Song of Solomon Final Post

I will begin by saying that I loved the book; now I will give some reasons why I love the book.

I think the way Toni Morrison incorporates a kind of mythology into the story through the tale of Solomon and Shalimar is amazing, and it definitely pushed the book even more into the realm of magical realism. In a related note, I love the ambiguous ending which implies Milkman reclaiming his grandfather's flying ability in the final battle between him and guitar. I also like how much he grows over the course of his journey, in the same way that I love the corruption of Guitar. Hagar's ending is especially interesting, as it solidifies the idea of the graveyard love in that she died for love, and the fever brought on by love also feels vaguely magical realist, and it's also an interesting criticism of the society which forces girls to get their value from their aesthetic pleasantness for others (specifically men, and the men they love). I also find her funeral scene to be incredibly moving, and Morrison's incorporation of song into that scene, as well as the Solomon nursery rhyme, made me realized how masterfully Morrison incorporates music into her storytelling in a way that makes it seem much more real, visceral, and meaningful.

One thing I did not like was Pilate's death in the end, though this is more plot based than how it was written; I think she was such an interesting character that it's a shame she was lost just as she was truly beginning to understand her roots. Though I think it's better that she died in the culmination of the fracturing of Guitar's mind (as opposed to her dying even more randomly, carelessly, etc... than dying by a way-word bullet meant for Milkman), I think it wasn't really necessary, and I think enough has been said in the book of men consuming the lives of the women without that, especially since Pilate has always been the most independent woman in the story.

Song of Solomon post 2

The thing that strikes me the further I read into Song of Solomon is how interesting and nuanced the women in the book are. The last chapters we have read have focuses a lot on Ruth, Pilate, Coronthians, and Lena with a little bit on Reba and Hagar. And all of these characters are shown to have a large number of faults and positive characteristics. They are incredibly three dimensional, especially compared to the male characters; I don't find Macon or Milkman to be particularly compelling, and Guitar is interesting but I find the simplicity of his world view to be iritating. What makes it even more interesting is that, while the female characters are the most well developed, I get the feeling Milkman is meant to function as the protagonist. I theorize that Morrison is using his perspective as a critique of misogynistic suppression, and I wonder if he (Milkman) will get better as time goes on.

Song of Solomon 1

To start, the writing of this book is beautiful. I'm getting so caught up in the language and the flow of the words and it's incredible. I especially like the description by Macon of him unlacing Ruth's corset.

I also find Macon as a character to be interesting, and his status as the cold, distant father seems a ubiquitous archetype that Morrison is giving some layers to be revealing his nuanced past with his sister (originally caring for her and loving her intensely). His hatred for his family is also sad considering how much it seems he once loved his wife (and I'd assume his daughters as well).

I also am excited to see how complicated the biblical allusions get with time. There is Pilate, of course, but there are also Macon's daughters (I love the name Corinthians). I wonder how these names will inform their character arcs and the stories and whether Morrison mirrors biblical stories with them (which I assume would be the case, otherwise it's a rather wasted allusion).

Pride and Prejudice Final Post

Though I like the ending of the book, it seems a bit cliché and more on the lines of wish fulfillment (even more so considering the similarities between Lizzie and Austen's lives); however, it is cute and happy, so I do not complain much. Having known Lizzie and Darcy would end up together ahead of time, I was curious as to how Darcy would be made into an acceptable person for her to want to marry, and I was actually rather pleased by the fact that her indictment of his behavior inspired him to become a better person (thus making it possible for her to love him in return).

One thing I just realized after finishing the book was the foreshadowing in Collin's proposal to Elizabeth, when he says that it is a custom whereby a man will ask for a woman's hand, be refused, and then ask again; Elizabeth says this never happens, but it ironically happens to her. I'm also still a little confused by why Wickham ran off with Lydia without the intention of marrying her, and I feel that this part of the plot conceptually felt a bit contrived (though I think Austen handles the story telling in this part of the book well).

Why My Spring Break Was Epic

For my spring break I went on a three city tour of Eastern Europe: Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. I got to see a church that was hundreds of years old, listen to a Mozart concert in the city where Mozart was born, and I got to lounge in an open air thermal spring bath in the center of Budapest. The food was amazing and the cities were all beautiful and unique, so spending hours walking around all of them were pleasures in and off themselves. Not to mention the ruin-clubs that my dad and older sister took me to (clubs in the remains of houses that belonged to Jews prior to WWII and that now remain uninhabited) where they tried to legally get me wasted; unfortunately their efforts were futile, as I do not particularly like the taste of beer (though the hard cider was ok). This was an epic vacation and I'm so glad I got to have this experience with my dad and older sister (my mom and younger sister were enjoying a college tour road-trip across the southeast coast, so they got a pass).

Pride and Prejudice Post 1

I really like Jane Austen's critique of some of the more ridiculous aspects of high society through characters like Mrs. Bennet and the Lady de Bourgh. I think her dry sarcastic humor is brilliant in this regard. However, I find it interesting that Mr. Darcy, who I don't think is meant to be a sympathetic character (at least I hope not, because I find him insufferable, and it saddens me that he and Elizabeth end up together) also constantly critiques the behavior of some of the other wealthy and vapid individuals in the novel.

I also really like the dynamic amongst the Bennet sisters. I might be reading too much into it, but it seems like an interesting a subversion of what I perceive to be a trope of sisters who are incredibly competitive and don't like each other. Especially in the case of Jane and Lizzie, at least so far, I understand their relationship to be one of mutual support and love. However, I think it's a little unfortunate that other women in the novel often times fall into the trope of being empty or backstabbing (really everyone except Jane and Lizzie; even their sisters, while friendly, seem to be frowned upon as "silly" or vapid), although I will admit there is a proportional dearth of good, thoughtful men in the novel as well (Mr. Bennet and Mr. Bingley, I think, are more or less the only ones).

Purple Hibiscus Post 4

One thing I like about Purple Hibiscus is that it doesn't just subvert traditional expectations of what Africa is, it also subverts Western beliefs about what Africa should be. Namely, the fact that Kambili's father and immediate family, which are wealthy, Christian, and ambitious in the traditional expectation by Westerners of what Africans should strive to achieve, are incredibly dysfunctional. The father's insistence on success and exceptionalism (something stressed by Westerners) manifests in an incredibly cruel and abusive system. His intense Christian religiosity, something many Western religious figures like the idea of, results in an incredibly judgemental and excessive worldview. Instead, it's the Aunt's family, which embraces African heritage and culture and other notions that are perhaps unwanted in the minds of westerners, which appears happy, healthy, loving, and safe. 

Purple Hibiscus Post 3

(Warning, I have finished the book, so I'm probably talking about things beyond where we were supposed to have stopped) One thing I started thinking about after the discussion I listed in on while I was sick was the color choices of the Hibiscuses. As you pointed out, there are not actually purple hibiscuses. It's a hybrid of the red and blue. I've also started to think about the purple hibiscuses being representative of wealth. It's an interesting juxtaposition because Kambili comes from a wealthy background, where she has the red hibiscuses. The purple hibiscuses, representing a different kind of wealth, are at her aunts house. Her aunt, despite being poorer and suffering great financial difficulty (seemingly the opposite of wealthy) has an emotional wealth. Her and her children are happy, they love each other, and they are not constantly afraid. Compared to Eugene's household, Kambili is poor in terms of feeling safe and loved and free. And her true self actualization and personal growth doesn't start until the end, when her father is dead and the purple hibiscuses have successfully transplanted. 

Purple Hibiscus Post 2

I think there are a lot of religious parallels between the family in Purple Hibiscus and biblical stories, which jump out at me considering the extreme religious beliefs of the father. For instance, the father reminds me of a kind of devil (he gives off a facade of goodness, like an angel, but is really incredibly violent and controlling). Jaja is starting to look like a kind of prodigal son considering how quickly he much more readily he subverts their father. I'm trying to think of who Kambili might be; she reminds me of Eve in her innocence inforced by a violent father (parallel to God) and that forces outside her little "Garden of Eden" (like her Aunt) threaten to take her away or make her see hthings differently; I especially like this notion because it traditional story of Genesis on its head. 

Purple Hibiscus Post 1

I like that the book, though it is a story about domestic violence, is more multifaceted than the traditional domestic violence story I'm familiar with. For instance, Kambili doesn't think of her father as an oppressor and though she doesn't like the abuse and is afraid of him, she is also proud of him and views him sympathetically. I also find the incredibly amount of control with which he has approached and structured her life is interesting and I think it really informs her personality and builds the world well. The fact that her personality change is so slow also strikes me as very genuine, and I look forward to seeing how her character develops after spending the week with her aunt in Nsukka.  

Things Fall Apart Part II Analysis

I find the nature that Christian first appears to the tribe to be interesting because it is not nearly as zealous as I had expected; Mr. Brown, who is the only white person so far, seems very nice and the rest of his missionaries are African, and though they are to an extent cultural foreigners trying to influence the locals and turn them away from their religion (as they come from different, further off tribes), they are not using violence to do so. And in fact I would argue there are positive aspects of their arrival, as they do help save the twins and offer the osu a place to belong. Of course if the story just ended with the creation of religious diversity that gave members of the society the opportunity to pick which religion suits them and didn't otherwise oppress the indigenous peoples, that would be one thing; I have a feeling it does not end there and part III will be where the true breakdown of the tribe happens. The excess zealotry of some of the Christians is also unfortunate, such as when one purposefully kills the python (though it is interesting that this comes from a member of the clan, not a white missionary).

The idea of the python leads me to an interesting idea as well. It reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve, whereby the two lived in an undisturbed and utopian natural state (like the natives of the story do, or like Rousseau's idea that we discussed in class). Something comes in offering some new knowledge (whether it be the serpent, tempting them to eat from the tree of knowledge or the new missionaries proclaiming advanced religious knowledge) which they take (in one case both Adam and Eve eat the fruit, though in this story only a minority accept the new religious knowledge). Ultimately, it results in the corruption and destruction of the utopian garden in which they live (which I assume is to come). Though there are similarities, the allegory doesn't really hold, except for, I think, the fact that the idea of the serpent is invoked when the missionaries kill the python, which represents something sacred to the local tribal religion but something evil to the new Christians.

Post on Part 1 Things Fall Apart

I'm steadily realizing that many of the chapters are just meant to be little vignettes depicting various aspects of village life without necessarily relating (at least directly) to any overall storyline across the course of the book (now that Okonkwo and his family have fled that might change, but that still remains to be seen); for instance, the ceremony depicted in Chapter 10 with the arbitration between the man and his wife's family doesn't seem to relate to anything that comes before or after, as opposed to the chapter when Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna, which I think he discusses in the chapter after. I like this break up of chapters analyzing the mundanity of village life. I've also noted a lot of parallels between aspects of the society depicted by Achebe and contemporary society in the United States (the most obvious example I find is the love of public competitions of physical prowess, like the village wrestling matches vs the modern love of watching Football or other sports). I'm also interested to see how Okonkwo deals with himself in the aftermath of the accidental death; the way that it is discussed, as the "feminine" version of killing someone, intrigues me, as Okonkwo's obsession with masculinity might make him feel shame at having killed someone in that way even though it is probably a more socially acceptable form of killing and offers him the eventual opportunity to return the the village (I assume the purposeful killing of someone else wouldn't allow this, or at least would require much longer than seven years). 

Post 1 of Things Fall Apart

I really like what I've read of the book so far. The descriptions of the religious and sociocultural traditions of village life are especially interesting (and I'm curious as to whether they represent the belief of an actual tribe or are just meant to be representative of the kinds of mythology and traditions many African tribes ascribe to). However, I have mixed feelings about the main character Okonkwo. I admire his drive but find his personality and its similarity to modern toxic masculinity to be a bit irritating, though I can respect how his upbringing led to it. I do like that the story is mostly scrubbed of all opinion in regards to his action and that it remains neutral, allowing the audience to reach it's conclusions. I think the mundanity of events also works to normalize the characters, which offers an interesting lens into the problem that the author's essay on racism and Joseph Conrad discusses. I'm mostly curious as to how the story will progress, and whether it will remain as a simple examination of everyday village life as it follows Okonkwo or if some extraordinary event will occur that will inspire some journey or other greater conflict (I'm inclined to believe that won't happen). 

Image of Africa Response

I find Achebe's indictment of Western society's assumption as to the lack of African society to be both interesting but also very important; we can even see these cultural problems within Severn. The history curriculum focuses on US and and European history, with the only African history education I've ever received having been for a few weeks during Honors World Civ in freshmen year (non AP students take Global History as sophomores, which may discuss more African History, though it is still little compared to Western history, and the fact that this is taught to less advanced students but not considered important enough for AP students is also insulting). What's more, I imagine the elitist undertones typically reserved for discussions of culture (things like the fine arts, music, etc...) that connect it with wealth have further acted to erase African culture in the western mindset. This is because Africa as a continent has been continuously stripped of its wealth because of colonialism, while this same colonialism has also augmented the wealth of Western powers (especially the US, which was built on African slavery). The fact that pre-colonial African history has also only tangentially influenced Western history (as opposed to things like Greece, Rome, and European history since the Renaissance) has also probably led to scholars undervaluing it, despite the immensely powerful and interesting civilizations that developed (like the city state of Benin, which was at one point described as surpassing European cities at its time in cleanliness and architecture before it was destroyed).