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Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Date Finished: March 5, 2011
Number of Pages: 209
Rating: 3 out of 5
Books Toward Goal: 2 out of 25 (8%)

Things Fall Apart is about an African man named Okonkwo.  The first half of the book is pretty much just an introduction to Okonkwo's character.  He's a tough man who doesn't like to appear weak and in result doesn't show much emotion for his friends and family and beats them often.  He cares about his family and wants his children to succeed in life but he has a hard time showing it.  In the first half Okonkwo is entrusted with a young man, Ikemefuna, because of some trouble had with another tribe, where they were forced to give up one of their sons to pay for their crimes.  Ikemefuna, different though he is, begins to grow on Okonkwo and he treats him like his own son.  Ikemefuna stays with them for three years.  In the second half of the book Okonkwo and his family are banished for a few years to the village of Okonkwo's mother because he accidentally shot and killed a member of the tribe.  After a few years in this tribe, Christian missionaries arrive and start converting a few of the natives.  Among them is Okonkwo's first son Nwoye.  The banishment is soon over and Okonkwo returns to his own village where the same missionaries have basically taken over their town.  Okonkwo is angry and things really do begin to fall apart.

I found this book really interesting coming from a Christian point of view.  After reading the first part I really got to know Okonkwo and I cared about him and his family and then when the missionaries arrived I knew that they believed that they were doing the right thing in trying to bring them what they thought was right and true.  Even though I'm Christian the whole time I just wanted the missionaries to leave the tribes alone.  They were turning families against each other and disrupting their whole system of government.  They were doing things that the tribes thought were evil and unholy, like killing a black snake that they believed was one of their gods.  They defiled things that were sacred to the villagers trying to prove that their gods weren't real.  I was almost completely on Okonkwo's side in wanting the missionaries to leave.  However, the book didn't portray all the Christian missionaries as evil people who care for villagers like dirt on their shoes.  There were some missionaries who took the time to get to know the villagers and all about what they believed and didn't condemn them when they refused to accept the new beliefs.  These missionaries were outnumbered though, by the quick-tempered, close-minded ones.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 because, even though I enjoyed it and I found it really fascinating, I don't generally read this genre of books and I just didn't get into it as much as most books I read.  To me, it was more like reading a really interesting newspaper article.

I'd recommend it to anyone with an open mind who likes looking at things in a new perspective.

You're a wizard, AJ.

I feel like such a slacker for not posting as often as Megan, but at least I haven't completely abandoned my duties.  I recently made a new costume for AJ.  Megan and I have been having Harry Potter fever lately and this was one of the many ways I expressed it (not to mention the countless doodles of myself in Hogwart's school robes all over my math homework).

 As I continue in these mini-costume escapades I begin to find that the sleeves on my shirts and such never turn out right and I am beginning to think that I will have to stop being lazy and attempt to sew them right.  I also think I might want to iron the outfits as well, because things like AJ's robe won't stay right-side-out and it bothers me.

 Unfortunately, I have given way to the modern world and gave AJ a tie and vest.  I never pictured Hogwart's robes to be like that when I first read them, but now I find it hard to picture them any other way.

 I also made a stand for AJ, because she becomes too unstable on her feet when burdened with her outfits.

 Things in her schoolbag: heavy textbook, probably something like Advanced Arithmancy; old-looking parchment; and a quill and inkwell.

 AJ begins her assignment on "The Aftermath of the Goblin Wars and their Overall Benefit to the Wizarding Community"

Like her much larger, much less a wizard, counterpart, AJ takes a rather long time in finishing her assignments.

 But she rewards herself afterwards with some Quidditch practice.  (In the end, this turned out to be a really cool picture, but it was rather frustrating at first because I couldn't get her to sit straight on the broom.  I finally let her fall to one side and placed the Snitch accordingly.  This was the result.)

 She likes to play all the positions.

 Like Chaser.

 Goal!

 Her favorite position is Beater.

Go Kenmare Kestrels!  Or if it's the Quidditch World Cup, Ireland in general.

SOLS: Five Seconds

A bit of a line has formed at the door as, looking out, everyone decides they'd better zip their jackets and flip up their hoods.
"Oh my goodness!"
"I love it!"
With gasps and exclamations they one by one disappear until I am at the door myself and there is nothing between me and the grey anymore. I can't stand on the threshold forever. Out.
Out.
Into.
Rain.
Heavy marbles of water bouncing, obscuring, catching the glow from headlights. Running feet slapping, splashing. Lost for five seconds. Cold, wet door handle. In. The rattle of rain on the car roof is how I hear: I am dry(ish), I am safe, I am alive.

SOLS: Beware the Ides

What a great day! Peach cobbler for breakfast? Don't mind if I do! Last minute load of laundry timed perfectly so my jacket's clean and only slightly damp? Excellent! Sentence diagramming? What fun! Spending all my spare time with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry James as I work on two term papers over the next month? Tres cool!

I'm only a tiny bit worried that the ides are lulling me into a false sense of security. The day's almost over, but perhaps Brutus is waiting with a treacherous dagger behind my eyelids, and the second I fall asleep...

SOLS: The Marble Faun

Today I gave my presentation in 361 on Hawthorne's The Marble Faun. Although I had a pretty good power-point put together (the kind I like: all pictures, no words), I didn't have my hand-out ready. This, however, turns out to be a good thing, since once in front of the class the space between my mouth and brain widened to lightyears. Actually, it wasn't so bad, but there were several things I had intended to say but completely forgot or missed the opportunity. So, it's perfect that I still need to make a handout because now I can include all the things I meant to say, but didn't, like--I highly recommend this book.

SOLS: Makin' Banana Pancakes

Today I Cooked:

8:30 - Breakfast: Banana Pancakes

2:30 - Dinner: Stroganoff Caserole

4:00 - Dessert: Peach Cobbler

8:00 - Dessert (again): Chips-Ahoy S'mores, Pretzel S'mores, Pretzel Fudge-Ganache S'mores

Today I Ate:

All of the Above.

SOLS: Metropolis

I've been saying forever that I want to go to BYU's International Cinema. The extra culture, the free entertainment, there's a lot of appeal. But somehow, I've never made it. Never until tonight. One of my profs encouraged us to go see this weekend's feature--Metropolis, a silent German film from the 1920s. I took him up on it, and I'm glad I did, although I can't say I loved the movie. I didn't like or dislike it. In fact, I feel like I am completely unqualified to give an opinion. The film was a product of a completely foreign culture--and I don't just mean nationality. Metropolis made me realize how much the genre of film has changed in just a hundred years. Not only has the technology changed, but audience expectations and methods of interpretation too. For example, the romance of 1927 looked today like possible possession or a psychotic fit of some sort. So, while I can't say whether it was good or bad, Metropolis was certainly worth watching as it caused me to metacognate about how I watch movies, and the International Cinema experience was definitely worth repeating.