Ellen's Blog: English 121

"Things Fall Apart"

2005-04-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

The story "Things Fall Apart" is a story how Okonkwo who is a wealthy and respected tribe member of the Umuofia clan is a subject and a self. He was a warrior, clansman, farmer and a good family provider to his many wives and children, in this way he is a self, but he is a subject to his clan. In a settlement with a neighboring tribe, Umuofia wins a virgin and a fifteen-year-old boy. Okonkwo takes charge of the boy, Ikemefuna, and finds an ideal son in him. Okonkwo's real son, Nwoye, which he finds lazy becomes like a brother to Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna stays with Okonkwo and his family for three years.

One day Ogbuefi Ezeudu, a respected village elder, informs Okonkwo in private that the Oracle has said that Ikemefuna must be killed, but because he was so close to Ikemefuna and because he called him "father" he was not aloud to be a part of the killing. He also must lie to Ikemefuna and tell him they are returning him to his home village.
As he walks with the men of Umuofia, Ikemefuna thinks about seeing his mother. After several hours of walking, some of Okonkwo's clansmen attack the boy with machetes. Ikemefuna runs to Okonkwo for help. But Okonkwo, who doesn't want to look weak in front of his fellow tribesmen, so he kills him off despite the Oracle telling him he couldn't be a part of it.

Then one day at the funeral of Ogbuefi Ezeudu, where the men were firing guns, Okonkwo accidentally shoots and killed Ogbuefi's son. Because killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, Okonkwo must take his family into exile for seven years in order to repent. During those seven years many things changed. Another tribe, Abame, has been destroyed by the white man. Soon afterward, six missionaries travel to Mbanta trying to convert them to Christianity. During a meeting with the members of another clan, Okonkwo kills their leader with his machete expecting his fellow clan members to join him in uprising, but realizes later that they were not ready for war.

When the District Commissioner arrives at Okonkwo's compound, he finds that Okonkwo has hanged himself. Obierika and his friends lead the commissioner to the body. Obierika explains that suicide is a grave sin, so according to custom, no one of Okonkwo's clansmen may touch his body. The commissioner, who is writing a book about Africa, believes that the story of Okonkwo's rebellion and death will make an interesting story.

"Invisible Man"

2005-04-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

This book is about a black man and the many racial issues that he deals with throughout the book. The invisible man feels like an invisible man because he thinks that people are blind to black people especially the white people of the world. The invisible man deals with a lot of different people during the novel. He deals with racist whites and blacks, along with non-racist whites and blacks, and struggles to find some kind of identity in the book. The book takes place during an earlier time in history then today. Now, the world does not deal with as many problems with race like in the book. There are still many problems with people being seen as equals.

If a story like the Invisible Man were to take place in 2004, I think that the invisible man would be a gay man instead of a black man. Instead of the getting kicked out of college and put into the city, I would have the gay man thrown out of the military and have to live in the modern world. He would struggle with the everyday things that the IM deals with as well. He would tried to hide his homosexuality at times, but struggle with the idea of coming out to the world and also being in an activist group for gays. Today’s problems with gays and the surrounding issues are the world’s new racial problems. We instead do not judge people on the color of their skin, but now found a way of judging them by their sexual orientation.

"The House of the Spirits"

2005-04-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

Women are the most important part of this story in many ways. The women of the novel are the protagonists who work in different and subtle ways to assert their rights. Besides from Nivea's commitment to female suffrage, the women rarely openly condemn gender inequality. Each woman's life is, however, touched by it. All of the women in The House of the Spirits are strong women who do not bow to mistreatment. They choose subtle responses the situations, though, instead of outright revolt. This very method of resistance can be seen as a particularly feminine one. If violence and activity are male traits and while gentleness and passivity are female ones, The House of the Spirits shows that this does not mean that men accomplish things and change things while women do not. On the contrary, the women in The House of the Spirits effect more long-lasting and drastic changes than do any of the men. While the men lead revolutions that overthrow governments, those revolutions are themselves quickly overthrown. The women's subtler methods of teaching literacy, setting curses, and refusing to speak are far more effective in demanding permanent change.

"The House of the Spirits": Ideology

2005-03-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

In chapter 8, Blanca and Jean de Satigny never consummate their marriage. On their wedding night, Jean tells Blanca that he has "no particular inclination for married life" and will never request that she have sex with him. Blanca is greatly relieved, and they settle into a friendly relationship.
To me, this is something that is very peculiar and a good example of how the ideology in this book is different from my own. I do not know why someone would marry another person in the first place if they despise their partner let alone be okay with the fact that they will never have sex with them. Maybe there are some people out there that actually do this, but I have never heard of or met them since marriage for most people is to reproduce.

Question for Duplessis

2005-03-13T20:12:00.000-08:00

What kind of environment do you like to write in? Do you like to be in a quiet room or do you think of ideas for your poems while doing other things like cooking or showering?

Antigone

2005-03-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

This was an interesting play about family loyalty and self and subject. In the play, Antigone's brother Polyneices was killed for leaving the army and was considered a coward and a trader by Kreon. In turn, Kreon would not allow Polyneices to have a proper burial. Antigone would not allow this to happen, so is determined to give him a proper one. To do this she tries to get the help of her sister Ismene, but Ismene wanted no part of it. Antigone is caught and takes full responsibility for her actions. Ismene then tries to take some of the blame, but Kreon does not agree with her since she does not do the actual burying.

In this way, Antigone is considered a self because she doesn't care what Kreon says, she wants her brother to have the respect that anyone else would have and is willing to give up her own life to do it. Ismene, on the other hand is the obedient subject of the story. She loves her brother, but is not willing to give up her own life and freedom for him. She is too scared and I think that a good twist to the story would be if Antigone killed Ismene for being disloyal to their brother and family and buried Ismene with Polyneices.

"The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez"

2005-02-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

It is very interesting that a story like this would last for so many years and through so many generations. It's even more intriguing that there is no author, so who was it that thought that this story of a man named Gregorio Cortez would be important enough to write down and pass on to future generations.

It is appealing to see how all of the versions of Gregorio Cortez's story vary so much. In every story there is a different opinion of what happened and how it happened. Depending on who tells the story, there are differences in things from his appearance to his personality. It also depends on who's side of the story you are looking from.

People from different cultures could have different opinions of this story. In Mexico, people see Gregorio Cortez as a very heroic man who succeeds at everything he does. They adore him and would like to think of themselves as people with his characteristics so they often associate him with themselves. I think this story is so appealing to people because they want to be like Cortez. They want to be as great, compassionate, and honorable as he was. This is a great story alone, but when people close to the border can relate their lives to Cortez's story it is an even more powerful story for them.

"Blood Wedding" on Subjectivity

2005-02-11T10:37:00.000-08:00

Just like with Edna in "The Awakening" the Bride is tired of being a subject in her own life. She feels as though she must continue to follow her father's rules and wishes and marry someone she doesn't really love. So when she runs (rides) away with Leonardo is the point when she gives up on being a subject and starts to fight for what she believes is right and to persue to be herself instead.

"The Awakening" on Subjectivity

2005-02-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

Edna's whole life seems to be a fight to become herself. After so long of being a subject to her hisband, her kids, and the society of which she lives she can't seem to take it anymore. She wants to do anything that she can to get out of being a "subject" in her life and become herself.

When she went for her first swim in the water it seemed to be the beginning or her "Awakening" on the way to becoming herself and no longer a "subject" in her life.

"The Yellow Wallpaper"

2005-02-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

The story of "The Yellow Wallpaper" almost plays games with your own mind. By the end of the story, you start to feel claustraphobic and trippy yourself. The adjectives the author, Gilman, uses puts you into a certain mindset- a mindset someone like the lady in the story is in herself.

Knowing that this story is actually an exaggeration of what Gilman went through is more of a downpoint than a relief. It's more of a downpoint because her story isn't a story of something she went through. That's why I think Douglass would be considered a better author. Yes, she was put in a room for a few months with this hideous, shredding, yellow wallpaper, but it would be a much better story if she actually did see the woman behind bars in the wallpaper. So, she may be a good author...or at least an author with a crazy imagination, but definetly not one of the best in my book.

Douglass' Narrative

2005-01-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

This story is written by someone who should be considered a great author. Not only is this an interesting story about something as horrible as slavery, but the whole lead up to how the story came about is amazing. This man, Douglass, who was never allowed to be taught to read or write not only struggled with having to deal with growing up a slave, but also struggled with having to remain ignorant.

His amazing story of how he was determined to teach himself to read and write shows how strong of a man and an author he really was. He was dedicated and extremely determined to become free from slavery even though he would still always be thought of as a slave and always be a black man. His story is one of a kind in my mind and is considered a great author to me.