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Dialectical Journals 1. “His fame rested on solid personal achievements.” Pg. 3 paragraph 1 All fame begins when you do something noticeable. For example, actors and actresses build upon their careers and reputations by achieving excellence in their personal goals, as well as perfecting their public performance. 2. “…It was said that when he slept, his wives and children in his houses could hear him breathe.” Pg. 4 paragraph 1 One question that comes to mind when I read this is if he alternates between homes on certain days or months. From what I understand, it used to be socially acceptable to have many wives and children, but they all lived together in one home, scattered among different chambers within the house. The use of the word “homes” is what made me wonder. 3. “He always said that whenever he saw a dead man’s mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one had in one’s lifetime.” Pg. 4 paragraph 2 I think that what the author was trying to imply in this passage was that in his personal experience, he has noticed that many people take many things for granted and that they don’t live their lives according to what they want and need to do. So much is wasted during one’s lifetime, and people just allow their lives to pass them by. 4. “As he broke the kola, Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies.” Pg. 6 paragraph 5 The impression that I got was that Okoye just came over on a whim. Is it customary to honor and pray to the ancestors whenever you have company; expected or unexpected? This seems awkward. 5. “Okoye was also a musician. He played on the ogene. But he was not a failure like Unoka.” Pg. 7 paragraph 6 I can compare this selection to my personal life in both the resent and the past. Even though I have many things in common with my friends, I often feel like a failure in comparison to them, as if they are better than I am at things that we do regularly, much like Unoka in comparison to Okoye. 6. “A snake was never called by its name at night, because it would hear.” Pg. 9 paragraph 2 The act of fear is much more common in the dark. In the dark, people expect things to be lurking around the bend, waiting for someone to summon it. I can relate this selection to my past experiences with my friends. When we were in elementary school, we would go into a dark bathroom and say the name, ... ... middle of paper ... ...hy, disgusting insects. If the villagers knew what the small, disaster-riddled pests were capable of doing, then they would fear the swarm’s return instead of praising and rejoicing it. 25. “My daughter’s suitor is coming today.” Pg. 65 paragraph 7 Why is a ten-year-old child getting married? Is the “man” also ten years old? Why would an adult want to marry someone who hasn’t even reached adolescence yet? It made sense to them to sell their daughters for marriage once they started menstruating, but why would they sell off a child who probably wouldn’t start to do that for up to two years after the marriage. 26. “You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children.” Pg. 74 paragraph 3 This shows that in the days of this book, sex was just for making children; not for fun. Now a day, men like sex in a variety of positions. They often like domineering women who are on the top rather than the bottom. I suppose that back then, the men had little respect for the women so they felt that they should be below them. If they were on top during sex, then the men may feel intimidated by the woman’s strength and be disgusted that they have no shame.
Dialectical Journal Chapters 12-18 Vocabulary 1. Contemptuously- Showing or expressing disdain or scorn. 2. What is the difference between a'smart' and a Prerogative- An exclusive right or privilege.
The passage above is on page 240 within chapter 28. Earlier on in this chapter Nomi describes what has happened, regarding the fact that her father just left. Not only has her father left now but her mother, sister, boyfriend, and best friend, have all left leaving her all alone. On top of that all, she has now been excommunicated from her small town. The beginning of this chapter introduces another obstacle she will have to over come, and this passage is the beginning of Nomi understanding that she has to now step up to the plate and be responsible for what is going on around her. This passage changes the way the reader may have though she would react in this situation. I though that she would have had a break down or ran away just like everyone else did. But the quote has a very clam tone which led me to eventually think other wise.
Things Fall Apart, a story by Chinua Achebe, is about a man named Okonkwo who has many achievements and lives in an Ibo village in Umuofia, Nigeria. The beginning of the book introduces the main characters, including Okonkwo and his household. He has three wives and children with each of them. Okonkwo gained fame in his village from a wrestling match, respect from his titles in war, and money from farming; he is a leader in his Ibo clan. His success is driven out of his hatred toward his father who was not a strong man or a good farmer. This causes him great anger and makes him despise all things that his father stood for. The beginning of the novel is rather slow due to much detail written about day-to-day life in the clan,
4. At that moment I couldn’t feel any more cynical about the way my friend was acting out.
whisper or the lonely wood."4 Why? Children will always be afraid of the dark and men will
48) "we never got the habit of happiness as others know it. It was always as if
Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umofia, Who had so unaccountably become soft like women.
“Y’know, this must be how ordinary people feel. This must be how ordinary people feel around us.”
When I woke with a few rays of light peering through my window. I got up stiffly, pulling my gun out from under the pillow as I did so. Since initiation as I almost always had a gun on me, it was a dangerous world in Chicago, your life could end at any moment. There was a couple times that just tapping the gun in my waistband had saved me from confrontation. I slipped out to the kitchen as Jack's snores still rang through the silent house. I quietly made myself a bowl of cereal and ate it watching some old western on the TV. You would think that having run away from your past would make your life more interesting, but instead it only made things mundane and painful.
Things Fall Apart functions as a tragedy because the white missionaries invaded Umuofia and caused a lot of suffering and agony. Before the white men came, Umuofia was a well-structured clan which had a judicial system and a common belief. When the white men come however, they cause division amongst the clan, thus, causing conflict immediately. Since the tragedy of Okonkwo being exiled occurred, the clan lost one of the most ambitious men they had. With his absence, it allowed the white men to easily take over Umuofia due to the lack of resistance by the villagers. When Okonkwo returned to the village, he sees that it is too late to do anything because the white men “has put a knife on the things that [held] together and [they] have fallen
Unoka reputation has set out to defame his family. Unoka’s nature has shaped Okonkwo in every aspect. This character desired to be anything but his father in hopes of not resembling his father, Okonkwo has accomplished this through the physical and emotional pain of other people.
In the case of Unoka he had achieve no titles and was a debtor. Unoka had a great childhood and loved the good fare and the good fellowship but “Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure” (Achebe 5).He was said to be poor and his wife and children barely had enough to eat, this caused people to laugh at him because he was a slacker. This caused Okonkwo to have no patience with unsuccessful men also “He had no patience with his father” (Achebe 4). Therefore Unoka and Okonkwo had no father and son relationship, he despised he father so much that he forgot to be a father to Nwoye. Due that his father was such a lazy man he also had to support his own mother and sister which was not his duty. This very situation caused Okonkwo to be
Things Fall Apart: An Evaluation In “Things Fall Apart,” Chinua Achebe tells two different stories at the same time. One is of Okonkwo, the villager whose rise to power is halted because of all of his misfortunes. The other is of Okonkwo’s village, Umuofia, and its struggle to hold on to its cultural tradition while facing colonialism from the West. The title, “Things Fall Apart,” describes perfectly what happens to both Okonkwo and his village. Okonkwo’s life falls apart and as a result, he commits suicide by hanging himself. The cultural tradition of Umuofia falls apart, and becomes influenced by the West. In “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe uses Okonkwo and the village’s falling out to show how African culture, as well as other cultures around the world, suffered as a result of Westernization. In the book, Achebe focuses mainly on the character of Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s story follows the general pattern of a Greek tragedy. He experiences many successes in the beginning, but everything eventually comes crashing down on him. His early life is the typical success story. He starts poor, but works hard to earn everyone’s respect. From the beginning he is disgusted with his father. He is a lazy old man who borrows money and never pays it back. Okonkwo realizes that he does not want to be like his father, and it is this hatred that drives him to work hard. After his father’s death, Okonkwo pays off his debts, and starts his long journey to the top of the clan. In a short time, Okonkwo...
In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a cultural clash between Ibo culture and Western culture was assessed through fictional literature. Several characters reacted to this in their unique ways, either by accepting or rejecting European beliefs. However, the character Okonkwo, a proud, strong and well respected warrior in the Igbo Society had a significant reaction to the new culture. When the new, western culture comes to Igbo society, Okonkwo, of Clan Umuofia, responds by using violence as the only choice. This decision carried dire consequences, and lead to Oknonkwo’s death.
Unoka- Unoka is Okonkwo’s father. He was a very lazy man and always an embarrassment to his family, especially his son. He is the reason that Okonkwo is so scared of failing.