Ignore the gracedoppler44 person. My little sister's friend didn't log off her email when I tried to post... Here it is.
"The annual worship of the earth goddess fell on a Sunday, and the masked spirits were abroad. The Christian women who had been to church could not therefore go home. Some of their men had gone out to beg the egwugwu to retire for a short while for the women to pass. They agreed and were already retiring, when Enoch boasted aloud that they would not dare to touch a Christian. Whereupon they all came back and one of them gave Enoch a good stroke of the cane, which was always carried. Enoch fell on him and tore off his mask. The other egwugwu immediately surrounded their desecrated companion... and led him away. Enoch had killed an ancestral spirit, and Umuofia was thrown into confusion. That night the Mother of the Spirits walked the length and breadth of the clan, weeping for her murdered son. It was a terrible night. Not even the oldest man in Umuofia had ever heard such a strange and fearful sound, and it was never to be heard again. It seemed as if the very soul of the tribe wept for a great evil that was coming--its own death" (186-187).
In response to Mike's power passage, I believe this passage foreshadows the clan's ultimate demise. Members of the clan turn to the missionaries as fast as the removal of the mask. The removal of the mask symbolizes the removal of their culture. Many of the people were turning away from what they had always known. It also shows the Ibo people's strong connection to the egwugwu and their Gods as well as their strong connection with one another. The other clansmen immediately came to the aid of their "desecrated companion" in a time of need.
"Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness... It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear og himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father" (13).
My own quotation interpretation: It is at this moment that the white man's culture has physically attacked and killed a piece of Igbo culture (the killings of the pythons were all rumors, never seen or proven, and therefore this is the pivotal moment of the culture's "death"). The passage is so important because it marks the inevitable death, with heavy foreshadowing of Igbo fate. Their culture is never going to be the same, for it has been broken. All they can do is "weep."
This passage is important since it gets down into the core of who Okonkwo is. It shows what drives him--this fear--and it also opens within our minds the possibility to pity him. He is a pitiful person, afterall, always terrified of how someone may compare him to his father, how someone may see his weakness. We may not forgive him, but at least we come to understand him a little more.
I believe this passage brings a new depth to Okonknwo. At this point he is no longer merely a senseless, angry man. He has a very human reason for anger: fear. Fear is what drives most events in this novel. The fear of being viwed as weak drove Okonkwo to kill Ikemefuna. It is the fear of Okonkwo that keeps Nwoye from expressing himself as a young child. This passage provides a solid reason for Okonkwo's actions and admits that he is not in control of himself for he is dominated by fear.
Lovely, you two. This is exactly what I had in mind when I assigned this discussion. You've thoughtfully responded to one another and chosen meaningful passages. Mike - I would like you to share your passage in class tomorrow, and I would like to see both of you discuss your process. Well done.
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ReplyDeleteIgnore the gracedoppler44 person. My little sister's friend didn't log off her email when I tried to post... Here it is.
ReplyDelete"The annual worship of the earth goddess fell on a Sunday, and the masked spirits were abroad. The Christian women who had been to church could not therefore go home. Some of their men had gone out to beg the egwugwu to retire for a short while for the women to pass. They agreed and were already retiring, when Enoch boasted aloud that they would not dare to touch a Christian. Whereupon they all came back and one of them gave Enoch a good stroke of the cane, which was always carried. Enoch fell on him and tore off his mask. The other egwugwu immediately surrounded their desecrated companion... and led him away. Enoch had killed an ancestral spirit, and Umuofia was thrown into confusion.
That night the Mother of the Spirits walked the length and breadth of the clan, weeping for her murdered son. It was a terrible night. Not even the oldest man in Umuofia had ever heard such a strange and fearful sound, and it was never to be heard again. It seemed as if the very soul of the tribe wept for a great evil that was coming--its own death" (186-187).
In response to Mike's power passage, I believe this passage foreshadows the clan's ultimate demise. Members of the clan turn to the missionaries as fast as the removal of the mask. The removal of the mask symbolizes the removal of their culture. Many of the people were turning away from what they had always known. It also shows the Ibo people's strong connection to the egwugwu and their Gods as well as their strong connection with one another. The other clansmen immediately came to the aid of their "desecrated companion" in a time of need.
ReplyDelete"Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness... It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear og himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father" (13).
ReplyDeleteMy own quotation interpretation:
ReplyDeleteIt is at this moment that the white man's culture has physically attacked and killed a piece of Igbo culture (the killings of the pythons were all rumors, never seen or proven, and therefore this is the pivotal moment of the culture's "death"). The passage is so important because it marks the inevitable death, with heavy foreshadowing of Igbo fate. Their culture is never going to be the same, for it has been broken. All they can do is "weep."
Jacqueline's passage:
ReplyDeleteThis passage is important since it gets down into the core of who Okonkwo is. It shows what drives him--this fear--and it also opens within our minds the possibility to pity him. He is a pitiful person, afterall, always terrified of how someone may compare him to his father, how someone may see his weakness. We may not forgive him, but at least we come to understand him a little more.
I believe this passage brings a new depth to Okonknwo. At this point he is no longer merely a senseless, angry man. He has a very human reason for anger: fear. Fear is what drives most events in this novel. The fear of being viwed as weak drove Okonkwo to kill Ikemefuna. It is the fear of Okonkwo that keeps Nwoye from expressing himself as a young child. This passage provides a solid reason for Okonkwo's actions and admits that he is not in control of himself for he is dominated by fear.
ReplyDeleteLovely, you two. This is exactly what I had in mind when I assigned this discussion. You've thoughtfully responded to one another and chosen meaningful passages. Mike - I would like you to share your passage in class tomorrow, and I would like to see both of you discuss your process. Well done.
ReplyDelete