Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Summer Work- Things Fall Apart

Part1- Hello its carla To what danny said i feel night is another theme but it alsos bring out another point as well. Alot of students have been commenting on the animalistic traits and characteristics portrayed through the characters that trait really intertwines with the theme of night because as danny had said they are portrayed like animals but are humanized through fear so another theme that i saw through those two were the struggle between learning to be what is considered a person in a world where animal traits are needed could very well be a huge part of this novel.

Part2- On the contrary I feel that his chi might be better for the first time Okonkwo has had to pay for a mistake but i dont feel he is paying in his heart for what happend to the boy i feel this is his chance to reconcile his hatred for his father and to even possibly learn that emotions do not make you any less of a man.Through the second part of this book i feel like you are able to really understand Okonkwo in the begging the character is shown to us as this horrible ruthless man in a way but as the book continues you see that okonkwos fear of failure is what causes him to do what he does. I also feel that what will start to change him the most is Ezinma, when he followed Cheilo to the cave it shows you that he could not help but let his emotions get to him he truly does love his daughter and even Ekwefi. I feel that him being exiled is also in a way pennance for what he did to Ikemefuna and i feel he is leaving peacefully because he feels like it is an almost punishment for what he had done to the boy who became practically his own son. Also Okonkwo has his own personal demons because of his father and needs to come to terms with that and hopefully his returning to his previous home might do that for him.

Part3- Wow this book was truly fantastic. When i began too read the last page of part two i realized this book was going to throw me for a hhuge loop i never anticipated that Okonkwo would have been exiled for seven years.Something i noticed is that when ever some one is killed in this book like Ikemefuna or the boy he killed accidently there is no grusome detial its just tells you abruptly this person was killed and moves on. I think that Chinua Achebe had a point to do this i think it was to show how in that culture that death was just some thing that happens, and is moved on from relatively quickly.When the missionaries began to appear in some of the other tribes Okonkwo did not thing he would have to even give it a second thought but when one appeared in his village he was outraged. Okonkwo was very stern on traditions and staying true to his culture. He seemed to fear difference because the ways he grew up were what allowed him to be wealthy and well of as an adult. When the missionaries asked to build a church in his village he told the council members there was no way but at the time they thought let them have the land they wont last here and it was because of their spiritual beliefs that they thought these missionaries would be gone soon but when they didnt leave they it tested the faith of the people and soon they saw the missionaries as a real potential threat.Nwoye on the other hand had always resented his father like Okonkwo his for how he choose to lead his life. Things that Okonkwo choose to do just so he would not seem weak or caring disgusted his son. Nwoye did what Okonkwo had done he was going to make sure that he would never ever end up like his father. So when the missionaries appeared with the praise of love for one another Nwoye wanted that kind of enviornment of love and compassion around him. In a way it was almost karma towards Okonkwo he never tried to come to terms with or respect his father and so his son was never able to do the same either.Okonkwos death was truly unbelievable it was almost in one short sentence like i mentioned above that they said he had killed himself. It was not that suprising to me that he did it because he was a man of pride and stature and he would of never let any man who was less than him be the one to take his life.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Summer Work- The Remains of the Day

Part1- To mario's response my initial reaction towards Stevens was that he seemed to be so caring and a bit anal about his work because its a way for him to avoid his own inner conflicts. I feel if anyone were to ask stevens his opinion about himself his first response would be "i am a buttler" but the thing is that is a job description not who he is. His job has become routine and he cant hide behind it. So when Mr.Farraday suggests he should venture out on his own he almost laughed to himself but it seemed as though he was avoiding the fact that he is not self aware he is not truly sure who he is and to be asked to venture out with out his employer and being just stevens the man and not stevens the buttler was frightining to stevens because he would have to face a life with out the shelter hes always had from taking care of some one elses life.

Part2- In my opinion stevens is such a tricky character to grasp. He really confussed me with his actions towards Miss Kenton he has no real clue about how to interact with her he often has things to say about her flaws but always goes back to her in his mind. She gets under his skin in a way its almost as if being a buttler for so long has made him lose his ability to interact with those he is not serving. The fact that she wants so know what he is doing like about what book he was reading gets under his skin because he is used to being left alone and only bothered when needed i think stevens is convinced she has an angle for wanting to be close to him.

Part3- Hey I am so sad for stevens and proud of him at the same time it kills me that he could never look inside him self when the time came and see that Miss Kenton meant more to him than he had thought originally. And i think even he realized that he should have done things differently. Im proud of his decision to give up his profession and start a new life for himself. The Remains of the day was a sad story because he didnt get the girl like most books and movies the protagonist gets the girl but in the end i think stevens walked away with something more precious he left with his self worth, and with his life in his own hands and that was an amazing thing.

Summer Work-One Hundred Years of Solitude

Part 1- There is so much to talk about i cant choose one okay well first i would like to comment on Jose Arcadio Buendia he really is a leader. Mario had commented that he practically was the town. I agree its almost as if they made his character to sum up the town they live in. I would also like to comment on analus statement about the marrige of Aureliano Buendia and Remedios Moscote. I know that in times of the past old men marrying young women was a bit of a normalcy but im quite sure that at the time they married it wasnt even possible for her to have children. She herself was still technically a child. Also i dont understand how Remedios Moscote could truly be attracted and completly happy about marrying some one who had little to no womanly features. There is a large sense of pride in this book that i have noticed or a theme of pride which i feel could possibly be a tragic flaw for some characters in this novel.

Part2- Hey everyone i noticed one thing that there has to be some serious curse on them because no one can ever get what they want and can never get anything right death seems to be an occurance every step of the way its insane. I completley agree with dario this books has tons of reoccurences i feel like with every new generation there is another oppritunity for them to get it right but it nevers works out. For example its like every new generation is the soul of the ones before trying to undo their past mistakes but it never happens.I think its interesting they way Coronel Aureliano Buendias childrens deaths are mentioned first and then later on the author talks about their lives.

Part3- Well it think ill start with the ending i mean when the child died it was like the complete ending of this family it was the straw that broke the camels back it was what brought the complete and utter ending to the Buenida Family tree all those years of depression and suffering and even solitude were for nothing because in the end they never got to overcome it they all eventually lost the fight.