Song of Solomon Blog

Toni Morrison has created a fascinating world full of complex characters in Song of Solomon. The book follows the various struggles that the main character, Milkman, comes across in his life. Many of the struggles are a result of Milkman's sheltered life, as well as the poor relationship with his family. His father loathes both his mother and his sister. The result is that Milkman hears conflicting accounts and descriptions of his parents and his aunt. This in turn confuses Milkman, to the point where he cannot tell the truth from lies. Thanks to the uncertainty caused by his parents, Milkman lacks a sense of identity. Eventually, Milkman begins to feel suffocated in the presence of his family, and decides that he needs to leave, or, in other words, fly away. Flying has a big part in Song of Solomon. The idea of flying with regards to escaping is something that Toni Morrison explores in her novel. On the day that Milkman died, a doctor jumped off the top of the roof in what seemed to be an attempt at flying and killed himself. Morrison writes that Milkman cried when, at a young age, he discovered that human could not fly. A few decades later, Milkman realizes he has to leave his family and friends behind if he wants to find out who he is. At first, he struggles to leave, with his father convincing him to stay by telling him that Pilate has a bag of gold in her house. Some time after learning of the gold, Milkman and Guitar are hanging out when they see a white peacock. Milkman asks Guitar if it can fly, to which Guitar answers that it cannot fly due to all its "jewelry". Guitar then says that in order to fly, you have to give up what's holding you down. Whether this statement is what inspired Milkman to leave or not, Milkman metaphorically sheds his "jewelry", allowing him to fly away from the town. This is a turning point in Milkman's sheltered life, as he begins to be exposed to the world outside his own little life. It seems like Milkman is beginning to form an identity.

Nabokov and Adichie

Applying Nabokov's thoughts on what a writer needs to be to Chimamanda Adichie's novel Purple Hibiscus yields some interesting results. As the article states Nabokov believes that a writer needs to be a storyteller, a teacher, and an enchanter. Nabokov describes the storytelling aspect of a writer as the one that provides mindless entertainment and emotional participation. In this aspect, Adichie excels by including vivid descriptions of Papa Eugene's vicious punishments through the mind of his 16 year old daughter and victim, Kambili. She also includes happy emotions with the time spent at Aunty Ifeoma's house, the one place Jaja an Kambili can truly be themselves. Adichie also proves adept as the teacher, the provider of facts and knowledge. Her description of the complex relationship christianity has with the indigenous population and traditions provides a realistic look at christianity in Nigeria and the effect it has on family and non-family bonds. Christianity distanced Papa Eugene from his family, but made him very active in supporting many of his fellow churchgoers financially. The third aspect of a writer and the most important, according to Nabokov, is that of the enchanter. The enchanter is the portion that we really break down in class, the part of the book we tear apart searching for meaning. This is Adichie's first novel and as such, is not as strong in this aspect as the other two. However, she remains an extraordinary talent. She skillfully links christianity with the dark side of Papa Eugene by making him a good man at heart. He is, after all, the owner of The Standard, the only newspaper willing to publish the truth about the corrupt government. He also wants the best for his children, but his religiousness prevents him from truly being supportive of his children. Adichie turns the novel into a unique criticism of Catholicism by being a powerful enchantress.

W.E.B. Du Bois vs Papa Eugene vs Aunty Ifeoma

After reading W.E.B Du Bois's letter to his daughter, I was immediately thought back to the part in Purple Hibiscus when Kambili realizes the difference between the way that Aunty Ifeoma and Papa Eugene encouraged a desire for success in their children. The two characters are almost entirely different from each other and the way they encourage their children is no different. Aunty Ifeoma's children strive for greatness because they can believe they are can. This means that they are not afraid of failure and are willing to put themselves outside their comfort zone for the greater good of learning. On the other side, Papa Eugene's children strive for greatness because they are afraid of what will happen if they fail. They spend so much time cooped up in their rooms studying that they do not get any real world experience. Although both parents want the same thing—for their children to be great—the way in which they support their children differs greatly, thus the results do as well. This where W.E.B. Du Bois's letter comes in. His letter is one of encouragement, as he reminds his daughter that she came from privilege and must earn merit. Here, W.E.B. Du Bois's letter eerily resembles Papa Eugene's speech to Kambili when she comes second in her class. However, this is where the resemblance stops. Du Bois goes on to tell his daughter how what is important is her ability to be great, to conquer the world. He encourages her to try new experiences and to "take the cold bath bravely". He firmly tells her that she needs to work hard, but then quickly follows that up by telling his daughter she has it in her to achieve greatness, much like Aunty Ifeoma and her children. W.E.B. Du Bois's letter to his daughter is an exemplary model of a parent who knows how to raise successful children.

Post on 10 rules of Writing

I would like to start by saying that I love reading lists like Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing because I always learn something new or get an old question answered. This list has a few interesting pointers. One is that you should never use anything other than the word "said". I find this interesting because I feel that there are times when it makes the book a little more interesting, or at least less redundant when a writer uses other verbs. This rule is also interesting considering that another rule on Leonard's list is that there should never be an adverb describing the word "said". While I understand that if a writer needs to include an adverb modifying "said" than they probably didn't do a strong job of describing the situation. However, since an author following Leonard's rules cannot use any verb other than "said", their dialogue is more likely to come across as bland. Leonard argues that verbs other than "said" are intrusive, however; I find it to be the opposite. The other problem I have is that although Leonard is laying down ground rules, he gives examples of exceptions for many of them. What he is essentially saying is that if a person is good a writing, they can just ignore his rules. This makes the list almost useless since people good literature doesn't necessarily abide by it. One point that I agree with is "Use regional dialect sparingly", since it can be hard to read a book if you don't have any idea what's going on. I enjoyed reading this particular list, however it seems a little rushed and not well thought out to me due to the inclusion of exceptions.

Irony and Extremism in Purple Hibiscus

There is great irony in Papa Eugene's religious extremism. First, Christianity is a religion that is centered around being kind to others, especially to family members. While Papa Eugene is certainly kind to people outside his family, he is very cruel to most of his kin. Herein lies even more irony. Papa Eugene wants his children to be successful, so he wants them to be number one in their class. However, he is so adamant about being number one, that he causes Kambili to feel disappointed in herself when she comes in second. Furthermore, Kambili feels the need to be even more focused on her schoolwork, which shuts out any way for her to express herself. Papa Eugene's wife has only her figurines to herself. They are the only thing she truly owns, and they are eventually shattered by Papa EugeneThe lack of outlets for creativity is just one product of the stifling environment created by Papa Eugene's religious fervor. Another example of irony lies in the fact that Jaja is beginning to question Papa Eugene's rules. This is ironic because Papa Eugene has trie to set up a world in which the laws of Christianity are absolute and unquestionable, but since he tries so hard to keep his children in the dark about the rest of the world, he is actually the reason that Jaja begins to have his doubts about the religion. There are many more effects that result from Papa Eugene's religious extremism and I have a feeling that there are more to be revealed.

Things Fall Apart- Blog #3

I have just read through chapter 18 and am going to talk about the events surrounding the missionaries beginning in chapter 15. We first hear about the missionaries from Obierika when he goes to visit Okonkwo. We learn that some of the villagers killed the missionary, an act which Okonkwo, in an act of foreshadowing, explains to the reader was stupid because it will bring bad luck. Soon, more missionaries visit the town of Mbanta, where Okonkwo is living in exile. Events take a turn for the worst when Okonkwo learns that his son, Nwoye, was seen hanging around the missionaries. Soon, more town members begin to join the missionaries, who eventually gain enough converts to build a church. They build it unknowingly in the Evil Forest and manage to survive even though the townspeople expected them to die.  People begin questioning themselves. This puts the town in an unfortunate situation. People are confused by the converts because they make them question what they have been told for thousands of years. This is going to cause people to choose sides which will in turn cause more problems. It will be interesting to see what happens to the village as the missionaries continue to try and convert people. As Abraham Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand".

Things Fall Apart- Blog #2

In his interview with The Atlantic, Chinua Achebe talks about Americanization and a Universal Culture. It is intriguing to hear what Achebe has to say because his point of view goes against that of many within the U.S. Achebe writes that contrary to popular belief, we have not yet reached a Universal Culture. This part is not necessarily contrary to popular belief, but the fact that the American-European culture, the one that is widely adopted around the world, is not the universal culture. This brings up some interesting debates surrounding globalization and Americanization, some of which I will write about here.

Although the U.S.A.'s days of colonization are (or at least on the surface appear to be) over, it's influence on the world is ever growing. As one of the greatest economies in the world, the U.S. dominates world trade. As a result, the United States sets the precedents that countries follow when it comes to trading. In order to trade with the U.S., countries are required to speak english. This has a drastic effect one that is more easily seen when a person asks someone from outside the U.S. what languages they are learning in school. The answer, more often than not, is their native language, and English. Schools around the world require their students to learn english because it is necessary for them to be prosperous economically. Many of these students grow up and leave for the United States, where they will most likely never use their native language and where many will choose not to teach their children their native language. Thoughts of the "American Dream" has long lured people away from their homelands and brought them to the United States, where many of them learn English and forget their native language. Losing a language is a devastating blow to any culture. The globalization of English effects more than just a culture's language.

Americanization causes a culture to abandon practices which it had used throughout its history. It adopts practices which deplete its natural resources in order to be more competitive in the global economy, which is dominated by capitalist societies. While capitalism has its benefits, it can and has been a destructive force in regards to culture for this very reason. There are stories of countries running out of a vital resource for the first time in its history because it began to use them at a much faster rate than ever in order to advance economically. The effects prove disastrous for the people of the country, with the exact effects depending on what natural resource they are using. A prime example is that of the diamond trade's effects on the people of Sierra Leone.

There are many, many more negative effects of globalization, and even more negative outcomes from Americanization. One can only hope that more people realize the American-European culture is not the Universal Culture

Things Fall Apart- Blog #1

In his interview with The Atlantic, Chinua Achebe states that one reason he believes his novel Things Fall Apart has become so widely renowned is that people from countries with a history of being colonized can relate to the story of the Ibo. He then remarks that even people who live in a country without such a history can relate to the book because many people have experienced dispossession or victimization in some form or another. While I have yet to experience any form of dispossession drastic enough to warrant a link between my experience and that of the Ibo, I can relate to Okonkwo in another way: the feeling of being unfairly judged for something you cannot control. The scenario that has made me feel this way is the college application process.

I am a white male, non-catholic male, who lives in a wealthy family. Prior to the application process, I had not ever felt prejudiced, or at a disadvantage, which is amplified the feeling of hopelessness that overcame me throughout the admissions process. How is it that I felt at a disadvantage in the college application process? It has to do with the complexity of college admissions.

I worked hard through high school. I took the hardest classes available to me and always tried to get the best grade I was capable of getting. I did very well academically. Although I am not incredibly athletic, I participated in a sport all three seasons. By my senior year I was on the varsity team in three different sports. Lastly, I had also discovered a passion of mine in studying Spanish. My hard work seemed to pay off, as I had the grades to apply to most of the schools that caught my eye during the college hunting process. When it came time to compose an application to these schools, I felt confident that I would get into most of them with relative ease. Unfortunately, this would not be the case.

By mid-December, the early admission decisions began to roll in and with them came shock and confusion. While some of the decisions didn't really surprise me, there were some that made no sense to me. I had nearly killed myself with stress in order to make myself a prime applicant for these schools. According to the graphs, I should have gotten in with ease. I was towards the top of the academic spectrum at the schools and I certainly wasn't lacking in extracurriculars. So why was it that I wasn't getting into these schools?

The short answer is that college admissions are not fair–at least not in the way many consider fair. The reason they aren't fair is because colleges except a certain number of people depending on their race. This makes it harder for Asians to make it into colleges. This is because Asian, on average, have higher grades than other races. Since colleges only accept a certain number of Asians, people who identify as Asian have to have higher grades than their white, black, and other counterparts. Since colleges have to fill these quotas, it makes it harder for whites to get into colleges. If a two students, with similar applications in everything but race (one student is white, one is black), the school is more likely to choose the black student. Race does not have a huge impact on the admission decision application, however it is frustrating that something I have no control over can be used against me when deciding my future. The process is unfair because no matter what you do, you may not be what the college is "looking for". This is the most frustrating part of all. I have done everything I can to make sure I can go to the college I want to, but because I don't have a special talent because I was too busy with sports and school, I am at a disadvantage when it comes to one of the most important decisions of my life, a decision that seems to be hopelessly out of my control. I can relate to Okonkwo in that we both know the feeling of despair