Things Fall Apart 2

The book has really been progressing nicely to me. I liked the many plot twists, like how Enzinma was the only daughter of Ekwifi that survived, how she got sick, and how Nwoye became a convert. I really enjoyed the story of Enzinma and how they made her stay, with the rock and all that, but Nwoye made the shock last to me. The son of the great Okonkwo became a Christian, thus becoming an outcast. Okonkwo won't even talk about him, and Nwoye says that Okonkwo isn't his father. Thinking of leaving my own parents and changing my religion is just something that makes me sick, but Nwoye does it. I don't know how it will end, but I'm going to keep reading to find out.

Things Fall Apart #2

In the last post, I expressed my disdain for the novel, stating how the plot took too long to unfold and how a bulk of the novel was, in my opinion, exposition. Despite my previous dislike of the novel, I have come to enjoy the book in its last chapters.

I admired the character development of Nwoye and his boldness in converting to Christianity, despite the society's pressures to remain in the religion of his ancestors. From early on in the novel, it was seen that Nwoye possessed a calm, more feminine disposition, feeling "snapping" inside of him whenever an event occurred that did not sit well with his conscience. His sensitive nature and his discomfort with the Igbo religion's rules, such as the abandonment of twins, led you to predict early on that Nwoye would break off from the Igbo traditions.

The plot became more interesting for me as soon as the arrival of the white Christian missionaries was introduced. The semi-tolerant relationship that the Igbo population had with the Christians, and vice versa, was very interesting to me. The granting of a plot of the Evil Forest for the Christians to set up a church in the village of Umuofia was humorous to me. The fact that the Christians did not die from the Forest and its evils, despite the villagers' beliefs, was quite interesting and caused me to wonder if the villagers would learn from that incident of their beliefs failing to hold true, perhaps leading to a mass conversion. But, alas, that did not happen. If anything, the polytheistic beliefs of the Igbo people became even stronger when pressured by the new religion.

I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the conflict between the Christian converts and the Igbo egwugwu, as seen in Enoch's act of stripping an egwugwu spirit of his mask, consequently killing him. The village officials were ready to act violently against the Christians who had adopted Enoch into the faith, but as soon as they reached the church to carry out their revenge, they ceased the violence and simply settled with ordering the Christians off of the land. 

Despite my previous criticisms of the book, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart turned out to be rather enjoyable in the final parts. I would recommend this novel because of its description of the colonization of Africa by the Europeans and the detailed literary prose in which that significant historical time period was described.

Things Fall Apart #2

        I enjoyed these last few chapters because we finally get to see Nwoye breaking away from his own tribe's religion and converting to Christianity. We have seen from the beginning of the story that Nwoye was very different from the other men in the village. He wasn't as hard working as the other boys, and he enjoyed listening to his mother's stories about animals rather than Okonkwo's war stories. He also questioned his village's traditions because of the killing, especially when Ikemefuna was killed. As soon as the missionaries arrived to spread the word of Christianity, Nwoye was instantly captivated by the new religion. This shows how Nwoye was willing to break away from his own culture because he doesn't agree with their traditions.

Things Fall Apart Blog #2

                           Okay, I must admit that I've submitted this later than the deadline. I sincerely apologize for not managing my time, and I'm freaking out right now. But I've decided "better late than never". So here are my thoughts on Things Fall Apart part 2. In this portion of the book, there is more emphasis on colonialism and the reaction to colonialism from the Igbo. During his exile, Okonkwo receives the news that a village has been completely destroyed by the Europeans. Apparently, there was one white man spotted in the village riding his "iron horse". The natives of this village took the initiative and murdered the white man, hanging his "iron horse" with him. As a reaction to the killing of their comrade, the Europeans ended up  entirely destroying the village. From the perspective of the Igbo, I can understand that they thought the white man was quite peculiar and thus they killed him because people tend to persecute what they don't understand. Yet the village never predicted that they would be annihilated by a much more dominant entity. It seems like when the Europeans responded to the murder of their comrade, they were making a statement saying "Don't  mess with us." As a result, Okonkwo and the majority of the natives have a negative feeling towards these foreigners. Nwoye on the other hand, is a little more accepting of the change that is happening around him. He adopts Christianity and is quite mesmerized by the faith, although his father does approve of it at all. I think Nwoye is much more accepting of Christianity because the faith offers a sense of salvation. While growing up, Nwoye was different from the others because he wasn't as physically strong or brave as the other men. Yet, he finds solace within the Christian faith where he is no longer discriminated by his distinct traits. He still faces challenges since not everyone around him is willing to be open minded.

Things Fall Apart 2

As the book continues, it progressively gets better. We see Nwoye challenge his tribe's ways. More importantly his father's beliefs. We get a understanding that Nwoye does not want to be associated with his own father which can be due to the death of Ikemefuna. It was quite interesting to see the drastic change of the culture. Some of the members of the Igbo society had converted to Christianity when some had not. As the tribe's elders decided to give a part of the evil forest to the white men for their church, many suspect something terrible to happen to them. Nothing happened to the Christian folk, this confused many of the members of the Igbo tribe. They glossed over the fact that they were wrong which makes them inattentive. Nwoye drifts farther and farther away from Okonkwo. Much like Okonkwo and his father. It is quite sad to see this, but it shows Nwoye's awareness about what goes around him. He isn't a mindless person who follows a particular set of beliefs just because the majority of people do. He makes his own decisions on what to believe and on how to live. This shows his independency and that he is his own man. 

Things Fall Apart 2

As i continue reading Things Fall Apart each chapter captures my attention more and more because theres a lot more to it than a story. It shows the different traits of each character like Okonkwo,Nwoye, etc. Nwoye who is one of the main characters makes a descion that can have a positive or negative impact on his life. The choice he made was converting into christianity. Nwoye converts into a christian because he is a different person he is not like his father and he doesnt like his traditions and the way things go around the community. This desicion he made is a sign that he is growing up and is leaving his childhood behind. In my opinion converting into christian is going to have a positive impact in his life because he is going to learn new things and be a part of something new.

TFA #2

    . In Things Fall Apart I thought it was a manly move of Nwoye to convert to Christianity. This shows that he is a man because he can make his own decisions without anybody’s help or advise. He converts to Christianity because he disagrees with his old religion when they killed Ikemefuna and the twins int the Evil Forest. Converting to Christianity was his answer to these unfortunate events that he witnessed happen. Nwoye shows Okonkwo his masculinity because of this decision that changed his view of life. It was easy for Nwoye to convert to Christianity because the white converters were nice and the religion was open to anyone willing to believe. I agree with Nwoye for making his own decisions because that is what growing up come with. It is a skill we must acquire to be independent and successful in life. Making our decisions based on our views can sway our decision because we would go with what we believe in.

Things fall apart 2

Throughout the whole book, Nwoye is referred to as feminine and weak. However, Nwoye just allows himself to feel other emotions than anger like his father. I think that one of the reasons that he converted to Christianity is because he wanted heaven to be a real place so that it could provide a peaceful place where Ikemefuna and the twins would be. The thought of heaven was appealing to him and I think that is what gave him a sense of relief. Going back to how Nwoye is always called weak, he proves this wrong when he decided to convert to Christianity. He is brave enough to completely change his beliefs even though it means extreme disapproval from Okonkwo and a lot of people in the tribe. I also found it interesting that he decided to change his name. I think that Nwoye might have changed his name to completely get rid of his previous culture. We could tell throughout the whole novel that he didn’t accept or approve of his religion, so when another religion came into the picture and sounded somewhat intriguing to him, he decided to fully jump into it no matter what the cost.
 I also don’t like the fact that the Europeans just stomped on into Africa and forced their own religion upon the native populations without trying to understand their lifestyle first. The Europeans didn’t even try to understand the religion of the natives because they didn’t care because they thought that their beliefs were to only right ones and that the others don’t matter at all.
I love how this book gives a different perspective to a story that we’ve only heard one side of. You can’t fully understand a situation until you understand every side in the story.

Things Fall Apart #2

     In part two of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe we see the change of religion Nwoye decides to take which was foreshadowed in the being of the book. This is evident when we see him doubt the rules that were to be followed in the religion of his community. For example, Nwoye at moments felt a disconnection and disagreement towards the religion when remembering that they killed innocent twin babies and his brother Ikemefuna even though they had nothing to blame for. Knowing this makes Nwoye, not like the beliefs that this religion is created with. During part two of the book, Nwoye becomes Christian after feeling this touch in him when hearing about this God who created everyone and everything. This one God who doesn't want the death of the people nor sacrifices in his honor. He doesn't ask for anything except the peace in the world and goodness of the people. Nwoye since the beginning of the book he had his own beliefs which were not revealed until finding the people who valued the same things he did. Christianity made him feel confident of who he actually was as a person.
     However, what mainly catches my attention of this change in Nwoye is the way the author, Achebe uncovers it. On part two of the novel, Achebe wrote, "His name was Nwoye, Okonkwo's first son"(Achebe 147). This quote signifies the new person Nwoye has become. The reader already knew who Nwoye was and the book had already mentioned him several times, however, the author seemed to introduce him as if he were to be a new character. He was seen as if the reader knew nothing about him. The truth is that the author introduced Nwoye again not to remember who he is, but to understand the change taking place in him. Nwoye now is a Christian with beliefs and values he feels confident about. He has nothing to hide nor to be afraid of being rejected. Nwoye has escaped from a culture he didn't understand and has a religion he favors. Achebe releases this idea straightforward, however, adds the evidence directly and indirectly. It fascinates me how you have to interpret something the author wrote in order to understand its true significance.

Things Fall Apart #2

I think that it is great how Nwoye was able to convert to Christianity so easily. Especially when he is apart of a culture that didn't know anything about Christianity. He jumped completely into it and even changed his name. I like that Nwoye is slowly finding himself again and the "snap" that happened is also slowly starting to fill as he finds who he really is. I hope that Nwoye doesn't feel confused later in life and doesn't think that he mad the wrong choice of switching to Christianity.

Things Fall Apart #2

The novel Things Fall Apart to me has been a very good book so far.  I enjoy learning about a whole other culture with different beliefs and traditions.  Although I'm not too fond of the huge "masculinity is important" type of thing, it's still living till this day.  Also I was glad to see so far in this book that someone isn't afraid to not follow in their parents footsteps.  This book could be related to todays events because children still don't want to live up to the expectations of their parents.  That could be because that's just not who they are inside and some parents just don't understand that.  Although I think that Okonkwo shouldn't hate his father because what message does that send to his children.  Nwoye has problems too with his dad.  Mostly because he converted to Christianity and his father didn't approve and had him beaten.

Things Fall Apart [2]

Having read through both the first and second parts of Things Fall Apart, it's seems rational to assume Okonkwo is likely a static character, particularly due to the lack of change in his personal beliefs and motivations, even after having been kept from his fatherland—a land characterized by skilled and fearsome warriors—for seven years.  His motherland is inhabited by a much more peaceful population, and even their behavior and habits fail to change his scornful perspective on such things as gentleness and mercy.  Because of his static nature, it is understandable why Okonkwo detests Christian influence in African society in addition to Nwoye's conversion to the religion, even if such matters as straying from tradition are not considered to be a part of this equation.  The omnipotent figure worshiped by adherents of the Christian religion is himself characterized by boundless love and inclusiveness, even in spite of one's sinful nature.  The gods of traditional African religion, however, are commonly depicted in this novel as merciless and unyielding, and these traits often also associated with our protagonist and perhaps explaining his preference for such deities.  Yet, these traits seem to be what push Nwoye to abandon his family in the first place, the lack of general support from his father—even in everyday endeavors—undoubtedly contributing to the culmination of Nwoye's eventual desire to escape this sort of disapproval and thus find a new purpose in life.

Things Fall Apart #2

In Things Fall Apart, written by, Chinua Achebe, two years after Okonkwo exiled, his friend from Umuofia comes urgently to visit. They begin to converse for a while, about how things are in village. Okonkwo is told that Nwoye converts to Christianity and he reacts with fury. Nwoye does not pay attention to his father’s opinion. Nwoye is brave, he questions cultural demands and he stands up for what he believes in.

I believe Nwoye is courageous, unlike the rest of his culture he questions their customs. He does not follow his villages routines and he listens to his own heart. He interrogates the “necessary” murders that his village’s culture enforces “Then something had given away inside him. It descended on him again, this feeling, when his father walked in, that night after killing Ikemefuna”(Achebe, 62). This is significant since the quote displays Nwoye’s sympathy for Ikemefuna, which is considered irregular.

Nwoye strongly argues against the typical Igbo customs. Nwoye denies his father “‘How is your father’ Obierika asked… ‘I don’t know. He is not my father’ said Nwoye, unhappily”(Achebe, 144). After Nwoye realized that his dad killed Ikemefuna, he had no tolerance for his actions. He does not claim his own father because he knows that he could kill his own son over a belief. In Igbo culture it is apalling for a son to talk down on his own father.

In conclusion, Nwoye seems like a dauntless and persistent character.  He focuses his chices for the greater good and ignores commands from other people. Nwoye is very compassionate, as seen within the novel. I think later in the book Nwoye might even be able convert some of the villagers beliefs.

Things Fall Apart #2

Now that we gotten further into the story, I would say the biggest news or the climax of this part is Nwoye converting to Christianity. Ever since the beginning of the story it was noticable that Nwoye was not like Okonkwo. No matter how hard he tried or how much he did to be like him he cannot change who he is and who he is not. He is not his father. There is nothing wrong with being who you want to be. I am happy that Nwoye is now going his own way and learning new things. Nwoye likes to think about life and other aspects while Okonkwo just wants to be strong and not like his father. You are who you choose to be and no one can tell you otherwise. I am looking forward to see what's next for Nwoye and his new way of life. However, I am nervous as to what Okonkwo will do to him the next time they meet.

Things fall apart 2

In things fall apart, my favorite character is Nwoye. I like that he does what he believes in the middle of the craziness he lives in and isn't scared to go against his father's beliefs. I respect that because if you feel someday about something, you shouldn't be scared to show it or live it, and this is what Nwoye does.  I also like that he has traits that differ him from other people, he is more caring and respectful about things. Like when his "brother" died earlier in the book. He wasn't told, but he somehow felt it and none of the other kids did. I feel like Nwoye has the traits of his grandfather and the traits that Okonkwo tries to hide.

Things Fall Apart #2

In Things Fall Apart, part two we begin to see as the readers just how much more complex and how much deeper we can get into talking about many things compared to part 1. The first thought that came to mind is a rather obvious one, referring to the colonization of Africa. In reading Things Fall Apart in Part 1, we see Achebe  merely foreshadowing that act of colonization into Africa. A few examples of colonization that can be used  are when the Europeans come into Africa, to start off is just introducing the religion of Christianity, offering classes that teach to read and write. Although this ruler does not understand the ways of the Ibo culture, he still allows people to believe in what they choose, for it is as the Ibo would say, their "chi". As we read further in the book, we see a character like Reverend James Smith, who took the place of Mr. Brown after his falling who basically told "African people you'd better learn our language and our beliefs, or we will take you in as slaves". I mean to get to the point, that is merely what he planned, and what succeeded under his ruling. Ironically, this man is headstrong just as Okwokwo was. Interestingly enough, the author, Achebe uses Mr. Brown's name stereotypically when saying that Mr. Brown lets people believe in whatever they choose. This could be stereotypical because the shade that is in the middle of black and white is brown, so it is neutral. As is Mr.Brown's standing point.

Things Fall Apart #2

In the book Things Fall Apart, written by China Achebe, I consider Nwoye to be my favorite character because he represents sympathy and he has many emotions that most men of his tribe do not have.  It is his sympathy that makes him sensitive to drastic situations, such as the killing of baby twins in the Evil Forest.  Although Okonkwo does not have a strong relationship with him, Nwoye tries his best to make Okonkwo proud of him.  Okonkwo likes to wrestle, he likes to show off his strength to everyone, he is hot-headed and gets mad easily, and he expects his son Nwoye to be exactly like him.  Nwoye tries to be a good son, he follows his father everywhere and copies whatever he does. But there are times when Nwoye cannot be like his father.  There are times when Nwoye is sensitive, like that day when Ikemefuna was killed, Nwoye could not take that in and it caused a snapping inside of him.  He also has different viewpoints on their religion.  He does not understand why their religion and their culture allows them to kill baby twins, he thinks it's cruel and it's heartbreaking for him.  That is why he turned to Christianity, because he was convinced that it was a religion of peace.  It does not surprise me that Nwoye decided to convert to Christianity.  The one thing I like about his character is that he did not follow his father's footsteps, but instead he followed his heart.

Things Fall Apart #2

     In part two of Things Fall Apart, I started to look back in all of all Okonkwo's killings from Ikemefuna in part one, to Ezeudu's sixteen-year-old son in part two and I started to go into a deeper thing and ask myself who would Okonkwo kill next. All these killings have cause Okonkwo to become weak, and as much as he tries to hide it inside he is really depressed and emotional. He was trialed for a female crime which is also something that degrades his masculinity. Okonkwo were forced to leave the clan and go back to Okonkwo's hometown where there is a rumor of white skinned people invading clans. Also in part two  Nwoye started to consider changing religion, after all, he thinks that the violence in their culture and religion has done nothing but caused him pain. Okonkwo has started to think that all of these incidents are punishments for him murdering Ikemefuna. All of these events that happened so far have made Okonkwo think that he has become his worst nightmare, a failure like his father. I think him bottling up all these emotions and expressing them as anger will lead to another tragedy in part three like him killing his other son Nwoywe or even himself.

Things Fall Apart #2

     As we read deeper into the book, we see a slight change in Okonkwo's attitude which is interesting since it's well known that he is not the best at expressing his emotions and showing affection. For instance, Okonkwo shows his soft spot towards Ezinma when she is taken by the priestess Chielo. When Enzima was taken, her mother goes after Enzima and Okonkwo didn't stop Ekwefi. I think that if this were to be any of his other children, he might have scolded or beat his wife for going after the child. In addition, I feel like this is a major event in the book since Okonkwo went after Enzima and is one of the first time he tenderly expresses his feeling towards another person. Also, this shows how much appreciation Okonkwo has for Enzima since he was willing to go against the priestess and follow her daughter.  Also, this appreciation might have stimulated since Enzima has traits that Okonkwo want his sons to possess.
     In addition, Ezinma's relationship with her mother Ekwefi is really intimate because she's the only daughter that survived out of all her children. Also, Because Ezinma is so close to her mother, she calls her mother by her first name which is odd since it's improper to call a person's parent by their first name; however, I understand that the culture back the was different so it must have been fine. Also, Ezinma has an inborn confidence that outshines most of the girls which is unusual since women were expected to be gentle and submissive. Having an ogbanje is really unfortunate since the parents continually get discouraged when they have a child and it dies.

Things Fall Apart #2

In Things Fall Apart part 2, we see that Nwoye has turned his beliefs over to Christianity.  Okonkwo isn't very happy with it.  Okonkwo then replies that Nwoye isn't his son anymore.  I dislike the fact that he says this.  As Nwoye was coming back from the church, Okonkwo had beaten him up because Nwoye didn't tell him where he had gone to.  I didn't understand why Okonkwo had to beat him up.  Okonkwo could have easily been happy for Nwoye and the things he had chosen.  Instead Okonkwo has a different mind set for Nwoye.  It was for him to become a strong man instead of becoming a "women".  I think the fact that Nwoye didn't want to tell Okonkwo he had gone to the church was  because he knew that his father wouldn't approve of it.  In my opinion, I didn't think it was necessary to beat up Nwoye for wanting to learn different beliefs.  I mean sure, if the parents believe in something else then it's most likely that their child will follow but, if the child wanted to do or learn something different, we shouldn't punish them.  The child isn't just going to have one parents' traits, they are obviously going to have both.  In Nwoye case he had gotten most of his mother's trait and some of Okonkwo's.  Each parents should support their child's decision instead of putting them to shame.  Plus since Okonkwo has 5 other sons he could make them into strong men. 

     It is intriguing to see the cultural aspects and perspectives of the village of Umuofia compared to the stereotypes of how native Africans were portrayed by Europeans as barbaric and unintelligent. For example, the ways in which they treat their wives is often perceived as demeaning and disrespectful, especially since they practiced polygamy. Although they didn't completely treat women as equals it wasn't that vastly different then the treatment European men gave to their women. The village women weren't given the opportunities to gain titles, positions of authority, or control the household. Which is similar to the traditions of Europeans since they didn't allow women to vote or be the dominant or even equal gender. The act of beating a woman was a known practice in Umuofia; however it wasn't completely accepted. This was evident during the trial when they ruled against the man who abused his wife without cause constantly causing her to flee to her brothers. Europe was no exception to hitting and mistreating women, yet they depict themselves as civilized and just compared to the savage African natives despite similarities between the two cultures. As well as the aspect of religion between the two cultures. Nwoye views is village as immoral due to the ease of killing basically innocent men and children. This acts as a motive towards Nwoye's conversion to Christianity since it appears as an escape from the non-ethical practices of his people. On that same note, Christianity has also been the motive and justification for pointless wars and genocides.

Things Fall Apart #2

      Within part two of Things Fall Apart, we see that Nwoye is drawned to Christianity and Okonkwo infuriated by his feminine actions. It was expected for Nwoye to convert due to his mellow nature compared to his clan's unethical ways of abandoning twins and mutilating ogbanje children. Nwoye felt like an outcast in society for expressing himself, his ideas, and his opposition to Umuofia's laws. He sees the church as refuge to those similar as him, outcasts either for being an osu or not having any titles. Within the church, the outcasts were all considered equal under God and it gave comfort to many including women who were forced to send their twins to exile in the Evil Forest. The number of converts increase due to the missionaries pointing out the fallacies in Igbo society. In one chapter, the clan leaders gave land from the Evil Forest to the missionaries, believing that they'll receive punishment; however, the missionaries were unaffected by this which makes the Igbo people question their gods. By cutting all ties from his culture and native religion, Nwoye causes Okonkwo's hard earned titles and prestige to mean nothing. At the end of chapter seventeen, Okonkwo has became no different than his father who he had tried to distance himself from. In part two, we see that Christianity had began to diffuse into the clans ultimately causing people to neglect their culture and their kinship bonds as we see between Okonkwo and Nwoye.

Things Fall Apart #2

  In my opinion, the previous chapter I read had the biggest heartache appeared. Nwoye declared that Okonkwo was not his father. It didn't surprise me when I read that Nwoye changed his religion, mostly because the book hinted his disapproval for his village's religion since the beginning. The book referred Nwoye as like mother and grandfather, not violent, and liking his mother’s folktale rather than his father war stories. I 100% agree with believing in something different than your parents and I applaud Nwoye for committing to Christianity; but pulling away from your family shouldn't be part of it. Although Okonkwo got extremely angry with his son, he shouldn't have threatened to kill him if Nwoye didn't answer his question about the church. Nwoye's experience caught my eye because in a way, connects to me. Where Nwoye chose to believe in a "disgraceful" religion other than his family's, I did the same. My Mum and Dad are religious, also my entire family; but I don't believe that there is a God. For a long time, they looked at me differently and I felt like an outcast. Thankfully, and recently, they understood my reasoning behind it. I don't see God as wrong, I just cannot see Him in my eyes. So, Nwoye is brave and strong; but not the way that was thought of back then.

Things Fall Apart

When reading Things Fall Apart i was a little confused on what was going on but as the book continued i started to get what was happening. I like how this book taught me about things i never knew people do for their traditions and cultures. One of them that caught my eye was when they killed the twins but after they were killed they were never seen again. What i liked about some of the characters was that they will do anything to get what they need. For example Okonkwo he had nothing growing up he had a lazy father and no yams seeds were passed down to him from his father. What i liked about Okonkwo was that he never gives up, not giving up made him a wealthy man all around. Over all i like how this book is turning out and how its getting more intresting.

Things Fall Apart

        The beginning of the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe was pretty boring, but it did inroduce some interesting characters. One part that stood out to me was when Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna was Okonkwo's adopted child and he was the son that he has always wanted.Okonkwo's eldest son, Nwoye, seemed too much like his mother and he was considered weak. Ikemefuna was hard working, and was like a role model to Nwoye, making Okonkwo admire him. The fact that Okonkwo killed him to avoid being seen as weak shocks me. He is so insecure about his manliness that he decides to kill his own adopted son who felt like a real son to him just to prove that he isn't weak. This shows Okonkwo's main weakness: being seen as weak by others.

Things Fall Apart

Reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, I compare and contrast Igbo hierarchy, religious beliefs, and government to other societies during the time and our current society. So far, it seems like their beliefs in spirits and deities leads to a very specific, strict, and difficultly functioned society. This often leads to rejection of religion and quick decline, such as small and tight populations, increase of disease, emigrations, and conquering by other powerful forces. This obviously infers to Europeans colonizing Africa to be their center of labor. In history, colonies are meant to create or receive something valuable and give it to the leading European in the colony, named a viceroy. Viceroys are forced to give partial profit to their homeland in Europe, and they may keep the rest if they are willing to risk it. Eventually, Europeans colonize areas such as Africa, North America, and South America in order to grow and mine silver, sugar canes, and cash crops by forcing the natives to do the labor for them, leading to slavery. It surprises me how close to modern day this story is set in, and the fact that most of the women were treated as nearly meaningless trophies; meaning that the more women the man had, the higher he is on the hierarchy, but women are seen as pointless if they are not married and bare no kids. Religion plays a factor in this. Catholicism denies any married couple to divorce and remarry, but Igbo religions promote men to have more wives. With multiple wives and few men comes multiple children. Some children are isolated and left out, while others are honored. Their society specifies which child deserves the higher status, which is usually the eldest son of the first wife. With the other children feeling disrespected, they may grow up depressed or with the mindset to prove themselves, or maybe completely different. This may lead to disorganized governing - because they heavily rely on religion -, leading to internal issues and rebellion, further more leading to the decline of society. Ironically, their faith in religion is the soul purpose to their life, and is a factor that is bound to destroy their villages from the inside out.

So far Okonkwo is a so called man who let his beloved son die for the sake of region. He hid his emotions and did not admit he loved Ikemefuna, his adopted son. This does not prove he is a man, if  anything this argues against his claim. The unstable and easily broken structure of the Igbo society is going to be destroyed.

I love context of the book Things Falling Apart. For example, the book has many folktales and African proverbs that give a better understanding of the characters and how they feel in the book. From this book I learned many customs and traditions about the African culture. The men are always in charge and the women and children follow directions. The book also has many twists too. Such as Ikemefuna getting killed by a father like figure

Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart

     Things Fall Apart is a historical fiction about the Igbo tribe in Nigeria. So far the book has been interesting, however I dislike the main character Okonkwo. Okonkwo is impulsive, and his life is dominated by his fear of failure. Due to his fears, he makes poor decisions which makes the book hard to read. Okonkwo is very strict especially on tradition and change. He believes that his tribe should stick to tradition otherwise change would destroy their society.
     The appearance of Nwoye has made the book more tolerable however. He is different than his father and has shown to start disliking his own culture.  Hopefully with these recently emerged traits he can change the society and it's customs in the future.
     Overall I cannot say this novel has been a chore to read, neither can I say it has been a joy to read. The book has exposed me to a new society I haven't heard of therefore I can expand my knowledge of world history. Reading a novel such as Things Fall Apart has inspired me to read more books that belong to the historical fiction genre.

Igbo and American Culture

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, I noticed that the Igbo society is completely different from America’s society today. In the novel, men are always in charge of households and polygyny is often seen in homes. There are many more ideas in Igbo culture that are different from American culture.

In American homes, Sometimes men are in charge of their households but, sometimes the women are the ones who call the shots. In Igbo society, it is out of line for a wife to not follow through their husbands instructions  “Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his youngest wife, who went to plait her hair at her friend’s house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal.” After not being home early enough to cook lunch, Okonkwo beat his wife severely. In America, men would be sent to jail for committing such crime. Okonkwo was only punished because he disturbed the week of peace.

In Igbo culture, many homes are raised around polygyny. Polygyny is when a man is married to multiple women. In Igbo culture usually successful men have many wives. This displays how they can support a big family and still be financially stable. In America,  polygamy is illegal and is seen to be wrong. Polygyny cases are hardly seen in America.

All in all, the differences in Igbo culture and American culture is very clear. Polygyny and the role of men in Igbo homes are two examples of differences from the two cultures. There are also many other differences between the American and Igbo culture. Some of the head-turning differences are the wife being the head of the house instead of the man, or that a husband is common to have multiple wives.

Things Fall Apart

I feel a little bad for Okonkwo's wife and children. They have to deal with him and his strictness. At the same time I don’t feel bad for them because this was just a normal relationship at the time and in the culture. Then his wives have to sit there and deal with the abuse to them and their children. I like how the novel can be interpreted in different ways. I like this book, but sometimes it really bores me.

Things Fall Apart: Thoughts

I personally am actually enjoying this book, however there are some plot points I do not like. For example, when Okonkwo is beating his wife. Or, when Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna. Although, I don't like it, I do think it was necessary for the plot and for Okonkwo's character development. The author wanted us to see that he is kind of emotionally inarticulate. Also, I predict Enzima's going to die, due to some foreshadowing in the book where the priestess of Agbala(something along those lines) is coming to get her and Ekwefi snaps to attention "like an animal smelling death." One thing I'm looking forward to is seeing how Okonkwo reacts to the attempt at colonialism. He's a very proud man, so he may not adapt very well to the new changes.

Things Fall Apart

Through the first few chapters of Things Fall Apart were quite interesting. The story so far talks about the Igbo culture. We get to see how different their life is living from modern times. The relationships between the tribe's people was very intriguing to see because it was quite complex. The men in the tribe play a more dominant part in society than the women which is quite a difference from modern times. I find it interesting that in the book, the cultures values were for men not to show feminine like qualities and for the women they were like trophies that had to obey their husbands at all times. This backwards mindset shows a dark light on traditional cultures. The relationship between Okonkwo and Ikemefuna was sad since they both had a father/son relationship; however, Okonkwo killed him. I feel like this will come back later in the story as this incident affected many people in the tribe who knew Ikemefuna. The Igbo culture is a tough, male dominant civilization portrayed in this book.

Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart has been a very interesting book so far.  I like how it could be compared to todays society and how it's supposed to normal for a man to be the leader.  Also that men have to be this strong, masculine figure when really they could be whatever they choose.  This book is very different from what I've read before because of the culture and how different but similar it is to us now.  I can't wait to see what happens next.

Things Fall Apart

     When reading Things Fall Apart  by Chinua Achebe , I enjoyed the different cultures and relationships demonstrated. To begin with , the way the elders are respected  is  a status very new and interesting to me. This makes sense because ultimately they have the most wisdom and have been through a lot. Okonkwo seems to have multiple wives all at the same time . Each one is  disrespectfully treated the same and completely controlled by Okonkwo, but something completely ordinary at the time. This introduces the relationship customs that greatly differ from today´s . Furthermore , the fight for masculinity and the forbidingness of weakness is frequently shown throughout the book . This is especially displayed by the character Okonkwo but was regular behavior for men at that time. To conclude , the different  African customs and traditions introduced throughout the book gave me a sense of how things and people were at that time and gave me a really good understanding of the setting .It also let me view things in an entirely new perspective, especially compared to our completely different community now.

Things Fall Apart Review

   
When I first started reading our class novel, Things Fall Apart, I was bored out of my mind and honestly, I still zone out at times. I can infer that this story has a very strong plot that can only be explained in the confusing way it is. Personally, I have never been a fan of these types of cultural novels but I find myself being lured in by the unique storyline of Okonkwo and his self-struggles. Okonkwo’s fear of being his father sums up most of the plot as he feels he should not look weak and takes it a next step when he chooses to kill a close friend of his sons. Okonkwo’s unwanted sin, Nwoye, has been my favorite as he reflects a strong and affectionate personality, one that his father does not admire. Page-by-page my interest for this well-written novel increases and I hope it continues as it seems it will leave me with better knowledge for a new culture and lifestyle of a village across the globe.

Things Fall Apart [1]

My general interest in history, of course regarding the development of complex societies and their cultural traditions, is perhaps one of the principal reasons I've come to find Things Fall Apart rather engaging.  "Part One" of this novel is indeed dedicated to explanation of Igbo culture, and having previously learned of the development of early African societies, I personally think it interesting to be able to analyze the change as well as continuity of these peoples' customs.  This being said, something I definitely recognize people find controversial—perhaps even unsettling—about this novel's subject matter has largely to do the heavily patriarchal social order that appears to define Igbo society.  Such commonalities as the beating of women, the expectation that females always be submissive to dominant male, and clear delineation of male versus female roles in both Igbo social and economic life seem to be more common topics of conversation within our class.  Other practices such as the violent disposal of those who supposedly house evil spirits, as well as the presence of polygamy in Igbo culture also appear baffling to our heavily European-influenced society.

With all this in mind, however, I don't think I personally could bring myself to call Igbo customs legitimately "odd."  "Foreign" would probably be a more accurate way to describe their practices, at least from my point of view, considering the only reason one might think these customs wrong in the first place would because they're accustomed to other cultural values.  Even practices I personally don't agree with tend to be justified by the cultures in possession of such ideas, and the same goes for the values we emphasize.  Even so, lack of tolerance for such values is in part the reason for much of the world's Eurocentrism.  In the case of colonization, for example, in Africa, colonizers often sought to impose their cultural traditions on native populations because they believed their beliefs rather than natives' beliefs to be correct.  The foreigners were accustomed to their beliefs, thus, it only makes sense they would think native customs abnormal; their own beliefs were their "normal."

Returning to the subject of the novel as a whole, I do understand why others may view it as less interesting than I find it to be.  The portions of the novel we've already covered read a bit like a textbook, constantly spewing out historical information, and, alongside this, the overall plot line is a bit unclear, events obviously not in chronological order.  Nonetheless, I do believe the story will become more interesting in subsequent sections, where there will supposedly be less of an focus on the description of Igbo society and culture and, instead, a greater emphasis on specific events.  I'm particularly interested in how Okonkwo will act in response to the arrival of British colonizers, seeing as he tends to react in a belligerent manner when met by situations he does not esteem.  Especially due to the fact the British were, at this time, clearly more technologically developed than most African societies, how he would specifically encroaches on the threat of British imperialism particularly encourages me to read further into this novel.  I know rebellion has indeed had success in the case of other societies, caught under the control of invading groups, thus, I do Igbo actions may indeed have positive effects in regard to the regaining of their relative freedom.

Things Fall Apart

When reading Things Fall Apart, it surprised me that domestic violence was seen as something common. Women in the African culture are seen as trophies to prove their husband's manliness and were restricted to cook, clean and giving birth to their children. Basically back then the more wives you had the more of a man you were, so monogamy did not exist in the African culture. I  think a real man should only love one woman, this is the only case where I think it is okay to be selfish. Speaking of marriage it was common in this time period to have arranged marriages, and women, at the age of sixteen, could be married which amazes me because that is too young to think about being in a relationship with someone for the rest of your life. In addition, children were taught to be aggressive and tough to prove that they are "real men". The African culture has very odd customs, for example, giving birth to twins was seen as a curse and the twins were taken to the evil forest to be sacrificed. Overall I think it is a good story and I enjoy reading this book. I get to see how women were being treated and I am glad to see, that has changed for what I think is better.

Things Fall Apart

In the beginning of Things Fall Apart, it was not very interesting to me. It was just talking about the characters and giving them background. However, as the book progressed, it got a bit more exciting. Some of their traditions were interesting to learn about and how Okonkwo obtained Ikemefuna. By the time Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna, they had developed a father-son bond, but Okonkwo did not want to seem weak, so he killed his favorite "child". Also, the fact that Okonkwo doesn't like his real son, Nwoye, that much because he isn't as tough or violent as he should be was came unexpectedly to me. I would have thought that because he is his only son that Okonkwo would have loved him more and had a closer relationship with him, but it was almost the opposite. Even though Ikemefuna made Nwoye more like a man, he still was not as favored as much as Ikemefuna.

Things Fall Apart

While reading the book Things Fall Apart I learned more about the African culture.  I learned their customs and what their families are like.  I never would have thought that men were allowed to have more than one wife at the same time.  Men were highly respected if they had many wives, for instance, the more wives they had, the more they would be respected.  I now have an idea of what they live through everyday and what they're expected to do.  For example, women and children are expected to do whatever the male tells them to do.  If they did not do what they were expected to, the male would beat them.  The male of the family worked in the fields and planted yams, while the women planted other things.  Girls were supposed to do things women did, and could not help out the father because that is the job for a man to do.  Boys were not allowed to do things women did, and they always go wherever their father goes.  I never thought the African culture would be so strict with what men and women could and couldn't do, but I really love reading this book because I get a chance to be in someone else's shoes and experience a new culture.

Things Fall Apart

I like how in Things Fall Apart we get to read about a different culture. When books introduce new lifestyles, it provides us with another perspective that we get to understand. I find it fascinating how something that is normal and accepted in the Igbo culture is appalling and unthinkable in ours. We look at part of their culture in the novel and we don’t know how it could be acceptable in ours. I also think the fact that Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna because he didn’t want others to think he was weak is foreshadowing what is going to happen in the rest of the novel it shows how prevalent his fear of being weak is in the Igbo culture. I think that this fear makes up the tragic part of tragic hero.

Thing Fall Apart

     In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe the main character's behavior seems to foreshadow his future downfall. This is evident because a person who makes mistakes and doesn't recognize them is capable of falling easily. They won't notice their wrong step and will keep on walking until they trip. Okonkwo has made some severe mistakes but doesn't accept them. For example, Okonkwo beat up her wife in the Week of Peace which is something highly offensive to their gods. After the tragedy, he produced he did not seem to be ashamed or feel bad about his action. Okonkwo is a respected man but at the same time extremely stubborn and has no patience. He always wants to be correct and not be corrected. He makes mistakes and doesn't' accept them meanwhile others make mistakes and he gets furious. He wants to look tough even though from the inside he is dying. Okonkwo's bad characteristics seem to destroy all the good characteristics he has. The bad behavior he obtains will at one point not be the one hurting others but only himself. His fear of failing and showing weakness will destroy him gradually until the final stab comes to him.

Things Fall Apart- Thoughts

Most likely contrary to popular opinion, I do not find Things Fall Apart very enjoyable overall. Certain aspects are very captivating to read, particularly the snippets of the novel in which they describe the culture and society of the Igbo culture. Perhaps it is because of my fascination with history and societies (which is my entire life this year) that I find the economic structure, as well as their form of government riveting. Many modern, western societies have, or had, a form of central authority, whether it was a bureaucracy or an absolute monarch, so looking at a culture that strays away from those traditional forms of political structures that we, as Americans, are familiar with, was fascinating. The Igbo society placed heavy significance on the family, masculinity, and order, and the Igbo people still continue those traditions today. The organization of their political structure was heavily influenced by the structure of their own, closely-knit family structure, with the strongest male as the head and women and children beneath. In the government of many Igbo tribes, the males of the village served on a village assembly, designated with the task of making tribal decisions and discussing conflict. Traditionally, the wealthiest, most respected males would be chosen by fellow tribe members to serve on a higher council, the Council of Elders. Even the process of choosing and delegating members of their society displayed and emphasized the importance and relevance of masculinity and dominance, not only in the family, but in the village community.

It is quite interesting to compare the emphasis on family in Igbo society in the 19th century to our western, modern society of today. Children in the Igbo society were expected to perform basic tasks and chores, carrying heavy responsibilities for their parents and other members of the tribe. They were often tasked with retrieving and giving water to their families, and many youthful citizens participated in civic duties to help out the community, such as clearing forests and fulfilling military needs. Typically, in our society in 21st century America, the adolescents are not expected to perform as demanding of tasks, often not having domestic or civic responsibilities whatsoever. This can prove to be problematic, for as the Igbo children grow up knowing and practicing the tasks they would be required to know and perform in their adult years, they are likely to be more successful and productive in their endeavors, whilst the children of well-developed, western societies (mostly) will have a more difficult time performing the tasks that they were not expected to practice and execute in childhood.

It is likely that the book will become more interesting in the near future; however, at the moment, I am not enjoying the book as much as I previously anticipated, predominantly due to the prodigious amount of exposition that takes up a large portion of the novel. Despite that fact, I do appreciate the straightforward prose, making the book simple and not complicated to comprehend. It also gives good insight to a specific culture in Africa before the colonization of the land by European settlers, a perspective that is rarely written about. Further, although I was aware of the Igbo culture, the novel has allowed me to learn more about another society that I had not been au fait with before, letting me connect the new knowledge to information I already had acquired about African cultures before major European influence (which will help with AP, thank goodness). I am eager to continue on with the novel and see which direction the plot heads in, as well as whether or not the story-line becomes more enthralling.

Things Fall Apart

In my opinion, the book Things Fall Apart has really opened my knowledge of recolonization throughout Africa. It also made me aware of just how different our present culture of America is different compared to that of pre-colonized Africa. For example, the children, In Things Fall Apart specifically Nwoye, Okonkwo's eldest son was expected from a young age by his father, Okokonkwo to be very manly and also, to do things such as hunting, etc. And, in our Modern American  lives, kids are still being excused from certain crimes until the age of 18, when they are " fully-grown". Whereas in some tribes in  recolonized Africa, such as the Yoruba, they expect you to take the same responsibilities at seven years of age. Another example of something that fascinated me when reading the book was when I found out that it was common for men to have more than one wife whereas in American society, it is against the law for men to have more than one wife. Also, the whole language compared to American English is completely different, even the names sound literally Out Of This World!

Things Fall Apart

As I was reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, what really stood out to me was Okonkwo's second wife, Ekwefi. Ekwefi was once acknowledged as the village beauty and married Okonkwo after defeating the Cat in a renowned wrestling match. Okonkwo is not all what he seems to be and Ekwefi finds herself and the two other wives under his aggressive rule of the household. At one point, Ekwefi was almost killed by Okonkwo's gun and beaten countless times. Regardless, Ekwefi seems to be quite peppy amongst the other wives and frequently confronts or talk back to Okonkwo. In one of the chapters, it mentioned that Ekwefi was the only wife to have the audacity to knock on Okonkwo's door after he accused her of killing a banana tree to talk things out. As expected, Okonkwo brutally beats her; however, she holds no complaints and withstands the pain which displays some masculinity within her. This trait appears more in Ekwefi's only child, Ezinma, who is Okonkwo's favorite child and I feel that Ekwefi is Okonkwo's favorite wife since not much details about the other wives are mentioned. Ekwefi has a bad history with child bearing as she was only able to born one out of ten children. Because Ekwefi has only one successful birth, Ezinma, she is extremely fond of her and would spoil her with delicacies like eggs. Ekwefi's loss made  her a stronger woman capable of withstanding Okonkwo's abuse because nothing can be as painful as the loss of her nine other children.

Things Fall Apart

While reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, it astounds me that Okonkwo is frightened to show his compassion towards others, so he is seen as a cruel and dangerous man. He is afraid because in their society individuals who show emotions are seen as a coward and is looked down upon which is absurd. I think that showing emotion toward one another tightens the bond that they have between them. We can see this come into play throughout Okonkwo's relationship and his family. He displays little consideration to his three wives and shows no emotion to his children except anger which results in ruthless incidents such as beating and killing. In addition, I feel like because of the fear that has built up inside Okonkwo of becoming like his father, he never shows any emotion openly, unless it is anger which hides his genuine emotions and internal conflict to prove his masculinity. I just wish that Okonkwo has the strength to show just a little bit of compassion towards the people he loves because it could change so many unfortunate events that occurred. For instance, if he simply displayed a slight bit of love towards Ikemefuna, he probably wouldn't have had to die in such a brutal way. As I continue to read this novel, I would like to see Okonkwo show his feelings toward the people he loves which is unlikely since he doesn't want to be seen as a coward.

Things Fall Apart

After reading a bit of Things Fall Apart I can say that it's really been keeping my eyes open. In the beginning when it talks about Okonkwo and how he doesn't want to be a lazy irresponsible person like his father, I first thought that he might make some good choices in life. That thought lasted till chapter 2. After that I was just waiting to see what other bad things he will do. Besides the fact that he has three wives and shows little affection towards each of them, he doesn't even like his son because he doesn't act like him. Then came Ikemefuna, after adopting him and taking care of him for three years, Okonkwo suddenly gets the idea that "oh this is a sign of weakness, let me just kill the only son that I really cared about." The fact that it took him that long just to get the feeling that he is being weak for taking care of him surprises me. I can only wonder what will happen later on.

Thoughts On Things Fall Apart #1

                 Thing Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe that reflects on European colonialism in Africa. In this story, we are exposed to a group of people that we may or may not be familiar with: the Igbo. The Igbo is an ethnic group that resides in parts of modern-day Nigeria, and in Things Fall Apart, they are depicted as a people who live in rural villages and live in a, I guess, tribal society. I suppose that some things that are distinct about the Igbo is the fact that they give guests a kola nut as a piece offering of some sort. I mean, what do you do with a kola nut? But because kola nuts are always offered to guests in Igbo villages, they must be something of value or importance. Another distinct characteristic of the Igbo is that they are very spiritual people. They perform rituals and dances with religious meaning to them, depicting spirits and gods while wearing masks. The sacrifices are what interest me though. During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo nearly murders his second wife by shooting a gun at her, and a priest is highly offended by this. So, Okonkwo has to sacrifice a goat for forgiveness and cleansing of his sins.
                 Apparently, sacrificing animals is the way to go in Igbo society when you have done something terribly wrong, something that you could get arrested for in our society! I'm starting to wonder if Okonkwo ever apologized to his wife for nearly killing her, because that would be petty of he didn't. Igbo society sure likes to mistreat their women, am I right? I mean wives just keep getting beaten by their husbands for not making dinner or something. By now, you can sort of tell that I might be criticizing the Igbo way of life. However, this is due to cultural differences, since I live in a society where domestic abuse is not to the extent of what women may experience in Igbo culture. Overall, reading Things Fall Apart has opened my eyes to a culture that I never knew even existed. When we see something that we not really familiar with, we tend to make judgements about it. Yet by reading this novel, we are able to see life from the perspective of such a foreign culture, and we're able to gain a better understanding of how they live and perceive things. So, yes I have enjoyed reading this novel even though I probably criticized the culture, but I am eager to learn more things about the Igbo.

Things Fall Apart

When reading Things Fall Apart, it sends chills down my spine when it discusses how the women of the village were brutally beaten. We women have come such a long way, ripping ourselves from that life. Feminism is a belief in the social, political, and economic equality of each gender. Things Fall Apart is a book based on the villagers' religion and time period; but reading it over, and over, and over again really strikes at the heart. Also, I believe it is wrong for a man to have 3 wives; especially when it is used as a higher status. A man should love one woman. He shouldn't want her only for her body, family line, and her status. He should want her because she will love him back, respect him, and give life to their children. In addition, I do not agree on the idea of how children are taught to grow up at an early age. When it said that a village's daughter was ready for marriage, it said her age was only 16! I was shocked, but I understood the reasoning behind it. To summarize, I wish that the time period and religion was different.

Things Fall Apart

From what I have read so far I would say that I enjoy Things Fall Apart.  The characters that stood out to me the most would be Ikemefuna and Ezinma.  I think that Okonkwo shouldn't have killed Ikemefuna just because he didn't want to be seen as weak.  Days after he couldn't do much from the fact of thinking of Ikemefuna.  Since the day of the murder didn't show Okonkwo's "weakness", it later showed days after that he had some symphony.  Ikemefuna was his adopted son and a great role model for Nwoye, but the fact that Okonkwo murdered him still gets me.  The women in the book are limited to what they can do. I have respect that Ezinma enjoys the "manly" things.  She isn't just focused on helping around the house but wants to see the things she enjoys.

Things Fall Apart

In Things Fall Apart, I thought that it was messed up to kill Ikemefuna when they got his hopes up by telling him he was going back to his mother. He was backstabbed by the Umuofia in the forest when he wasn’t expecting it. I also thought that it was pretty smart to get his hopes up because it left Ikemefuna vulnerable to the attack. If he actually knew about the execution, then he could probably run away or even bring a machete of his own to fight back. I still don’t get why Okonkwo finished him off, even though he did it to not look weak. It was still his adopted son who looked up to him and was the son he always wanted. Even though killing Ikemefuna showed that he wasn’t weak, when he couldn’t carry himself with his legs after thinking about the killing showed that he was.

quarter 1 book asingment

My first quarter book was sharp objects by gillian flynn. This novel is a mystery novel that starts off by a reporter visiting her hometown with the investigation of a murder story. As a twist, the reporter is a lowlife living woman addicted to alcohol, sex, and drugs. As the investigation continues she finds herself a little more and develops some relations along the way. I would recommend this book because the story starts off as you thinking she an innocent young woman and a twist just got handed toward you. There is also a murder mystery solved in the meanwhile so it keeps the reader interested. I have no connections to this book which I think is the reason why I like it because its something that I haven't experienced it and this book gives me a chance to. 

Quarter 1 SSR

The book that I read was Mind Gym by Gary Mack and David Casstevens is based on inner excellence and it was 224 pages long.  In this book the authors talk about all of his experiences with failure and how he worked with other athletes in the highest platforms with their self excellence.  All of the exercises and tips that they give their athletes are very clever and helpful.  They ask the athletes about their problems and give them mental exercises.
 I really enjoyed this book because it also helps me with my mental struggles when playing or just in general.  This step by step book could be useful to anyone including non-athletes.   None of the excercises are hard to do and it's very interesting to try them out.  I recommend this book to anyone since it's short and helpful.

First Quarter SSR

     Khaled Hosseini's novel, And the Mountains Echoed is a 402 page realistic fiction novel that follows the story of a desperate Afghani family who sells their youngest daughter to a wealthy couple and takes course over fifty years and four generations. Interestingly, Hosseini chose to create the book through the eyes of multiple narrators as oppose to a first person or focused omniscient narrator. Each perspective gives a different take on the family's decisions and personal lives. Pari, who is the daughter of Saboor is taken to a Kabul unaware of her fathers intentions to the Wahdati's who are eagerly awaiting their new child since they are unable to conceive a child of their own. Saboor also believes it his in his daughter's best wishes she lives with a rich family since they belong to a poor and struggling family. It all seems beneficial except Abdullah, who is Pari's brother, have a very strong bond which is being completely uprooted and destroyed because of this event. Throughout this story, many marital issues transpire with lack of love and Pari's new parents withhold vital information about Pari's true identity and her real family. However, she eventually ends up marrying and seeks the truth of her true self.

     I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as I am familiar with Hosseini's writings and admire his concise yet descriptive writing style. He is able to describe things vividly without having long, fluffy drawn out sentences. Within this book are a lot of interesting folklore that is obviously not found within our culture and has insights of wisdom through stories or wise family members about morality and life. Personally, I am also a fan of realistic novels as I find them to be more appealing since they are plausible and aren't extremely farfetched. Especially since it covers real and prevalent issues in less developed countries. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that does have similar literature interests, or just enjoys literature as a whole since it is a beautifully crafted novel.

SSR Quarter 1 Assignment

During the first quarter of the school year I read a non-fiction novel written by Julia Alvarez called In the Time of the Butterflies.  This book is 344 pages long and is based on real events about 4 sisters and their lives growing up in the Trujillo ruling in 1994.  The book is about the Mirabal sisters, known as "the butterflies," each describing every part of their lives and the tough situations they go through.  The four sisters, Dede, Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa, each struggle against the dictatorship they're being ruled under.  Trujillo can ask for anything he wants and he gets it, if not there's a consequence.  The girls grew up with fear of him but then realized they had to fight for their country, Dominican Republic, in order to stop murders that he causes.  I really loved reading this book because it is told from different perspectives and each character focuses on every part of their lives and breaks them down into further detail. 
Each girl grows into a strong woman and they eventually save their country, but sadly three of the sisters died, and only Dede was left.  This book talks about the strength of women, and the power of having faith.  All of the sisters put in their effort to save their country and they succeeded.  Slowly throughout the book, the sisters were each making their families larger and larger, but one sister lost faith when she had a miscarriage.   I do not want to spoil much of the story, but the main reason why I recommend this book is because it is filled with great detail about their lives and focuses on the strength of sisters when they unite.           

SSR Quarter 1

In the young adult fiction novel , Glass, written by Ellen Hopkins, a new mother battles her addiction with crystal meth, she is torn between her love for her family and her love for drugs. Within these 681 pages,the main character Kristina learns throughout the story about, the importance of family. She shows signs of weakness and desperation throughout the series.

Kristina changes dramatically within the novel .In the beginning of the story, Kristina decides to raise her son and live in a sober state. She plans on staying in that mentality for the better of her son, her family, and herself. Later, Kristina rebuilds her relationship with crystal meth. She lets go of her admiring family and pulls herself into the cold hands of crystal. She begins spending the holidays with strangers partying instead of being with family. She first makes a goal for recovery and later relapses into a severe addiction.

In my opinion the novel is very somber and grave. In hopes that Kristina would have recovered from her addiction, I was constantly left in disappointment. Glass exhibits how addiction does not only affect the addict, it also impacts their loved ones. The author writes this story based upon her own daughter's life, she stresses the sadness and hurt the family experiences within the novel to create awareness of addiction. I would not recommend this book to readers seeking lighthearted stories.

First Quarter SSR
For the first quarter SSR, I read the horror fiction novel, The Shining by Stephen King. The book was about 447 pages long.  The story takes place in a hotel as one of the main characters, Jack Torrance accepts the job as a caretaker for the hotel during the winter. While being informed of the tragedies that had been occurred in the hotel, Jack still takes the job taking his wife and son with him for the winter. As the story goes on we learn about Jack's temperament and his alcoholism which he tries to control. Jack's temperament led him to lose his job as a teacher which was why he had to move and find a new job. Jack is a complicated character who desperately tries to hide away his demons. Jack's wife, Wendy is flat character, after the incident with Jack and her son, had been dwelling on the thought of divorce. Although, she had not talked about that much since Jack had finally stayed clean for quite some time and seemed like a changed man. Jack's son, Danny is a young boy who can see in the future. He's believed to have "the shining". Through "the shining", he befriends an imaginary boy named Tony and also begins to get seizures . He tries to keep quiet of all the visions he sees since he does not want his parents to worry.
The hotel is introduced to the Torrance's as not only as work but somewhat of a vacation, something that the married couple needed; however, as time goes on, as normal as they would have wanted things to be, things began to get real worse. Jack has grown mad and crazy as he tries to murder his wife and his son.
I would recommend this book to people that are into more dark, suspenseful type of stories. The Shining is a classic, as it gives more in depth characters like Jack Torrance who hurt his son when he was a little kid. You get a anxious and sick feeling about him. However as the story progresses you start to realize he won't change, and that Wendy and Danny are in grave danger. This gives us two protagonists that we want to see make it out alive. The plot of the story is very dark as it stems from violence and abuse from Jack Torrance who is on a manhunt for his own family. The story was intriguing throughout the book. We got to learn about Wendy's fear of becoming her mother in the beginning and Danny's fear of going to the hotel. All around, Stephen King's The Shining was a great book to read.

Quarter 1 SSR

One of the novels that I had read to fulfill the SSR requirement for this past quarter was Cinder by Marissa Meyer, a science-fiction work composed of 387 pages. The story is from the perspective of a teenaged cyborg adept in mechanics, Cinder. The novel is a loose retelling of the classic story Cinderella, set in a post-apocalyptic Chinese city, New Beijing. The country is raged with outbreaks of plague, calling for an antidote to be discovered and developed immediately. In addition to the devastation caused by the plague, the citizens of earth are caught in a fierce conflict with the inhabitants of the moon, posing a serious threat to the future of the planet. Cinder, gifted with skills and valuable abilities, aids the government in finding a cure for the plague quickly, as, with each passing day, new threats are posed by the citizens of the moon. Cinder must go through a plethora of challenges, including the sudden infection of her step-sister by the plague. Whilst struggling to develop an antidote for the plague victims, Cinder must learn to face her fears and become comfortable in her own skin, for often feeling self-conscious of her synthetic makeup.                     

Cinder was very riveting, filled with action and packed with science and very detailed machinery. The details were spectacular, making it almost impossible for you not to clearly see the city of New Beijing in your mind. The plot was easy to follow, and there was rarely a dull moment; however, at times, the plot moved a bit too quickly for my liking, not delving deeply into some holes. The characters were all well developed and had memorable personalities. The character of Cinder was strong and stood her ground, an enjoyable female character who, wonderfully, did not rely on her male counterpart to solve her problems. There were humorous moments yet a fair share of angry, why-did-this-happen moments as well. The easy, simplistic writing style allowed for a quick read (and lets you advance into the book faster, satisfying the need to know what happens next). This novel consisted one of the most baffling plot twists I have ever read, which offered a refreshing change to the rather predictable novels that are gaining prevalence and popularity.

The novel had been recommended to me by multiple individuals, all testifying its wonder; however, I did not view the book as particularly outstanding. Although I felt that it wasn't exceptional, I enjoyed reading it very much. It was entertaining and the connections with the original tale of Cinderella were well thought-out and savvy. This novel is worth the read, especially if you fancy a dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting.

1st Quarter SSR Assignment

     One book I read this semester was Fear by Michael Grant and it's the fifth science fiction book in the Gone Series. Also, it's (about) 528 pages composed of the story surrounding kids that are 15 years and younger. They are completely isolated when everyone older than 15 years disappears from Perdido Beach and a lot of the town is surrounded by this impenetrable dome which they call the barrier. The kids nickname their "new" town the FAYZ, the Fallout Alley Youth Zone. 

     In Fear, the book is taking place after they've survived all the hunger, the lies, and the plaques. Now they have to survive the fear, the kids of the FAYZ start to notice that the barrier is beginning to obtain these black stains that are spreading and they fear they will be left in total darkness. Meanwhile, Sam, the protagonist, is also worrying about the safety of Diana because the Gaiaphage sent Drake to kidnap her. The Gaiaphage is the evil entity of the FAYZ, it was born from a power plant radiation accident of some sort. Drake is a psychopath who serves the Gaiaphage in its evil deeds. The Gaiaphage wants Diana brought to it, because Diana is pregnant and it wants to have a body in order to cause more chaos and because it wants to be prepared for when the barrier comes down in order to take over the world. 

      I really enjoyed this book, and series, because it's a dynamic series with many unpredictable plot twists. The story line is well thought out and thorough. Also, many of the characters in the book are complex and it works for the complex plot. I would definitely recommend this book to those who like action-packed, science fiction books.  

SSR 1st semester Blog (An Autobiography by Andrae Agassi)

   My 1st semester book was An Autobiography by Andrae Agassi which contains 400 pages. The genre of his autobiography is sports, more specifically (tennis). Agassi was born in a poor town in Las Vegas. His dad being from Afghanistan, living as a young boy through the Afghan war knows much about that life. And, this has affected him and the way that he raised his three children, however, Agassi was the only one that had natural raw talent. Agassi's father puts hard pressure on Agassi as a little boy. Everyday, forcing him to go upon against  a ball machine that he calls the dragon. Agassi's dad burns him out from tennis. Everyday for 7 hours after school hitting the ball, making harsh comments every time the ball goes into the net. This creates a horrible relationship between the two. But leads Agassi to be a great defender. Returning balls deep and in the court , annoying the opponent. After a while, Agassi's dad sends him to an academy because he was beating everyone around his cities, and was in desperate need for competition. He sends him to an academy in Florida which still exists today, and is commonly known , but was better back in the day for producing future professionals. This academy is called the Nick Bolleteri Academy, located in Southern Florida. There he actually finds out there is something about writting that he loves. That English unlike any other subject was natural to him. He loved to do the journal entries in English, although he didn't do any work in school at all. which leads to his worldwide knowing of his reputation as a rebel. After he sends him there, the academy offers him to go there for free, but Agassi, hating the game tries to rebel. By the way he walks and dresses, even with an earing in his ears like a girl. He later becomes something that you are soon to find out if you are to read this book.
      I typically liked this book because I enjoy tennis and learned much about Agassi's life, and strategies that he used. I was able to connect with Agassi in different ways such as playing tennis from a young age. However, my father does not force me to play, which I am lucky for, because every time I play, it's because I want to play, because I love the sport, not because I am forced to play. Although, I disliked much of the negativity put in this book such as many cuss- words. But hey, at least its the truth. I would really recommend this to people who would maybe want to read about tennis and are intrested in the game. The character Andrae Agassi was trying too find out his personal identity grawing up as a young child ito an adult, rebelling even during his prime.

First Quarter SSR

  For the first quarter, I read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. This novel is a political fiction and it has a total of 350 pages. The book was a little hard to understand since the story takes place during the industrial revolution and a lot went on during that time. The main character is Jurgis Rudkus. Jurgis is a Lithuanian immigrant who comes to Chicago, (at the time Chicago was called Packingtown)with his wife Ona and their family, in search of a better life. Chicago at the time was notorious for their meat packaging industry which is a hard, dangerous, and filthy place where it is difficult to find a job. His American dream did not come true when he goes into debt to the saloon keeper. Jurgis meets Jack Duane a safecracker, and all of their debts force Jurgis to join jack mugging people and their financial conditions become so bad that Ona's cousin Marija became a prostitute to support the family. Jurgis becomes ardent socialist to help the means of production to satisfy everyone's needs but most important the working class men. Jurgis did work in the meatpacking industry so he has seen the conditions they work through which also pushed him to fight for his people. I would recommend this book to anyone who is willing to endure all the graphic things said about the meat industry.

Quarter 1 SSR

                   My first quarter SSR was a non-fiction sports book that surprisingly kept me engaged as it was a baseball auto-biography. The author of the book, Derek Jeter, summarized his path to the MLB with a well-written timeline from his transition from a scrub a legend. This book is great for any young athlete because it revolves around common struggles and doubts they come across in any sport, playing a position you do not like can be an example. Throughout the book, Jeter stresses to never give up. When Jeter was in school, he had always dreamed of being a Major League Baseball player and his peers never failed to mock him. Jeter found the courage to prove them wrong when he signed a contract with the New York Yankees and eventually became the starting shortstop. He was a great fielder and amazing contact hitter, he could do everything. Five years ago, Derek Jeter distressingly announced his retirement and is now a legend with five rings.

                                                       SSR First Quarter Assignment                                                   
      The book I chose for first quarter SSR was a 180 page novel called The Outsiders . The author of this book is S.E. Hinton.  I definitely recommend this book to those interested in reading coming of age or young adult fictions. I am very glad I ended up choosing this book because it was a very good book that expresses a variety of themes. For example, some main themes such as choices, violence, love, loyalty and isolation were shown throughout the story. My favorite thing about this novel is that there  never was a single moment dull moment. The Outsiders kept me at the edge of my seat with the on going, thrilling, and intense events from beginning to end.
      To summarize, the story is about a boy just trying to survive his teenage years. A few factors make this very difficult for him. For instance , his involvement in a gang, his unsafe neighborhood and the recent death of his parents . In the beginning of the story the main character , Ponyboy, lives with his two older brothers but due to some chaotic events they eventually get separated. Ponyboy faces many challenges , learns valuable lesson, and goes through so much (good and bad). This page-turner is one I definitely suggest you put on your reading list. Will Ponyboy make it through this challenging interval of his life ?? Read to find out !!!