Things Fall Apart

To me, the big topic that jumped out at me was the change of culture. Things Fall Apart deals with how the prospect and reality of change affect various characters. Okonkwo resists political and religious orders because he doesn't feel that they are manly enough and he feels that if he would go through with them he wouldn't be manly himself. Okonkwo’s resistance of cultural change is also due to his fear of losing societal status. His sense of self-worth is dependent upon the traditional standards by the way society judges him. This system of evaluating the self inspires many of the clan’s outcasts to embrace Christianity. These outcasts find in the Christian value system a refuge from the Igbo cultural values that place them below everyone else. In their new community, these converts enjoy a more elevated status. The villagers in general are caught between resisting and embracing change and they face the dilemma of trying to determine how to adapt to the reality of change. Many of the villagers are excited about the new opportunities and techniques that the missionaries bring. This European influence, however, threatens to destroy the need for the mastery of traditional methods of farming. These traditional methods, once crucial for survival, are now, not as important. Throughout the novel, Achebe shows how dependent such traditions are upon storytelling and language and thus how quickly the abandonment of the Igbo language for English could lead to the eradication of these traditions.

Invisible Man

This is a story about a black man who sees himself as being invisible because he feels that the world doesn't see him. He is living in this whit mans world. In the beginning he gives a speech that grabs the attention of others and he eventually gets a scholarship due to his ability of speech. While at college, he does very well and is given the job to drive a trustee around campus. This trustee ( Mr. Norton) is taken all over campus and is eventually taken on the "back roads" just outside of campus. When they get far enough out they run into Jim Trueblood, who has impregnated his own daughter. While Trueblood is telling this story to the narrator and Mr. Norton it seems as though the narrator was a little embarrassed by it but Mr. Norton seemed like he didn't want to hear it but he couldn't pull himself away. Everytime the narrator tried to get him to leave Mr. Norton would insist on staying. He didn't get upset until he got back into the car. I think he realized that life around the campus wasn't what he thought. Before they talked to Trueblood all he did was talk up the campus and tell the IM that he had to call him when he discovered his fate. Once they talked to Trueblood he realized that life around the campus wasn't as good as it seemed. In the end of the story he realizes that he does have a place in the world and that he needs to be true to who he really is.

Allende "House of the Spirits"

This was one of the most interesting books of the whole semester. The issue of Ideology came up a lot. The part that really stands out in my mind is when Alba is protesting with Miguel and they are hung up at the school. To me, I think after awhile Alba felt like she didn't belong there and that her environment was something that she wasn't used to. When she talks to her Grandfather I could almost sense that it was like he was talking down to her. He was telling her that the police and everyone were going to move in if they didn't surrender and I believe he even said that she didn't belong there. Eseban Trueba's thinking was that he and everyone associated with him were right and everyone else was wrong and it took all he had to not be mad at Alba for being their with Miguel.

Question for Duplessis

What made you want to be a poet?

Antigone

Here is a woman who sticks to her standards and morals. She has always done the right thing no matter what the consequences. She had to go through the death of her brother and feels that she can do what she wants because she only has to answer to the underworld. This was a very interesting book and you can take it a couple different ways. I mean if she feels that she only has to answer to the underworld after death then she is more then welcome to do what she wants but she should also consider others and remember her past.

Cortez

I found this to be one of the best reading yet. I was really interested to compare the video and the reading. You have to wonder how people in Texas and Mexico react when they read this ballad. Times have changed a lot since then and you wouldn't think that people would be treated the same way that they were during that time period. It seemed to me that the interpreter for the sheriff kind of had it in for Cortez from the beginning. He didn't tell the sheriff what Cortez was actually saying and made him look bad in the process. I think he didn't like Mexican's and was purposely trying to get Cortez arrested. On the other hand, in the reading the Texans seemed like cowards so I could see people who were from Texas not agreeing with that aspect of the ballad. Overall I really enjoyed reading this as well as watching the film.

Lorca- Blood Wedding

This was probably my favorite piece that we have read to this point. My opinion was that both Leonardo and the bride were unhappy with there situations and once the bride got married they got caught up in the moment and fled together. I feel that they were always in love with each other but the families of them both didn't want them to be together. The bride's father was really looking forward to sharing the land of the bridegroom. I kind of got the impression that the father wanted the two to get married more then they did. In alot of the scenes it seemed like the past came into play with the bridegroom's mother losing her husband and other son. At the end, the bridegroom felt that he had to chase Leonardo down and kill him for them.

The Awakening

This was a very interesting book. The message that it brought across was also interesting. Here was a woman who knew that she wasn't perfect and her husband put on a front that he was this perfect husband but in reality he really wasn't. When I read this I got the impression that Chopin may have been relating past experiences to the book. All the different emotions that were displayed very well could have been something that she went through. I must admit though, at times it was hard for me to stay focused on the book.