I hope that everyone is enjoying both
summertime and our summer reading. It seems that we have all of the technical issues resolved. Awesome! Remember, if you are getting an error message, check YOUR settings and make sure you are using the correct browser. Also, I apologize for the late post here. I meant to post of Friday. I understand that many of you are away this week and it is okay if you are late on the post. Please keep in mind that I wont post threads early. I want students to finish the reading before they see my post, so your opinions are your own. However, my plan is to get them up a week before the due date.
The good news
is we are over half way through our book! I am happy to see that most of you
are keeping up with the reading and are posting on time. Keep going!
I am happy to see that most of you
are answering EVERY part of the discussion questions. I am not simply looking
for your opinion. Yes, the culture is different and Okonkwo can be a horrible
man and there are many sad occurrences. I am looking for a deeper connection to
the text. I am also NOT simply looking for a summary. I need to see that you
comprehend the text and are able to analyze each component. Be sure to answer
EACH part of the discussion questions.
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Here is an example of an exemplary
response to discussion thread #2:
Ikemefuna's death is horrific.
Describe your thoughts while reading chapter 7. How does the Ibo culture play
into the boy's death and the reactions afterward?
And now we see another weakness of
Okonkwo. He has to appear impressive to the other villagers.The fact that he participated in the execution of Ikemefuna,
shows that he is trapped in a paradox. If he doesn’t help kill him, he is
viewed as weak. But since he
did help kill him, he is sent into a depression and views himself as weak. Thus
you see that he cares more about what other people see him doing rather than
what he would do alone. I thought that it was terrible to attack Ikemefuna with
a machete. I do admire that Okonkwo didn’t tell him what was really happening.
Sometimes the anticipation and dread of the event would be worse than the
actual execution. That shows that he might have an inkling of a conscience.
After the execution Okonkwo is
depressed for a couple of days. He wonders why he feels so guilty. The rest of
his family is sad also. Nwoye was shocked and became mildly depressed and lost
all energy. But the other villagers don’t notice a thing. Some even treat it like
a sport. Ibo culture is brutal but it
seemed that Ikemefuna’s death was a little over the top.
The writer addresses all 3 of the
questions in the prompts:
1. What are your thoughts while reading chapter 7?
2. How does the Ibo culture play into the boy’s death?
3. How does the Ibo culture play into the reactions afterward?
The only suggestion I have for this response is to cite the source.
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We will be relating Things
Fall Apart to The Odyssey in the fall and it is
crucial that you all come in with a significant understanding of the text.
Please remember that these posts will equal a total of 100 points. This means
that you can and should have an A coming into the class in August. I cannot, however,
give full credit to students who are submitting assignments that are incomplete. Feel free to go back and add to any of your responses if need be.
Discussion Thread:
Chapters 10 introduces the egwugwu,
the clan’s ancestral spirits who administer justice. This sets up the
order of discipline that will inevitably be carried out on Okonkwo in the
following chapters. We learn about Chielo and the Oracle of the Hills and Caves
in chapters 11 & 12. This is another example of how the villagers don’t
have much say at all in their lives and that everything is left up to the
spirits. Chapters 13-15 are dedicated to Okonkwo’s exile and finally, the
introduction of the “white man.” These chapters are really a turning point in
both the novel and the culture itself.
Uchendu, Okonkwo’s uncle, calls all
of his family together. He asks Okonkwo about the meaning of Nneka (pg 116-7):
“’Can you tell me, Okonkwo, why it is
that one of the commonest names we give our children is Nneka, or ‘Mother is
Supreme’? We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his
bidding. A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and
her family. A man belongs to his fatherland and not his motherland. And yet we
say Nneka – ‘Mother is Supreme.’ Why is that?’”
Okonkwo does not seem to know the
answer to this seemingly easy question. Chapter 14 ends when Uchendu answers it
for him.
How does Uchendu answer his own
question? How does his answer relate to Okonkwo and the way he lives his life?
Why is this speech so significant at this point in the story?
Be sure to answer each part of the
discussion topic and support your answer by using specifics from the text.
Keep reading!
~Mrs. K
