My prediction that I made last blog post has proven to come together fairly well. I had said that Okonkwo was like a stealth fighter airplane: unseen by the naked eye but always willing to attack. Okonkwo is a prime example of this. He is reserved, lonesome, and discouraged at interaction with others, but he is always willing to prove his braun and manhood.
A quote that intrigued me greatly was when Uchendu said "never kill a man who says nothing" (Achebe 140). This made me think of Okonkwo immediately. Something clicked in my mind, that one day Okonkwo would come to a confrontation in which he would possibly face death. Okonkwo could run into confrontation one day with one of the Christian missionaries.
Everyone around Okonkwo is changing, and Okonkwo is resilient and skeptical. Over the course of his exile, so much has changed, and he wasn't ready for the changes that came. Luckily for Okonkwo, when the Church burns down, things are starting to seem more normal for him. When things start to turn, however, the title of the book really shows. Things really do fall apart, and Okonkwo kills two messengers during the town meeting. This shows that Okonkwo is ready to kill, but the townsmen's reactions show that they are not prepared. Okonkwo sees this, flees, and hangs himself. It shows the reader that he cracked under all the pressure. I always knew that him holding all of his emotions inside of him would make him crack.
Friday, January 18, 2013
I am currently reading "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. I think that Okonkwo inside is a troubled man. He constantly has inner conflicts, and I really think that the true conflict in this story is man versus himself. Okonkwo is constantly battling with his inner struggles, and he is really a self conscious person. I had trouble understanding, however, why Ekwefi does not get angry at him when he nearly shoots her. It seemed to me that she treated it as if nothing ever happened. I feel like Okonkwo shot at her on purpose, but intentionally missed by a hair so that Ekwefi would get scared. Okonkwo's purpose for that shot was to show one of his wives that he is the leader. He rarely does anything out of the ordinary, and him avoiding flying under the radar shows a unique aspect of his life. I think of him as one who purposely avoids any interaction. There can be consequences to this, however: good or bad.
After watching the TED talk regarding "the danger of single stories" and stereotypes, I had a nearly cahnged perspective on some of the things that I was told growing up. The single story about Africa that Adichie mentioned had been a part of my understanding of what Africa was like. Growing up, all I saw regarding media, stories, and external input was negativity. People talk about Africa as a land where the climate is undesirable, there is little food or water, crops and animals do not grow, and people live in rough conditions. Many describe the people there as poor and war-stricken.
But Adichie showed me a new perspective on these generalizations. Her stories told of a prosperous community that she grew up in. I was, in fact, shocked when she said that her life was somewhat enjoyable. She had good food to eat, plentiful amounts of water, and a good home. Who knew that Africans would have such luxuries?! Besides the sarcasm, her story was always in my mind when reading "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe.
Adichie's story not only taught me about stereotypes and single stories, but also about relationships with others. Can we translate single stories into what we think of our peers? To relate with what she was saying, I have a personal story. My sister is friends with a man from Cameroon. When she came home from college, she was describing him and the insights he made. I pictured a man with a heavy "tribal" accent who has little knowledge of technology and modern methods. I spoke with him on the phone, and he sounded just like any other normal human being. We are all very similar. We all strive towards bettering ourselves and those around us, day by day, without creating single stories or generalizations.
In "Things Fall Apart", Adichie's insights came to mind when I thought about Unoka and his weakness and Okonkwa and his braun. Okonkwa's fear of judgment from his peers is not unlike that of many people in our society today. Unoka's care fr the arts and his passion for music is also similar to those who choose a liberal and creative lifestyle in our society. Adichie's story has taught us to accept people for who they are, and in turn, causes people to stop being afraid of judgement. This fear of judgement from both Unoka and Okonkwa is a perfect example of the dangers of generalization.
