Post a thoughtful and considered response to the following (you may also comment on another post for EC by clicking the "reply" button.
From the "Culture" worksheet you made notes about FIVE aspects of life and how yours are different from Oknokwo and his extended family.
In a clear, well written paragraph explain what five features of the lifestyle described in the novel are different from your own. If you don't have the handout, the list is below.
● Tradition: how important is tradition in the
way you live your life and how
important is an understanding of the traditions you live in, compared
with what is presented in Okonkwo’s lifestyle?
● Respect: for family, chi (personal god),
community, friends and enemies.
● Personal goals and ambitions: write down
three of yours and three of Okonkwo’s.What are the differences?
● Relationships: between men and women, adults
and children, friends and enemies,
black and white.
● The role of women: in most things
subservient, but supreme in matters of life and death.
In my lifestyle and my family, we don't see each other as failures because of what we have done or not done, unlike Okonkwo who saw his father as a complete failure in life. As part of my lifestyle having respect for everyone is important, especially to my immediate family members. Unlike Okonkwo, whom showed no respect to his family but expected it in return. My personal goals are to show kindness, love, and mercy to others, to live life at my full potential, and to fulfill the purpose I have on this Earth. In contrast, Okonkwo's goals were to never be like his father, to work as hard as he can to prove bravery and strength, and to keep a good reputation in the clan. The difference is that he's driven by the shame he felt from his father as a young child, while I am driven by to be the best I can be. In Okonkwo's lifestyle, he saw females the weaker gender, but worthy of worship because they bear children. The difference compared to my lifestyle is that women are not seen as the weaker sex, but as strong and capable of things men cannot do.
ReplyDeleteJose Saucedo
ReplyDeleteFailure, accomplishments, disappointments.... All of this is meaningless in my family. All that is important is unity. Each member of my family has a role to play. Whether it's cooking, cleaning, studying, or making money it all contributes to the well-being and comfort of us all. Unlike us Okwonko and the rest of his tribe believe that the occupation you are to do and the things you have done determine what you are worth in life. In another matter, respect in my family goes all ways. No matter who you are, even if you are a stranger, my family will show respect. However, Okwonko did not respect peers and expected them to respect him. I strive for knowledge and skills that excite me. I want to be someone in life to repay what my parents have done for me. Similarly, Okwonko wants to be powerful among his clan although not for the same reason as I want to become someone in life. Okwonko's wives are not very significant. They do play a role although it's minor. In my family, my mother has just as much power as my father. We are all equals...
EXTRA CREDIT: This response to the assignment is very straight forward and easy to read. No grammatical errors can be seen and the flow of the entire paragraph is moderate. Good job overall with the response.
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DeleteMany aspects of Okonkwo's lifestyle and perspectives on tradition and gender roles differ from that of me and my family's lifestyle. In my lifestyle, me and my family do not express disrespect to another person based on their wealth as Okonkwo did to his father Unoka, who did not achieve any titles throughout his life as a result of being irresponsible. In addition to this, many of Okonkwo's goals, in my perspective, could be defined as being the most contradicting to the characteristics of his father. He wanted to gain a great amount of titles in his clan as well as to receive respect from the villagers, and even from his family members, whom he did not show respect to at all. In contrast, my one main goal in life is to strive towards assisting those who are in need of help, no matter who that person may be, whether they are a stranger, a family member, or a friend. I know that there are too many of us out there that can be assisted, but I think that the whole reason for life is about being committed to assisting anyone and everyone whom you may meet or pass by on that rugged road which is your life. Okonkwo lived in a very patriarchal society, one in which the males had greater power and were at a higher rank and the females were mostly subservient, meaning that they were subordinate and had the lesser tasks in family and society. To the contrary, my family operates by working together somewhat like a team does, with no one having greater power than another. We can only be successful as a family if each family member becomes united and contributes to something that keeps our family in order. We may disagree about various subjects at times, but we always happen to find a way to overcome our dispute as a family where everyone is impartial. ~ Danny Bao
ReplyDeleteI like how you structured your paragraph it makes it much more interesting with all the facts you used from Okonkwo and his family. - Chris Aguilar
DeleteIn my family, tradition is something to keep in mind year around. it helps us conmemorate those ancesters behind us who helped us get to where we are now. Okonkwo on thw other side doesnt really care. He would prefer to do what he wants over what his town is doing anyday but he prefers not to offend anyone. Respect is never given, but earned in our family. Okonkwo believes in chi and cleansing. He has respect to only those he believes are at his level or higher. Okonkwos personal goal are fairly simple, live to grow a big yam farm and surpass his father in all aspects. I also want to pass my family and go beyond, but not in the bad disrespectful manner as Okonkwo does. Okonkwo hated his dad for being too soft. I want to go beyond to prove my worth. I want to be seen and be told, "you have gone far, i'm proud of you". I want to attend high school, be remembered for centuries, and earn in 10 years more than my family has ever. Okonkwo just wants to be better than his father, be a successful yam grower, and to be overrall best and most respected in the clan. Women are greatly respected and treated equally as we would treat anyone. Okonkwo and the clan believes they are more like servants or slaves to them. They live to clean. -Jon Fuentes
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ReplyDeleteComparing my family to Okonkwo's is like comparing an apple to a tomato. While there are some similarities, you aren't going to go dip a tomato in caramel and eat it. Okonkwo follows the tribe's traditions by farming yams, being respectful to the men with value, and by having multiple wives. My family doesn't follow a tradition, and I think that none of my older relatives actually followed one either. Okwonkwo believes that respect is gained by doing things worthy of praise. My family respects everyone,even if you don't respect us. Some of my personal goals include being successful, being someone worth talking about, and being able to help those around me. Okonkwo wants to avoid being anything like his father, strives to be respected and also wants everything to go the way he wants it to. I believe that it shouldn't matter who you are in a relationship with and that you should have at least a mutual understanding in taking care of the relationship. Okonkwo believes he has control over every relationship he has. Since he is a great man, he can make a relationship with you and tell you to take care of it , and follow his expectations. Okonkwo's thoughts on women are ones that we see in other patriarchal societies. The women have little rights and are expected to take care of the home & the kids, cook, and also tend to the husband's needs. In my family, my mom and dad share responsibilities, but my mom has more authority and power than my dad does.
ReplyDeleteEXTRA CREDIT RESPONSE:I like the beginning similes from fruits to family. Okonkwo's beliefs are of what a man with a cold heart would believe. You on the other hand sound like your average guy of todays cemtury. You care about others but not excesively and taking care of your back as well as your families.- Jon Fuentes
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ReplyDeleteThere are many aspects of Okonkwo's lifestyle that are different from mine. My parents taught me not to disrespect them or anyone. Okonkwo disliked his father Unoka, who was very irresponsible and borrowed money from various people. Furthermore, Okonkwo did not show respect to his father for the actions that he took. In contrast, I want to be a successful person in life, by becoming wealthy and being accepted by family and society. However, Okonkwo wants to gain many titles and become an influential person in the eyes of the villagers. My family celebrates various religious events at different times of the year, but in "Things Fall Apart," some sacrifices are made to the earth goddess. Most of all, I show respect to the people I don't know because I think that you receive the same thing in return for what you give or how you act to others. To the contrary, Okonkwo does not show respect to the people who are not successful or are not wealthy. In Okonkwo's family, the women in the family had fewer and less significant roles than the males in the family did. The males had tougher and stronger positions. In my family, my mom has roles that are as equal as my dad's. ~ Alejandro Argueta
ReplyDeleteThere are many differences between my family and Okonkwo’s family. In mine, traditions aren’t as important and we don’t have as many of them. In his, tradition is extremely important and is strictly followed and there are many of them. In both of our families respect is of great value. The only difference is that in my family, we respect everyone and in his women are not respected as much as men are. My personal goals and ambitions differ from Okonkwo’s because they are more modern and are about my future, while his are about trying to become something bigger than he currently is. In my family, relationships are treasured, valued, and unique. IN his family the relationships are not portrayed as special to the people in them. In my family the role of women is the same as the role as men, they are treated equally. In Okonkwo’s family, the role of women is not as important as the role of men and men are treated as if they are better. - Kate Collins
DeleteI love your comparisons and your use of adjectives, it makes the paragraph easier to follow and helps me, the reader, understand it better. Your comparisons are clear and you used legit facts from the book which ahs made your paragraph that much better :)
Delete-Kyra Sanders
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DeleteWhen comparing Okonkwo’s family and their lifestyle to mine, I have found many differences and have yet to have find any similarities. My family and I don’t have many traditions, the ones we do have don’t require us to live by them. Okonkwo and his family have a set of rules and traditions that they have to follow and live by everyday for the rest of their life. Respect is key in my family, everyone should respect each other, that is a silent fact that everyone should know. On the other hand, Okonkwo and his village have few respect for each other and no respect for women and this is considered right it their society which seems all wrong to us. My personal goals include; happiness, success and to make my parents proud. Whereas, Okonkwo wants nothing to do with his father and tries his best to not be like him. My family and I are pretty close and we continue to support each others decisions and goals, Okonkwo and his father were never close, they never got along and/or supported each other. Lastly, the role of women is pretty much equal to the role of men in my family and society, Okonkwo and his village treat women like dirt and disrespect them daily which would never happen in my family.
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Your lifestyle is similar to mine. How women have the same rights as men and the fact that we want to make our parent proud of us. All my family always stick together no matter what happens like yours. We also don't have many traditions to follow, and we want happiness in our life. I like that you were straightforward, clear and that you used facts from the story to support your answer. :)
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DeleteIn my lifestyle and family there isn’t failure nor disappointments because nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. Instead there is accomplishments, love and respect for one another. Unlike Okonkwo who beats his wives and hides (shows) no emotions because they symbolize weakness. My personal goal is to work and strive for success and to not live in shame if I blunder. On the other hand, Okonkwo has his mind set on being different from his father, wealth, strength and bravery. He sees females as the weak gender because they show emotions and care for their children. In my family that shows bravery and strength because females are responsible for the most things males can’t do. - Leslie Silerio
ReplyDeleteYour family lifestyle compared to Okonkwo's was similar to mine, so relatable. How respect of one another and for women are present in both of our families. I liked how you were straightforward and clear, which made your paragraph easier to understand and got your points across.
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DeleteThere are many differences detween Okonkwo's family and lifestyle when being compared to my family. In my family we respect tradition but don't really follow one. Unlike Okonkwo, he takes his tradition very serious. Respect in my family is something really important, no matter what age you are, you must respect your parents, elders, and siblings. In the book, Okonkwo also had respect but mostly only for the higher people and not for his family or wife. My personal goals are to be successful, and have a good job and help my parents out just how they have done for me. While Okonkwo only wants to be the greatest, not fail like his father, and to be even more "popular" as you can say, in his village and other villages close to his. He only thinks about himself trying to not live and die as his father did, where in my family I am proud of my father and would never consider him a failure. The role of women here is to respect men and do as they say. The women can't even talk back or complain, they are treated as if they were nothing. In my family women are greatly respected, especillay mothers and elder ones.
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The way in which I live my life tradition is a very important part. I come from a beautiful and very traditional part in Mexico. Granted I am still young and stupid, so my understanding of every tradition my family and I celebrate and follow may lack at points in time. Never the less, I am extremely proud and feel very strongly towards my traditions and I will continue to carry pass them on to my kids and their children will pass them down to their kids and they will pass them on to their children and so on and so forth. When comparing m lifestyle to Okonkwo’s it is made clear that we don’t share the same value, but we share the value and passion for hard work. We are not afraid of hard work and will always be the ones who go over the top when it comes to demonstrating how hard working we are. Another notable thing would be that in my traditional values we are to love our father and look up to him; I am very proud of my father because he is a great man that no one can say anything bad about. As for Okonkwo he doesn’t have that same feelings or thoughts towards his own father because he feels that his father was useless and trash. As regards towards respect; in my family we love one another and that even goes for strangers for it is in our relationship with Jesus that we love everyone even our enemies. Okonkwo has his own personal god that he does rituals for and shows respect towards, but in his culture being polytheistic is a norm. Okonkwo’s community can be depicted as neighborly and respectful even though Okonkwo is none of those things. The way in which we treat our enemies is quite different also; me loving my enemy and wishing the best for him is very different for Okonkwo’s tactics of beating them to a pulp if provoked in a very minimal way. Yet we both do feel great anger and sometimes lose it when we have had enough of someone. Three personal goals and ambitions that I have are; having a family, keeping my emotions suppressed, and getting a higher level of education. Okonkwo’s would be hard work, having hard working kids, and not being anything like his father. Our goals and ambitions differ in the form that I hope to be every bit the man my father is. Also Okonkwo doesn’t care if his emotions get the best of him, he is strong now so he can deal with the consequences of being driven by his emotions. As for me, a short fuse has no need for a place in today’s society, so I must keep cool and collected at all times. As for our education I actually want and have a need for one to be successful but Okonkwo doesn’t need one to be successful because he is a farmer. As for the roll of women in my culture they are free to do what they want and are very much equal to men. With Okonkwo's culture that is not the same case because they treat women inferior to men and if with proper cause they can beat their wives heavily. In my culture a man who dares to hit a women is viewed as a coward and an idiot.
ReplyDeleteOkonkwo and I have different lifestyles, some are the same and some are different. Okonkwo and I both have traditions in our lives and celebrate different holidays and we work very hard for what we do. My family and I are religious and no matter who you are, we always give respect. Okonkwo must be respected and wouldn't respect anyone that isn't on his level . Another difference between us are the women in our family. The women in my family are more dominant than the men compared to okonkwo, because of our lifestyle. My personal goals are different from okonkwo's goals, I strive and achieve things to make myself and my family proud and I don't shame other people for their deficiencies.
ReplyDelete- Micah Riles
My lifestyle differs from Okonkwo a lot. As I grew up, my parents always thought me to never disrespect anyone, especially a woman. They taught me to always keep peace and respect, unlike Okonkwo who beat his wife’s and in a way was cold hearted because he didn’t show emotions because it was a sign of weakness. My life goals are to accomplish big things and make my family proud for who I am and pass down the legacy of our family. Okonkwo on the other hand wants to be different from his dad and wash his father’s shame from him. My family and Okonkwo have traditions like celebrating holidays with family and respecting others. Okonkwo saw himself superior than everyone else and respected no one. The role of women is completely different. In my family, my mom is the superior one that makes all the decisions in the house. Okonkwo sees his wife’s as people he beats when they disobey him.
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ReplyDeleteIn my personal family, out personal goals and ambitions depend on us, not our parents or siblings and we don’t take in mind what our family thinks because it shouldn’t matter. We respect that we have different interests and we keep in mind that we want different things for ourselves. My personal goals in life have nothing to do with materialistic, instead it deals with how I carry myself with my friends and family. My goals are to be a good friend and be there for people when they need me, it’s to remain true to myself and not change myself for anyone or anything, and lastly it is to accomplish a good life for myself, meaning get a good education and make myself into something. Compared to Okonkwo, who’s goals are to merely make a name for himself, it’s to not be like his father, to be someone important, not to himself but for the people around him, and finally to basically one-up everyone around him to prove a point. My goals are for myself, I do not base my goals on the need to impress anyone, but Okonkwo is obsessed with the idea of being someone to everyone.
ReplyDeleteIn my family, my parents have taught me to always respect them, the elderly people and even my enemies. Okonkwo has no respect for his father and does not want to follow his footsteps. My dad is one of the persons that has accomplished his goals in life, and I would love to be in his route to success. Compared to Okonkwo I have respect towards the people that want to put my self-esteem down; he disrespects the person that disrespects him. In my family we don’t really take a tradition as important as Okonkwo does. Also, in my family the role of being a woman is the same as the role of a men, sometimes my mom has more authority than my dad. My goals in life are to be respected by everyone and to have someone next to me, to guide me towards success. Unlike Okonkwo who does not respect women or has no one to guide him. He did grow up to be someone powerful but, that does not mean that he can treat unwealthy or unpowerful people without respect.
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ReplyDeleteWithin my family me and my brothers have learned many things from our parents. Weather we learn them by seeing their mistakes or by them verbally teaching us. On the contrary Okonkwo learnes from his father's mistakes but he forgets and is ashamed of him because of those mistakes. Okonkwo also mistreat his wives and shows no emtions towards them or anything else. I'm my family I have been taught to respect anyone wether I know them or don't or wether I don't like them or do like them. With respect comes respect and Okonkwo doesn't show that with people who he thinks are below him.
ReplyDeleteIn my family, my parents always stress the fact to respect everyone and use my manners all the time. Okonkwo has no respect for his father or anyone else. Unlike Okonkwo who beats his wife, in my family we keep peace and keep our emotions to ourselves. Tradition is also very important. Although we don't have many the ones we celebrate are important to us. My life goals are to accomplish big things and make my family proud. These are some things my family and Okonkwo do differently. - Chris Aguilar
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