African+Allusions

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=toc= =Overview: = This page contains allusions to African stories as pertaining to Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe as well as a link to the common African American folktale "The People Could Fly" in "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison. It includes relevant links and pictures that may be used to help understand the text, as well as specific allusions to stories and fables within the text. All page numbers refer to the paperback 1994 version of the book. = =

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**Song Of Solomon**

 * African American Story: The People Could Fly, by Virginia Hamilton**
 * Summary:**
 * "**During the nightmare that was slavery, one of the coping mechanisms African-Americans relied upon to endure the never-ending ordeal was the sharing of magical folklore which offered a glimmer of hope. These fanciful fables, invariably celebrating the indomitability of the human spirit, were secretly recounted by elders and thereby and passed down from generation to generation via oral tradition.

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In 1985, Virginia Hamilton (1936-2002) published two dozen still-surviving slave stories as a means of preserving a soon to be forgotten aspect of African-American history. Now, **The People Could Fly**, the titular tale from that award-winning opus, has been deemed worthy of a re-release, standing alone in its own right.=====

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Regrettably, Ms. Hamilton, the first children's book author ever to receive a genius grant from the MacArthur Foundation, passed away a few years ago. However, her animated voice can still be heard here accompanied by James Earl Jones on the CD accompanying this edition. The book also features new airbrushed illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon, the acclaimed artists who had collaborated on the original.=====

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While ultimately uplifting, **The People Could Fly** does contain descriptions of some of the indignities and brutalities doled out during slavery. Although this might frighten some youngsters in the target audience, remember that much more graphic accounts of violence have been standard fairy tale fare for ages.=====

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Since nobody was scarred for life by regularly reciting Jack & Jill, Humpty Dumpty or Rock-a-Bye-Baby, then I suspect it's probably okay for kids to hear about the anguish of the Middle Passage and the crack of the master's whip on the plantation."=====

(Source: http://aalbc.com/reviews/the_people_could_fly.htm)

 * Mentions in Song of Solomon:**

"At 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday the 18th of February, 1931, I will take of from Mercy and **fly away** on my own wings..." (3).

"//O Sugarman done fly away// //Sugarman done gone// //Sugarman cut across the sky// //Sugarman gone home..." (6).//

//"//Mr. Smith's blue silk wings must have left their mark, because when the little boy discovered, at four, the same thing Mr. Smith had learned earlier-
 * that only birds and airplanes could fly**-he lost all interest in himself. To have to live without that sing gift saddened him and left his imagination so bereft that he appeared dull even to the women who did not hate his mother" (9).

"If he did manage to slip by his sisters and avoid their casual malice, he knelt in his room at the window sill and wondered again and again **why he had to stay level on the ground**" (10).

"//O Sugarman don't leave me here// //Cotton balls to choke me// //O Sugarman don't leave me here// //Buckra's arms to yoke me...//

//Sugarman done fly away// //Sugarman done gone// //Sugarman cut across the sky// //Sugarman gone home" (49).//

Things Fall Apart

Gods
 Ifejioku- yam god  Ani- landowner god  //Chi//- personal god

**Characters**
Nwoye- Okonkwo's son who leaves him and follows the Christian missionaries Ezeudu- The oldest man in Umuofia Okonkwo- the antagonist or protagonist of the story depending on your perspective Obierika- Okonkwo's friend who warns him not to kill Ikemefuna Ekwefi- The mother of Ezinma Chielo- Priestess of Agbala who carries Ezinma to the Caves and Hills Ikemefuna- Sacrificed by his village and sent to Umuofia. Okonkwo wished he was his son Maduka- Obierika's son Okagbue- The Umuofia medicine man who cures Ezinma Mr. Brown- The white missionary who comes to Mbanta



**A Great Video by John and Lucia**
media type="youtube" key="uUCz67fVuVE" height="390" width="640"

Villages
Umuofia (Okonkwo's village) Mbanta (The village that Okonkwo flees to after killing an innocent boy)

**Name Meanings:**

**Okonkwo--** There are four market days in Ibo culture, Oye, Afor, Nkwo and Eke. "Okonkwo" means a boy, ("Oke" means male or man) born on the day Nkwo. **Nwoye--**similarly, "Nwoye" is a boy born on the day Oye. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Ezinma--** "good path," or "the future looks good"

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Egwugwu Tribal Dance]
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Click link above to see an example of the modern Egwugwu dance. Of course, this is bad quality, but it will have to do for now. In the video, they show the "spirits" dancing, and by speculation, they are not as ghastly as described in the text (this could just be my incorrect interpretation of what the author used them for, however). At 2:05 you will see a man dancing with the huge masks as shown in class (I think he had help). = =

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Another Tribal/Cultural Dance]
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Click above link to see another example of a cultural example of Ibo/Igbo dancing.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">PROVERBS:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk" (10). **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">- Though said in the beginning of the novel, this idea of that even in the darkest of times, in this case the night being described as a time when pitch blackness consumes the village, a shining light can emerge, therefore, wiping away the evil, so that even one who would fear to walk at night, in this case, a cripple, would desire to walk in the streets of the village. Another way to look at this proverb is to say that it describes how nights where the moon is shining brightly, everyone in the village is optimistic for the future. Even the elderly people want to go outside their homes and be a part of the action going on at night. However, the nights when it is dark and clouds hide the moon, there is a foreboding feeling in the air. Achebe describes this feeling, “Darkness held a vague terror for these people…” (9). The atmosphere on this particular night sets the tone and foreshadows events to come. The town soon learns that a woman named Ezeugo was murdered.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">﻿ **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">- Provides a twist to the saying "Don't bite the hand that feeds you", except in this quote, we see that the child would never be hurt by the actions of the mother, and so, in this sense, it provides a response to said saying of "If you don't bite the hand that feeds you, the hand will not bite you back". I find this significant as the quote points at the tension between Nwoye and his father as the hand that feeds Nwoye consistently hurts him, and so, Nwoye, in return, goes off to become a Christian, therefore, biting the hand that fed him [back]. And so, this quote provides another sense of foreshadowing that would be very hard to discern.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm" (67). **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"A baby on its mother's back does not know that the way is long" (101). **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-This proverb produces the idea that one who is sheltered from any harm in the world is one who will not understand the value of facing the hardships of life, which may be thrown at them at any time. This quote, I also thought, brought back the image of Ezinma being carried by Chielo to Agbala's shrine in the caves. However, the quote does not relate to this incident, in my opinion. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-This proverb was stated as the priestess put Ezinma on her back to take her to the oracle. Her mother, Ekwefi feared what would become of her daughter and followed the priestess. The priestess went to each of the 7 villages before going to see the oracle, confusing and tiring Ekwefi. Finally, at the oracle's cave, Okonkwo joins Ekweif as they wait for Ezinma to be returned to them.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">- This quote is an all encompassing quote of the novel that directly surfaces the incorrect nature of Okonkwo's acts throughout the novel, though with all the good intentions he had. In this case, it directly touches on the fact that the bad acts as committed by Okonkwo reflect the Ibo society, culture, and village as an entirety. In this sense, we can see that the soiled finger, being the inhumane actions that Okonkwo performs, from constantly hurting his son to trying to shoot and kill his wife, effects the name and honor of the community as a whole.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"If one finger brought oil it soiled the others" (125). **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-This proverb touches on one of the most important parts of the life of mammals, in that in order to survive after birth the baby relies solely on its mother to provide it with nourishment and safety, which without would cause the baby to die. Thus Achebe uses it to show that nothing, be it tangible or intangible, can be used to repay the Mbanta clan and Okonkwo's family (mother-side) for the help and comfort that they have provided him with during his 7 year banning from Umofia, due to his murder of the elder's son during the funeral.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"A child cannot pay for its mother's milk" (166). **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**"Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then you know that something is after its life" (203).**

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Okika spoke this at a tribe meeting that was called in order to discuss how the white missionaries where destroying Umuofia and the culture and religion of its inhabitants. Okika used this saying as a metaphor for the outpouring of people who stopped their daily activities to be at the meeting because they knew how much was at stake. He said that the reason people came to the meeting was because they knew that "something was after their life" (203). The thing after their life was the white missionaries subjecting the citizens of Umuofia to cruelty and humiliation under the pretense that they were "helping" them by converting them to Christianity. At this meeting, the people of Umuofia began to realize that they were being manipulated by the white missionaries who were colonizing the area.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**"Eneke the bird was asked why he was always on the wing and he replied: "Men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly without perching on a twig" (203-204).**

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This was also spoken by Okika at the town meeting near the end of the book. The bird in this proverb learned to only rely on himself and became wary of everyone and everything around him. The people of Umuofia feel the same way because they learned the hard way from the white men that they can't trust anyone. Okika suggests that they must get rid of anyone who could possibly be conspiring against them. The bird in the proverb had to resort to extreme measures to survive like the desperate people of Umuofia.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten" (7). **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> -This quote serves as an important piece of foreshadowing and symbolism. The idea that the conversation of the Ibo is an art that his regarded very highly is shown opposite to that of what the "white man" thinks, as portrayed by the Europeans who come into the land. This gives a small hint of foreshadowing as it notes this conflict between East versus West, which, in my opinion, is almost impossible to know without having read the whole novel once through first. Also, the idea that conversation is the palm oil (metaphor) shows the esteem in which the people hold towards those who speak well as the Ibo are an primarily agricultural society producing yams, palm oil, kola nuts, etc.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-This quote, placed purposefully at the beginning of the novel, raises this principle of the Ibo culture that no matter the past history of the familial ties for a person, they, when born into the world, start with a new state, and in this case, if one was to rise above the bad past of their family, with "washed hands" they could eat with kings. This notion of eating with kings, obviously translates directly to the notion of having a successful reputation and life throughout their adult life. In this way, the author directly ties this quotation to Okonkwo and the ability to surpass the bad reputation of his father and rise up to have a good status within the Ibo society as a fearless warrior with much honor and etc.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> "Whenever he saw a dead man's mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one had in one's lifetime" (5). **
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> "If a child washed his hands he could eat with kings" (8). **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This quote is stated by Ogbuefi Idigo as he speaks about Obiako, who was a palm-wine tapper who gave up his trade. This proverb is significant because toads are nocturnal animals, meaning they normally sleep during the day. If a toad runs during the daytime it must mean that something important is occurring. This quote basically means that all things happen for a reason.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> "A toad does not run in the for nothing" (20). **

This proverb relates to Okonkwo and his difficulty laughing when the subject of his father arises. He is not able to take anything lightly when something negative or not serious is said about his father. In other words, he is unable to take a joke and feels uneasy or uncomfortable when the subject comes up.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> "An old women is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb" (21). **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**"“The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did” (21).**

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This proverb is at the beginning of the novel when Okonkwo asks Nwakibie for yam seeds. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Just as the lizard talks about himself highly. Okonkwo is explaining (to Nwakibie) his capacity for hard work and his determination and belief in himself. He is speaking up for himself because he wants people to realize that he is a person who can get a lot accomplished. However, there is also a hint of arrogance in the proverb.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">“Living fire begets cold, impotent ash” (153). **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This proverb is used towards the end of the novel when Okonkwo explains that he feels cursed with a son like Nwoye. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Nwoye resembles his grandfather, Unoka, who is considered weak. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The proverb means fire leaves behind useless ash just how Okonkwo believes he has created and left behind a useless and helpless son. Just as fire can’t help but to produce ash, Okonkwo believes there is nothing to do about his son, it just happened.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them (7-8)." **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, says this as he speaks to his neighbor Okoye. Unoka owes Okoye a great sum of money and as Okoye attempts to ask his neighbor to repay the debt, Unoka replies with this proverb. By it Unoka means that he must first repay the larger debts he owes to others, and after that he will be able to repay Okoye, to whom he owes a smaller amount.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Mosquito and Ear (75):


<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> This Fable provides an answer to the question "Why do mosquitoes always go for one's ears?" by explaining that Mosquito proposed marriage to Ear. When Mosquito asked Ear to marry him she fell down laughing and asked him "How much longer do you think you will live?... You are already a skeleton" (75). Now every time Mosquito passes by Ear he reminds her that he is still alive. This fable describes perfectly Okonkwo’s downfall. He is vengeful towards those who wrong him. He is ashamed of his son’s weaknesses, so he makes up for them by being cruel to his family members. It’s plausible that he is taking his revenge out on his loved ones because he still feels pain from what he considers to be his father’s unworthiness.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Vulture and Sky (53-54):
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> This fable serves as a metaphor for the comparison of the influence of Ikemefuna and Okonkwo on Nwoye. In the fable, the vulture serves to be a boon, rather than a harbinger of death, as it is usually perceived to be, therefore, in the story, can be equated to Ikemefuna, as he, originally perceived to be a harbinger of badness or unhappiness, due to the fact that he was the trade for the death of the woman killed on the opposite villages soil. In this same sense, we see that Okonkwo, equated to the sky, is originally thought to be a good man, however, he turns out to be the source of Nwoye's unhappiness. This, of course, precedes the locust infestation, which the people of the Ibo village found to be a boon, though considered by a modern audience as probably disgusting and undesirable in any form (also note the biblical representation of the locusts through the plague). However, through this ironic standpoint that the author takes of setting what is thought of as being a problem for some people as a pleasant surprise for others and thereby explaining the difference in cultures and how one culture (particularily the modern American) is not necessarily better than or correct in comparison to any other culture of the world (in this case the one dictated by the Ibo village).

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Snake-lizard and his Mother (83-84):


<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> This fable is about a snake-lizard that gives its mother seven baskets of vegetables to cook and after she cooks them, there are only three left. It then kills its mother when it saw how the number of vegetables diminished. It then proceeded to buy seven baskets of vegetables to cook itself, and again there were only three. The snake-lizard then killed itself. In this fable, the snake- lizard realized too late that it was wrong. The snake-lizard is quick to blame people like Okonkwo. This character trait of ignorance resurfaces again in the character of Oedipus from Oedipus the King.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Tortoise and the Birds (96-99):


<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> This fable serves as a way to explain why tortoise's shells aren't smooth. But it also explains greed and the power of trust, along with karma. The tortoise is able to persuade the birds that he is a "changed man" (97), even after the birds said "you are full of cunning and you are ungrateful" to him (97). The birds believed him, and each gave him a feather to make wings to fly to the birds feast. The tortoise told the birds that at feasts, everyone takes a new name, and that his name was "all of you" (97). Tortoise asked who the feast was prepared for, and the man replied "for all of you" (98). Because tortoise took this new name, that meant that the feast was prepared for him, and only him. Tortoise was very greedy, and power hungry, thus causing him to hog all of the food. When the birds took all of the feathers tortoise asked them to tell his wife to place soft objects on the ground so he could jump to the ground. The birds told him they would send the message, but rather they told her to put hard objects on the ground and tortoise jumped down. His shell broke into pieces. This is where the message of karma comes in, because had he not been so greedy at the feast, he would have been able to fly down and the birds would not have sent the opposite message to his wife.

**<span style="color: #0c0b0e; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Mmpo and his Gills **

 * <span style="color: #0c0b0e; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By Abby Schell **

<span style="color: #0c0b0e; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once upon a time, deep below the great reaching sea, the water animals were preparing for the festival of revival. The impenetrable excitement wafted through a being like freshly prepared and freshly harvested foofoo. Fish, eels, frogs, crabs and tortoises alike counted down the dwindling day until the first crack in the shielding and invasive ice would proudly and honorably be made by the water animal’s strongest warriors. Perhaps the strongest of all was Mmpo the fish. <span style="color: #0c0b0e; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mmpo had been training; long days and toiling nights all lead up to this festival. He had so much faith in himself that he decided to crack the ice all by himself. While the other water animals were busying themselves with preparations for the following day, Mmpo painted himself with the dark paint from below the sand. He adorned himself with strings of pearls and a sand dollar as a shield; he truly resembled a warrior. Proudly, he strutted to the surface and reared back a few paces so that he had a running start. ‘It all comes down to me and this moment’, Mmpo told himself. Mmpo shot towards the frozen ice, blasted through its barrier and landed atop its surface on the other side. The strongest warrior, Mmpo the fish, was trapped above his safe, underwater haven and no one could help him. While Mmpo struggled to breathe with the great weight of his pearls suppressing and cutting into his body, Bonang the frog, another water warrior, had been watching. He summoned all of the other water warriors and they too cracked the ice to save Mmpo. Mmpo realized that to do great things, he didn’t have to do them alone; he couldn’t! While he thought that he had ruined the festival of revival, the rest of the water animals assured him that saving Mmpo had been the true revival. Mmpo had been saved and the festival ensued, but he would always be marked with the deep cuts the pearls gave him for being too proud.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Women's song at New Yam Festival (51):
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This song was lead by the women of Okafo’s village after he won the famous wrestling match during the New Yam Festival. They sang, “Who will wrestle for our village? Okafo will wrestle for our village. Has he thrown a hundred men? He has thrown four hundred men. Has he thrown a hundred Cats? He has thrown four hundred Cats. Then send him word to fight for us” (51). The women singing the song ask rhetorical questions and then answer them affirmatively while also embellishing their answers. This shows the great pride they have in Okafo because he won the match and came from their village. The reason wrestling matches are so important to the Ibo people is because the competitors demonstrate their masculinity and strength. These traits are considered to be the most important in Ibo society and people need to have them if they want to earn respect from their fellow villagers.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Ikemefuna sings a song about returning home while he is walking, unknown to him, to his death, but the author chooses to not translate it to English.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">PICTURES:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Tribal Mask : <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Goddess of Fertility : <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Different Egwugwu : <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Elders' Meeting (with stools and servant boys, similar to the text) : <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> More pictures can be found Here

"Perfect"
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> ** The song, "Perfect" by Simple Plan relates to the relationship between Okonkwo and his son Nwoye. ** <span style="font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Here are the lyrics to the song:

<span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Hey dad, look at me <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Think back and talk to me <span style="color: red; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Did I grow up according to plan? <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> And do you think I’m wasting my time doing things I wanna do ? <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> But it hurts when you disapprove all along <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> And now I try hard to make it <span style="color: red; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I just want to make you proud <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I’m never gonna be good enough for you <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I can’t pretend that <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I’m alright <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> And you can’t change me <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> ‘Cuz we lost it all <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Nothing lasts forever <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I’m sorry <span style="color: red; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I can’t be perfect <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Now it’s just too late and <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> We can’t go back <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I’m sorry <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I can’t be perfect <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I try not to think <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> About the pain I feel inside <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Did you know you used to be my hero? <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> All the days you spent with me <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Now seem so far away <span style="color: red; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> And it feels like you don’t care anymore <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> And now I try hard to make it <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I just want to make you proud <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I’m never gonna be good enough for you <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I can’t stand another fight <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> And nothing’s alright <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> {chorus} <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Nothing’s gonna change the things that you said <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Nothing’s gonna make this right again <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Please don’t turn your back <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> I can’t believe it’s hard <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> Just to talk to you <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> But you don’t understand <span style="color: black; font-family: Cochin; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> {chorusX2}

<span style="direction: ltr; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.38in; margin-top: 2.88pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.38in; unicode-bidi: embed;"> The lyrics in red are the ones that pertain to this relationship and the book, // Things Fall Apart //

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> ** Quotes that relate to the lyrics: **

<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> •“I have done my …. mother in him.” (p. 66) <span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> •“As soon as his father… of a tightened bow.”(p.61) <span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> •“Nwoye knew… used to tell.”(p. 53) <span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> •“Where have you been… never returned.”(151-52) <span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0.1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0.1pt;"> •“Although Nwoye…fear of his father.”(p.149)

"Heard 'em Say"
<span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Another song that relates to the life of Okonkwo is "Heard 'em Say" by Kanye West and Adam Levine from Maroon 5.

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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And I heard 'em say, nothin ever promised tomorrow today. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> From the Chi, like Tim its the Hard-a-way, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> So this is in the name of love, like Robert says <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Before you ask me to get a job today, can I at least get a raise on a minimum wage? <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And I know the government administered AIDS, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> So I guess we just pray like the minister say, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Allah o Akbar and throw em some hot cars, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Things we see on the screen are not ours, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> But these niggas from the hood so these dreams not far, <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: yellow; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Where im from, the dope boys is the rock stars, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> But they can't cop cars without seein' cop cars, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> I guess they want us all behind bars. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> I know it.They say people in your life are seasons, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And anything that happen is for a reason , <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And niggas guns a clappin and keep to squeezin', <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And Gran (Grandma) keep prayin' and keep believin', <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And Jesus and one day that ya see him, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Till they walk in his footsteps and try to be him, <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: yellow; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The devil is alive I feel him breathin', <span style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: yellow; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 0%; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Claimin' money is the key so keep on dreamin',

<span style="color: #0031ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;"> Those are the lyrics, and the highlighted parts pertain to the life Okonkwo as follows.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"> When Kanye talks about nothing being promised the next day, I thought that it related a lot to the life and the occurrences within the life of Okonkwo. A good example is of what happened with Ezuedu’s son. Ezuedu had told Okonkwo not to participate in Ikemefuna’s execution, but after he was the one to kill him, at Ezuedu’s funeral, Okonkow accidentally kills his son. Okonkwo did not know that this would happen, like in the song, you can’t know the future. Kanye does mention later in the song that everything happens for a reason, and so this relates to how the bad actions of Okonkwo follow him throughout his life, kind of like the story of the mosquito and the ear. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The next part of the song that relates to the story is the part about dreaming, and the devil. The dreaming part relates to the beginning of chapter 19 when Okonkwo is dreaming of his old village and of how much more warrior-like the men are there. Kanye also mentions about where he is from, and like the book, I thought it is important to stay connected to one’s roots. The part about the devil once again relates to the bad actions of Okonkwo that follow him, and other things that do too. These include the demonic spirit of Ezinma, Ikemefuna, and a few others. The mosquito story also relates to the concept of haunting something.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Song: All Good Things Come to an End <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> By: Nelly Furtado

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">This song relates to Okonkowo's life, it's more of a self reflection; it also has a sentimental tone like the end of his life.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Lyrics: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Honestly what will become of me <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> don't like reality <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> It's way too clear to me <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> But really life is dandy <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> We are what we don't see <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Missed everything daydreaming <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> [Chorus:] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __ Flames to dust __ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Lovers to friends <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Why do all good things come to an end <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Flames to dust <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Lovers to friends <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __ Why do all good things come to an end __ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> come to an end come to an <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Why do all good things come to end? <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> come to an end come to an <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Why do all good things come to an end <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Traveling I only stop at exits <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Wondering if I'll stay <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __ Young and restless __

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> Living this way I stress less <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __ I want to pull away when the dream dies __ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __ The pain sets in and I don't cry __ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> I only feel gravity and I wonder why <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> (Sorry, the fonts messed up)

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> •“They set fire to his house, demolished his red walls, killed his animals and destroyed his barn” (Achebe 125). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> •“He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart” (Achebe 183). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> •“And for the moment the spirit of the clan was pacified” (Achebe 191). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> •“He wiped his machete on the sand and went away” (Achebe 205). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 90%;"> •Okonkwo was a strong person that eventually killed himself, which is a big sign of weakness in their clan.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 19pt;"> ** Insider vs. Outsider Perspective- ** Devon
Throughout our class discussions on Chinua Achebe's //Things Fall Apart// we talked and debated the notion of the insider and outsider perspective. We agreed on the idea that every culture has different rituals or practices and there is nothing wrong with that, it just makes every culture unique in their own ways. One of the most significant actions in the book that represented the insider/outsider notion was when the European missionaries came into Okonkwo's village of Umuofia and tried to change everything that the people in Umuofia were doing. They not only tried to change their religion, but they also made a courthouse, hospital, prison, schools, and a church. When these European missionaries came into the village they barley had any prior insider knowledge of their culture, but despite this they went ahead with their plans and tried to transform the people of Umuofia to the European religion and practices. The leaders of Umuofia explained how they felt about Mr. Smith and what he was trying to do with their country; "we cannot leave the matter in his hands because he does not understand our customs, just as we do not understand his. We say he is foolish because he does not know our ways, and perhaps he says we are foolish because we do not know his. Let him go away" (191). The leaders of Umuofia are acknowledging him by saying they don't know anything about his culture, but that doesn't give him any right to come in and change their culture without prior knowledge. We also discussed the //American Anthropological Association// article and it explained that the anthropologist has become diversified when seeing all of the different cultures, "the anthropologist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which different people behave in similar situations that he is not apt to be surprised by even the most exotic customs" (AAA). Every culture has their own rituals and practices and that needs to be recognized and accepted by others that everyone is different. The insider/outsider perspective notion is something that can be argued from many different perspectives, but in the end it what matters is how you view and treat people that have different practices then you.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A Mosquito Story, by John and Lucia
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**Okonkwo Vs. All Along**__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Connor Remes

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 200%;"> When examined, the themes throughout Kid Cudi’s music, specifically the song //All Along// have great meaning to the overlying themes throughout //Things Fall Apart// and Okonkwo’s personal realizations. Despite Okonkwo’s ego and significant personal accomplishments, he fades between an arrogant wrestler and an insecure psychopath, unsure of how to prove to others that he is indeed manly. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> The song begins with the phrase, “When the days change, so does my attitude”, and later describes “When the nights change, so do my nightmares too”. This has a close connection to Okonkwo’s exile from Umofia to avoid the hatred of his people. Not only does Okonkwo experience a great deal of loneliness similar to what is mentioned in Kid Cudi’s song, but his attitude also seems to change daily- he is caught at an unhealthy imbalance between love and hatred for his offspring and resorts to the immature exit of physical violence. Furthermore, as the nights progress for Okonkwo, his worries (nightmares) begin to change as well. At first, Okonkwo has worries as to whether or not he will succeed in the farming and wrestling worlds. After this, once he has obtained fame, Okonkwo is sincerely convinced that others view him as weak and becomes paranoid of this, on an obsessive quest to obtain manliness. However, this paranoia sends him the opposite way, if anything, and he must now worry about finding a place to seek refuge and how he will be perceived when he returns to Umofia. But he eventually collapses over such worries and decides to kill himself, unsure of how to solve his ever-increasing problems, both views of himself and crimes he had committed. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 200%;"> Cudi later goes on to mention that what he needs he cannot attain with the phrase, “I don’t want what I need, what I need hates me”. Similarly, in Oknonkwo’s deteriorating life, Okonkwo’s offspring and village begins to hate him because he feels so insecure with Umofia’s perception of his masculinity. Therefore, what Okonkwo needs (support from Umofia, love from his offspring) is therefore impossible to obtain at this point due to such an arratic and overly violent personality towards others. However, in many aspects, Okonkwo had dug himself into a very, very deep hole- he went from having such a great amount of success and reputable wives to having a constant obsession with obtaining a masculine image, something that ultimately generated enough hatred for him in Umofia, something that he needed, that when he returned, it was as if he wasn’t even there. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 200%;"> Finally, towards the end of the song, Cudi mentions the phrase: “Suppose somehow the lion-hearted failed to smile, who would be the villain? All the strangers voted for him.” This line bears particular significance to Okonkwo’s wrestling career in Umofia. Okonkwo, a once-accomplished wrestler, gets the support and admiration of the others in Umofia (strangers to him) since wrestling talent is such an attribute in their society. However, the supposed ‘lion-hearted’, the ‘courageous’ Oknonkwo in this case, is simply unable to smile due to personal insecurity and the inability to realize that others did think he was in fact masculine from the beginning. Unfortunately, this inability to realize something so simple sends him on a crazy killing spree. However, to his demise, the murder of the deceased man’s son further places him as an outsider that is unable to connect with any of his world, similar to the one Cudi describes. Additionally, regarding Cudi’s verse, the true villain in one respect could be the villagers of Umofia, since Okonkwo is a product of their support and admiration, and he had lived in Umofia for a very long time. And it was Umofia that made Okonkwo go on a quest to obtain a masculine image in the town, something that in fact generated much hatred. Although Okonkwo is able to eventually return to his homeland, these feelings of loneliness are ever more present due to the fact that no one makes an effort to welcome Okonkwo- it’s as if he had died and been forgotten about, a mere victim of time. Therefore, Okonkwo is a superb manifestation for the helpless loner that Kid Cudi describes, one seeking for love, meant to be alone, and gone insane due to those who voted for him.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; line-height: 200%;"> [|Kid Cudi- All along]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <!--[if gte mso 10]>

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> **Self Destruction**
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Michael Meline

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Fire lays siege to everything around <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> A formidable force, striking fear so profound

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Destruction comes so naturally <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Sometimes slow but most times rapidly <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Many times it strikes so randomly <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And in the end, nothing but catastrophe <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> This fire within yields no apathy <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Like Okonkwo, whose end is a calamity

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Only wind and only rain <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Can put out an element so insane

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Against such an opposing force <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> It’s killed or be killed of course <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> It’s respect and fear you need to extort <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Fight it or accept it may be the last resort <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> But at all costs, rally for support <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Although you’ll find no one is on your side of the court

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And that’s when you see <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Your fire is your true enemy

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Although people may respect you <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> That is all that you are due <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> When changing times do ensue <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The weakness inside you says your time is soon <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> In your final moments, you fears come through <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And like a put out fire, you become mere residue

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> -this is my interpretation of okonkwo's character, which I thought of as analogous to fire.

Six Word Memoirs
Tim Juang

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Ezinma:__ Died trying to be birthed male.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Ekwefi:__ Post grave-digging, valued daughter as sons.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Ikemefuna:__ Father killed girl. Later, killed me.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Nwoye__: Abandoned a man; received a Father.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Okonkwo:__ Nwoye’s decapitation: the death of me/n.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Akunna:__ How grand is the carpenter’s //obi//?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Mr. Brown:__ Bizarre. Incompatible gods collect similar prayers.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Enoch:__ Crucifying the old Christ. Resurrection Now.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Mr. James Smith:__ [You] won’t live to see desecration.[1]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __The District Commissioner__: Undignified details. Unclean dimwits. Utopian defection.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __Achebe:__ An unmarried Voice, paradoxed into fifty.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> [1] Chinua Achebe, __Things Fall Apart__ (New York: Anchor Books, 1994), 190. Quotation modified from “This is the house of God and I will not live to see it desecrated.”

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> These memoirs are an interpretation of the characters, their backgrounds, stories, and implications in the messages given by Achebe and the outside world. I tried to reveal aspects about certain characters that are consistent, and could be interpreted in a different light. For instance, Okonkwo's memoir indicates that the messenger he killed was his son Nwoye. This is consistent, not only because he has killed a son in the past, but also because he figuratively "killed" his familial relationship to Nwoye. However, this event is not actually stated in the story. Some allusions I used: "Father", that is, the Christian God, and "Resurrection Now," taking a twist on the movie "Apocalypse Now," a remake of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."