Common Theme

There were really several common themes in these stories, but the main one was selfishness. All four involved people who seemed to care only about looking out for number one. In each story, a main character caused dissappointment by being selfish. Normally, being a little selfish is not a bad thing. A little selfishness keeps things going and leaves room for proper competition. These guys took it to extremes. Good grief, look at what happened: A guy marries a girl for a car; A girl insults her family in pursuit of chess greatness; a father lies to his daughter for years to preserve her good opinion of him; and a boy tosses the blame on everyone but himself before running away. These do not seem like your average acts of humanity. Well, okay, maybe in some African countries they may still be socially acceptable, but this is America!
What really bugged me was that no one, in any of the stories, really threw any effort into being a better person. Oh, sure, they tried to be better at their hobbies, or pastimes, but never into themselves. It was almost as if each character viewed the world as "It is me against the universe, I don't need help and I am not going to lose." I hate to inform the characters, but THAT IS NOT HOW THINGS WORK IN REAL LIFE. Maybe in loonyville people can succeed with that attitude, but this isn't loonyville and thes people need to GET WITH THE PROGRAM. End of rant and, for that matter, end of short stories-Yay!

Teenage Wasteland

Well, what a lazy, immature child! This does seem to be the kind of behavior that a person with ADHD or ADD would exhibit, but I feel that in this case it is probably more of a rebellious phase. Unfortunately, it seems that, these days, more and more children are behaving like Donny. What really bugged me about this story was Cal. He was in a position of influence with Donny and he abused it. I mean, he was charging Donny's parents as a tutor, but, if anything, he was making Donny's grades even worse. Furthermore, he was instilling a "not my fault" mentality into the kid. Good grief, there are already enough politicians with that mentality, we don't need anyone else to develop it. This story seemed to me the saddest. It starred a kid who seemed unmotivated, but basically good, who, through the course of his decisions, lost his chance at greater things. I don't believe that Donny was stupid, nor innatentive, nor even ADD. It seemed to be a plain and simple case of lack of motivation. I do think that a lot of that probably came from his parents, there was a gush over anything he did, but, at first, no real push for Donny to strive to do better. The only time the parents stepped in was when Donny was already on his downhill slide and beginning to accelerate. That is definately not proper parenting.

The Book Of The Dead

This is one of the strangest stories that I have ever read. Why would anyone carve a statue of their father in prison? Granted, there are some bizarre people out there, but that is over the top. Then, just when I got my head around that idea, I have the notion struck from my mind. The father explains that he was actually a guard in the prison. Good grief, that certainly puts the twisted in plot twist. But anyway, I am still not entirely sure just how old the girl is. She could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty. For the sake of my mind I hope she is older rather than younger, but the story gives no clue.
What the heck is going on anyway? First, the father is missing and no one knows where he is. Next, he comes back and takes Ka to either a lake or the ocean, I'm still not sure which, and tells her that her statue is on the bottom. Then, he tells her the truth of how he got his scar. What gets me the most is that she just seems to accept this, she doesn't freak out or deny it or anything, she just acts like nothing is changed. To top it all off, they still go to the house of the woman who bought the statue in the first place. Now personally, I would feel that to be more than a little bit rude. I cannot imagine what the theme of this short story is meant to be. I mean, trust is blown out the window, respect is torn to shreds, decency is slaughtered, the moral of this story must be that traditional values are worthless. Good grief.

The Rules of the Game

Amy Tan truly typed a masterpiece with this short story. There is an elegent plot, a fine level of detail throughout, and a marvelous ending. This is the type of thing I enjoy reading. Meimei is such a wonderfully vivid and believable character. She starts out a respectful young girl, learning the tactics and moves of life. When her brother receives a chess set for christmas, her tactical studies alter their basis to this new challange. Swiftly discovering she has a knack for this pastime, she does everything in her power to further develop her skills. Along the way however, whe loses the social skills that she had begun to attain. She forgets her earliest tactics as she reaches for more advanced ones. Finally, she alienates her family in her all-consuming desire for chess and importance.
It is so easy for me to connect with Meimei. Chess is such an easy game to get caught up in, and it is quite capable of centering a life. It is sad that she forgets those who put her on the path to greatness, but this is a trend that is seen all too often in real life. Allowances were made for her to develop her skills to the max, and her arrogance developed apace. The moral of the story is to remember your beginnings, and respect those who give you a start.

The Life you save may be your own

Flannery O'Conner's short story is one of the most pointlessly dispirited tales I have ever read. There is no proper introduction to the characters, there is no opinion implanted in the reader's mind, and there is no sense of reality. In short, this short story is a travesty inscribed on paper that serves no purpose but to relieve the author's angst. Now then, with my own angst relieved, I still believe that the story has very few decent attributes. This is a "short" story, so I can understand the brevity of the descriptions, yet even so the literature is almost unbelievably abrupt. It almost seems like this was a story dashed of at the last minute to meet a publisher's deadline that had been forgotten.
I suspect that there is a moral to this yarn, but for the life of me I can not determine what it could be. The only life lesson that might possibly be learned is that men with one arm should not be trusted with daughters. I would say that the moral is that the younger generation is ungrateful, except that there are too few characters for me to generalize. Frankly, I have to struggle to percieve even the point that I said. The story is simply not long enough to permit any detailed evaluation of its contents. I only hope the other stories present a more detailed facade for interpretation.

Final Chapter

Man no one has any sense of decency in this book. The district Commissioner is a moron, the messengers are idiots. the only guy in this book i like is Obierika. I cant believe Okonkwo committed suicide. Granted, he was going to be hanged anyway but still. I would have turned my house into a fortress and attacked the english when they came to get me out.
This man was disgusting and pathetic. so it was the end of the old ways, big deal. get over it bozo. either that or go kill yourself like the coward you really are. anyway i dont think i liked this book too much.

Chapter Twenty Four

Well, it is all over now. Okonkwo killed the head messenger who came to break up the meeting and nobody backed him up. that really surprised me because the meeting was about going to war anyway. these guys are cowards and weaklings. turn the other cheek my foot, an eye for an eye. Bring the old testament into play here. Make the book more interesting anyway.
Whatever, the chapter was about Okonkwo regretting that his tribe had no worthy men left. He remembered old battles and old heros. I think he expected everyone to rise up with him against the english. Boy was he surprised and let down.

Chapter Twenty Three

Man are the court messengers jerks. They disobay direct orders deliberatly abuse the prisoners and are setting themselves up to get their butts kicked. They are greedy insufferable morons who deserve whatever is coming to them. Okonkwo was an idiot to go to the meeting of course. I suppose they still trusted the english even after all that had happened so far. Moral of the story, kill teh english, kill whoever comes to avenge the english, and never trust a white man.
Is every englishman insane or what?????????????

Chapter Twenty Two

Wow, there was almost a holy war. According to the book nothing like this had happened in living memory. I kinda doubt it had ever happened. Mr. Smith is a zealot, yeah, but he may be an idiot too. Yes teach people the right way, but dont antagonize everyone else to the point of war.
Man, dont they teach tactics in seminary school. If they dont, they should. I have the distinct feeling that this will allow Oknokwo to rise rapidly in the clans esteem though. the whites are not going to be happy at all about this.

Chapter Twenty One

Wow Mr brown seems like the kind of priest I would like. The guy is brave but not reckless, and he tries to get to know his opponent. that is the ability of a true warrior. and indeed he isa warrior, a warrior of his faith rather than his army. what a guy.
Naturally, Okonkwo hates him. They are too much the same in different ways, does that make sense?, to respect each other. both are powerful men in their communities and both are looked at for answers.
Okonkwo is shocked by the degeneration of his community. the trading post seemed to have the most effect on him though. I cant understand why. werent they praising a market earlier in teh book?

Chapter Twenty

wow the whites have just taken over in okonkwos absence. It is incredible the degree to which things have changed. the church is now powerful and there is a new government, even high ranked men have changed their religion. The cultures of the ibo are being destroyed. I think that this is almost unbelievable. By our standards what is happening is good, but haow would we like it if people came in and did this to us?
I am most surprised by the power of the "ashy buttocks". How on earth did they gain control so quickly. they truly did find the weakest point and hit it first.

Chapter Nineteen

This was a good chapter. Okonkwo is going to go home, so he calls his whole family together and throws a huge feast. there is more than enough food for everyone and they are all happy. Gratitude from Okonkwo is so rare that this is cool indeed. This is almost the only chapter that has almost nothing in it to spoil the fun. The only bad not is when the one relative stands and denounces the younger generation. Everyone else is cheering okonkwo on and wishing him luck.
I liked how the book described the use of clay to build houses. that was a neat example of african society. the other neat things were how they loved to have as many children as possible. the families were happiest when they had as many mouths to feed as they possibly could. what a great society!

Chapter eighteen

What the heck is up with this. so the dude kills a python the entire christian community is ostracised and the women are barred from doing their duties. Thatt is insane. I dont care what someone does, you dont torture his entire caste for it. that would be like killing every german because of hitler, or russian because of stalin. these guys need to learn some restraint.
What really gets me is that okonkwo thinks the punishment is too light. what does he want to do? maybe kill everyone in a raid. that would only bring vengeance from the whites. good grief learn some tolerance along w/ that restraint.

Chapter seventeen

okonkwo has to be the worst dad in teh world. he is never proud of his son. whatever the kid does okonkwo thinks is effeminate, and that is bad in that sociecty. it is weird though, the missionaries gain converts just because they are still alive after 28 days. well if that is all it takes, their job is going to be easy. just stay alive and everyone will convert.
I actually think the missionaries dont seem too bad. yes they are splitting up families, but they believe they are doing the right thing. Dont take me the wrong way, that is not the only necessity to be right, but it is a good start.

chapter sixteen

The missionaries have come. the book makes them seem rather foolish and weak, but they are quickly growing in power. even Okonkwos son has joined them. the chapter is showing the ibo peoples disdain for this illogical religion. they think their gods will soon destroy the moronic white men. The phrase mad dog was used to describe them.
I think they are counting the missionaries out too early though. these guys may be powerhouses before too long. I think they are going to play prominantly in the rest of the story.

Chapter Fifteen

This chapter was odd. It told the story of the death of an entire clan at the hands of the white men. Apparantly, they killed a dude and took his car and when the other dudes saw the car they wanted revenge. Obierika cam to see okonkwo in this chapter. He told bout the tribe. That is cool that at least one of okonkwos friends has not forgotten him.
I was really astonished, not only did obierika com, but he bought the money from okonkwos yams. that was a heck of a lot of money. i want this dude for one of my friends! The guy refused to be thanked though. Anyway, the part about the white men seems like a premonition to me.

Chapter Fourteen

This chapter is mostly psychological. The whole time it is explaining how okonkwo is so sad to be back in the motherland. He thinks that he tried to rise above his chi and has been thrown down for doing so. He no longer loves to work as he did, and justs sits passively when he is not working. Finally his father in law yells at him at the end. I hope it works, the only worse thing than a normal okonkwo is a depressed okonkwo.
There was yet another example of anti feminism in this chapter. they called what okonkwo did a female ochu. good grief, cant these guys learn to respect women? anyway, they showed a different marraigwe custum in this chapter, at the rate these guys sacrifice chickens, im amazed that any are left. it was kinda cool anyway.

Chapter Thirteen

Well, the calamity we were all waiting for has finally hapened. The oldest man in the village died and okonkwo accidentally shot his son at the funeral. The old man's son that is, not okonkwos. This was rather odd. I wonder if he did it on purpose. the book was rather vague, it introduced all of these strange spirit men, told the funeral and then had okonkwo banished from the village. I think everyone was in shock. Okonkwo packed up that night and left for what the book called the motherland. Man, that is tough. packing up and leaving home in one night is not fun, especially if you dont want to go. I really feel bad for okonkwo if the shooting was accidental.

Chapter Twelve

I really enjoyed the description of the wedding. The fact that even after something as bizarre as last night doesnt prevent Okonkwo and his family from going and hivng a good time says a lot about the strangeness of teh culture. I was really rather pleased by the nervousness for his daughter the book said okonkwo felt. finally he is acting like a real man.
One custum seemed a little odd to me, when the cry went up, every woman in the village went out to catch the cow and levy the fine to the man wh let it loose. they actually had to tell some of tehir number to stay behind and watch the fire to prevent them going. I wonder is this the one area we have seen where women stand supreme, or is it just really dangerous for a cow to be loose? Either way, kudoes for not letting the food burn.
The wedding was cool, it seemed a lot like some weddings today. I mean if you take out the part where they sacrificed the rooster we would seem right at home. Actually it was more like the whole thing was a reception, but you get the point.

Chapter Eleven

What can i say. the oracle is posessed by something to have the strength to carry a girl completely around the village at a run. Chanting the whole time and never running out of breath, there is no way the woman is that strong. she seems like a berserker from a viking legend, except she isnt fighting anything. i wonder if she really believes what she says in her curses and threats and blessings. i suppose she must, otherwise she wouldnt act like she does. I wonder could she be trying to hewlp Ezinma? maybe ezinma is going to be trained to be the next oracle. Whatever the case, I doubt the oracle is going to be happy that okonkwo and Ekwefi are waiting outside the cave in the morning.

Chapter Ten

This part was really cool. The egwugwu, a gathering of men dressed as ancestral spirits, was called to be a kind of high court of the land. apparrantly, only a few dudes were in on it and wveryone believed it. it was pretty cool, great special effects. The smoking head and the rattling stick were excellent touches. They first dealt with a case where a mans wife was taken by the wifes brothers. Personally i think the brothers were in the right, but the egwugwu told them to give her back. this culture really needs to learn about womens rights.

Chapter Nine

This chapter explained a lot of cultural beliefs. Poor Ekwefi, 10 kids and only one survivor and the one a girl. That is horrible for her culture. The medicine men seemed rather odd, wouldnt they have ordinarily seen the oracle for something lkie that? Anyway whatever they did it seemed to work. There was a lot of stories in the cbhapter too. the mosquito and the lizard. they seemed like aesops fables to me. anyway, the child ezinma got sick, and the book explained why that was so bad. okonkwo finally shows some good traits and is helping out. good for him.

Chapter Eight

This chapter is perverted. It starts out okay, Okonkwo is actually feeling sorry for what he has done or at least guilty. But two days later he gets over it and goes to see obierika. While he is there he learns of two strange deaths, and sees a dowry negotiated. this is the perverted part. the girl who i think is getting married is making the food naked in front of the men and the book keeps talking about her body. the men fortunately dont start making crude jokes, but make fun of the one dudes son who tapped a tree to death.
I had never heard of this, what the heck do you tap a palm tree for? The guys also talk about the degeneration of tribal titles and the downfall of mans superiority over women. Well, if that is the way women are treated there, good grief and good riddance. that was horrible. the two people just handed each other broomsticks to decide the dowry. and the whole time okonkwo is regretting his son and wishing his daughter was a boy. Whatever.

Chapter Seven

This chapter is extremely depressing. It starts out really cool, emphasizing what a great son Nwoye is becoming because on Ikemefuna, the locusts come and the villagers are delighted, they have new, rare, food to eat. Then of course, evrything goes downhill. The village council has finally decided to kill ikemefuna. this seems really messed up to me, ikemefuna has been there for i think three years, and they just now are going to kill him. As superstitous as these dudes are, i think that they wouldnt sacrifice anyone after such a windfall, but maybe in thanks.
Anyway, what really seemed messed up was that it was okonkwo who actually did the killing. the kid had been his son for years and he cuts him down without hesitating to avoid seeming weak. Dude this guy has some problems. He needs some serious counciling.

Chapter Six

Tis chapter detailed the importance of wrestling to the village. All of the villagers went to see the meet, it was as big to them as the kc moniteou game is to us. A lot of gossip was exchanged and people caught up with each other. It seemed like the social event of the season. The biggest things that excited people were the new style that a young boy used and the victory of one of the team leaders. It seemed to me almost as if the village had no other form of entertainment.
This chapter also showed us the oracle in her everyday life. I found it quite strange that she permitted herself to live among the common people. It would seem more reasonable that she would keep herself away to appear more mysterious. She just seemed like anyone else.

Chapter Five

This chapter shows that Okonkwo is impatient and angry. He cannot bear feasts, because he prefers to be moving and working. So, when feast times come, he is always frustrated by the fact that he may not work before or during the feast. He gets his greatest joy from the wrestling matches that occur on feastdays.
Okonkwo beats his wife because she broke some leaves off of a banana tree, but does not beat his daughter when she breaks a pot. This seems extremely odd unless he likes the daughter more than teh wife. that in itself is odd, because she is the wife whose heart he won by throwing the cat. The whole chapter is filled with descriptions of the feast day and with weird things that okonkwo does. He even tries to shoot one of his wives.

Chapter Four

This chapter is a very philosophical one. It details how Okonkwo is very proud, impatient, harsh, and unforgiving. He is a violent man, who beat his wife during the week of peace. He finds fault with whatever his son and Ikemefuna do with the yams. He becomes overcomfidant and proud. In short, his head is becoming so large that he will soon be unable to wear a hat.
While he is one of the richest men in the village, he insults the poorer men. Though he was once one of the poorest men, he looks down on those who have nothing. He does not care about beating someone, indeed, he does it often enough that I am starting to believe he enjoys it.
At this point, I do not like him much. Ikemefuna, on the other hand, is cool. He is like the proverbial older brother. He seems to know wverything and is really awesome to okonkwo's son. He soon got over being taken from his clan and seems happy now.

Chapter Three

This chapter shows the willpower of Okonkwo and the power of the village oracle. The oracle is held in great esteem, and seems to work by knowing the people who come to her rather than listening to spirits. The people are fooled by parlor tricks and their own superstition. Okonkwo is an incredibly strongwilled man. In his first year of planting yams, he has the most terrible luck imaginable. One man in his village commits suicide his crop is so bad. Okonkwo justs does his best and works as hard as he can to ensure he gets a harvest. At the end he determines that if he can survive that, he can survive anything. Truly this is a man destined for great things.