Enter into the Village of Umuofia from the WMU Literary Worlds Portal. To simply visit Umuofia you can enter at a "Guest." Proceed first to the Things Fall Apart Room from which you can enter into the "Village Square."
You will want to visit every "room" in the village. For this it may be helpful to study the Village of Umuofia Map. You will also want to look at all of the objects and images in each "room." Learn how to use the "say" command."
Choose three images of people, places, or objects that interest you, carefully study them, and write at least a paragraph about each one. Your paragraph can address these questions:
What do you notice in the image? What questions do you have about what you see? What might be the "back story" to this image? How does the image compare with what you might have imagined from reading Things Fall Apart?
If you enter the Village of Umuofia at the same time as other students you can share your comments with them using the "say" command.
Some of the "rooms" or objects play traditional West African Music by Yaya Diallo.
What role does music play in the novel, Things Fall Apart? What can you learn from the internet about traditional African music? Do you like this kind of music? How has it influenced music around the world?
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First item: The Armed Man
Well, my first impression of him is literally striking fear. He is simply intimidating, due to the fact that he is wielding weaponry of some sort. One question after immediately seeing this was this: "What could he be arming himself for?" I thought the "back story" to this may be a preparation for wartime. This image is much more vivid than my own visualization in these instances. Sad to say, I thought it was much simpler. More along the lines of plainclothes and weapons like the Armed man is holding, but less cultural. (i.e. like without the mask)
Second item: The Ceremony
My first impression of this was both awestruck at what I think they are doing and mystery because I'm unclear of what they are doing. One question I had after viewing this was this: "What is the purpose of this Ceremony? (regarding what they are actually doing as irrelevant) The "back story" for this one is almost abundantly clear if this is a rhythmatic occurence. It would be something executed at specific points in time to please a god, ensure a bountiful harvest, or more. Again, the image is more vivid than the confines of my imagination since I don't have much (or any) background on this culture, nor experiences with many ceremonial events over the course of my life.
Third Item: The Masked Man
My first impression of him was also met with quizzical gaze in tow. One immediate question that popped into my head was this: "What is the significance of that mask?" In furtherance of an answer, I speculated that maybe, as the man was protecting the Mission, that the mask carried the essence or power of the gods as a good omen. I thought the "back story" for this one would be some famous ancestral battle or argument in which the Mission was threatened. As far as the vivid degree of the picture goes, I definitely couldn't imagine the detail gone into this mask. I might not have imagined it horribly simple, but not as majestic as this one. More or less along the lines of being straight up intimidating.
My first time visiting the virtual world of Things Fall Apart was honestly hard to understand. After first hearing “virtual world,” I envisioned my first experience completely differently. When I think of a virtual world, I see myself being able to walk freely around the different settings within the book. I envisioned myself actually being the character (which in my case was Ezinma), seeing the village of Umuofia through her eyes, and participating in dialogue as if I was Ezinma. While I finally figured out how to work the website, I was surprised by the layout of the virtual world. I couldn’t walk around the village freely observing the actions of the characters that live in the village and when I began to speak as Ezinma, no one spoke back! I expected the compound that Okonkwo lived in to be lively since he is married to three women and they each have at least one child, but when I entered the village all that there was was a picture. On the screen to the left, there is a description of what the people are doing, but on the right screen there is only a picture. Although the virtual world wasn’t what I expected I now have a feel for how to go about this again in the classroom. I still have a few questions regarding this website, like how does my character interact with others when I speak and how am I suppose to walk around the website. As you can clearly see, I am technologically challenged so I still have quite a lot of questions remaining. From this first experience I know what to look for when I return, what I shouldn’t pay attention to and I also gained some experience on to how to speak like my character.
In my first visit to the virtual world, I came upon a picture of an Igbo man disguised as a white man. The first thing that came to mind was the discussion in class today about the inverse of the theory of black and white or dark and light. This man was not only wearing a white mask but he was also wearing a white suit. He seems like he's posing for the picture in a way where he's trying to mock the white man, including what seems to be boxing gloves on his hands. When reading Things Fall Apart, I pictured one of the members from the Igbo tribe painting their skin white with some kind of chalk or paint to mock the missionaries.
In addition, I saw two photographs of two differently designed houses which had the same structure. In Things Fall Apart, it said, "The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale" (Chapter 20, Page 157). This illustrates (and can be assumed) that most Igbo men build their own homes and design it to express some sort of feeling or emotion. When I pictured these houses, I pictured a larger modern structure of something similar to a tent. Also, as I visited this page I heard a rhythm which sounded simple and can be taken further into more complex beats. This rhythm has influenced all types of music around the world and can be compared to certain music genres like jazz, hip-hop, salsa, merengue, and several others.
Lastly, I came across a picture of an "armed man" or a warrior. When I thought of the warriors in Things Fall Apart, I compared their image to that of a Spartan from Greece. The characteristics of an Igbo warrior were described as a man who was strong and showed no weakness including emotions. In the film 300, a Spartan warrior was described as similarly, a man of strength who showed no weakness. In this picture, the warrior seems more like he uses tactics of stealth and patience. He wears a mask which is probably meant for concealing his identity and giving his opponent a sense of fear and he also has a disguise on, which he uses to camouflage with his surroundings; specifically in a grassy or green environment.
Nice Relating The Armed Man to a Spartian Warrior. I hadn't thought of that. Global History runs deep, huh?
The Meeting room:
In the meeting room the first thing I noticed was the figures that looks likes statues, which seems to represent some sort of god or something that has more power than the average man.one question I had was "what are the figures representation of?"
I think the "back story" to this image is trying to say that the gods spirits is with them at all time. This image was more accurate on the website compared to my imagination because I didn't imagine the meeting room as neat as it is show or as the way it is situated.
The Elders Meeting:
the first thing I noticed at the elders meeting was that they were dress up and it seemed as if they wearing masked. One question I had after analyzing the image was " why did the villagers have to surround the elders during the meeting, was it unusual for them to mingle with them during that time?". I think the "back story" to this image may be saying that the elders need to be worshiped.
The Armed Men:
The first thing I noticed in this image was the fierceness in his pose and the weapon in his hand.
One question I had after viewing was "what could he possible be guarding?". I think the "back story" that this image is trying to convey is the image to what their typically warrior might look like. This image has more details to it than my own visualization becasue I didn't image a armed man in such enviornment, not arming anything but instead seems like hes protecting something.
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