Monday:
In class: We will be discussing the role of the protagonist and his complexities.
For homework: 1) You need to complete the "FIRST VISIT" activity for the virtual world we will be exploring later this week. To do this, you need to click hereand click on the part that says "First Visit." This needs to be done by Wednesday. Send me about 300 words describing what you saw and did on your visit.
2) Prepare a list of quotes like the ones we saw in class today about women and men in the society. Look for quotes which illustrate the power in relationships--who holds it in what situation and why.
Tuesday:In class, we will be discussing the role of women and men in Things Fall Apart.
For homework: Prepare a list of quotes which illustrate the changes that occur in the tribe once the colonialists arrive. Be prepared to argue for positive and negative changes and to argue Achebe's perspective.
Wednesday: In class, we will discuss the end of the book and try to look at it as a whole.
For homework: 1) You must have finished your internet "First Visit" for our in class activity on Thursday.
2) Prepare quotes illustrating the best examples of Achebe's devices and how they help illuminate a Western reader's understanding of African tribal life.
Thursday: In class, we will go online to the virtual world of Things Fall Apart.
For Homework: Prepare your outlines for your in class essays.
Friday: In class, we will write an essay on the novel Things Fall Apart. Please note, students without COMPLETE outlines will automatically lose one letter grade from their essays.
Homework: 1) Bring in all the index cards you have created for class. These should include all your literary terms, vocabulary words as well as the review index cards for plays, poems, and finished works you might use on the exam.
2) Write the extract essay using the outline you were given on Tuesday. This will count as a test grade, so please edit it carefully.
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300 words-
I visited the village center where i saw ayoung boy sitting on a log, two white goats, lots of wood and hay, huts, a tree, stones and other men standing around. Next i visited the compound path where i saw an elderly men standing next to a wooden figure which was about the same height.In the elder compound i saw a hut built with hay and figures around the hut.I saw a house that looked very creatvive with circular figures with a young man sitting on the stoop.I saw pots, stools, and cola nuts. In the forest path, two men are standing side by side with a long sleeve shirt and dark masks. The district commissioner HQ, is an much bigger hut with a more solid building that seems to be made out of concrete. A parade has a group of men wearing long gowns and masks.
I first when to the village center where there was a long log almost covering one side of the picture to the next. On the log was a boy who seems to be holding something in his hands. In the background i saw a two goats and on the far right there was a man standing. Also in the background were huts that the people lived in. In the middle of the picture there was a tree surrounded by what looks like wood. In the lower middle was a dome shaped pile of rocks. I was wondering why were the huts positioned so close to one another. Also what was the purpose of what was put around the tree. Next I when to the forest path which was a picture of two citizens of Umuofia dressed as court messengers to warn people about going into the evil forest. They both had there faces covered with masks and were wearing a shirt and pants. In the background there was a group of people and there was something that one of them was holding in their hands. I also when into the compound path which showed a picture with a old man and next to him a statue similar to his height. i was wondering what did the statue symbolize(if it did symbolize anything).
To be honest, I'm a little confused. Do we do this assignment of 300 words or the assignment under the "First Visit Response Post?" (3 paragraphs?) Eh, I'll just do them both.
Entry
The first thing I honestly did on the first visit was to click the people links regardless of the "Asleep" icon. When I just noticed it gave descriptions of the characters, I went back to the square screen and started typing things in the speech box. The record shows me saying things like "Hello" to ascertain whether or not anybody could hear me. After nobody responded, I noticed someone moving about the interface, and I followed them.
They virtually led me across the entire map, except for the District Commissioner's HQ and the prison (which I couldn't seem to access). After noticing more characters sleeping, I found my way back to the Village Square, clicking the items along the way such as the Armed Man, and the Masked Man. I even noticed someone pretending to be a white man; which I found odd.
Later, I tried the emote command (half expecting those face Icons) and was sadly disappointed, as it just showed the emotion in the record. I was still trying to establish communication at this point, but it proved to be futile. I even had a hard time identifying myself until I used the emote command. All guests are given codenames like Hemingway, SunGuest, and Dickens. I had no idea that we could chat with each other through this. When I first got on, I assumed this game wasn't just for us as a class, but rather for the whole public, which would explain the codenames.
To close my first visit exploration, I revisited all the sites along the map to see if anything may have changed with the passage of time. Nothing happened. With the map explored, the say command and emote command basically understood, I was ready to call it quits. The last thing I did was re-click on some of the sleeping characters expecting a different result.
I walk throughout the village and the first image I observe is the "disguised man". He is dressed in all white, with a seemingly smug attitude about him. No one surrounds him in his presence and he is not dress similar to the others. Maybe his people's fear and hatred has led him to mock the white man. Maybe he is sick of the Ibo tribe's traditions and he has decided to join the white men, to be one of them. I suppose no one is around him because he represents a dangerous, dissimilar person, who just doesn't understand the Ibo people.
The next image I look at is the "house". It has many detailed designs on the outer walls and the roof is made of hay or a material similar to hay. It looks fairly large for one person (as the living arrangements were described in "Things Fall Apart"). If that one structure is for a typical Ibo family, then it is quite small. As expected, the street in front of the house is dirt and there is no door for the entrance. This was also expected, but there are no lights or candles in the home or around it. It looks very solitary.
Another image I see is the "ceremony" image. It looks like any type of ceremony where people unite. The people are carrying a large object that is decorated elaborately with small monuments and other equipment. Some people are wearing headgear and walking with staffs. It looks as though most of the people in the group are men, (I did see one woman). A lot of the men aren't wearing shirts but they are wearing kilt-like garments. It looks like a great deal of people are there to celebrate for an Ibo tradition or possibly to grieve, for an occurrence that was unexpected.
The "kola nut" picture was also fascinating. It looked small to be shared upon a group of men during a visit. I wonder what is so special about this nut among the Ibo people, everyone has kola nuts and they share it whenever there is a visitor. It is not like the locusts mentioned in the book, it doesn't come "once every generation". The kola nut looks like your average nut. Maybe the Ibo tribe enjoys the kola nut so much because it is a tradition, something that the Ibo people don't ever question until the missionaries begin to take over.
My first experience with the virtual village was interesting. Though a very good idea the site is a tad bit complicated and coul dbe designed better for more efficient use. When i first entered the village my speakers were set to the highest setting, i had no idea that music would soon blast out of them.
Immediatley the first thing of interest to me was the Igbo tribe member dressed as a white man. I believed the tribe members were mocking the white man. The costumed man seemed to be positioned in a whymsical stance with a strange smiling mask that gave off a very deceptive feeling. Due to the negative impact the white missionaries had on some members of the Igbo tribe, this humerous interpretation of the white man isnt out of the ordinary.
The second thing that caught my attention were the men in the masks that were protesting the practices of the missionaries. My first thought was one of confusion, I was pondering the use of the mask. I then remembered the signifigance of masks in Igbo culture. Masks were used as divine figures and perhaps this one was casting a "bad omen" and disagreeing with the colonializing actions of the white men. I never thought of that form of protest until i could physically see the photograph.
One of the final objects that caught my eye was the stool, pots, and walking sticks. I was amazed at the craftsmanship of these items that we take for granted in Western culture. Every aspect and angle of these objects were carved with amazing pictures and symbols that probably are very important in the Igbo tribes's culture. This is COMPLETLEY different from my image of the furniture and cooking apparatus that i had pictured in my mind. Perhaps this is why when the woman of the tribe drops her pot and it smashes, she begins to weep. I thought of it as a rediculous reaction at first until I could see the pot that she had broken.
ESTEFANY SAID...
I think I finally finished my first visit today Lauren. The website wasn't as complicated as I thought it was in the beginning-in fact I found it to be quite fun except for the fact no one was online when I was. I visited the cave path and I saw an armed man, he was lying on the ground with a machete in his right hand. Then I went to the cave and it wasn't as narrow as I had pictured it in the book. Then I went down the meeting path and there were four people in the distance standing in front of this huge hut covered with a roof made of hay. I clicked on the elder meeting link and there were men in masks and costumes sitting down. They seemed to be celebrating. Having this virtual website of "Things fall apart" has helped me truly imagine what living in these villages must be like. I saw the image of Kola Nuts and to me they seem unattractive but to them, it's one of their favorite foods to share with company. The rituals shown on this site, if I were to be in that place, me being me, I would've been a little spooked because most of the men walk around with weapons but so do men here (USA).
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