them aside in the “evil forest.” If one is so unfortunate to fall ill of a disease that has no known cures, they are exiled from society, for fear of contagion and because they are different, and lead horrible lives. At least one with a disease can say that they will have a proper burial, but no, the people of the villages in the novel take that away from them. They neither have a good life, nor a good death; although, in this time period and with their resources, it would be smart to cast away all those who have the disease for the sake of village’s well being. Surely however, since the people are bombarded by the traditions in the village, the ones cast away into the “evil forest” understand that it is for the well-being of the entire village and most likely accept their disgraceful burial into a land of great fear. What was also interesting here is that the beliefs of the people are based on some kind of truth. The “sinister forces and powers of darkness” only exist in the people’s hearts because of the diseases of those that were buried there. It was also interesting how evil the people of Mbanta can be, for they gave the Christians some land of that forsaken and evil place for them to build their spiritual sanctity, yet the Christians were not at all in the least bit worried, for they didn’t believe that the forest held evil forces, therefore they didn’t exist. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 01 August 2008
Entry Number: 32
Quote: “‘Let us not reason like cowards,’ said Okonkwo. ‘If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? Do I shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head. That is what a man does.” Page 158
There are several reasons why this quote was interesting. The first of which is Okonkwo’s everlasting humor, although it is a bit cruel. Okonkwo has always been a very aggressive man, however he did this because he didn’t want to seem weak, and one does this by being aggressive and he was especially aggressive and brutal because he lived in a very “strong” village, however the village seems to be weak because they didn’t want start any quarrels with the Christians. Although the village has always been depicted as a hasty village to start fights, this time they seem to recede from any violence and that was very strange indeed. Throughout the entire novel Okonkwo was depicted as one that was cruel and quick to fight, and that always seemed unfair and oppressed his family, however, this time his ways of waging a quick war seem to be correct for the current situation. The Christians are getting more and more converts and quickly gaining power and authority within the village and seem to be a great threat. In order to get rid of a problem, it must be eliminated as soon as possible, before it becomes too great of a problem where there is no longer a remedy. However, Okonkwo’s scenario of a man defecating in his house was a tad bit too cruel, but it was necessary in order to open the villagers’ eyes. However that attempt proved to be in vain for the villagers still wanted to live in peace among them. The Christians, in this situation, are like a single cell amoeba that will multiply and eventually take over the entire village, for they proved to be perseverant when they established their church in the “evil forest”, although not really evil, building your place of worship and actually having converts in that forsaken place, proves that they will not give up so easily. Those are the reasons why this quote was of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 04 August 2008
Entry Number: 33
Quote: “Seven years was a long time to be away from one’s clan. A man’s place was not always there, waiting for him. As soon as he left, someone else rose and filled it. The clan was like a lizard; if it lost its tail it soon grew another.” Page 171
There are several reasons for this quote to be interesting. The first of the reasons is that the seven years of exile that Okonkwo was put through was finally over and he could finally go back home. The tone is much more upbeat, for Okonkwo will finally be reunited with the village that he held so dearly. However, this tone is somewhat derailed with this sentence for there is a sense of anxiety and misplacement. It is interesting how the clan repairs each of its losses with another. This seems very efficient for the clan will always have enough people for it to be strong and prosperous; however, if the man that replaces the lost one is not as strong physically or mentally, say “a bad tail”, then there is a major flaw in the system and that loss can be a drastic one. Although it’s interesting how Okonkwo was in “exile” and he was so depressed that he lost his beloved village, however, he was treated very nicely and was with loved ones, so the punishment was not so much of a punishment unless one lets it be. Okonkwo could have lived prosperously if he had not been so depressed and full of sorrow. He could have done so much, but because he lost his precious title, he was dismayed and decided not to do anything that would be good for him. It’s the thought of being disconnected from something that one held so dear that makes one feel out of place, for not many enjoy new things and would much rather continue the same routinely process living the same lives, and that holds true today. Those are the reasons why this quote was interesting to read.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 04 August 2008
Entry Number: 34
Quote: “But apart from the church, the white men had also brought a government. They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance. He had court messengers came from Umuru on the bank of the Great River…” Page 174
This quote was interesting for many reasons. The first of which would be how successful and witty “the white men” are. They had everything planned out how they would take control. First they implement their new0 happy, prosperous religion in which all are equal and accepted. This catches the people of the village’s attentions and sees the “white men” as good and noble people. Thus the “white men” capture the masses hearts and that way they are under their control, and are perceptible to new ideas since they have already adapted their new religion in which is so different from their past religion. Then, when they have captured their hearts, their minds and ways are so easily manipulated. The “white men” then deploy their plot to control the people’s ways in their village and their laws, deploying their new government. They thus are in control of the people’s hearts and actions. The “white men” are very clever indeed to plot the capturing and recruitment of the villagers. This is very interesting how religion was manipulated in order to capture the masses and control their thoughts and beliefs, and this has happened many times throughout history. It was interesting how many people from the village can just drop their old beliefs, in which they were bombarded with their entire lives, and just start on an unknown religion that is very different than their previous one, almost unbelievable. They held their thoughts and beliefs above everything else and for some to change their ways because some strange man gives them promises of greatness, truly is striking. Those are the reasons why this particular quote was interesting.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 04 August 2008
Entry Number: 35
Quote: “In this way Mr. Brown learned a good deal about the religion of the clan and he came to the conclusion that a frontal attack on it would not succeed. And so he built a school and a little hospital in Umuofia. He went from family to family begging people to send their children to his school.” Page 181
There are several reasons why this quote was striking. The first reason is because of how witty Mr. Brown is. Instead of just blindly going into battle, he studies the enemy and evaluates the best form of attack on how to conquer his formidable foe. This proves to be very witty for he doesn’t scared the people away with a front head-on attack, but instead curves his attack and makes it seem like its much a better change from their old ways. Mr. Brown, instead of forcing the villagers to change their ways and obviously receive opposition, he hands them out gifts and promises. He tells everyone that if they change their ways, then He will forgive them, and that He will accept anyone, and that all are equals under Him. For the people of Umuofia, this would sound very tempting, for there are those with a title, and those without one, and those without one are not seen as equal to those with one and are looked down upon by those with a title, so to be able to live in a society were everyone is equal is a grand opportunity that one must act on quickly. It was very interesting how Mr. Brown took the time to study them and use their own religion against them in the battle to persuade for conversion. He would speak of his god and interpret it by using their gods in such a way that the people would understand. This move was very witty indeed, although many at first were still reluctant to change, with such a plan of attack, the strongest of wills can be conquered. Those are the reasons why I found this quote to be of interest.
Luis Acevedo
Date: 04 August 2008
Entry Number: 36
Quote: “In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body.” Page 204
“Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead.” Page 207
There are several reasons for why these quotes were striking. The first of which is that Okonkwo finally took his course of action where he would fight back against “the white men” and he killed a messenger. It was very surprising that Okonkwo would do that so suddenly and what was even more striking, the reaction of the villagers. Umuofia was always depicted as a very strong village, yet they did nothing. Instead of praising him for getting rid of such an abomination, they scorned him, instead of getting their arms and finally driving back the virus that was “the white men” and their new religion, they stood there. Okonkwo had given them the perfect opportunity in which they could drive back that virus, yet they were reluctant to do it. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo had been depicted as one who was quick to start fights, yet in this scenario, that was what was needed to be done, yet the villagers didn’t see that. The most surprising thing is that there is a force so tremendous in the novel that would cause Okonkwo to hang himself. Okonkwo was always a strong man, who feared none, yet he hung himself; going against all their beliefs, which he held more important than anything else, knowing that he would not be buried and that he would be labeled as a coward. Okonkwo was impressive, for he knew that his village was not the village he once loved and that it would never be. Because of a single antigen, his world fell apart. Those are the reasons why these quotes were of interest.
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