Entry 4
"Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father." (p. 16)
It says more then once tin the story that Okonkwo was revered for his achievements, and is very popular among his people. Even though he started out with nothing, since his father was a wreck, he was able to create something from nothing and become someone great in his village. This shows that Okonkwo is a very hardworking person, and can easily become very successful in his life. The fact that he has even exceeded other men of his age is even more surprising, since he started out with less then all of them. However, in a way, I can understand why he would have the drive to succeed, since he has a deep fear of becoming like his father, and would probably work extremely hard to prevent that from happening.
Entry 5
"Some farmers had not planted their yams yet. They were the lazy easy-going ones who always put off clearing their farms as long as they could." (p. 23)
I was a bit mad at how the lazy ones end up being the ones to win in the end. I felt that Okonkwo deserved to get the crops, since he did the most work out of all of them, but even though he did, he still ended up losing all of his crops. Also, this shows me that this book doesn't portray the usual story-tale morals, with this incident being a complete opposite of the Ant and the Grasshopper story. In this scenario, the hard-working character loses when he is compared to that of the lazy characters. Also, I am curious as to what Nwakibie would think of Okonkwo, seeing as he put his trust in Okonkwo's ability, and he's one of the only people to lose all his yams.
Entry 6
"And when she returned he beat her very heavily" (p. 29)
I was a bit surprised to read that Okonkwo beat his wife, not just because it was in a time where there was supposed to be peace, but even more so because beating your wives aren't accepted in western cultures. It is interesting to me how two different societies can have such different views on subjects such as this. Also, it perplexes me why Okonkwo would get married to her in the first place if he would be angry enough to beat her. Okonkwo hitting her in the Week of Peace shows that he probably doesn't like to follow the rules very often, and is not very fearful of consequences.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Things Fall Apart Journals - 14 June 2008 (Week 1)
Entry 1
"He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe." (Page. 4)
This sentence invoked a feeling of curiosity in me of the culture of Okonkwo. I was surprised to read that he had multiple wives, a concept that western societies have all but eradicated in their culture. I was also surprised to read that Okonkwo had multiple houses for his wives and children, which caused me to inquire whether everybody in his society had multiple houses, or was it just the wealthy who could afford added luxury. I was also curious as to whether each wife had her own house, or if Okonkwo just had several and spread his spouses evenly among them.
Entry 2
"Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him? Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father." (Page. 8)
Reading this made me realize that, in this culture, if someone does something shameful, it would be normal to be ashamed of that person, even if it was someone as close to you as your father. Also, it said that people were judged according to their own skills other then that of their father, so I believe that their culture wants little to do with their roots or ancestral past. In the book, Okonkwo's father is described to be very shameful, and it is apparent that Okonkwo dislikes his father and doesn't want to live a life like he did.
Entry 3
"Umuofia was feared by all its neighbors. It was powerful in war and in magic, and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country." (Page. 11)
It is obvious that the society described in this book are very superstitious, saying that surrounding tribes were scared of Umuofia's magic. It is also very apparent that the people in this book don't have technology and the setting is either in the past, or in some hidden villages away from modern society. It seems that their rule is decided mainly by power and potential in war, and has little to do with intelligence. Although their society seems to be a bit crude in modern society's eyes, I have noticed that a person in the village, as an insult, called the his enemies "sons of wild animals", showing that they still have somewhat of a code of how to behave and rules as to how one should act.
"He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe." (Page. 4)
This sentence invoked a feeling of curiosity in me of the culture of Okonkwo. I was surprised to read that he had multiple wives, a concept that western societies have all but eradicated in their culture. I was also surprised to read that Okonkwo had multiple houses for his wives and children, which caused me to inquire whether everybody in his society had multiple houses, or was it just the wealthy who could afford added luxury. I was also curious as to whether each wife had her own house, or if Okonkwo just had several and spread his spouses evenly among them.
Entry 2
"Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him? Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father." (Page. 8)
Reading this made me realize that, in this culture, if someone does something shameful, it would be normal to be ashamed of that person, even if it was someone as close to you as your father. Also, it said that people were judged according to their own skills other then that of their father, so I believe that their culture wants little to do with their roots or ancestral past. In the book, Okonkwo's father is described to be very shameful, and it is apparent that Okonkwo dislikes his father and doesn't want to live a life like he did.
Entry 3
"Umuofia was feared by all its neighbors. It was powerful in war and in magic, and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country." (Page. 11)
It is obvious that the society described in this book are very superstitious, saying that surrounding tribes were scared of Umuofia's magic. It is also very apparent that the people in this book don't have technology and the setting is either in the past, or in some hidden villages away from modern society. It seems that their rule is decided mainly by power and potential in war, and has little to do with intelligence. Although their society seems to be a bit crude in modern society's eyes, I have noticed that a person in the village, as an insult, called the his enemies "sons of wild animals", showing that they still have somewhat of a code of how to behave and rules as to how one should act.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)