Monday, March 21, 2011
TFA Threaded Discussion: Nathan, Katie, Caitlin
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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"It is good in these days when the younger generation consider themselves wiser than their sires to see a man doing things in the grand, old way. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for our kinsmen to do so. You may ask why am I saying this. I say it because I fear for the younger generation, for you people." He waved his arm where most of the young men sat. "As for me, I only have a short while to live, and so have Uchendu and Unachukwu and Emefo. But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. You do not know what it is to speak with one voice. And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. A man can now leave his father and brothers. He can curse the gods of his fathers and ancestors, like a hunter's dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master. I fear for you; I fear for the clan." (166-167)
ReplyDelete"Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten." (7)
ReplyDeleteIn response to Katie's passage...
ReplyDeleteThe metaphor introduces a major stylistic element of the novel: proverbs. Achebe seasons his tale with such sayings such as "A toad does not run in the daytime for for nothing" (20), and "A child's fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm" (67). These spices provide insight and reminisce on a culture that is held together by feasts and festivities. For Okonkwo calls "[calls] a feast because [he has] the wherewithal" before he leaves Mbanta (165). Also given that "the art of conversation is regarded very highly" Okonkwo's reticent personality should be less esteemed as he "[does] not answer [Uchendu]" (152); compared to his father's "love of talking" (25), Okonkwo further foils Unoka and diminishes his own tragic hero status because he is not as acclaimed in his society as perceived.
In response to Nathan's passage...
ReplyDeleteThis passage refers to a main theme in the novel: kinship or brotherhood. Achebe uses this throughout the novel to reveal many of the Ibo cultures. The men in the novel potray this theme with all of their feasts, gatherings, and rituals, but when the Europeans arrive the elders are afraid that they could hurt this. This is why the elder warns the young to appreciate your kinsmen and not fall into the Europeans trap. The passage could also refer to the title "Things Fall Apart," in the way that the elder is warning the younger generation that if they don't change things in their society may "fall apart."
I enjoy hearing from both of you after you've had time to contemplate your response. Glad to see you thinking about style and theme. Nice motif, Nathan. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry guys, couldn't get on after school :/
ReplyDeleteHere you go...
"Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his children. 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 deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw." (13)
In response to Nathan...
ReplyDeleteBrotherhood is a huge theme throughout the novel. The elder is saying that because of the white men, the clan is going to fall apart, because the younger generation does not understand the true meaning and strength of a brotherhood. A brotherhood should almost act as one, but the young men of the tribe don't know how to do that in the same way that their fathers did.
In response to Katie...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nathan. The proverbs used throughout the novel create a very pure cultural background; "The art of conversation" is shown very creatively throught the use of this stylistic device that Achebe intertwined so gracefully with the rest of the work.
In response to Caitlin...
ReplyDeleteThis passage really characterizes Okonkwo and gives us a perspective on who he really is. It shows us an inner conflict with himself that we haven't seen yet in the novel at this point. This fear of failure that Okonkwo has shows how he does not want to be like his father and he wants to get as far from his father's image as possible.
My final words...
ReplyDeleteThis quote gives insight into a highly present stylistic element: proverbs. From the very first meeting with Unoka and his neighbor we see them present. They give us insight into the Ibo culture and show how differently their culture is from the Europeans that arrive. The metaphor of words as food is highly appropriate, given the almost exclusively agricultural nature of Ibo society.