English 121

Things Fall Apart

2005-05-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

This is a story that starts off in the Southern Nigeria villages. It is about a man named Okonkwo and his struggles to keep his native land from changing their culture. The main character of the story is Okonkwo, who seems to be a very brave and strong individual but who never shows his feelings or respects women. He is a very successful and hard working man who cares mostly about his self image and pride. He is a well respected fighter and warrior. He has three wives and many children. At the begginning of the novel a woman from his clan of Umuofia is murdered by another tribe. The Men of Umuofia demand a virgin and a young man from the other tribe or else they would be forced to wage war. The other tribe agrees to the terms in fear. So they recieve the virgin who is given to the husband of the murdered woman and the young boy who is giving to Okonkwo. Okonkwo becomes very fond of the boy whose name is Ikemefuna. Later in the novel the Oracle tells Okonkwo he must kill Ikemefuna. Okonkwo does it even though of his fondness of Ikemefuna so that he dosent appear weak. This is just one of the many examples where Okonkwo puts his self image and pride before everything else. Later Okonkwo and his family are kicked out of Umofia for seven years because he accidentally shot and killed the oldest man in the village's son at his funeral. So he goes to his mothers village and lives there. This is where he first encounters the White Man. The White Man sets up a church right next to the village and tries recruiting many people into the church. Okonkwo's oldest son becomes involved in the church and Okonkwo beats him for it but is unable to stop him from returning. Okonkwo wants to wage war against the White Man because they are ruining the tribes old culture, religion and customs. However the village just wants to ignore them, so Okonkwo becomes very frustrated and describes the village as a woman village. When he finally is able to return to Umuofia he finds that there are Whites there too. He also wants to wage war against them with his tribesmen but once again everyone else is afraid too. So Okonkwo kills a white mans translator and then goes and hangs himself.
This was a very tragic story of a struggle between old values and new ones. I thought it was pretty good. I enjoyed reading it.

Invisible Man

2005-04-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed "The Invisible Man. " It was a story about a free black man whose grandparents were slaves. It shows the reader even though he was free, he really wasn't at all. It takes an in-depth look at the harsh realities that faced African Americans in the early to mid 20th century. The story starts off in the south where the narrator was a young man and follows him as he migrates up to New York city where the novel ends. It shows how much patience and determination one must have to be a somewhat successful African American in the early to mid 20th century. He shows the reader how he wasn't respected or even acknowledged throughout his life, therefore feeling "Invisible". I really felt for the narrators struggles and actually caught myself cheering for him sometimes. I also caught myself holding grudges against some of the other characters in the novel including Dr. Bledsoe. This book really touched on everything love, fear, violence, lust, deceit and hate. Many of the problems in the book still exist today. Even though I think we as a country are getting alot closer to pure equality and the end of racism, we still have a far road to travel and we can learn alot from this book and the examples it shows of our society's past mistakes. I definitely would recommend this book to a friend and I honestly believe this was the best book of the semester. I am happy it was saved for last.

Ideology in "The House of The Spirits"

2005-04-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

"I should have killed him when I said I would! Sleeping with my daughter! I swear I'm going to find him and when I lay my hands on him. I'm going to cut his balls off if it's the last thing I ever do. I swear on my mothers soul he's going to regret that he was ever born." (Esteban Trueba page 200)

I believe this is a very ideological passage because Esteban feels it was alright for himself to sleep with whom ever he wanted even if he forced it but it wasn't O.K. for Pedro Garcia to sleep with a woman whom he loved. This just shows how critical and hypercritical Esteban is. Esteban is a very closed minded individual who has alot of ideological views on the world. I think Esteban would be alot better off if he became a little more open minded.

Rachel Blau Duplessis

2005-03-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

I would ask her if she goes through the same process with every poem? Also if there was a certain place she sits down and writes her poems and if so where? Also if she carries a pen and paper around in case she gets an urge or just feel certain ideas come up?

Antigone

2005-03-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed reading Antigone. I have read a different variation of it while I was in highschool. Antigone is put in a very difficult position in this tale. Her two brothers got into a war over the crown after her fathers death. During the war they kill each other and Antigone's uncle (Kreon) ends up taking the crown. Kreon orders that the one brother shall not be given a proper burial. Antigone is very much against this and attempts to bury him anyway. Once Kreon sentences Antigone to death it causes a domino effect because Kreon's son (Antigone's Fiance) than takes his own life. Then Kreon's wife takes her own life. Then eventually the kingdom is taking over by the invaders.
This story has a lot of different struggles to think about. There is a constant struggle between family and government throughout the story. Also Kreon rules with a cold heart and in a way it shows what would happen if someone doesn't show compassion. Complete Destruction. I think there is alot that can be learned from this story and I think it was written for this reason. One should never become to involved in their job or occupation and forget who loves you because in the end thats all that really matters.

Cortez

2005-02-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed reading this tale that was about a Mexican hero by the name of Cortez. It is more of a folktale than anything. It was told over and over again to many different Mexican generations. It starts off about a man named Cortez who has every quality a man should strive to have. He's honest, modest, respectable to elders, and he also had every skill known to man. On the other hand his brother was very different. He was ignorant, conniving and arrogant. One day he gets himself in trouble but of course Cortez is there to save him by killing a sheriff. Once the police find out about this their is a warrant put out for his arrest. Many sheriff's attempted to capture Cortez but when they confronted him they were too scared to do anything. In the variation I like the best, the Police capture Cortez brother and mother and lock them up. So Cortez has no choice but to turn himself in and that's the only reason they got him.
This story I believe was first originated to inspire many different Mexican men to have strong morals. There are many different variations so almost every single Mexican man can relate to one of them.

Blood Wedding

2005-02-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

When I first saw the title of the play I immediately realized that some key figures of this wedding were going to be killed. Once I began reading into the play the mother talked alot about men and knives. She is very worried about her son being hurt or killed from a knife. This is when I began to realize the groom was probably going to be killed by a knife. As the story progresses we learn about the bride's secret past. She was once before engaged to a man by the name of Leonardo. We also learn that even though they both deny it, they still have feelings for eachother. At this point I was only done about half of the play and I already realized what was going to happen.I knew that the Groom was going to be killed in a knife fight with Leonardo around the time of the wedding. This is why I didn't like this play very much because I wasn't really eager to keep on reading to find out what happens. This was not one of my favorite works of the semester.

The Awakening

2005-02-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

The Awakening much like Frederick Douglas and The Yellow wallpaper is a story about a persons struggle for their own rights. The story takes place in the late 19th century about a woman's (Edna's)mid life crisis. I believe Edna was forced into a marriage and didn't really ever go against it. Everything seemed so bright and happy on the outside but on the inside their were so many emotions ready to errupt like a volcano. I believe the Ocean was a metaphor for what she was going through. At the begginning of the novel she learns how to swim for the first time. The ocean and water in many cultures is a sign for cleansing and rebirth. This was when Edna realized she wasn't happy with her life and fell in love with a man named Robert. Once she realized she could not have Robert either, she took her own life in the ocean.

Gilman

2005-01-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

I believe Gilman's character is much like Frederick Douglas. Gilman's character is struggling for some of her own personal rights similar to Frederick Douglas. The only difference between the two is one is a females struggle for personal rights and the other is a African Americans struggle.

In this story Gilman's character is told what to do by her husband. She is not allowed to live her life as she would want too. She is put in the nursery against her will and told exactly how to live her life. Also similar to Douglas she is not allowed to write but not ready to give it up. She writes whenever she feels safe to write because like Douglas she rebels somewhat from authority.

Both these stories compare writing with power. Frederick Douglas gains his power through writing but Gilmans loses all power from not being allowed to write. The "Authority" wears on her and she begins to go insane. She then writes about a woman who is trying to escape from the wallpaper. This is when she goes completely insane but even through her insanity she tells her own personal story. She is the woman behind the wallpaper and the wallpaper is seen as authority. She is unable to escape through the wallpaper. She can only come through the wallpaper in the shadows of the night. I believe this could be a metaphor for when she is sneaking around writing. When she finally tears all of the wallpaper down she frees herself and in by doing that goes completely insane and her husband quickly realized it because of his fainting.

Frederick Douglas 1/20/04

2005-01-20T14:46:00.000-08:00

I believe Frederick Douglas was one of the most remarkable writers of all time. He became an acclaimed author with no formal education to teach him how to write or even read at that matter. Not only did he teach himself how to read and write but he was extremely good at it. His writings had a lot of influence on many people from his time (1845) until the 1960's on how Americans viewed African Americans. Not only were his writings effective in enlightening many people but the story of his life was just as enlightening; the story of a man who taught himself to be a writer without any formal education. He was an example that Blacks were just as smart as whites and that they could live amongst each other in an effective society.
Another thing he did was he introduced white America to the cruel world of slavery. Through his Narrative he showed every American just how inhumane slavery actually was. I feel as if I overcame half the obstacles Frederick Douglas did I would be extremely successful. I think this man is a man that students will be reading for decades to come.