Date: August 19, 2007
Entery Number: 27
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 108,112
It's so awesome. Even though Okonkwo isn't a man of very many words and doesn't show weakness, or tries not to, and thinks gentleness and kindness is weak, he is an alright guy very deep down inside. After Ekwefi went to go after Chielo and Ezinma, Okonkwo went to the hills and the caves to be with Ekwefi or tell her to go home but they weren't there so he went back home and waited. He came back three other times and it was not until the fourth time that Ekwefi had shown up. By then he was gravely worried. He didn't show it at all but he was. Then he offered to stay and what for Chielo and Ezinma to come out while she went back home to get some sleep but she stayed too. He didn't get any sleep that night because he was worried. I find that pretty cute. Out of all the stuff that he had done in the book, that was the nicest and the most that is shown of his softer kinder side. Okonkwo may not be as bad as he pretends to be.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007
Essay Number Two- Impacts on My Life
Rebecca Martinez
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
16 August 2007
Impacts On My Life
The way people live, their surroundings, their family history, and their memories all have an affect on people and the way they turn out later in life. When people live in bad neighborhoods and have had unpleasant past experiences and memories from when they were younger, they generally turn out meaner and tougher, partially because they have to or they might get hurt or killed. They may see things that a person living in a good neighborhood with a past full of happiness and not much pain, might not see. Family history has impacts on the way people live too. Just look at Ben and Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet. Their families were enemies and so they were enemies and constantly fighting. Peoples’ surroundings, history, and memories all help to mold the person they will become. This includes everyone and excludes none. My geography, family history, and memories have shaped me and will continue to shape my character throughout my life.
My geography, which is to say, my surroundings, have had an impact on my life greatly. Due to my Dad being in farming, I have lived in the country all my life surrounded by fields; able to see the stars always and away from the city noises. When I lived in Sanger my house was surrounded by orange trees and grape vineyards which I used to go running through. I lived there until I was four, and then moved to Gustine where I was surrounded by a tomato field which I secretly picked a few tomatoes from, and then there was a cotton field across the street where I tried to pick a piece of cotton and got my fingers scratched. Then I moved to Crowslanding where I am surrounded by alfalfa fields and sometimes corn fields. We have a “junk yard” which isn’t a real junk yard but it is filled with broken tractors and other tractor parts that my cousins and I used to play in and on. Living in the country you are rather isolated and because of that isolation and not being able to hang out with friends all the time, you gain a stronger bond with your family. Also, particularly in my family, shopping wasn’t something you did everyday. Shopping for me and my family was some what a luxury. When we did go shopping we went to thrift stores. (That happened more so when I was younger and my family wasn’t doing so well financially.) We never got name brand clothes or shoes not unless they were given to us by a wealthier friend. All these things have shaped me into a person who doesn’t care so much about the best name brand clothes or hanging out with friends every single day and if I don’t I’ll get depressed, which I find rather pathetic, and I have learned from my experiences. I don’t need my friends with me all the time; I’m independent mostly but the company of friends is nice once and a while. Being “isolated” from other people has taught me a ton like finding my talents and I have learned to appreciate the beauty of the country too. Right now I live with in about two hours of Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Fresno. So it’s pretty cool when we get to go to the beach, or go to old town Sac, or to the Exploratorium, or down to see my cousins who mostly all live in Fresno. Because of my geography, near and far, and the places where I have and do live, and the conditions I’ve lived in, it has been an impact on my life and allowed me to do things I wouldn’t have been able to do if I had lived anywhere else. For a kid, living in the country is great. It gives you many great benefits and great opportunities to do stuff that you really can’t do in the city like running around, yelling and screaming at the top of your lungs, and having the music turned up on full blast. I would be a lot different if I had lived in a big city and I would probably have a negative attitude about living in the country. Also living in the country seems to humble people and give them simpler values. People are able to lead a calmer life than if they were constantly surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. I think that it is partially where some gain a calmer side to them but it could also be a contributing factor to why some who live in the country can get a little crazy too, being out here away from friends and stores. But living in the beautiful country and living about two hours away from a lot of things has definitely had an impact on my life and shaped my character.
My family history is very important to me and has impacted me. I have ancestors who were persecuted because of their religious beliefs, my ancestor Thomas Tidwell, on my mom’s side, is one who I am especially proud of. He was in the Mormon Battalion and did drills with the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. He also helped many cross the Mississippi river with his brothers when the saints were being driven out of their homes and starting on their long trek west. Thomas Tidwell is one of my heroes. To be that close to the Prophet, to do drills with him, to be led by him by the hand of the Lord, that just amazes me. It gives me a sense of pride but I can not really and fully explain why. But it has impacted me greatly. My granny, when she was a young girl she didn’t go to church much but then she went to live with my great, great grandma and she became more active and the rest of her sisters fell away from the church. So I am really thankful for my great, great grandma Jensen or else I wouldn’t be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My Mexican heritage is also very important to me too. My grandparents always worked hard in the fields and took pride in the little they had. With out my grandpa’s desire to come to the United States, I wouldn’t be here today and wouldn’t have met any of my friends and wouldn’t have any of the wonderful things in my life that affect me, inspire me, or give me courage. Nothing would be the same. My parents would have never met. There would be no Rebecca Martinez or any of my other sisters. For my grandpa, I am truly thankful. My family history is very important to me and has impacted me in many different ways and given me a sense of gratitude.
My memories will always have an impact on me. I can remember my dad separating harmful snakes from the helpful ones while I was living in Sanger. I remember having my cousins come over almost everyday and the fun that we had growing up together until we moved. I remember wandering to far from my mom in the grocery store and getting lost. I remember my dad taking me by the hand, leading me to a great big tree, and telling me that that was going to be my tree and I had to water it everyday or else it would die. I remember when my sister taught me how to tie my shoes and how proud I was even though it was the simplest way of tying shoes. I remember stepping in an ant hill of red ants with flip flops on and being bitten all up and down my legs and on my feet. I remember when my sister Rachel got the chicken pox, then I got them, and then my younger sister Alisia got them and I wished that they wouldn’t itch so much and just hurry up and go away. I remember when my dog had puppies and we couldn’t touch them for a while or else they might get sick. I remember having fun with my cousins making mud pies, club houses, and climbing haystacks. I remember having to help my handicapped aunt with lots of things, like using the restroom, helping her get into her wheel chair, reminding her of things she’d forgotten within the last fifteen to thirty minutes, sometimes less, and many other things too. I remember being punched in the stomach for dragging my little sister closer to a spider that never existed. I remember almost drowning in the deep end of a pool because I took my sister’s ball and she got mad and wanted it back. Everything I remember has a lesson to it. They all taught me something and I gained knowledge from them. And because those memories taught me knowledge they had different impacts on me like learning never to do certain things again or else something bad would happen or just to have fun and make more memories with those you care about. My memories have definitely helped to shape my character.
Because of my past experiences, the places I’ve lived, and my family history, I have grown to love the country, my surroundings, and the location where I am. I have grown to love my religion even more because of my ancestors and appreciate the sacrifices they had to make, both a couple hundred years ago and maybe just seventy years ago. I love that we can remember and learn from our mistakes and the impact it can have on us can be gigantic or very small. I hope I will always be able to remember the lessons that I was taught when I was younger, always appreciate the things that people have done for me and things that benefit me, and love the land that I was born into. Through all these things I have learned simple values like gratitude, how to get along with my sisters most of the time, patience, learning to place myself in other people’s position and become a more understanding person, and not to care too much about nice clothes or what others may think. I have learned so much throughout my short fifteen years of life and the values I have learned I will carry with me throughout my life and implement them daily. I wonder, though, when I grow up, get married, and have kids will they get any of the same values out of where we will be living and the life style we will live in, like I did when I was young, or will they be really picky and care what the world thinks and forget about the good valued lessons they could be learning?
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
16 August 2007
Impacts On My Life
The way people live, their surroundings, their family history, and their memories all have an affect on people and the way they turn out later in life. When people live in bad neighborhoods and have had unpleasant past experiences and memories from when they were younger, they generally turn out meaner and tougher, partially because they have to or they might get hurt or killed. They may see things that a person living in a good neighborhood with a past full of happiness and not much pain, might not see. Family history has impacts on the way people live too. Just look at Ben and Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet. Their families were enemies and so they were enemies and constantly fighting. Peoples’ surroundings, history, and memories all help to mold the person they will become. This includes everyone and excludes none. My geography, family history, and memories have shaped me and will continue to shape my character throughout my life.
My geography, which is to say, my surroundings, have had an impact on my life greatly. Due to my Dad being in farming, I have lived in the country all my life surrounded by fields; able to see the stars always and away from the city noises. When I lived in Sanger my house was surrounded by orange trees and grape vineyards which I used to go running through. I lived there until I was four, and then moved to Gustine where I was surrounded by a tomato field which I secretly picked a few tomatoes from, and then there was a cotton field across the street where I tried to pick a piece of cotton and got my fingers scratched. Then I moved to Crowslanding where I am surrounded by alfalfa fields and sometimes corn fields. We have a “junk yard” which isn’t a real junk yard but it is filled with broken tractors and other tractor parts that my cousins and I used to play in and on. Living in the country you are rather isolated and because of that isolation and not being able to hang out with friends all the time, you gain a stronger bond with your family. Also, particularly in my family, shopping wasn’t something you did everyday. Shopping for me and my family was some what a luxury. When we did go shopping we went to thrift stores. (That happened more so when I was younger and my family wasn’t doing so well financially.) We never got name brand clothes or shoes not unless they were given to us by a wealthier friend. All these things have shaped me into a person who doesn’t care so much about the best name brand clothes or hanging out with friends every single day and if I don’t I’ll get depressed, which I find rather pathetic, and I have learned from my experiences. I don’t need my friends with me all the time; I’m independent mostly but the company of friends is nice once and a while. Being “isolated” from other people has taught me a ton like finding my talents and I have learned to appreciate the beauty of the country too. Right now I live with in about two hours of Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Fresno. So it’s pretty cool when we get to go to the beach, or go to old town Sac, or to the Exploratorium, or down to see my cousins who mostly all live in Fresno. Because of my geography, near and far, and the places where I have and do live, and the conditions I’ve lived in, it has been an impact on my life and allowed me to do things I wouldn’t have been able to do if I had lived anywhere else. For a kid, living in the country is great. It gives you many great benefits and great opportunities to do stuff that you really can’t do in the city like running around, yelling and screaming at the top of your lungs, and having the music turned up on full blast. I would be a lot different if I had lived in a big city and I would probably have a negative attitude about living in the country. Also living in the country seems to humble people and give them simpler values. People are able to lead a calmer life than if they were constantly surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. I think that it is partially where some gain a calmer side to them but it could also be a contributing factor to why some who live in the country can get a little crazy too, being out here away from friends and stores. But living in the beautiful country and living about two hours away from a lot of things has definitely had an impact on my life and shaped my character.
My family history is very important to me and has impacted me. I have ancestors who were persecuted because of their religious beliefs, my ancestor Thomas Tidwell, on my mom’s side, is one who I am especially proud of. He was in the Mormon Battalion and did drills with the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. He also helped many cross the Mississippi river with his brothers when the saints were being driven out of their homes and starting on their long trek west. Thomas Tidwell is one of my heroes. To be that close to the Prophet, to do drills with him, to be led by him by the hand of the Lord, that just amazes me. It gives me a sense of pride but I can not really and fully explain why. But it has impacted me greatly. My granny, when she was a young girl she didn’t go to church much but then she went to live with my great, great grandma and she became more active and the rest of her sisters fell away from the church. So I am really thankful for my great, great grandma Jensen or else I wouldn’t be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My Mexican heritage is also very important to me too. My grandparents always worked hard in the fields and took pride in the little they had. With out my grandpa’s desire to come to the United States, I wouldn’t be here today and wouldn’t have met any of my friends and wouldn’t have any of the wonderful things in my life that affect me, inspire me, or give me courage. Nothing would be the same. My parents would have never met. There would be no Rebecca Martinez or any of my other sisters. For my grandpa, I am truly thankful. My family history is very important to me and has impacted me in many different ways and given me a sense of gratitude.
My memories will always have an impact on me. I can remember my dad separating harmful snakes from the helpful ones while I was living in Sanger. I remember having my cousins come over almost everyday and the fun that we had growing up together until we moved. I remember wandering to far from my mom in the grocery store and getting lost. I remember my dad taking me by the hand, leading me to a great big tree, and telling me that that was going to be my tree and I had to water it everyday or else it would die. I remember when my sister taught me how to tie my shoes and how proud I was even though it was the simplest way of tying shoes. I remember stepping in an ant hill of red ants with flip flops on and being bitten all up and down my legs and on my feet. I remember when my sister Rachel got the chicken pox, then I got them, and then my younger sister Alisia got them and I wished that they wouldn’t itch so much and just hurry up and go away. I remember when my dog had puppies and we couldn’t touch them for a while or else they might get sick. I remember having fun with my cousins making mud pies, club houses, and climbing haystacks. I remember having to help my handicapped aunt with lots of things, like using the restroom, helping her get into her wheel chair, reminding her of things she’d forgotten within the last fifteen to thirty minutes, sometimes less, and many other things too. I remember being punched in the stomach for dragging my little sister closer to a spider that never existed. I remember almost drowning in the deep end of a pool because I took my sister’s ball and she got mad and wanted it back. Everything I remember has a lesson to it. They all taught me something and I gained knowledge from them. And because those memories taught me knowledge they had different impacts on me like learning never to do certain things again or else something bad would happen or just to have fun and make more memories with those you care about. My memories have definitely helped to shape my character.
Because of my past experiences, the places I’ve lived, and my family history, I have grown to love the country, my surroundings, and the location where I am. I have grown to love my religion even more because of my ancestors and appreciate the sacrifices they had to make, both a couple hundred years ago and maybe just seventy years ago. I love that we can remember and learn from our mistakes and the impact it can have on us can be gigantic or very small. I hope I will always be able to remember the lessons that I was taught when I was younger, always appreciate the things that people have done for me and things that benefit me, and love the land that I was born into. Through all these things I have learned simple values like gratitude, how to get along with my sisters most of the time, patience, learning to place myself in other people’s position and become a more understanding person, and not to care too much about nice clothes or what others may think. I have learned so much throughout my short fifteen years of life and the values I have learned I will carry with me throughout my life and implement them daily. I wonder, though, when I grow up, get married, and have kids will they get any of the same values out of where we will be living and the life style we will live in, like I did when I was young, or will they be really picky and care what the world thinks and forget about the good valued lessons they could be learning?
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Journal Entery
Date: August 15, 2007
Entery Number: 26
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 102, 140
It is so interesting. After Ezinma was taken by Chielo, Ekwefi stood there and heard her daughter calling for her but she couldn't do anything about it really. The author compares her to a hen whose only chick had been carried away by a kite. Ekwefi tried to stay with Ezinma and tried to keep her close to her but was not allowed to go with and she knew it was pointless to really try so she went to consoling Ezinma who was crying basically. It's interesting though because later on in the story they use this analogy again. Little kite went to get something for her and her mom to eat and she came back with a duckling. Mother kite asked what did the mother say when you took her duckling and young kite answered she said nothing. Mother kite told her to take it back, there was something onimous behind her silence. So she did and brought back a chick. Her mother asked what did its mother do when you took it away. Little kite answer it yelled and it cried and it cursed. Mother kite then said it was safe to eat because there was nothing to fear from one who shouts. It just struck me as I reread it. It was just so interesting.
Entery Number: 26
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 102, 140
It is so interesting. After Ezinma was taken by Chielo, Ekwefi stood there and heard her daughter calling for her but she couldn't do anything about it really. The author compares her to a hen whose only chick had been carried away by a kite. Ekwefi tried to stay with Ezinma and tried to keep her close to her but was not allowed to go with and she knew it was pointless to really try so she went to consoling Ezinma who was crying basically. It's interesting though because later on in the story they use this analogy again. Little kite went to get something for her and her mom to eat and she came back with a duckling. Mother kite asked what did the mother say when you took her duckling and young kite answered she said nothing. Mother kite told her to take it back, there was something onimous behind her silence. So she did and brought back a chick. Her mother asked what did its mother do when you took it away. Little kite answer it yelled and it cried and it cursed. Mother kite then said it was safe to eat because there was nothing to fear from one who shouts. It just struck me as I reread it. It was just so interesting.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Journal Entery
Date: August 12, 2007
Entery Number: 25
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 100-101
It is so creepy when Agbala kind of takes over Chielo's body. She kind of goes pyscho. If I were her friend or even her sister, I would be really freaked out when that happens. It would be even scarier if you were her friend and one night, very late at night, she came for your daughter. That's what happened to Ekewfi. When the possessed Chielo came to Okonkwo's hut, he tried to get her to go away and come back in the morning. She basically said don't take back and BEWARE which was kind of creepy. Ekwefi wanted to come with because it was late at nigh, Ezinma was her only child, and Chielo wanted to take Ezinma to Agbala's house in the mountains. But she was told no. If I were Ezinma's mother I would have been really scared and very reluctant to give her up and let Agbala Chielo take her for who knows how long. Even just ready about everything is creepy.
Entery Number: 25
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 100-101
It is so creepy when Agbala kind of takes over Chielo's body. She kind of goes pyscho. If I were her friend or even her sister, I would be really freaked out when that happens. It would be even scarier if you were her friend and one night, very late at night, she came for your daughter. That's what happened to Ekewfi. When the possessed Chielo came to Okonkwo's hut, he tried to get her to go away and come back in the morning. She basically said don't take back and BEWARE which was kind of creepy. Ekwefi wanted to come with because it was late at nigh, Ezinma was her only child, and Chielo wanted to take Ezinma to Agbala's house in the mountains. But she was told no. If I were Ezinma's mother I would have been really scared and very reluctant to give her up and let Agbala Chielo take her for who knows how long. Even just ready about everything is creepy.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Rebecca Martinez
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
8 August 2007
Things Fall Apart
Most cultural people are proud of their family, heritage, memories, language, and lives. They respect it and stand up for it. They take joy in being who they are and try to stay close to their background as the rest of the world changes around them. A person similar to this would be Chinua Achebe. Through his book Things Fall Apart, you can see that he valued his heritage. Even though he wasn’t born in the 1800’s he still saw some of the effects of the evangelical missionaries compared to the traditional Igbo culture that he was taught by his parents who were teachers in a missionary school. His story tells of a wealthy titled man, in the Igbo society, who is living the good life until he accidentally kills a clansman and is banished for seven years. After the seven years are up everything has changed in his village and now it is becoming over run with the white man’s religion and laws. Okonkwo cannot conform to the changes and the stripping of his culture and hangs himself. This novel truly shows the authors pride in family, heritage, memory, language, and lives.
Chinua Achebe shows pride in family throughout the novel by showing the relationships between family members. In the book when ever there was an engagement, a wedding, a death, or banishment the family always came together or at least some of them. One family consisted of a father, children, and many wives depending on how wealthy one was. So one can just imagine how big their weddings, funeral, and engagements would be. “The daughters of the family were all there, some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages…The daughters of Uchendu’s brothers were also there. It was a full gathering of umuada, in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred in the family. There were twenty-two of them.” (131-132). For this occasion it was the final ceremony of a marriage. Some of those women traveled a long way just to be back for the ceremony so they could be there with their family. Twenty-two doesn’t sound like a lot but it depends on how many brothers Uchendu had, what age they were, how wealthy they were, and how many others there would have been if some of them had not died when they were young. Sometimes the village even seemed like a family. At the death of Ezeudu, the village band together and gave him a warrior’s funeral. “Ezeudu was a great man, and so all the clan was at his funeral. The ancient drums of death beat, guns and cannon were fired, and men dashed about in frenzy, cutting down every tree or animal they saw, jumping over walls and dancing on the roof. It was a warrior’s funeral, and from morning till night warriors came and went in their age groups.” (121). “The wailing of women would not be heard beyond the village, but the ekwe carried the news to all the nine villages and even beyond.” (120). It seems a little award and maybe a little savage but it was warrior like for them and they all joined in. And even when the white man came with his religion and lead others astray they became a little like a family. So you can see through out the book the family is always present and you can see that Achebe takes pride in family.
Chinua shows his pride in heritage by just simply writing this book. It tells of a changing community, going from the traditional Igbo ways to being integrated with Christians and the effects of the new religion. Okonkwo’s son Nwoye joins the Christians and turns his back on his family and his old beliefs and for that his family disowns him. “You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will only have a son who is a man, who will hold his head up among my people. If any one of you prefers to be a woman, let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him. If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck.” (172). Partially why Okonkwo threatened his sons like this was to discourage them from joining and also he was thinking if all of his children were to join this new religion once he was died, there would be no one to burn incense for him or his ancestors. No body would care about him or the other family members who died before him. Forsaking one’s father’s religion for another was an abomination. “To abandon the gods of one’s father and go about with a lot of effeminate men…was the very depth of abomination.” (152-153). In this book he illustrates a lot about heritage and the severity to abandon and forsake ones heritage. Even though his parents were teachers in a missionary school he did not abandon his heritage.
Things Fall Apart shows that he takes pride in memory and wants other to remember their past, their ancestors, their heritage, and learn from the mistakes that their ancestors made so that they won’t be repeated. I think in honor of his heritage, his people, and his ancestors he wrote Things Fall Apart. He looked back and wanted to remind others about the past and the things that some of their relatives had to go through. It is evident by just reading the book. It’s about his people in the 1800’s and the things they had to go through and the mistakes they made. One mistake that was made in the book was taking light of a warning that was given. “Abame has been wiped out…It is a strange and terrible story…During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan…The elders consulted their Oracle and told them that the strange man would break their clan and spread destruction among them…It said that other white men were on their way…And so they killed him.” (138-139). Later on two more white men came, saw the “iron horse” the white man had been riding, and then left. Later on those two white men came back with other men and shot all the people that were in the market. “They had been warned that danger was ahead. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market.” (140). That is just one example of a mistake that people could look back at and learn from it if they would just remember their ancestors and value memory.
Through writing Things Fall Apart, it shows that Chinua takes pride in his language. Throughout the book there are Igbo words and definitions for those words in the back. In having those words inserted in there it keeps the book and the culture more real. They wouldn’t be speaking English, they’d be speaking Igbo. Having those words in there illustrates and preserves history and it shows his desire for it to be remembered and carried on. The first time in the book that they use Igbo words is on the second page of the story and they are just talking about a masquerader who impersonates an ancestral spirit. “Sometimes another village would ask Unoka’s band and their dancing egwugwu to come and stay with them and teach them their tunes.” (4). Some of the words that are put in the book are just words that they might use in every day language. Putting those words into the book help the reader to picture how their life was a little better, even though a lot of the words and names are some what hard to pronounce. He shows his pride in language just by simply inserting those words and not making everything totally English and giving more to the story.
One can tell that lives are important to Achebe because of how he portrays them and their importance. In the book, it is an abomination against the earth to take one’s life which Okonkwo ends up doing in the end. “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. His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it.” (207). It is also wrong to take the life of a fellow clansman. “It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land.” (124). It made it difficult once the white man came in and started converting people and giving them power because the others could no longer try to drive them out with out killing their clansman which they could not do. Mutilation to an ogbanje baby was okay though because it was suppose to discourage it from reentering its mother’s womb and then dieing again at a young age. So it was for life that mutilation was done. It doesn’t sound very pleasant and rather savage but they believed it to help get rid of the evil spirit. So you can see that he did value lives and think they were important.
If everyone were a little like Chinua Achebe and took pride and knew the importance of family, heritage, memory, language, and lives the world would be better for everyone to live in. Chinua’s book is very informational about the ways of the Igbo people and their society but it also tells the story and life of man living in those times and the changes that he, his family, and the nine villages had to go through. Things Fall Apart is actually quite a simple book but the customs are so stark and different from those of us that live in America in these times than we are so used to. Chinua Achebe did a really good job on his book and although it has a lot of things that we might now consider savage like, it did have some worth will qualities and messages in it. Will Achebe be writing anymore stories that let us in this century take a peek back in time anymore, now that he is getting along in his years?
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1959.
Petri Liukkonen. “Chinua Achebe (1930-) – in full Albert Chinualumogu Achebe.”
2002. 11 August 2007. < http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/achebe.htm>.
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
8 August 2007
Things Fall Apart
Most cultural people are proud of their family, heritage, memories, language, and lives. They respect it and stand up for it. They take joy in being who they are and try to stay close to their background as the rest of the world changes around them. A person similar to this would be Chinua Achebe. Through his book Things Fall Apart, you can see that he valued his heritage. Even though he wasn’t born in the 1800’s he still saw some of the effects of the evangelical missionaries compared to the traditional Igbo culture that he was taught by his parents who were teachers in a missionary school. His story tells of a wealthy titled man, in the Igbo society, who is living the good life until he accidentally kills a clansman and is banished for seven years. After the seven years are up everything has changed in his village and now it is becoming over run with the white man’s religion and laws. Okonkwo cannot conform to the changes and the stripping of his culture and hangs himself. This novel truly shows the authors pride in family, heritage, memory, language, and lives.
Chinua Achebe shows pride in family throughout the novel by showing the relationships between family members. In the book when ever there was an engagement, a wedding, a death, or banishment the family always came together or at least some of them. One family consisted of a father, children, and many wives depending on how wealthy one was. So one can just imagine how big their weddings, funeral, and engagements would be. “The daughters of the family were all there, some of them having come a long way from their homes in distant villages…The daughters of Uchendu’s brothers were also there. It was a full gathering of umuada, in the same way as they would meet if a death occurred in the family. There were twenty-two of them.” (131-132). For this occasion it was the final ceremony of a marriage. Some of those women traveled a long way just to be back for the ceremony so they could be there with their family. Twenty-two doesn’t sound like a lot but it depends on how many brothers Uchendu had, what age they were, how wealthy they were, and how many others there would have been if some of them had not died when they were young. Sometimes the village even seemed like a family. At the death of Ezeudu, the village band together and gave him a warrior’s funeral. “Ezeudu was a great man, and so all the clan was at his funeral. The ancient drums of death beat, guns and cannon were fired, and men dashed about in frenzy, cutting down every tree or animal they saw, jumping over walls and dancing on the roof. It was a warrior’s funeral, and from morning till night warriors came and went in their age groups.” (121). “The wailing of women would not be heard beyond the village, but the ekwe carried the news to all the nine villages and even beyond.” (120). It seems a little award and maybe a little savage but it was warrior like for them and they all joined in. And even when the white man came with his religion and lead others astray they became a little like a family. So you can see through out the book the family is always present and you can see that Achebe takes pride in family.
Chinua shows his pride in heritage by just simply writing this book. It tells of a changing community, going from the traditional Igbo ways to being integrated with Christians and the effects of the new religion. Okonkwo’s son Nwoye joins the Christians and turns his back on his family and his old beliefs and for that his family disowns him. “You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will only have a son who is a man, who will hold his head up among my people. If any one of you prefers to be a woman, let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him. If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck.” (172). Partially why Okonkwo threatened his sons like this was to discourage them from joining and also he was thinking if all of his children were to join this new religion once he was died, there would be no one to burn incense for him or his ancestors. No body would care about him or the other family members who died before him. Forsaking one’s father’s religion for another was an abomination. “To abandon the gods of one’s father and go about with a lot of effeminate men…was the very depth of abomination.” (152-153). In this book he illustrates a lot about heritage and the severity to abandon and forsake ones heritage. Even though his parents were teachers in a missionary school he did not abandon his heritage.
Things Fall Apart shows that he takes pride in memory and wants other to remember their past, their ancestors, their heritage, and learn from the mistakes that their ancestors made so that they won’t be repeated. I think in honor of his heritage, his people, and his ancestors he wrote Things Fall Apart. He looked back and wanted to remind others about the past and the things that some of their relatives had to go through. It is evident by just reading the book. It’s about his people in the 1800’s and the things they had to go through and the mistakes they made. One mistake that was made in the book was taking light of a warning that was given. “Abame has been wiped out…It is a strange and terrible story…During the last planting season a white man had appeared in their clan…The elders consulted their Oracle and told them that the strange man would break their clan and spread destruction among them…It said that other white men were on their way…And so they killed him.” (138-139). Later on two more white men came, saw the “iron horse” the white man had been riding, and then left. Later on those two white men came back with other men and shot all the people that were in the market. “They had been warned that danger was ahead. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market.” (140). That is just one example of a mistake that people could look back at and learn from it if they would just remember their ancestors and value memory.
Through writing Things Fall Apart, it shows that Chinua takes pride in his language. Throughout the book there are Igbo words and definitions for those words in the back. In having those words inserted in there it keeps the book and the culture more real. They wouldn’t be speaking English, they’d be speaking Igbo. Having those words in there illustrates and preserves history and it shows his desire for it to be remembered and carried on. The first time in the book that they use Igbo words is on the second page of the story and they are just talking about a masquerader who impersonates an ancestral spirit. “Sometimes another village would ask Unoka’s band and their dancing egwugwu to come and stay with them and teach them their tunes.” (4). Some of the words that are put in the book are just words that they might use in every day language. Putting those words into the book help the reader to picture how their life was a little better, even though a lot of the words and names are some what hard to pronounce. He shows his pride in language just by simply inserting those words and not making everything totally English and giving more to the story.
One can tell that lives are important to Achebe because of how he portrays them and their importance. In the book, it is an abomination against the earth to take one’s life which Okonkwo ends up doing in the end. “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. His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it.” (207). It is also wrong to take the life of a fellow clansman. “It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land.” (124). It made it difficult once the white man came in and started converting people and giving them power because the others could no longer try to drive them out with out killing their clansman which they could not do. Mutilation to an ogbanje baby was okay though because it was suppose to discourage it from reentering its mother’s womb and then dieing again at a young age. So it was for life that mutilation was done. It doesn’t sound very pleasant and rather savage but they believed it to help get rid of the evil spirit. So you can see that he did value lives and think they were important.
If everyone were a little like Chinua Achebe and took pride and knew the importance of family, heritage, memory, language, and lives the world would be better for everyone to live in. Chinua’s book is very informational about the ways of the Igbo people and their society but it also tells the story and life of man living in those times and the changes that he, his family, and the nine villages had to go through. Things Fall Apart is actually quite a simple book but the customs are so stark and different from those of us that live in America in these times than we are so used to. Chinua Achebe did a really good job on his book and although it has a lot of things that we might now consider savage like, it did have some worth will qualities and messages in it. Will Achebe be writing anymore stories that let us in this century take a peek back in time anymore, now that he is getting along in his years?
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1959.
Petri Liukkonen. “Chinua Achebe (1930-) – in full Albert Chinualumogu Achebe.”
2002. 11 August 2007. < http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/achebe.htm>.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Journal Entery
Date: August 9, 2007
Entery Number: 24
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 96-99
I think it is pretty cool the stories that the mothers and children tell at bed time. They are just stories but it is interesting how they explain, in an unrealistic way, how and why things are, like why the tortoise is not smooth. Some of the stories even give advice about things. One story that I have heard was how we got the stars and night time. It was very interesting but they're just children's stories. I like the way Ekwefi and Ezinma tell the stories, in turns. I wonder though, if they just make them up off the top of their heads at bed time, or were the stories made up by someone else and they are just retelling them? But I also find it interesting that all these stories are explained with animals. None of them have humans in them but the animals take on some human characteristics, like talking.
Entery Number: 24
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 96-99
I think it is pretty cool the stories that the mothers and children tell at bed time. They are just stories but it is interesting how they explain, in an unrealistic way, how and why things are, like why the tortoise is not smooth. Some of the stories even give advice about things. One story that I have heard was how we got the stars and night time. It was very interesting but they're just children's stories. I like the way Ekwefi and Ezinma tell the stories, in turns. I wonder though, if they just make them up off the top of their heads at bed time, or were the stories made up by someone else and they are just retelling them? But I also find it interesting that all these stories are explained with animals. None of them have humans in them but the animals take on some human characteristics, like talking.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Journal Entery
Date: August 8, 2007
Entery Number: 23
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 87-94
The Igbo way of settling disputes, like their court systems are pretty interesting. They don't have one judge but nine and they're not judges but important titled men who impersonate the nine ancestral spirits of the villages. They hear both sides of the story like regular judges do, and then they settle it by making a bargain with both parties. They don't praise or blame but simply settle the problems that are brought to them. It is actually very similar to todays court system but there are differences. No one dares to disobey the egwugwu's settlement because the nine spirits are greatly feared and respected. For some men that is the only way they will or won't do somethings. Sometimes the egwugwu give them alternate choices. Like for one of the men who beat his wife and his inlaws took her away, if he were to come back bringing a pot of wine, then she was suppose to go back with him. If he did not she would stay with her family. If he were to get her back and continue to beat her, then her family would come and cut off his genitals. So the guy was given a couple different choices. Today for most crimes, it's like do what we say or go to jail. Not many choices. I kind of like how they do things but it would take longer it seems.
Entery Number: 23
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 87-94
The Igbo way of settling disputes, like their court systems are pretty interesting. They don't have one judge but nine and they're not judges but important titled men who impersonate the nine ancestral spirits of the villages. They hear both sides of the story like regular judges do, and then they settle it by making a bargain with both parties. They don't praise or blame but simply settle the problems that are brought to them. It is actually very similar to todays court system but there are differences. No one dares to disobey the egwugwu's settlement because the nine spirits are greatly feared and respected. For some men that is the only way they will or won't do somethings. Sometimes the egwugwu give them alternate choices. Like for one of the men who beat his wife and his inlaws took her away, if he were to come back bringing a pot of wine, then she was suppose to go back with him. If he did not she would stay with her family. If he were to get her back and continue to beat her, then her family would come and cut off his genitals. So the guy was given a couple different choices. Today for most crimes, it's like do what we say or go to jail. Not many choices. I kind of like how they do things but it would take longer it seems.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Journal Entery
Date: August 5, 2007
Entery Number: 22
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 85-86
It's good that Ezinma is still alive because she's a cool character and she helps out some when Okonkwo comes back from exile later on. But ya. Okonkwo cured her with some type of herbs stuff and bark and other things. He put it in a pot and had Ekwefi put some hot water in it and boiled it but she had to be careful because if it boiled over then the power of it would be lost and Okonkwo, no doubtedly, would beat her for it. But Ekwefi watched it very carefully and it didn't boil over. What I thought the strangest part of this medicine treatment was when Okonkwo put Ezinma up on a stool, put the pot in front of the stool, and then put a thick heavy mat over her head and the pot. It must have been very hot under there. It seems almost cruel. That pot must have been extremely hot with all that heat and steam. It was no wonder why she started crying. She was woken up, put on a stool, covered with a heavy mat, and then had all this hot steam enveloping her and it was like in summer too. I would not have liked waking up that way. It did save her life though, so that was good. That's like the only plus though. But it is a pretty big plus and I would rather do those things than die of a fever which now a day seem simple and not so worrysome. But I don't get how it got rid of her fever. I know different herbs and barks can do different things and are now present in some of our modern medicine but how did the steam exactly cure her? I don't get it.
Entery Number: 22
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 85-86
It's good that Ezinma is still alive because she's a cool character and she helps out some when Okonkwo comes back from exile later on. But ya. Okonkwo cured her with some type of herbs stuff and bark and other things. He put it in a pot and had Ekwefi put some hot water in it and boiled it but she had to be careful because if it boiled over then the power of it would be lost and Okonkwo, no doubtedly, would beat her for it. But Ekwefi watched it very carefully and it didn't boil over. What I thought the strangest part of this medicine treatment was when Okonkwo put Ezinma up on a stool, put the pot in front of the stool, and then put a thick heavy mat over her head and the pot. It must have been very hot under there. It seems almost cruel. That pot must have been extremely hot with all that heat and steam. It was no wonder why she started crying. She was woken up, put on a stool, covered with a heavy mat, and then had all this hot steam enveloping her and it was like in summer too. I would not have liked waking up that way. It did save her life though, so that was good. That's like the only plus though. But it is a pretty big plus and I would rather do those things than die of a fever which now a day seem simple and not so worrysome. But I don't get how it got rid of her fever. I know different herbs and barks can do different things and are now present in some of our modern medicine but how did the steam exactly cure her? I don't get it.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Journal Entery
Date: August 2, 2007
Entery Number: 21
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 81-85
It's kind of interesting and funny too, how Ezinma led a crowd of people, both family and friends, Okonkwo, and a medicine man around part of the village in a big circle as they were looking for her iyi-uwa. She was reluctant to give it up but she did in the end. At first she played stupid, "What is iyi-uwa?" she asks. But then she tells them she buried it in the place where they bury children. As they start walking, where she should have turned off to go to the grave yard, she turned the opposite way in the direction of the stream. Then she started leading the crowd into the bush, which is composed of littlish trees I'm guessing because it says that because she was smaller than the rest she could make her way around better than the others. Then she stops and back tracks and goes back to the road then back home. A couple of times throughout this whole thing Okonkwo gets mad and threatens to beat her but the medicine man serves as Ezinma's protection and tells him to leave her alone. Running around in circles wasn't the only thing Ezinma had in store for Okonkwo or the medicine man. She then brings them over to an orange tree and tells them it is here pointing to the ground. It's funny though, because Okonkwo gets mad again but throughout everything he can't do anything about it because he wants to find the stone and the medicine man keeps telling him to leave her alone. Well anyway. The medicine man starts working on digging and later Okonkwo joined him. While they were slaving in the sun and dirt to find this stone, Ezinma was inside happily helping her mother make food. Isn't it great. Well anyway they ended up finding it after digging so deep you couldn't even see them anymore. It's funny though, when the medicine man flung the rag that contained the stone up out of the "well" all the women ran away but came back but still at a reasonable distance to see what was happening. They destroyed the stone and Ezinma was released from the ogbanje cycle of life and death. Ezinma is one of my favorite characters because she has a very interesting character. It's funny how she led them through all that and then had them dig for a stone which was actually a pebble. It was a special important pebble but still, I get a kick out of it. She's a pretty smart girl.
Entery Number: 21
Page/Quote reflecting on: Pgs. 81-85
It's kind of interesting and funny too, how Ezinma led a crowd of people, both family and friends, Okonkwo, and a medicine man around part of the village in a big circle as they were looking for her iyi-uwa. She was reluctant to give it up but she did in the end. At first she played stupid, "What is iyi-uwa?" she asks. But then she tells them she buried it in the place where they bury children. As they start walking, where she should have turned off to go to the grave yard, she turned the opposite way in the direction of the stream. Then she started leading the crowd into the bush, which is composed of littlish trees I'm guessing because it says that because she was smaller than the rest she could make her way around better than the others. Then she stops and back tracks and goes back to the road then back home. A couple of times throughout this whole thing Okonkwo gets mad and threatens to beat her but the medicine man serves as Ezinma's protection and tells him to leave her alone. Running around in circles wasn't the only thing Ezinma had in store for Okonkwo or the medicine man. She then brings them over to an orange tree and tells them it is here pointing to the ground. It's funny though, because Okonkwo gets mad again but throughout everything he can't do anything about it because he wants to find the stone and the medicine man keeps telling him to leave her alone. Well anyway. The medicine man starts working on digging and later Okonkwo joined him. While they were slaving in the sun and dirt to find this stone, Ezinma was inside happily helping her mother make food. Isn't it great. Well anyway they ended up finding it after digging so deep you couldn't even see them anymore. It's funny though, when the medicine man flung the rag that contained the stone up out of the "well" all the women ran away but came back but still at a reasonable distance to see what was happening. They destroyed the stone and Ezinma was released from the ogbanje cycle of life and death. Ezinma is one of my favorite characters because she has a very interesting character. It's funny how she led them through all that and then had them dig for a stone which was actually a pebble. It was a special important pebble but still, I get a kick out of it. She's a pretty smart girl.
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