Welcome, and remember...

Just a reminder about what we'd like to see here. Students will be responding to readings, and their grade will be based on the following rubric:
  • Reflection statements (self positioning within the course concepts);
  • Commentary statements (effective use of the course content in discussion and analysis);
  • New idea statements (synthesis of ideas to a higher level); and
  • Application statements (direct use of the new ideas in a real life setting).
Don't forget to mark the comments you want for credit with an FC.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Things Fall Apart FC

I think this book is another example of the idea of change or tradition. For most of the beginning of the book the author focuses on the traditional practices of Umuofia clan. In their society they had to farm. Men had certain stereotypes to follow, and they worshiped certain gods. If they broke a rule of a god they would be punished. That is their idea of tradition. The struggle of the idea of change comes when Mr. Brown tries to convert people in the tribe. He comes with peace so they grant him land for a church but it is in a forbidden forest. The people of the tribe think that this will eventually fail, but it does not. That is when the first converts come and eventually they get more converts, and are successful. The struggle is when clansmen like Okonkwo are completely rejecting it because they believe in tradition not change. This is something that we struggle with today in our country today. Especially when it comes to social issues. For example, Mr. Brown wanted the tribesmen to be educated but tradition did not allow that.

Nicholas Claiborne FC
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2 comments:

  1. David NorthupMay 1, 2009 at 11:41 AM

    I believe change is too mild a word for what happened to this clan. We use the word "change" in our most recent time to refer to the president, and in every sense of the word we are technically using the word correctly. However you truly cannot compare the "change" we experience now to what happened to the people in "Things fall Apart." That was a complete overhaul/overthrow of everything they new. If perhaps our new president make the US government a feudal system then perhaps we can make an accurate comparison.

    David Northup FC

    ReplyDelete
  2. El TigreMay 1, 2009 at 12:16 PM

    I believe change is too mild a word for what happened to this clan. We use the word "change" in our most recent time to refer to the president, and in every sense of the word we are technically using the word correctly. However you truly cannot compare the "change" we experience now to what happened to the people in "Things fall Apart." That was a complete overhaul/overthrow of everything they new. If perhaps our new president make the US government a feudal system then perhaps we can make an accurate comparison.

    David Northup FC

    ReplyDelete

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