Mark A. Marsh

Extra Credit Blog: Chinua Achebe; Things Fall Apart

2005-04-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

This story is about Okonkwo who is the son of Unoka. At the beginning of the story Unoka is very poor and cowardly. Throughout the story Okonwo begins to realize that that his beliefs and the way he lives will not help him to make it in his society. Throughout Okonwo becomes more powerful and confident. By the end he is extremely powerful and wealthy, but at the same time he notices that he has become like his father, which he does not completely agree with. At the same time he has trouble dealing with his eldest son Nwoye who seems to be more like his grandfather Unoka. Throughout Okonkwo marries three wives and fathers many children. He finds out that his new manly ways start to conflict with his old unmanly ways and beliefs or ways of handling life. He also starts to realize that he will not keep wealthy and powerful with his changing society, especially with all the whites starting to move in. The funny thing about this story is that the same things that get Okonkwo what he wants in life ending causing his demise and destruction in the end.

I felt that this was a very good story but I was a little weary at first because of the title and the authors name and name of characters. As I read I realized that it was not nearly as hard to understand and read as I thought it would be. I actually wish that we would have got to this book in time so we could spend more time on it in class and anyalyze it a little more. I usually catch alot more underlying meanings in books when I hear other student's opinions in class and I wish we could say the same for this book. I felt that this was a good example of how things can really come back to haunt you, and I would have definitely liked to have the opportunity to get more in depth with this story.

Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man

2005-04-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

For the most this was by far my favorite story that we have read in this class. In most cases it may seem to people as this guy did not really stand up for him, but in my eyes I felt that he was always doing what was best for the situation or at least his situation. To begin he feels he is already "handicapped" in most matters so in any situation he feels that he already has to do alot to prove him self worthy. When it seems that he is not standing up for his believes, I feel in a way he is. He knows what he believes in and he just let's people talk, because in all actuallity that is all that they are really doing. He cares about himself and does what is best for himself. In my eyes he knows that is all that really matters, and it really is. Who cares what others think or believe, as long as you know you are doing the right thing and you are happy with what you are doing.

At times the main character my seem to come off as a pushover but I feel that he is just letting alot of things go and believing in a better place with better people. Understanding people that do not judge based on beliefs or old routines. I feel that he just looks above and beyond all of this and kind of goes to his own place when things get bad. Things may bother him at times and times get hard, but he always does what he can to overcome the situation and his negative feelings about it.

The House of Spirits/Ideology

2005-03-31T17:38:00.000-08:00

In this story I found numerous ideologies from Esteban Trueba. Esteban grew up in a poor family so he now completely believes in wealth and power which I think I would have to feel the exact same way. Where I get confused though is were he starts to feed into this stuff and turns greedy and power hungry himself. I feel that after coming from the bottom you would respect people with nothing, but in turn he just forgets all about how it was and gets mad at his own daughter for getting pregnant by someone from a lower class. this is were I felt Esteban would understand and try to get the know the actual person and not just identify him by his social class but judge him only on his personality. I also don't like how Estaban sometimes has a habit of telling people that they need him to lead because he's doing what's best which in reality I feel some things are more for himself then the greater good. The best passage to describe and show Esteban's attitude and look on things was " To Senator Trueba, all political parties except his own were potentially Marxist, and he could not distinguish one ideology from another." (P. 307)

Question for Rachel Blau Duplessis

2005-03-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

I would have to ask who is your favorite poet or what is your favorite piece of poetry? Also I would like to know if she has been inspired by any famous poets that I may know.

Bertolt Brecht, ANTIGONE

2005-02-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

This story was like something out of a movie. I completely admire antigone because of her strong sense of spirit. Above all else she put others before her and would do anything to help others, especially her family members. Antigone would never let the king or his rules break down her spirit, and she gave up everything to have a proper burial for one of her two brothers that died in the war, which she didn't believe in to begin with. I am sure there is many more underlying meanings in this story but I just really respected how Antigone would rather kill herself then let the king kill her soul. This takes a very strong persone and they must really feel strongly for what they believe in.

Gregorio, Cortez

2005-02-16T16:47:00.000-08:00

Gregorio Cortez in some way more or less in the stories was some type of mystical figure or some other type of higher power. I would not use the comparison to a god, but in some way it did kind of make him out to be that way a little. There are so many differences in the story that you never really know what is final or true. There is always some little differences with the way he was caught, where his journeys led, or how many men he would encounter or kill. The movies that we watched were very interesting and helped me to understand the story a lot better then I initially did. Even though there is so many differences in this story the one thing that I think actually held true for Cortez throughout the whole story was that in some odd perspective I feel that he was constantly a hero to the majority of the Mexicans if not all of them.

Three Tragedies by Federico Garcia Lorca The Blood Wedding

2005-02-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

At first I thought this story was going to turn out like all the other stories and end up being really confusing and have a crazy point to it. Well this one did have a crazy meaning to it like the others, but unlike the other stories we have read this one was a little more confusing. I felt that the wording was wierd and I just have trouble reading when it always states who's speaking at the time. The part I liked the most about the story was when Leonardo and the other guy stabbed each other and they both died. That is very unusual because that's what would probably really happen it this author did not do the whole happy ending thing which I really liked as well. I also like how the bride did not end up being happy either. Everyone was pretty much miserable as hell and I kind of found that interesting because it is different. At first I had no idea where this story was going but as of lately I start really getting into the book and it ends up making perfect sense to me. I feel that this story was also a little more interesting then the previous ones because there was a lot of stuff going on the whole time throughout the entire book and that is also different which I found to be very interesting. I will probably read this book again not only because of the money I spent on it but becase it actually interest me and even know I feel I got a good idea of what is going on, I would like to read it again and make sure I am getting all the underlying meaning in this story.

Kate Chopin, The Awakening

2005-01-27T23:43:00.000-08:00

At first I felt that this story was a lot like the recent story we just read by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. After reading further in the story though I found it to have a lot different purpose and meaning then the other story. I actually percieved a completely different ending what really ended up happening. At first I was a little hesitant about the story but after awhile I started to really get into it when the storyline picked up. I usually feel that way about books so I came into the book with that perception already behind me. I felt that at times it was a little hard to understand and follow but I ended up getting the point but class discussions helped a lot with that as well. Overall I liked this story and i'm planning on reading it again to get a better idea of what was really going on throughout the story.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

2005-01-24T22:19:00.000-08:00

At first I felt that this story was completely crazy and hard to understand. Actually not only did I not like the story at all,I actually hated the fact that I even wasted my time reading it. After listening to all of the different interpretations of the story from the other students in class. There was a lot of different underlying meanings that I did not even think of. After I read the story I thought that the women had some sort of problem but the main problem was her husband, and how controlling he was of her. After researching the story more in class, I found the story to be very interesting and I appreciate it a lot more.

Douglass, Narrative of Life 1-10

2005-01-20T17:23:00.000-08:00

I thought that this story was very interesting and I really liked it. I haven't read much on slavery before so it was an area that I haven't looked at much yet, and it really opened my eyes to alot of things about how the way things were. I never believed in slavery or anything like that but this made me really hate it, and anybody that would or did believe in it. Anyone that thinks it was right should be put in the shoes of a slave, even if it was for one day. I couldn't imagine it, I hate being told what to do now and I can't imagine taking orders from some racist idiot, let alone on a day to day basis for nothing when you did nothing in the first place to be in that position.