Monday, March 21, 2011
TFA Threaded Discussion: Carly, Keenan, Kurt
Select and cite one criticial quotation or passage from Things Fall Apart. Next, respond to your peers (identify whose passage you are responding to) with insight regarding why each passage is critical. Once everyone has responded to your passage, you have the last word; add an additional comment stating why you chose the quotation you did. We'll review some in class.
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"My father used to say to me: 'Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life.' When I saw you all pouring into this meeting from all the quarters of our clan so early in the morning, I knew that something was after our life." p. 203
ReplyDelete-Keenan
In response to Keenan...
ReplyDeleteThis passage uses a proverb to draw cultural connections, but it also creates the frantic energy of the clan that was seen earlier, like at the wrestling match, when he compares the clan to a jumping, frantic animal. This quote also foreshadows the the destruction of not only individual lives, but also the death and implosion of the tribe as a single entity.
- Carly <3
POWER PASSAGE:
ReplyDelete"We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. An animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him." p.165
- Carly <3
In response to Carly:
ReplyDeleteThis passage is critical because it shows how deeply ingrained the importance of family is to the Ibo people. It is also so because it displays the rift between Okonkwo's duty to tradition and his acceptance of its importance, which furthers the argument that Okonkwo places more importance on himself than on tradition.
Final word:
ReplyDeleteI chose this passage for the reasons Keenan observed, and also because it demonstrates the way in which the white men were able to disable the tribe. They severed ties between fathers and sons, wives and husbands, families and friends. The white men undermined the importance of kinsmen, and the clan was not able to function with its foundation demolished.
- Carly <3
Power Passage:
ReplyDeleteAs the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, 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 machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.
-Kurt <3
Excellent passage, Kurt. You are clearly a well-read and attractive individual.
ReplyDelete-The Real Ted Danson <3
Charlie: not so much.
In response to Kurt:
ReplyDeleteThe critical aspect of this passage is in the words that describe Okonkwo as Ikemefuna runs toward him. The fact that Okonkwo is "dazed with fear" is ironic considering that Ikemefuna is the one being killed. This passage reveals Okonkwo's greater concern for how he is viewed than for the life of a child who feels as if Okonkwo is his true father.
Final word:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carly's interpretation of the quote, and the main reason I found the passage to be critical is that it is right before the turning point in Okonkwo's life that leads to his suicide. At this point, the tribe is admitting that its life is truly in danger, and it seems that they are readying to fight against the Christians. However, the tribe does nothing of the sort and lets itself die off.
In response to Kurt:
ReplyDeleteThis passage defines Okonkwo's character as an insecure, selfish, image-preserving man; the type of man the clan idolizes for his "strength," but as Keenan pointed out, the irony lies with the fact that he is "dazed with fear" and, inwardly, not at all the hero the tribe imagines.
- Carly <3
Stop copying my hearts, I know you are jealous. Jerks.