Monday, December 15, 2008

Week 3 Day 11

Hope you had a good day. Some of you truly need to look at Skyward and realize that you are hurting yourself by not having your work done. You should have read through chapter 25. We will be dividing chapters tomorrow and discussing on Wednesday and Thursday. There will be a test on the book on Friday.

For tonight:

Discuss why Okonkwo makes his final choice? Give 4 events in book 2 & 3 which led him to this decision. What was his final decision based on?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okonkwo makes his final choice because he cannot allow himself or his clan to be viewed as cowardly so he makes the decision to kill the messanger first, and hang himself second. Okonkwo would rather choose to kill himself then to subject himself to a new world, law, and order. Okonkwo had a large lack of concern for the fate of all others around him, that even at the meeting he decides not to say anything to anyone. I believe that since Okonkwo had such a bad Chi and felt so down about everything that had happend to him in the past that it led to his final decision. He was so afraid to not seem masculine, but in the end most decisions he made when killing the messanger and himself, were not masculine at all. Some of the events were when he accidently shot the boy, and when he was exiled away to his motherland because of it. Despite great success in life, ironically, he dies lonely and penniless exactly like his father, whom he said he never wanted to be like.

Anonymous said...

Oknokwo made his final choice because he saw that his way of life was being taken away and he would not let it go without a fight. One of the things that led him to this decision was having to go into exile and come back and it be like he was never even there in the first place. Also i think that his son converting had a big effect on him to. Two more things that caused him to die was that his clan would not drive the white man out and also that the white man tricked him and his people into leaving there way of life. I think Okonkwo did this so that he could go out before his lifestyle was abandoned. I think he also wanted to join his ancestors and be wiht people who had the same views and customs as he did. Although it was a poor choice i think it was better than him being hanged by the white man because he died and it wasnt as humiliating.

Tom Hall

Miranda Adams said...

Okonkwo made the choise to kill the messanger and then hang himself becuase his way of life was coming to a end.
He did it becuase eveything he has known has been changed and he could not live to see anymore be taking from him and his clan. some events that happend during the story that led up to his death are The death of his son, which was killed by his own hands. He also killed another not to long after on accident. Then was exioled from his clan and had to leave to go to his mothers land. During his exile he lost all his titels that he had worked his whole life for and wouldnt be getting them back. When he was gone his home had changed drasticly. When he reterned it was almost unrecinizable. Another thing that had a big effect was the white men tricking him and his clan in to leaving there way of life and changing eveything to what they belifes. In the end okonkwo died just like his fother. Something he said he never wanted to become.

Anonymous said...

Discuss why Okonkwo makes his final choice? Give 4 events in book 2 & 3 which led him to this decision. What was his final decision based on?

I think Onkonkwo made his choice because he wants to show hes not a coward. But in my opinon it is corwardly. Why kill a messenger he has no realtion. He felt that if he had to go with other rules that he would rather be dead. He did not like the rules given to him so he choose death. His chi was also very un balanced and that was another reason on killing himself.

cody sulla said...

Okonkwo made his final decision so he wouldn't look like he died without a fight. I think he came to this decision because know one would ever let him down if he didn't. All of the people that saw what okonkwo went through realized he cared. I agree with Rachel that okonkwo would rather kill himself than have a new world. Okonkwo was too used to following one set of rules and didn't want another. He did kill himself and i considered it another female crime. It wasn't something you would do unless you were afraid. I think it is kind of cowardly of Okonkwo. He should of lived for his fears. In my opinion people that live for their fears go further in life rather than the people that run from their fears.

Nick Brouillard said...

Okonkwos final choice was to kill the messanger. One of the examples was that his son had gone to that religion. Also he had gone into exile and came back to a new village. Also the way of life that he had left was gone when he got back. Plus he had losed all he had earned before his exile and it would be long before he could get his titles back. His village was changing into a new society and okonkwo did not like it. So Okonkwos final desision was not very good but it was also his last.

Anonymous said...

I think Okonkwo makes his final choice because he can't do anything to save his clan. He realizes that the white men will eventually take over their land. One of the events that led him to suicide would be how the white men threw him in jail. Another example is how his son converted to Christianity. The fact that he killed a messenger could've added to his amount of stress, also. His exile from the clan undoubtedly triggered most of his anger and frustration, too. I believe that his final decision was based on the fact that his clan was doomed to extinction.

Anonymous said...

Cody Dykes

This is something if not known ahead of time wouldn't have even guest. But i understand why he would make this choice. Since part two of the book there have been events that just push and push into it. First he gets kicked out of his clan and loses his titles. This is huge because that's all he ever aimed for in life. Second white man comes in with new ideas against his own. Okonkwo is a very cultural guy and all these new thing are just evil to him. Third, his tribe that is known for honor and war wont fight it and allot of people going the white man. Okonkwo is know for is valor in war is sickened that the people wont listen to him. Fourth and final is that he is alone and nobody is really on his side or will step up. After killing the white man he knows that he will die since he is out numbered. That leaves in the world alone and he doesent wanna die by there hand.

ben nicolay said...

Discuss why Okonkwo makes his final choice? Give 4 events in book 2 & 3 which led him to this decision. What was his final decision based on?

I think he makes the choice because he doesnt want to change the ways that his ancestors have followed for a numerous amout of years. He doesn't want Umofia to be viewed as a week clan. He wanted revenge because he was put in jail and the messenger was the first one Okonkwo could get his hands on. I think he killed himself because he didn't want to feel weak and let someone else do it. He was going to die anyway because the white man was coming after him. I think his chi was balanced all along. I think that the author made him sound more masucline at the beginging of the story but as the story goes on the author brings out the femininity in him. I agree with rachel that ironically, he dies lonely and penniless exactly like his father, whom he said he never wanted to be like. I guess bad luck somtimes brings out the worst in us.

Unknown said...

okonkwo killed himself, because he let the pressures of life get to him. living in exile was one thing that sent him over the edge. he had to start all over in his new town. second, his whole village basically lost all respect they had for him after he killed ike. he also let it get to himself. the white men left a trail of havoc throughout the village they destroyed the clan system that they were used to living for ears. ultimately, oknkwo's chi was totally unbalanced and killed himself, because to himself he was worthless.

ScOtW29 said...

Discuss why Okonkwo makes his final choice? Give 4 events in book 2 & 3 which led him to this decision. What was his final decision based on?

The decision okonkwo makes is to kill himself.Hislan would not drive the white man out and also that the white man tricked him and his people into leaving there way of life. He beleives Umofia is viewed as a week clan. He cant do anything to save his clan now. The white men have taken over. The white men made him stay in jail is one reason. Another is that his son converted religions. And also killing the messanger was another reason why he could have committed suicide.

Alyssa said...

Okonkwo made his final decision with his more masculine chi, which was the kill the messenger and then to hang himself. When he returned from exile for seven years in the motherland, he was awakened by an entirely changed village. I think these changes were way too much for him all at one time, it was so different for Okonkwothat he aid.. "I hardly even recognized it." With his son converting into the white man's religion, and then tricking his people and taking over the village completely, Oknokwo being the powerful-minded man that he was, he could not just sit back and watch. His desicion although it may have been a poor one by hagnging himself, that is what he felt as though he needed to do with the terms that his village was in. Oknonkwo's main goal in life was to be power, and bring success to himself, his village, and to his family. When all this came to a halt when the white man took over his village during exile, Okonkwo snapped and his decision was formed upon his masculine chi and with the idea that rather than being humiliated and having to go on with the life he was so unhappy living with the white man in charge, he figured his only other option was to hang himself, and that is exactly what he did.

Stephen Manvydas said...

I think that okonkwos final decision was based on a few things and one of them being his chi. He did not want to be thought of as feminine, and he did not want this for his village either. Another is the giving up of his tribe. The tribe of okonkwo did not start soon enough to let the missonaries know that they were not to be messed with. Okonkwo took blame on himself for the fact that he did not come back in time to stop them. Okonkwo knew after killing the messanger and seeing his tribes reaction that there was no hope. Okonkwo's choice was considered feminine, which shows how far that the missonaries had pushed him, they have caused him to push all away from what made him, him.

kirkwhitt said...

Okonkwo makes th final choice because he cant stand the fact that his people are changing. The missionarys have come and started changing Okonkwo's way of life along with the people he lives with. Okonkwo dose not want his clan to be viewd as a cowerd clan. Okonkwo's final choice is to hang him self. He views life with the missionarys as hopless and worthless. That is why Okonkwo makes his final choice, and kills him self.

Chelsea Gray said...

Okonkwo makes his own decision with what he should do. It was his way of standing up for what he beilieve's in. It was his last fight for his old clan and traditions. I think he was lead to this decision because je was in exile for 7 years. When he came back he saw what his village was turned into and couldn't take it. In extile he lost everything. He had no more titles and no more drive to work for anything. When he came back he wanted everything to go back to normal. He was completly hurt to see that every thing he knew has changed. Okonkwo also was know for having a bad chi for it being so unbalanced. He figured this was the best he could have done in his life. His final decision was based on so many events that has happened through is life.

Anonymous said...

I think that Okonkwo killed himself and the messenger as a protest. First, he wanted to say that his society had become weak, and that the culture that he had flourished in was no longer flourishing itself. In Part II, Okonkwo first sees how the white men have invaded and decimated what he believed in. They lured Nwoye and other natives into Christianity, and therefore tore away at Okonkwo and his culture. Secondly, the people of Mbanta ruined what Okonkwo thought was right and wrong by not fighting back diligently enough. Instead, they allowed themselves to be converted and allowed the church to continue. In the last part of the book, it only got worse. The British gained influence and truly began their takeover, beginning with the government building. This body which dealt out "justice" and basically oppressed the Igbo dealt the coup-de-grace to the Igbo way of life. I think that Okonkwo couldn't bear it any longer and realized that his culture was truly dead to him. Okonkwo's death, in that light, was his final and most provocative protest against the slow decimation of his way of life.

alissa welling said...

Okonkwo makes this choice of killing himself becuase he doesnt like the way he is living his life. I think that going into exile had a big part in this. Also his son dying also made him make this decision. Knowing that he did it himself really affected him. Okonkwos bad chi also led him to this. Knowing that he had such bad things ahead of him made him not want to live through it. everyone looked at him differently now and he wasnt the same as he was which makes him want to make the decision he does.

Anonymous said...

He has made a final choice and part of me agrees and part of me does not. Killing himself would not be a good outcome and would certainly hurt things not only in his life but everyone elce. He also may be trying to seem maskuline when he really isnt and that is how life is. Apart from that i belive that this has been a really good book to read and it says alot of life moments that happen in life.

Cole H. said...

One event that led him to those decisions was his son conforming to the church and disowning Okonkwu as a father. Another would be that he believed he had bad "chi", which made him feel like bad things were inevitable. One other affect of this was the accidental death of the sixteen year old boy. That destroyed his sense power and self-esteem because he got banished from his village. Lastly, I think that he realized that stopping the "white men" was impossibe because his village and people were conforming. His way of life was challenged and he was going to loose it. He couldnt handle what was going to happen which is why he took the messangers life and his ow.