Your responses need to be between 4 to 6 sentences.
Due Dates:
B4 - Monday, 1/17 - Before class
A1/A2 - Tuesday, 1/18 - Before class
1. Look up the definitions of "freedom fighter" and "terrorist" explain how Okonkwo is one or the other. Use quotes from the text to support your answer.
2. Slavery is frequently believed to have been "brought" to Africa, but what evidence do we see in this reading that supports slavery not being a solely non-African concept. Use quotes as support.
3. Argue whether the following is important: "But apart from the church, the white men had also brought a government" (Achebe 174).
4. Explain why Mr. Brown came to be respected by the clan.
5. Why do you think the missionaries gave so much importance to education and made sure that "religion and education went hand in hand" (Achebe 182).
6. One page 188 one reads that Enoch "hoped for a holy war" to occur. How is the term "holy war" used in today's world?
1. Okonkwo is a freedom fighter. Freedom fighters are those people who struggle for political freedom from another government. And this is what Okonkwo is doing - trying to find a way to drive the Christians away - "We must fight these men and drive them from the land'"(Achebe 176). "Simple Wikipedia" defines terrorism as the use of terror and acts of violence for social, political or religious reasons. People who execute terrorism are called terrorists. When Mr. Brown comes to Okonkwo to tell him the news about Nwoye who will be studying in a teacher-training college, Okonkwo "had driven him away with the threat that if he came into his compound again, he would be carried out of it" (Achebe 182). Here, Okonkwo threatened Mr. Brown because of religious and social (his son) reasons. So according to correct definitions, Okonkwo can be considered both a freedom fighter and a terrorist.
ReplyDelete2. The phrase “slavery not being a solely non-African concept” confused me. But I think it means that slavery is not alone a non-African concept, meaning that slavery is also an African concept. And the proof of slavery being present in Africa even before is the song they sang – “The white man has no sense, he is fit to be a slave (Achebe 175). Also, when Mr. Brown attempts to convince people to send their children to his school, people “at first they only sent their slaves”, from this we can interpret that there were slaves already before (Achebe 181).
3. This is because just church meant religion, now there is government which makes the white men bigger. The main reason was that with government came the court with the District Commissioner. Also, they punished "men who had offended against the white man's law" (Achebe 171). E.g., throwing away twins for white men is a crime and thy punished people for that, where this is not a crime for African people. Also "Some of these prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean occupation (Achebe 175). So this is important to people in a negative "way" that people of high ranks were doing jobs they should never do.
4. In the book it says that it is was "because he trod softly on its [the clan's] faith" and did not profane or abuse their religion in an offensive way (Achebe 178). So that is the main purpose he was very respected even between the African people.
5. The reason is probably because people in Umofia were illiterate in sense of including the entire world. Also, "He said that the leaders of the land in the future would be men and women who had learned to read and write"(Achebe 181). This probably attracted many students and it did. So, many people started to join the school, even adults. In the school, the might have, little by little, started teaching about their religion and finally attracting more and more adherents of Christianity. So, in my opinion that is why the school and Church went together.
6. It is used the same way as Enoch said it. A holy war is a war fought for religious reasons. Enoch wanted a war because of his religious purposes. And even today holy war means a battle for religious reasons, e.g., Crusades were holy “wars”. But I have also another “discovery”, in some colleges, holy wars are sport games which are played against another college, and these games are also somewhat related to religions.
1. Freedom fighters are people who oppose to a government or authority. Terrorists too, are very similar and there is usually a lot of violence applied in this word. In a way, Okonkwo is a freedom fighter and terrorist. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me. What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?" (Achebe 175). He is disappointed and angered that his people have done nothing to prevent the white men from taking charge of everything, and craves for war. Freedom fighters and terrorists are created when people are not satisfied with a country or government. To Okonkwo, I think the solution to getting rid of the white men were to fight and not make negotiations like his people were doing.
ReplyDelete2. Slavery usually seems to have the Africans as victims. Many countries have colonised Africa before, so it's not much of a surprise, yet in this book, they mention that the Africans also had slaves. "He went from family to family... they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children" (Achebe 181). This book tells us that slavery was not a new concept to the Africans and it can change some perspectives of thinking.
3. I think the quote stated in question number three is important. It shows us how much things were changing in Umuofia. The white men brought their religion, their people and now their government. I think the natives that still believed in their own gods must have felt some resentment and anger towards such an offence for their religion.
4. Mr. Brown was respected in the clan for he did not force the Africans to take up Christianity. Mr. Brown listened to them and perfered negotiation than brutality. I think Mr. Brown was so good in heart that the people were sorry to see him go. But since he left, the relationship between the Africans and the white men turned more hostile.
5. It was improtant for the missionaries to educate the Africans because it gave more chances for Christianity to become successful. If the colonies were well educated enough to be able to become teachers and etc., then Christianity would spread widely all around the place. Not only that, the more people they had, the more work they would be able to accomplish and be able to earn loads of profit for the colonizers.
6. Holy wars are just like the word. It is a war that occurs when two different religions have war to dominate the other. I have heard that holy wars were considered alright because it was to spread religion. Now, there are still a lot of wars because of religion, but holy war or not, it's still war and in my dictionary, war is wrong whatever reason is behind it.
Zen Sugino
A2 Literature
1.Okonkwo is a freedom fighter because he isn’t pleased with the idea of joining the Christians and the people joining in. Freedom fighter is a person who fights for a government which they think it’s unfair. He wonders why the people didn’t fight back. Okonkwo wants to get rid of the white men. “What is it that has happened to our people…power to fight” (Achebe 175).
ReplyDelete2.“But at first they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children” (Achebe 181). At first Mr. Brown only seen slaves coming to school. But he tried to encourage people to come to school. “More people came to…and towels” (Achebe 181). But later, more people came who were eager to learn. So it is proved that slavery is not mainly in Africa.
3. This quote is actually true in a way since they built courts and brought messengers. But the people in Umuofia didn’t like the messengers since they have different perspective. But still, I think that they didn’t bring a government. It is because that the people are unhappy about it, and they didn’t really accept it. “These court messengers were greatly hate…high-handed” (Achebe 174).
4. “And so Mr. Brown…on its faith” (Achebe 178). It is said that he trods softly on its faith. I think it is because he became friends with many people of the clan and listened to them. He didn’t say anything offensive about people’s beliefs. And also, he made people go to school.
5. I think they wanted religion and education both balanced with the people in Umuofia. With education, they get technology which would be a way to develop. And by having religion, people will gain faith. But in overall, the missionaries just wanted people to get interested in Christianity.
6. Holy war means war fought for religious reasons. Basically people fighting to defend their religious faith. To me, I think it’s not a bad thing because they are fighting to protect themselves. People wants to protect their faith, which isn’t a bad thing.
Shiori Hishinuma, B4
1. Freedom fighter, generally means one is opposing and rebelling against the government (but physically). Terrorists mainly involve in physical parts rather than the actual rebelling against the government. "Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards to compare ourselves with the men of Abame" (Achebe 175). This explains how he's actually willing to fight back with physical power, but also by not joining Christians. Basically not just by violence, so I would say Okonkwo is rather a Freedom Fighter than a terrorist.
ReplyDelete2. Genuinely,I thought slaves were brought into Africa but, I guess not. But we cannot be 100% sure whether it was an African concept because we do not have a direct proof. The song that the younger men sang kind of proves that there were slavery in Africa. “Kotma of the ash buttocks, he is fit to be a slave. the white man has no sense, He is fit to be a slave” (Achebe 175). This means that they wanted to make slaves it they were worthless, however this could be from the whole concept of white men.
3. This quote is really important because religion and government are two crucial things that made a colony. Religion isn’t as major as government because eventually, the government can cause you to get caught up in the colonizers way of thinking. Not all governments are like this, but generally saying that these white men have plans, governments are really important to these indigenous people of Africa. They will need to be aware of more power that these governors have. So yes, this is a really important quote.
4. Mr. Brown was respected by the African people because of the way he treats them. Basically, he was nice, and he wasn’t forceful about things like joining the school or converting to Christian. “And so Mr. Brown came to be respected even by the clan, because he trod softly on its faith” (Achebe 178). I think why he is friendly is because of his feeling towards God and his faith. He knows by God’s orders that he isn’t supposed to be many to any human kind at all. This explains his friendly and respected personality.
5. Missionaries thought that education was important. Because this way, with more people having knowledge about things, the missionaries were clever enough that they thought they could involve more people into whatever they are trying to do. This is beneficial for both sides, meaning the missionaries and Africans. Missionaries can actually use people to get them more interested, and as for the native people, they can have knowledge, start business get money. There are positive aspects to this as well.
6. Holy wars means just the way it is that Enoch expressed it. Holy wars means a war, or a fight between people of the different religion. If people are so serious about religion, we can expect them to protect over them. Not that war and holy wars is different, but this describes their real feelings towards their religion.
A1 Milan Dotiyal
1. The term, "freedom fighter" means an individual that fights against, or opposes a governmental system which they think is unfair, or as it says, freedom from the government. In this case, Okonkwo is a freedom fighter, since he isn't happy about the new church settling in with new Christian influences, and was against the government of which decided to place the church there. He also seems to be confused with anger because he wonders why the other people in the village didn't fight back against the new faith. ""But I cannot understand these things you tell me. What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?" (...) "Why did they not fight back?"" (Achebe 175).
ReplyDelete2. Slavery isn't viewed as "being brought" to Africa in this book, but what was new to the Africans was when they were in the position of slaves themselves. It says that they had slaves before: "But at first they only sent their slaves.." (Achebe 181). so the whole concept of slavery seems to not be so new in Africa. This gives us the perspective that Africa was not only just victims of slavery, but also had their own slaves as well.
3. To me, this quote is pretty important, since the building of the church means religion, and religion can also have a big impact on governmental power. This upset many of the native Africans who had to adjust to some of their laws. Many people of the native clan had joined the white men. Okonkwo, and many other people of the clan thinks that this is a disgrace to his ancestors and the clan tradition
4. Mr. Brown was a white missionary that came along with the church. Unlike most of the other missionaries, he didn't believe in brainwashing people into following one faith, but instead, talked about how God is a supreme being that created everything. Not only did he preach, but he also listened to people of the clan who talked about their faith. This shows how unbiased Mr. Brown was, which was why many of the things that he did for the clan ended in successes.
5. The missionaries thought that teaching the faith of Christianity was important, because it could easily spread the influence of the faith to other places. That was why they thought it was so important to educate many people about Christianity.
Not only this, but if they succeed in spreading their faith, they could profit a lot for the colonizers back in England. This was why they devoted lots of time in effort into education among the people in the clan.
6. Holy Wars are when people go against others of a different faith to protect their religion, and usually to dominate the religious rights of the opposing peoples. Although many might think that protecting their religion is a good thing, these wars can get very out of hand. Even today, hundreds of people die every day because of their religious differences, which describes how terrifying these wars for faith can be.
Rina Dishman
B4 Literature
1. I think Okonkwo is a freedom fighter, because he misses his clan for how it was before his exile. He doesn't like how white men with a supposedly superior religion can easily come into his village, and practically his whole country, and convert people as they pleased. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me. What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?" (Achebe 175).
ReplyDelete2. Generally, we think that Africans were taken from their country and used as slaves, but in fact, slavery was immanent in African society. When Mr. Brown was looking for people to come to his school, it says "He went from family to family begging people to send their children to his school. But at first they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children" (Achebe 181). This means that Africans must have had slaves themselves.
3. That depends. Important in the story, or important to the people? Personally, I think that the African people had a perfectly functioning government, as seen previously with the court case with Okonkwo as a spirit. It's not like they didn't have a government to begin with, so it was not important. However, because of the control that the white people had over the Africans, it was important because the Africans had to deal with new customs and regulations the government put them through.
4. Mr. Brown was one of the kinder missionaries, by not discriminating the African's religion and he "trod softly on its faith" (Achebe 178). Eventually he became friends with high ranked members of the clan, and was given a carved elephant tusk, which was a great gift of honor.
5. I think that the missionaries thought that there was not enough education in the African's society, and was too much driven by religion. In their society, there was not only religion, but also education, so I think they wanted to model themselves to these people, showing that there's more to things then religion.
6. Holy Wars are wars that involve a dispute between two or more different faiths, usually ending in catastrophe. This still happens today, with people fighting to keep their faith alive. It usually doesn't end well.
1. Okonkwo can be described as a freedom fighter, because he is a stern and determined man, who obviously doesn't want freedom taken away from him. On the other hand he wants more respect and pride, and he wants to fight against these freedom takers (white men). "'What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?" (Achebe 175). He wouldn't be a terrorist because he is a native of Africa, and right now his freedom is gradually being taken away, from the so called terroristic white men.
ReplyDelete2. Africa is often referred to a great victim of slavery, and not a inslav-"er", like the white men. However, the book reveals some examples of slavery that already existed in Africa before. "at first they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children" (Achebe 181). This means that African households did have slaves, and they sent them to Mr. Brown's school because they thought his school was a pathetic school for the unworthy. It shows that they were not only the victims but the terrorizers in a way.
3. That quote is a very important quote in my opinion. Because it means that the white men not only change their religious views but they also affect their lifestyle and clan structure as well. In other words, freedom gets taken away, and they get forced to change themselves in order to fit the lifestyle of the new governement. Yet, some aspects like the change of education might be a good change.
4. Mr. Brown was highly respected in the clan because he did not apply any force to introduce the new religion to the clan. He made a connection between their original religion and christianity, making it smoother and easier for the people to understand this brand new religion. Instead of saying no to every idea of the clan's religion, he considered their customs and ways of thinking carefully. That is why the clan felt safe in believing the new religion.
5. It's quite hard to make people understand your new religion without some additional help, because people would plainly think that you were nuts. However, when the English introduced their religion, they interweaved their education with it as well, so that the Africans could learn their ways more easily. This also let the religion spread without much effort as well. This is because the Africans themselves could spread the religion's idea themselves.
6. A holy war now-a-days is simply a religious war. It's usually when people with different religion have a war to prove that their religion is right. There are no holy wars in todays world, and its quite of a primitive idea. It reminds of the middle-aged times when countries wanted everyone to see their power.
Janet Choi A1
ReplyDelete1. Freedom fighters are people who disagree with and fight against a government or country. Terrorists are in a way similar to freedom fighters, but they are more violent. Okonkwo can be considered both a terrorist and a freedom fighter. He disagrees with the Christian government and tries to get rid of them using violence, but that is for the clan’s benefit. “’Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes? We would be cowards to compare ourselves with the men of Abame’” (Achebe 175). Okonkwo is disappointed with the people of his clan because he thinks that people had become cowards and lost the power to fight. The quote above shows that he is willing to drive the Christians away from the land by using weapons and force. Here, he can be viewed as terrorist, but also a freedom fighter because he fights for the rights of his clan.
2. Many people, including me, believe that slavery was “brought” to Africa. However, in the book, there are some evidences that contradict those beliefs. “But at first they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children” (Achebe 181). The people of Umuofia only sent their slaves and lazy children to Mr. Brown’s school. Here, we can know that slaves already existed in Africa, which proves that slavery was not first introduced to Africa by the colonizers.
3. I think the quote shown is important. It shows the seriousness of the situation where the white men starts spreading their power in Umuofia. Following their religion and their people, the white men now brings a form of government and creates a separate nation. Although this is something pestilential to the people of the clan, it is a thing of importance to consider, since the white men continue to take the people of the clan into their faith.
4. Mr. Brown is respected by the clan because of his perseverant attitudes to preach Christianity. He continues to talk and negotiate with the people of Umuofia, and does not try to force them to convert to Christianity. “Mr. Brown preached against such excess of zeal… And so Mr. Brown came to be respected even by the clan, because he trod softly on its faith” (Achebe 178). Even the clan likes his perseverance, and so they respect Mr. Brown and some becomes good friends with him.
5. I think religion is important in preaching the white men’s new religion (Christianity) because the people of the clan had already been educated and taught their own religion and ways of living. If missionaries like Mr. Brown start preaching without newly educating them, the people would oppose to their teachings because it is different from what they have learned. However, if the people are newly educated to the white men’s ways, then their views about Christianity would change and it would be easier to preach and convert them into Christians.
6. Holy wars happen when people of different religions fight to protect their faith or to gain control over another. I think Enoch wanted war between the Christians and the clan so that if the Christians win, they would be able to take control of the clan and hopefully convert many of them into Christians. I can understand people trying to protect and defend their beliefs, and wanting others to believe in the same thing as themselves. But still, wars involve violence and usually many people die. Therefore, I think that Holy wars should not be accepted in our society.
1. "freedom fighter" - a individual that fights against a colony/government/group for its own disagreement. Okonkwo fought back to the government because he didn't want white men; “The white man has no sense" (Achebe 175). And he was also confused why other didn't also fight back. "But I cannot understand these things you tell me. What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?" (Achebe 175). "terrorist" - the use of violence and threats for political proposes. I don't think Okonkwo fits on to this definition because he did not threat for political proposes; he fought against it.
ReplyDelete2. Africans Slavery was mentioned before in the book; meaning that there was african slavery in things fall apart. "...at first they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children" (Achebe 181). They made the worthless people to slaves, and treated badly. This shows that slaves did exist in Africa before.
3.In my opinion, I think this quote is important because the church symbols the religion, and the white man - foreigners had brought their own way of life. Religions got spread, because people brought their own government. This quote explains that foreigners, had brought their government/religion, and I think that is a big point.
4.Mr. Brown came to be respected by the clan, because he was the white missionaries that came along with the church. He did not push its own way of thinking, and his religion, he taught people how God created the world, and not forcing them to believe it in, he also listen to other's opinion too.
5.I think it's because that they realized that education is very important for the future; since having a good education creates good economy. For example, this is same now days too, in Japan you HAVE to go to school and have a education; it's a must. Religion made people's mind into one; and if they gave good education of religion, they might of thought that they now can spread the religion, since they want to spread the religion as much as possible.
6.Holy war is a war fought for religious reasons. It is also used today, when the war starts from a religious reason. Enoch wanted to war because of his religious properties.
Suzu Hiroyama
Literature A1
1/17/11
1. Freedom fighter is a person who fights against dictatorship, basically a person who fights for freedom. Okonkwo is a freedom fighter, when he came back to his father land, he did not understand why people won't fight back." What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?"(Achebe 175). You can see that Okonkwo wants to put the whole clan back together, he wants to fight and get the white men out of their land.
ReplyDelete2. Africans were usually thought as slaves during colony. But in this book it shows that the Africans themselves had slaves. " He went from family to family begging people to send their children tobhis school. BUt at first they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children"(Achebe 181).
3. I think the quote is a important information in the story.If it was just the information of having church we can assume that maybe the white man just wanted to spread their religion instead of actually taking over their land, but by knowing they built a government, we can see that the white men had intentions of conolizing their land.
4. Mr.Brown was respected by the clan because he didn't force people to believe in God. He has his own faith but he respects others as well. Insteand of forcing people to be christian, he encouraged them by begging them to come to school and learn to read and write. He also made friends with many of the great men in the clan and while he discuss the difference between their Gods, he learns more about their custom and tradition.
5.The people in Umofia didn't take education as much as the power and levels in people. But Mr. brown encouraged education, because if the people of umofia didn't know how to read or write other from different places will come and rule them.
6. I think the Holy War here just means that two religions coming against eachother proving that their belief is the right one. In our world now, such holy wars still occur. I personally think, there's no need to prove right or wrong, instead keep yout own faith and belief, but repect others' religions as well.
A1 Catherine
A freedom fighter is a person who in engaged in a rebellion against a government, that is considered oppressive and illegitimate, to gain freedom. A terrorist is a person who uses violence and threats to intimidate the government. I think Okonkwo is a freedom fighter because he does not want Umuofia to be ruled by the white men. He wants to fight for their freedom even though it may be too late to do anything. He is disappointed that his friends and his people did not fight off the men. “Why did they not fight back? Had they no guns and machetes?” (Achebe 175).
ReplyDeleteThe concept of slavery was not “brought” into Africa by the white men. The concept already existed even before the white men arrived. We know this because when Mr. Brown came to persuade people to go to school, the families only sent their slaves or lazy children. “But at first they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children” (Achebe 181). From this, we know that there were slaves working for the Africans.
I think this quote is very important. This quote proves that the white men are starting to take over with first their religion and then their way of governing. The Africans had their own way of governing already but the white men are taking over like they are better and superior to the Africans. I think this was a big change for the Africans because some was opposed to the way they were governing but they had to live with it.
Mr. Brown became a respected missionary because he did not only bring a new religion but was nice and people thought his preaching was of use. He became respected by the clan and he also made friends with the great men. He was given a carved elephant tusk which was a sign of dignity and rank. He was well trusted and did not force anyone to do anything.
I think the missionaries thought education was very important. They thought that it should go with religion because they thought that they would be able to help spread the religion. They also probably thought it was their job to help improve the African’s intellectual ability. That it was their responsibility to get them to be as good as they were.
Holy war is a conflict between two different religious groups. They support their own religion by challenging the other and trying to prove that they are stronger and better. People still fight over their religion today. However, I would like everyone to accept other people’s religion and be one step closer to World Peace by not having Holy Wars.
Lisa He A1
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1.Freedom fighters are group, who disagrees with government's rules and they resist to follow their actions. A Terrorist, usually a group does violent and cruel acts for sending messages to some kind of people. Okonkwo is a freedom fighter, because he fights against the Christians because he wants to rule like before, even though it is nearly desperate. What is it that has happened to our people? Why have they lost the power to fight?" (Achebe 175).
ReplyDelete2.Many people has an image of slave country in Africa. However, in this book, it says some Africans also owned a slave. “He went to from family to family begging people to send their children to his school. But at first they only sent their slaves or sometimes their lazy children” (Achebe 181).
3.I think this quote is important. This quote clearly explains that Okonkwo is oust from position and it is time for Christians to rule over Africa. While Okonkwo stayed in Mbanta, many things had changed, and the Christians started to have power.
4.Mr.Brown didn't ostracize people and he understood African's feelings. In additon, he brought schools and hospitals to Africa, which contributed vastly. "And so Mr. Borown came to be respected even by the clan, because he trod softly on its faith" (Achebe 179).
5.Christians insisted that if people cannot get good education, they will fail in future and they will be left out from the society. "Mr. Brown begged and argued and prohesized. He said that the leaders of the land in the future would be men and women who had learned to read and write" (Achebe 181). This refers to that Christians wanted to avoid people being powerless.
6.Holy War is also called Religious War. It is justified by different religious perspective. There are still many problems about religion in this world. For instance, in Sudan, they have conflict between Christians and Muslims over 20 years. Therefore, Holy War can sometimes turn into worst happenings.