Visiting Blogs

i read aaron, sam, and cristen's blogs. They basically said the same thing idea. They understood the whole east and west side of the world thing, but they both said it was kinda boring to listen to. Aaron said he would never be able to take a lecture course, and I am right there with him. I liked how cristen tied in what Mr. Farrell was explaining in class about believing what god looks like, and where he is. I also agree with her about how our lives are just a small part of the universe.

Mythology of Hinduism #3

Well first of all, I hate sitting around and listening to one person talk for that long, so it was boring for me. I didn't really understand half of what he was saying at first. I understood the whole western and eastern world thing. The west thinks that they were created by one God a long time ago, and the east thinks that God is still creating today. It was pretty hard to sit here and listen 100% to what he was saying and talking about. I like when we talk about the religion more in class. It helps me understand it a lot better.

COMMON THEME

I think the commom theme of all of these stories is being rude and selfish. In The Life You Save May be Your Own the old woman and Mr. Shifftlet were selfish. The old woman was not even thinking about who her daughter wanted to be with, but who she thought was right for her daughter. She shouldn't have forced her into a marriage. Mr. Shiffltlet was only thinking of himself when he stole the car and when he left Lucynell at the diner. He was just trying to get something out of it, and that is why he agreed to marry Lucynell. In Teenage Wasteland Donnie doesn't even think about where is going in life or his future. He just gives up at school and doesn't care. Donnie makes his parents find him a tutor. He can't even do it himself. In Rules of The Game Waverly's mother wants to show her off so she looks good. This is completly rude on her part. She didn't accomplish any goals, her daughter did. Waverly should be getting the attention for it, not her mother. In Book of the Dead Ms. Bienaime's father was selfish and rude for lieing to his daugher. He didn't want her to get angry with him about the torture thing so he made up a lie. He was too busy thinking about what his daughter would think of him if he told her the truth. I would be mad that my father told me a lie. It is not big deal if he made a mistake of torturing people, but only if he didn't lie about it. All of these characters in these stories were just thinking of themselves in a way. It is wrong to act that rude and selfish.

Book of the Dead

Ok i did not like this story mainly because I think the father was very stupid on his part. I understand his is ashamed of what he has lied about, but he shouldn't have lied about it in the first place, especially to his daughter. I don't feel sorry for him, because I am sure he knows this would hurt his relationship with his daughter. He should have thought about that before he lied about the wrong thing. I just think it is pathetic that he thinks he can lie to his own child and get away with it. Sure he got away with it for a long time, but sooner or later his daughter would have found out. I think it is rediculous that he goes and and steals her statue. Obviously she looked up to him and people looked up to her artwork, then he just goes and takes it from her. I thought that was very wrong of him to do. It seems to me like I am looking down on the parents in these stories. They are just getting to be worse and worse. I don't even know what else to say about this story, because I know if it was my dad i would be ashamed.

Rules of the Game

For the record, I did not like this story. It was about chess and I hate chess, but anyways.. It started off pretty cut and dry. The family of 5 lives in San Fransisco's Chinatown. The description of the famil's house seemed very nice. It seemed like it was going to be a happy, laid back story, which it pretty much was. The main character, Waverly Place Long, was the main character. I thought it was interesting that she was named after her street. I mean I've heard of people being named after famous people and stuff, but not streets. The story began talking about Christmas and what all the children got as gifts. One day, Waverly's brother, Vincent, got a chess set. This didn't excite me at all, because like I said, i don't like chess. Aparently Waverly did though. She became so good at it that she started entering tournamnets. This seemed amazing to me, because she was so young. I don't like I know any kids that young that like to play chess. I honestly didn't think Waverly would end up turning out to be that good. She got so many trophys from the tournaments, probably more than i'll ever have. I thought it was pretty sweet she became a National Chess Champion at the age of 9. At the beginning of the story, her mother seemed like an ok mom. After Waverly began getting involved in chess tournaments I think her mom's switch flipped. She became selfish, and all she wanted to do was show her daughter off. I would be so embarassed if my mother walked around holding my hand saying that I was her daughter. In the end I am happy for Waverly, because she stand up for herself by telling her mom how it was and running away. At least Waverly still had her pride. This story was ok. I am just happy that Waverly ended up standing up for herself in the end instead of letting her mom push her around.

Teenage Wasteland

Donny is basically just like any other normal teenage kid. He is lazy. I know I am lazy sometimes when it comes to school, but I am not as bad as he is. I don't understand how you could be that disruptive and have no drive to do anything at all. Obviously if my parents were worrying that much about me, then i would take into consideration what they said, but Donnie does not seem to care at all. There are times I do bad in one class, but I always ask if I don't understand. That is why I didn't like Donnie. I dislike people that just give up. If he gives up at school, he'll end up giving up o nthe rest of his life. Later in the story Donnie does end up letting his parents get him a tutor, which is a huge mistake. I don't see how you can be a tutor and think it is actually helping the kid out if you have so many distractions like that going on. There was just too much going on around Donnie at one time. I know if there were kids being loud and playing music around me when I was trying to get help I would probably flip out. The tutors house kind of freaked me out. It was like all the kids were being possesed to go there or something. It seemed ok at first, but if you think about it it is just weird. Donnie's parents end up making him leave, which is best for him, but then I get the feeling that he goes back.

The Life You Save May be Your Own

Ok at the beginning of the story Mr. Shifftlet is introduced. He is described as a man that has half an arm, wears a black suit, a brown felt hat, and carries a toolbox. At first I didn't really know what to think about Mr. Shifftlet. He kind of scared me. He seemed mysterious like he was hiding something. Mr. Shifftlet did not tell them where he lived at first, so that made me wonder about him more. He did seem nice, but also strange. When he goes to the old woman's home I think they were kind of startled to see him. I am not too sure how old the woman is but it says that she had no teeth, so I am guessing she was pretty old. Lucynell was the daughter's name. I think this name describes her pretty well. After a while Mr. Shifftlet explains all the jobs he used to have, and where he was from, but he also said he could have been lieing, so I am still wondering if he was lieing or if he wasn't. Mr. Shifftlet must have grown on the old woman, because she ended up giving him food for work. I thought it was rude for her to make him sleep in an old car. The least she could have done was give him a good place to sleep at night. As far as the daughter goes, i felt bad that she was "special", but Mr. Shifftlet ends up helping her pronounce a few words. The old woman starts to like Mr. Shifftlet, because she ends up thinking that Mr. Shifftlet could be "the one" for her daughter. I thought this was very odd. I would not want my mother to pick out who I am going to marry. Plus, he is still a stranger. When Mr. Shifftlet fixes the old womans car it made me happy, because I knew she wanted it to be fixed after her husbands death. It turns out in the end Lucynell and Mr. Shifftlet get married. Then when the went to town, he just left her at a resturaunt. I thought that was so mean of him, and my feelings about him completely changed. I thought he became a nice man, and it turns out he was just a rude one. The ending with Mr. Shifftlet and the kid didn't really make sense to me. I don't see how it was supposed to be a good ending? The story was kind of boring in my opinion.

TFA Chapter 25

The next day the district commissioner went to Okonkwo's compound. He asked where he was and the men told him that he was not here but they could take him to Okonkwo. Whenever i read this i thought it might be a trap to kill the commissioner. Obierika took five or six men with him to Okonkwo. Obierka took him to a bush behind the compound. Then on a tree the commissioner and his men saw Okonkwo's body hanging there dead. Obierika asked the commissioner if he could take Okonkwo's body down, because his body is evil now and none of them want to be buried beside him. Only strangers can touch his body. Obierika was furous at the men because he accused them of driving Okonkwo to kill himself. I think part of this is true. I mean if he was really a strong man I don't think he would have done it but apparently he wasn't. I think he was just too caught up in everything that he couldn't handle it anymore. To be honest the end of this book really surprised me. I thought that they would end up fighting. Never in a million years did I think Okonkwo was going to kill himself. He seemed so steady even if he was rude and messed up. I had no idea that any of this was going to happen. I wonder what happened to him family? Or if the town built another church? ..

TFA Chapter 24

Chapter 24 starts out with saying that Okonkwo and the five others were realeased as soon as they paid the fine. I still think they should have suffered a little more but whatever. For Okonkwo's return Ezinma made him a meal. He only ate to please her and everyone noticed the marks on his back from being whipped. I have noticed that as the story goes on his daughter Ezinma become closer and closer to him. They might not talk very much, but I think she starts respecting her dad a lot more, which is sad to me. Later that night the village crier said that there was going to be another meeting the next day. Okonkwo lays in bed that night and mentions war. The next day everyone meets at the marketplace as soon as the sun rose. The meeting was held mainly because the people in the village was not happy. They explained that their "gods" were not happy either. Then Okonkwo drew his machete at the messenger and killed him. The meeting was then stopped and Okonkwo thought to himself that Umuofia would not go to war. He said this because they had let the other messengers escape. I didn't really understand what killing only one man would have to do with not going to war? I wonder if they will go to war or what will happen? There is only one chapter left so i hope a few things get explained in the last chapter.

TFA Chapter 23

Well things are starting to get back to normal. Everyone is once again following Okonkwo's lead, which is pathetic. I don't think he deserves to have anyone follow his commands. A few days after the church burnt down the District Commissioner came back. He invited Okonkwo and five other guys to the headquarters. Okonkwo warned everyone to be fully armed. He brought them there to hear their side of the story about the church being burnt down. The commissioner also brought in his men to make sure the village people were not lieing. I thought this was a smart idea. Ogbuefi Ekwueme explained that Enoch murdered an egwugwa. Immediately the six men were arrested. The commissioner said that they will not be hurt unless they do not cooperate. The men were also charged with a fine of 200 bags of coweries. I didn't think this was a very good punishment. I mean they burnt down a church. I think they should just be locked up for a while. The six men were locked up for a couple days until they agreed to the fine. One of them spoke and said that they should have killed the white man. A messenger came in and hit them on top of the head with a stick. The headman later said that if they do not pay the fine then they will be hanged in Umuru. Rumors also went around that their families would be included in the hanging. If this was to happen then i would disagreed. Their families had no involvement in their actions. The next day the men of Umofia met in the marketplace and collected 250 bags coweries. Im sure they added another 50 just to suck up to the white men.

TFA Chapter 22

This chapter goes into the passed before Mr. Brown visited the village. his successor was Reverend James Smith. Mr. Smith suspended a young woman from the church for pouring new wine into old wine bottles. I thought that was a pretty stupid thing for getting suspended for. But whatever. Then it goes back to the present. It explains that the night before the Mother of the Spirits walks the earth that it is a terrible night. They hear strange fearful sounds. The next day the masked egwugwu goes to the marketplace. It talks about a man named Enoch, who is the son of the man that supposedly killed the sacred snake. The egwugwu was furious so they ran towards the church, planning on burning it down. There they found Mr. Smith and his interpreter Okeke. They tried to get the men to return home, but they didn't listen. They burnt the church down to ashes. I thought this was very rude. It is like not believing in God. I thought it was soo sooo wrong of them to burn the church down. All he was doing was helping the people of the village. I think there are a lot of messed up people in this story. They have problems, and none of them can think for themself.

TFA Chapter 21

Chapter 21 starts off by saying that basically there were people that disagreed with Okonkwo as far as not liking the Christians. It introduces a man named Mr. Brown that a lot of people in the village start becoming faund of, because he isn't trying to intrude on anyone or upset anyone in the town. In this chapter Mr. Brown is trying to explain to Akunna that there is only one God and that he believes in false gods. Akunna doesn't believe him. Mr. Brown also explains that in the future the leaders of the land will be men and women that know how to read and write. If they do not then other people will come and take over their land. I agree with him 100%. I think reading and writing is a major deal in these towns. They have to know how to communicate if other people show up. He started encouraging people to come to his school and listen to what he would say. Many of them would become teachers, court messengers, or even a court clerk. It was kind of drepessing when Okonkwo returned because it was like no one even noticed that he was gone. I kind of felt bad for him at this point.

TFA Chapter 20

Okonkwo begins talking about how when he returns he is going to build a bigger barn and two new huts for his wives. I think he is pretty disappointed, because in those years he was gone he could have been a great leader in his clan. Okonkwo calls into his hut his five sons. He told them that if any of them turn against him when he has passed away he will come back and break their necks. I thought this was a pretty harsh thing to say considering his youngest son was four year old! I just don't think it was very appropriate. The chapter than describes how Umofia has changed in the last seven years. The white men had built a church, and also a government.. or a court i guess. I thought this was a pretty good outcome of the white people coming into the towns. Instead of killing everyone and desctroying the village they decided to help them by letting them know that there was only one God. The white men also whiped out Abame. I don't know if that was wrong or not? In a way I do, because they should want people to look up to them and try to get people to like them and I'm not sure that they would now if the Christians decided to whipe out another clan.

TFA Chapter 19

This chapter deals with Okonkwo's last harvest in Mbanta. It is a pretty short chapter so there isn't much to talk about. Basically he says he would have prospered more in his fatherland, which that is where he is returning. He sends money to Obierika to build him two huts and his old compound until he builds more. It explains that he has to wait for the dry season to come before he can return. Until then, he thanks his mothers kinsmen. They have a huge feast before he leaves. That's about it. I thought this chapter was pretty boring. I don't really know what to think about it. I still think Onkonkwo is a jerk.

TFA Chapter 18

Although the village of Mbanta thought the church that was built there would become destroyed, it kept becoming stronger. Three converts came into the village and said that all the gods had been dead. The three of them were then beaten until they were very bloody. I thought that part was just stupid. I think it is dumb that the village believes in multiple gods. Nothing happened between the church and the clan for a long time after that incident. A little while later, Mr. Kiaga (the interpreter) told the clan they must shave off their hair. They were scared that they would die if they did that, but Mr. Kiaga said he wouldn't admit them if they didn't shave their heads. They ended up shaving their head (good for them, the sissys). A year later their was a big deal about the sacred python. It was supposedly killed. Okonkwo says "until the abominable gang was chased out of the village with whips there would be no peace." There were other people that disagreed (thank gosh) .. The Christians ended up growing into a small community. Later it was almost Easter and Mr. Kiaga told the women to get water to wash the church to prepare for Easter. When they returned their pots were empty. Apparently they were whipped by men when they went to get water. I thought this was rude. If they want to believe in one God then let them. I don't want people telling me what to believe in.

TFA Chapter 17

The missionaries ask Mbanta for land to build one of their churches on. The tribe offers them part of the "Evil Forest" because they knew no one would ever accept that offer, but in surprise, the missionaries took the land. They began to clear out the forest and the tribe expected them to be dead after 4 days, but days passed and they never died. Nwoye didn't want to go near the missionaries, because he was still afraid of what Okonkwo would think. The missionaries explained to everyone that they wanted them to go to the church every Sunday. I guess one Sunday Nwoye kept walking back and forth in front of the church debating on whether to go in or not, he never did. The book then says that the peoples "gods" would let 28 days pass allowing a men to defy them. The tribes started to get worried after 7 weeks. The last day came, and the Christians didn't die. Nneka was the first woman to join. When they talked about this in the book I was relieved that finally a woman stood up for what she believed in. I'm happy for her. Then i heard some bad news about her that made me sad. She had four pregnancies and all of them were twins, so immediately at birth they were thrown away. I think this is sick, just because children are twins they were killed? that's soooo stupid. But then the story continues with Amikwu who was Okonkwo's cousin .. and he saw Nwoye at the church. When Nwoye returned home Okonkwo beat him hard with a stick. Nwoye then leaves Okonkwo and returns with his mother, brothers, and sisters. I am happy for Nwoye at this point because he does not deserve to be treated like that. It's crap.

TFA Chapter 16

2 more years after Okonkwo's exile Obierika visits him again. He explains that missionaries have come to Umuofia. They are taking over with building churches. He explains that the tribe feels that they won't last very long in the village. It is said that Nwoye joins the missionary and that he likes singing because he feels good. He doesn't want Okonkwo to find out about it, because he is scared of what he might to do him. If i was Nwoye I would be afraid too. Okonkwo is very violent. The story goes back to talking about the missionaries. There are six of them apparently and one man is white. The missionaries explained to the village people that they believe in false gods and that their it truly only one God. Ohh yeah, they also talked about the "iron horse" again, and I think it is a bicycle? .. I kind of missed that in the last chapter. haha ... anyways.. the rest of the chapter just explains that their gods aren't real and basically Okonkwo disagrees. I'm pretty sure he has no heart and he just doesn't care to believe anything that anyone else says.

TFA Chapter 15

It is now 2 years after Okonkwo's exile. One of his friends, Obierika, came to visit him. He brought with him two young boys, who brought 2 bags of cowries. Obierika mentions that the Abame tribe has been demolished. Okonkwo and Uchendu immediately asks what happened. Obierika explains that a white man on an iron horse rode in. The people asked him what he was doing there and he didn't respond so they killed him. They tied up the iron horse to a tree. Then he says that after a few days the horse went missing, it vanished from the tree, then a white man ended up killing all of the tribe. No one was left. This chapter was pretty short so it was kind of boring as well. I didn't even know that they were really around white people? I didn't know that that was a factor for them? I am curious to see him all of the other tribes will soon be demolished. And will Okonkwo ever return back to his normal tribe?

TFA Chapter 14

This chapter continues Okonkwo's flee from his tribe. He goes to Mbanta to live with Uchendu. When Uchendu sees Okonkwo he knows what he has done without asking him or talking to him about it. The following day Okonkwo ends up telling him the whole story. Okonkwo was given land to build a home and some land to farm on. His first three months there it did not rain. Uchendu's youngest of five sons is getting married. It basically just talks about the ceremony. The soon to be daughter-in-law is questioned. If she lies about the answers then she will suffer or even die at childbirth. If i was her I would not like, because going through something horrible like that would already be bad enough. I noticed in this book they drink a lot of wine. Every time something happens whether it is good or it is bad, they get wine for it. It is kind of weird. I mean we drink wine here, but very rarely. The end of the chapter talks about if you are buried in your motherland then you had a rough life, maybe been abused, and you just need someone to love, which is your mother. If you are buried in your fatherland then you often had a good life and you are very successful. I think this is kind of a stupid belief. I think you should be asked before you die where you want to be buried. People to that here sometimes. It was neat reading about that though.

TFA Chapter 13

At the beginning of the chapter everyone notices that the cock doesn't crow, and they also heard a chant. When these things happened they knew someone had died. Ezeudue was the oldest man in the village, and he passed away. It explains that he was a good and wise man. All of the clan showed up at his funeral. Warriors painted themselves with chalk and charcoal. Ezeudue had taken three titles in his lifetime, and there were only four titles in the clan. This was a very rare achievement. The funerals that these people have and the ones we have our very different. They shoot guns and beat drums. Ours are the complete opposite. They are usually silent and everyone wears black. For their funerals you dance and dress in bright colors. But back to the story .. during the last dance Okonkwo's gun explodes and a piece of iron pierces Ezeudue's chid. He is instantly killed. Even though it was just an accident, Okonkwo had to face the punishment. He had to flee from the land for seven years. When he left a crowd of men set his house on fire, killed his animals, and destroyed his barn. I kind of feel bad for Okonkwo in this chapter, because he has to leave everything behind him. He won't be able to see his friends for seven whole years. I can't imagine leaving my friends for that long. I mean after all, it wasn't really his fault. He didn't intentionally kill the kid. In a way it kind of makes me happy that he is being punished because nothing happened to him when he killed Ikemefuna, and he did that on purpose, so in a way I think he deserves it.

TFA Chapter 12

This Chapter starts out with a man named Obierika. Obierika is one of Okonkwo's friends, and his daughter is getting married. This chapter mainly deals with what goes on during the celebration of someone getting married. The Priestess puts Enzima on Ekwefi's bed in the morning, I didn't really know what to think about that, because I don't know what happened with the two of them the night before, but anyways ... Okonkwo asks who is cooking his meal. So once again, he keeps treating his wives like crap and bosses them around. While all the women were cooking and preparing for the wedding they heard a chant. They all ran out of the huts and saw a cow that got loose by a child. The next day all of the relatives and friends came to the brides house. She got 50 pots of wine. The whole celebration was just like a huge feast. In a way their weddings and ours are basically the same. Family and friends from all around get together, you eat a big meal, you get gifts, except we usually get other things other than wine. This chapter was pretty interesting, because now you can see what a happy moment in their life looks like, instead of being beaten by your husband and such.

TFA Chapter 11

Ok the beginning of this chapter starts off by mentioning a woman named Nwayieke who cooked late at night. Thats cool, I like to cook late at night, i guess. The reason why the mentioned her is because Ezinma and her mother were up later telling stories to eacother. Ekwefi told a story about a tortise. As Ezinma begins her story, she is interupted by Chielo, the priestess of Agbala. Agbala says that she wants to see Ezinma and take her with her. Ezinma begins to cry, because she is scared and worried. Finally after talking to Okonkwo, Chielo takes Ezinma with her. She carries her on her back in the dark. After a few moments, Ekwefi begins to follow Ezinma and Chielo. She follows them for a pretty long time and they end up by a cave. Then I am not too sure what Chielo did with the child but somehow they end up back at the hut in the morning. I don't think she did anything to her to hurt her, but i thought it was weird how she wanted to see her in the middle of the night, then carry her on her back for all that time? I dont know.. maybe it will clear up later.

TFA Chapter 10

Chapter 10 kind of confused me, i won't lie. It seemed like it was kind of a random topic. The chapter starts out with a ceremonial gathering that the village is holding. There is something mentioned about a "secret house" that only men can be in, which is stupid. Once again, women aren't treated equally. Then it talks about a husband and wife. The wife has 3 bothers. The brothers then beat the wife and take her children, but the brother accuses the husband of beating her. Then it is said if she decides to return to her husband his genitals will be cut off, which is really gross. I didn't really like hearing about this part. I kind of thought this chapter was boring. I didn't really understand the whole point of putting it into the book. Maybe it was essential and I just didn't really pay attention? I'm not sure.

TFA Chapter 9

This chapter starts out by saying that Okonkwo can finally sleep. By saying this I'm guessing he is getting over the death of Ikemefuna. It goes in to telling about a mosquito and a certain story that his mother once told him when he was a young boy. Okonkwo falls back asleep and is woke up in the morning by one of his wives Ekwefi banging on the door. She comes in and says that her daughter, Ezinma is dying. Then the story kind of goes into a separate little story about Ezinma. It is said that she is one of 10, but all her other sisters/brothers passed away before they were 3, so she was very lucky. It talks about one of Ekwefi's children that passes away and is then sliced with a razor and drug by their foot into the forest. This part really really freaked me out. I could never see anyone do that to a child! I wouldn't never in a million years think about doing something as gross as that anyways. Then i think the story goes into the passed and says something about Ezinma burrying her iyi-uwa? But i wasn't really sure. I guess that was what was making her sick? Anyways, they go and dig it up, which was underneath the orange tree. I guess that was why she was sick or something? I wasn't too sure about the ending of this chapter.

TFA Chapter 8

Chapter 8 starts out with Okonkwo talking about how he is upset that he killed Ikemefuna. When he called Nwoye in, he got scared and ran out of the hut. Ikemefuna's death affected Okonkwo so bad that he didn't eat for days. Finally after about 2 days, he ate. When he saw his daughter he kept thinking to himself "She should have been a boy". When his was just laying around feeling sorry, he kept telling himself that he became a woman. I think what he meant by this was that he's been acting like a baby ever since Ikemefuna died. The book then goes into the village of Ire. Ogbuefi Ndulue, the oldest man in village, passed away. When his first wife heard that he died she went over to see him. When she went back to her hut, she passed away. I thought this part was kind of weird. It's like they were one person or something.

TFA Chapter 7

The story continues going on after three years. It then goes into Okonkwo telling violent stories to his boys. Nwoye states that he likes his mother stories better, because there is no violence in them. Locusts were brought up, and it said that the people liked them because they were a good source of food. Personally, i hate locusts. They freak me out. The town decides that they are going to kill Ikemefuna. In response to this, Okonkwo tells Ikemefuna that he is going to be taken home the next day. Nwoye overhears this and Okonkwo beats him. If i was Ikemefuna, i would not believe i was going to be going home after three years. There is no way. Ikemefuna wants to see his mother and sister, so he is a little bit excited, but somehow he knows he will not get to see them. They take him outside of the village and a man with a machete cuts Ikemefuna. He runs over to Okonkwo, but then Okonkwo cuts him too. Then the chapter ends. After reading this, it made me pretty sad. I would rather be shot and put out of my misery than to be sliced with a machete. I still don't think the people should have killed a child. It seems wrong to me.

TFA- Chapter 6

Chapter 6 takes place at the playground, which is where the wrestling match occurs. This chapter was pretty short. In the beginning it mentions the Cotton tree, which was very sacred to the people. They say it is where "spirits of good children who were waiting to be born" lived. Ekwefi, the wife that Okonkwo shot at talked to a woman named Chielo. Chielo is a widow of two children. Chielo asked Ekwefi is what she heard was true about the shooting. Ekwefi tells her that it is true. At this point, i feel very bad for all of Okonkwo's wives, because it just doesn't seem right that he should be that violent with them. The story then tells that the wrestling match starts out with 15 and 16 year old boys, who are not real wrestlers. Then the real match started and it was against Ikezue and Okafo. The end of the chapter ends with all of the young women singing a song about Okafo. I think it is cool that their village is big on wrestling, because in America it is also a popular sport.

TFA- Chapter 5

In Chapter 5 it starts by talking about the New Yam. It is an occasion for giving thanks to Ani, who is the earth goddess and the source of fertility. Ani plays a freast part in the village people's lives. The New Yam is held every year before harvest is begun. It is also an occasion for joy. The men are supposed to ask people from far away to come and join them to celebrate. It says that Okonkwo isn't as excited as most people get. He walks past a banana tree and thinks it is dead, but really one of his wives took a couple leaves off of it. He becomes very angry and beats her. After that he decides he wants to go hunting so he grabs a gun. While he as doing that his second wife said something under her breath and he shot at her. Luckily, she did not get hurt. After all of this excitement happens, it starts talking about the wrestling match, which is a pretty big deal for the village. Okonkwo won one of his wive's heart by throwing a cat in a contest. I don't know if this really meant throwing a cat or what? .. but i thought it was kind of odd. I wouldn't date somebody just because they threw a cat, but whatever, it's cool. Anyways, after that, his wives are cooking yams to prepare for the occasion. Nwoye's sister, Obiageli broke a pot while trying to balance it on her head. This made her very upset. After reading this chapter it made me a little more mad at Okonkwo because I don't think he should beat his wives. It just seems very wrong to me. He should be thankful that he has three of them.

TFA- Chapter 4

This chapter talks about Ikemefuna. He lives with Okonkwo and his family. Okonkwo's children learn to like Ikemefuna and they begin to look up to him. In addition, Ikemefuna starts to like Okonkwo and starts calling him father. During the week Okonkwo's wife, Ojiugo, leaves the home to get her hair braiding without cooking dinner. Okonkwo gets very upset and when she returns home he beats her. I do not that he should have beaten her. It is not allowed in America and i think it is very wrong to beat the one you're supposed to love. He commits this during their sacred week and it is forbidden to beat your wife during this week. Because he beat Ojiugo, he has to sacrifice a nanny goat. After the sacred week, everyone in the village begins to prepare their land for growing yams and other things. This chapter was interesting to me, because I wanted to know what Okonkwo had to do for beating his wife.

TFA- Chapter 3

In chapter 3 of Things Fall Apart i sort of feel bad for Okonkwo, because his father left him with nothing. He was not able to inherit a barn or anything else. I thought it was kind of weird that Unoka sacrificed a rooster, but I guess that is a tradition or something? I also thought it was rude to have him carried to the Evil Forest just to die there alone. Dying from swelling is also odd in my opinion. It is not something i would want to die of. When the book talks about Nwakibie, i think he is the oldest man in the village, it seems weird that he has 9 wives. I also think it said he had 30 children? I would never want that many kids to that many different people.

Things Fall Apart Chapter 1 & 2

ok so far I have read the first two chapters of Things Fall Apart. I am not sure if I like the book yet or not, I'm not far enough into it to know. I think the author did a good job at describing Unoka at the beginning of the story. He seems like a nice guy, but I feel bad for him because he was poor. I think it is kind of weird that his son has three wives? I would feel pretty weird if I had to live with my husband and two other wives.