Harkness Reflection

I think I'm doing okay in this class. I really enjoy it, so that helps, but I think that I could be a little more active in discussion. I'm really good at listening to people, but I don't really speak that much. I think that it's rather difficult for me to interject because I can express myself easier if I'm writing and I'm never really fully confident in what I am saying in class. It's hard because I really don't want to mess up and look stupid. It's one of those things that makes me embarrassed..... I mean, writing you can edit. You can't edit your spoken ideas and people tend to remember what you say more. Listening to the ideas of others is embarrassment free, and you don't have to risk sounding stupid by replying.

1. I apparently had a text reference and I talked twice to Mustafa and David. This must've been at the beginning of the year when I felt most confident in what I was saying. I was most likely answering someone's question.
2. I talked a lot to Mustafa, both Matts, and Laksh. I remember this discussion and it was when I was asking a question but I felt that people didn't understand my question, and so I had to keep on asking it in different ways until it clicked for them. I really hate talking like that because it's embarrassing that people don't understand what I'm trying to say. I think that was also the day when I had this really great idea but by the time I had a chance to talk, it was irrelevant.
3. I talked once to Julia. I don't remember what it was about.
4. I talked twice with Mustafa and Emily. I don't remember what this one was about either, but I think that this is the most accurate representation of how my discussions will go.

Writing September 23

I am starting to dislike Tambu. I think that she is becoming exactly like her brother, who I could not stand. It's weird to me how a prevalent idea in the book is that even though family is inexorably tied to education of the children, it seems to be that as soon as Tambu or Nhamo gets to Babmukuru's house, they suddenly realize the "squalor" they used to live in and are ashamed. It bothers because they are being educated for the benefit of their family, and as soon as they reach the mission, it is all about them. I dislike how the family is immediately discarded. I don't know if it's naivety or just shame, but it really inhibits the good feelings that I have for the book. I don't find Tambu a character that makes it easy to sympathize/empathize, for the simple reason that her feelings are very alien to me. When she was angry at her brother, I understood because her brother was obviously in the wrong, but the fact that she would miss her river more than her family really put me off.

There is an interesting contrast between Babamukuru and Nhamo/Tambu. Nhamo and Tambu are being educated because it is good for the family. Babamukuru managed to build himself a life with his own two hands and look out for his family. Maybe when Tambu is older, she will understand that her position is important because then she can look after her family, but in the interim it is annoying how she thinks she will learn and be educated and leave her family behind.

I think the tone is slightly off too, because all she ever seems to do is condescend people. She dislikes her cousin because she is rude and "hoped that she would not carry on like that..." She also had a whole paragraph explaining what was wrong in their kitchen. On page 71 she talks about the dirt in the house, and on the next page she ridicules the use of a tea-strainer. The tone is so disparaging and so un-likeable. She is being placed in a position to better her and her family's circumstances, and all she can do is criticize her new home. It is very bothersome to read, and it makes her seem ungrateful. I know that moving is a hard task, especially away from your family, but she did not seem to even like her family and all she could hope for was to not sleep in the same room as her cousin, who is rude and unhelpful. I just don't understand why the other would write this if she wanted to make her character likable.

One thing that is rather puzzling to me is their religious system. It obviously important, but it reminds me of Haruki Murakami's Dance Dance Dance the way reality is so interchangeable with things that aren't necessarily feasible in reality.

One example is after Ezinma gets sick, Achebe writes about the story of Ezinma's birth. Ezinma is described as an ogbanje which, according to Wikipedia, is an evil spirit. For the Igbo, the word means, "children who come again and again". It is an interesting idea that the favorite daughter of Okonkwo is also thought to be an evil spirit. But I digress. According to the story, the ogbanje have these things called iyi-uwa, which according to Wikipedia again, is an object that binds the spirit of a dead child to the world, causing them to born again and again. Some of Chapter Nine is spent telling the story of the finding of Ezinma's iyi-uwa. At first, I thought (from my view as a westerner) that maybe Ezinma was being coerced into saying that she had one and to give the location. But the fact that it was actually found seems to contradict my reading of what happened. The nonchalant way it is woven into the story makes it less believable, to me at least, and confuses the action of the story.

Another example is at the funeral of Ezeudu. It is a very frenzied funeral, as Ezeudu was a warrior. But in the middle of describing the funeral, it is said that "Now and again an ancestral spirit or egwugu appeared from the underworld, speaking in a tremulous, unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia." These spirits seem to be commonplace, and so relevant to the reality of the story, but my confusion stems from the case at the beginning of Chapter Ten. A court case is being received and a point is made that, "Okonkwo's wives, and perhaps the other women as well, might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo."

Chimamanda Adichie's TED Talks

There is something motherly about her. The way she stood, impeccably dressed with smooth dark skin, reminded me of my mother. She was so articulate, her Nigerian accent accentuated with (what seemed to me) an English one. Her just being an articulate writer who was interested in "the process" just reminded me completely and utterly of my mother.

Her roommate really struck a chord with me. It was astounding that someone could be so ignorant to someone else's face. I know that it is something that happens often, but it was weird that it should happen to someone so cultured and intellectual. The other moment that was particularly appalling was her professor, someone who should be knowledgeable, saying that her novel was not "authentically African". Um, excuse me, SHE IS AFRICAN. I am really appalled at what people allow to exit their mouths.

It seems that whenever writers attempt to illustrate what it is really like in their home countries, they are always met with ignorance. It is a strange idea, that someone bringing truth would be met with such audacious and brash stupidity, but it seems to happen frequently. Perhaps I just have an extreme aversion to stupidity (not perhaps, I do), but it just seemed to be so unforgivable, how would someone let you open your mouth?

Her point about writing about what she sees resonated with me. When I was younger, I wasn't allowed to buy dolls with pale skin and blue eyes, because I wasn't like them. In our house, we have lots of art and literature of African origin, and I grew up hearing about the struggles of the African people. In a way, I got a more beneficial upbringing for someone of color than Ms. Adichie did. She read books with white characters and English personalizations that were so completely inapplicable to her life. Even though she was directly linked with her past by being in Nigeria, her identity as a Nigerian/African was stifled by the remnants of colonialism. As a young writer, I never wrote stories with Caucasian protagonists. It wasn't shocking when she talked about this, but I was a little surprised that she had become so proud of who she is in later life. However, when in situations like this, you have to do what must be done.

Book Cover Exercise

#4

Out of all the book covers, I think the edition that we were given for class works the best in relation to the story. Maybe because I have been accustomed to it for longer, but I also like the message it is trying to convey. I think it really ties in with the story. The fissures in the picture of the man's face really look like parched ground and one of the main aspects of the story is the planting season. There is a passage in the novel where it talks about the sun breathing a breath of fire on the earth, and the cover really evokes this. I also like how it kind of ties in with the story of the Tortoise, because the Tortoise tried to take advantage of his friends and ended up falling back to earth and cracking his shell. The cracks also remind me that when things fall apart, they don't fall apart in large pieces. The crack and fissure and little pieces break off. Because of this, I think that, at least on a superficial level, cover #4 is the most fitting cover.

Thoughts:

Nwoye

• reminds me of Caleb in East of Eden when Caleb was trying so hard to be like his father, but his father never saw it.
• Okonkwo wants Nwoye to be a certain type of person, and will not settle until he is that way. He cannot see Nwoye's true intentions (i.e. to make his father proud of him)

Ikemefuna

• the "Golden Boy"
• Okonkwo loves having him around because he is an older boy who is helping Nwoye become more of a man
• he has totally assimilated into the household, barely even remembering his own family
• I feel that as a character he is very important because I feel that his death is the catalyst for Okonkwo's fall
• why did Okonkwo have a part in his death?
• his death symbolizes Okonkwo destroying the very thing he strived for most
• symbolizes the destruction of what Okonkwo's well being and lifestyle by his fear

Ezinma

• is the fact that she is ogbanje attributed to the circumstance of her gender, or is that a bit of a stretch?
• i feel that she will die, only because Okonkwo loves her so much more than he should
• she is the perfect child, if only she were a boy
• she will die because of something that Okonkwo will/has do/done.

Writing exercise:

"As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his matchet, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, 'My father, they have killed me!' as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his matchet and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak." (page 57)

When I first read this passage, for some reason, it was not apparent to me that Okonkwo had delivered the killing blow. As I read the passage out to type, I realized that in his fear, Ikemefuna ran toward Okonkwo. For me, this changes the whole connotation of the excerpt. My impressions of the first reading were that Okonkwo had acted out of fear, and that he had run forward to see if Ikemefuna could be saved, and then in order to not look weak, drew his matchet and killed him. I think this passage is significant because it demonstrates that Okonkwo's fear is so powerful, that it overrides his paternal instincts. His "son" calls out for him and runs towards him for help, and yet Okonkwo cuts him down. Because he is so afraid of being thought weak. I think no matter how attached we are to Ikemefuna and all of the positivity he brought into Okonkwo's household, the real significance of his death is not that we have lost a central character, but that it signals the turning point of the novel.

It is also interesting how, in his fear, Okonkwo completely disregards the warning of an elder. On the top of page 54, Ogbuefi Ezeudu says, "'That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death.'" And yet Okonkwo delivers the fatal blow. Because of this, I feel that the "fall" of Okonkwo is very near.

Chapters 6-9 Questions and Observations

• Very spiritual and mildly esoteric society: "Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born." "They were possessed by the spirit of the drums." (both page 44)
• What is the composition/effects of a kola nut?
• The line, "'I think she will stay...'" makes it seem as if the children have a choice to "leave". (page 46)
• This is said by the priestess of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, who is very important, which seems to warrant its truth.
• Foreshadowing?
• In reference to Ezinma.
• Ikemefuna is a positive force in the family's life. "Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna." (page 49)
• Nwoye is suppressing his nature for his father's benefit. Okonkwo suppressed his father's nature in himself. (page 51)
• What is harmattan? (page 51)
• Locusts seem like a bad thing to me, however the people of Umuofia are pleased by the coming of the locusts. (page 52)
• Umuofia seems very isolated from the rest of the nine villages (page 53)
• "'That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death.'"They are going to kill Ikemefuna! (page 54)
• Strange that Okonkwo would even consider having a hand in his death
• Seems like a warning to prevent him from even thinking of it
• Why would he think of being apart of his death?
• On page 55 there is reference to a celebration being had somewhere to celebrate the giving of a title to a man in a village.
• Weird contrast of going to Ikemefuna's death and gaining a "new life" with the acquisition of a title
• Okonkwo's fear rules him so much, he cuts down his own son.
• "Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being though weak." (page 57)
• The warning and this mention of his fear makes this almost positively his "fatal flaw"
• "Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna." even strong men feel guilt. (page 59)
• Mentions the fact that Ezinma should have been a boy every page for three pages.  (pages 60-2)
• "'But if the Oracle said that my son should be killed I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it." I feel the same way. Why did this not occur to Okonkwo? (page 63)
• The talking of the giving of the titles seems to make Umuofia more respectful and virtuous than other villages. (page 65)
• When Obierika's daughter is meeting with her suitor, she goes from being assessed to being completely forgotten about. (page 66-7)
• "...the polite name for leprosy was 'the white skin'" interesting that the color of their occupier's skin became the name for leprosy
• Okonkwo remembers a story that his mother told him, strange because Nwoye is trying not to enjoy the stories of the women so much. (pages 51 and 71)
• Ezinma is dying!!! (page 71)
• What is an iyi-uwa? (page 76)
• Did Ezinma actually have an iyi-uwa or is she playing along for the sake of the village? (page 77)
• The medicine man digs up a pebble wrapped in a rag, and Ezinma seems to truthfully say it is hers. So, are we to assume that these powers are present? (page 80)