Journal 11

I think that the two different missionaries show two sides of colonialism a side that maybe is a little bit nicer cares for people more a little bit more. In colonialism there were two sides to the sides to the colonists there were some nice ones and there were some mean ones. The two different missionaries serve the purpose of showing the two sides of colonialism.   In the broader aspect of colonialism Achebe is showing the perspective of cultural diffusion with one side and cultural destruction with another.

Journal 10

Okonkwo thinks that the Ibo are responsible for the white men invading their land because when the white man first came they let them stay.  He think that when the white man first arrived they should have not let them stay.  Now that the white man has been there for a while many of the Ibo have converted to his religion and the clan is falling apart.  I do not think that it is completely the Ibo's fault because they did not know that the white coming would be the beginning of the end for their way of life in the village.If the Ibo had known that the white man would bring an end to much of their society I do not think that they would have let them in.

Journal 9

The Infomercial that we did in class yesterday was a lot of fun.  I enjoyed it because it was a group activity and we were allowed to be creative.  I think that making an infomercial is helpful because we get to look at things in a different way.
Switching religions would be very challenging for someone because they would be leaving everything and everyone that they had ever known.  It would also be challenging because when someone left their religion they were exiled and could no longer have contact with people that they loved.  This would be very challenging for the larger community because when a new religion comes in the two religions could have conflict and wars could potentially break out.  

Journal 8

When the church was built in the evil forest it affected the Ibo because they said that the church would die and it did not.  The church not dying in the evil forest affected the way that the Ibo thought  about the Christians because they were immune to the "powers" of the forest.  The church gained followers when they did not die in the evil forest and when they accepted everybody into their religion.Another consequence was that the Ibo obviously did not want them their so they gave them an evil piece of land.                                    A cultural loss for the Ibo was that their elders were wrong when they said that they missionaries would die in the forest and it hurt their religion.  They also thought that when the church took in twins and other outcasts they would be cursed and they were not.  The colonial powers gained people as they seemed immune to the evils that would go upon them when they did things like accepting twins and taking in outcasts.  A cultural loss for the Ibo was that there religion was going away.

Journal 7

I think that Okonkwo is a tragic hero.  He fits many traits of a tragic hero he had a great down fall when he killed the boy.  Another trait that he was of high status in the community. Okonkwo also had  a fatal flaw which was his anger control an example of this is when he beat his wife for no reason.  He is similar to Batman because he did not have much parenting in his childhood then he fell from grace. Another reason for Okonkwo being a tragic hero is that he is the main character.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Journal 6

I feel a little bit sorry for Okonkwo because he was banished from the clan for something that was just an accident.  He did not want that boy to die but Okonkwo did kill and the law is that he must be banished for 7 years.  I do not think that the punishment was appropriate because he did not even commit a crime so there should not have been a punishment.  i think that he does take appropriate responsibility for his choices because he does not argue the people when they tell him that he must go.

Journal 5

My opinion of the marriage ceremony in Chapter 12 was that it was more like selling something than they loved each other.  I think this because when the other family was coming they were counting the pots of wine that they were bringing as payment for the marriage.  It was similar because they were giving gifts like people do today and there was a ceremony like people do today. Some similar things are that there are relatives music a bride and groom and it was a nice party.  What struck me as foreign was that it was an arraigned  marriage which do not happen very often today in America.  The benefits to a ceremony like that are that everyone gets together and they become friends.

Journal 4

The tortoise was not invited to the dinner with the birds.  He did not like this so he told them he was a changed man eventually they believed him and invited the tortoise to the feast.  The Tortoise gave a speech at the dinner with the birds and then proceeded to eat all the food.  The birds did not like that he ate all food.  The Tortoise thought that he could fly like the birds so he went into the clouds and leaped. When he landed his shell was broken and then a medicine man put his shell back together but it was no longer smooth.   The purpose of the tortoise folk tale is to explain why the tortoise does not have a smooth shell which they could not explain.  I think that the tortoise was inserted into the story because in the story the tortoise had much hubris like Okonkwo so Achebe is trying to say that something bad ill happen to Okonkwo.

Journal 3

The theory that children who do not survive are evil spirits would make sense to the Ibo because they do not have modern medicine.  Without modern medicine they would not know why a baby died.  It would make sense to think that the baby died from an evil spirit because they did not know about many illnesses.  I found that all of the flashbacks and babies dying were very confusing.  I was also confused that the little girl was bad.  I found the hunt for the baby stone interesting because it showed the young daughter as almost evil and children are usually not portrayed as evil.

Journal 2

Was Okonkwo justified in killing Ikemefuna?


In Okonkwo's mind he was justified in killing Ikemefuna because when he had taken him in 3 years ago he knew that he was going to kill him for sacrifice.  In my mind I do not think that Okonkwo was justified in killing Ikemefuna.  I think this because Ikemefuna called him father which means that they had a very close emotional attachment so it was like Okonkwo was killing his son.  He did not have to kill Ikemefuna someone else could have killed him, but Okonkwo did not want to look weak so he killed him without justification.

Journal 1

What similarities do you see between Okonkwo's family structure/relationships and your own family? What specific example is most different.

Answer:
One example of a similarity is that the mother and daughter do most of the cooking (although I sometimes cook).  Another similarity is that I have siblings and we do stuff together like eating.  Something else that is similar is how we both celebrate holidays.  Some differences are that they are polygamist and Okonkwo beats his wife and children all the time.  My father does not drink wine out of a human head.