We can all be heroes

As we grow up we have learned what’s good and bad, what we must do but what we want to do, we have learned how to life our own life the way we have been taught to. As time comes by we make our own choices and by this I mean making our dreams come true and being the person we want to be. When we help others even in the smallest things we become heroes, by sharing something that others need, by being humble with others and to ourselves we have become heroes day by day.

We need to start caring about others because we are all a big family in this world and if we don’t care about that, we become destructive of our own species, life and to ourselves. When we need a hand we want to count on one, so we must give our hands to others so we can be all in peace and help us in this world that we all live in.

When we are selfish and only care about ourselves we lose love, happiness, hope, and much more values and attitudes that are positive and help us to go through our life each time we fall and each time we reach our goals. We have to make people smile, laugh and think that there is some way out, that their still hope for all of us to make things right and to save us from the monsters we have become while just thinking of our own benefits. 

So for me, we are all heroes and we all can be one to someone and must important to ourselves, we make our own world and we can save it from everything we really what, we need to believe in our selves to make things right and possible. We have to live a mark on this amazing world that has given us life as such, we need to make us proud by helping others and this way we will help ourselves too.

Whach this and listen to this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i41qWJ6QjPI

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them" - Walt Disney

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them" - Walt Disney. This quote means that all of us can have a dream and there are going to be times when we see them impossible to make them come true, but if we really want to pursue them and make them happen, we need to have the courage, be tenacious and persistent in every single step of the way, and sometimes we are going to mess up but with persistence we are going to make it happen. This quote means a lot for me because i have always have dreams, very big ones to the eyes of everyone and everyone tells me that they are impossible, and that they will stay as a dream, but i have always prove them wrong, as i have learn in life dreams do come true, even though are going to be rough times if you really want them you will make them happen, thats what i have learn and what i do, make my dreams come true no matter what comes in the way, it will be alright and your dreams will become posible if you want them to. 

Things Fall Apart Part III

When Okonkwo returns to Umuofia a lot of things happen to him. He had lost his titles and recognition in the clan because of his exile, but he still had authority and friends, so he convinces Ezinma to not get married yet so he could have a rich son in law. 
He realizes that the tribe has changed a lot, and so have the people. The white men have done a lot of damage and they have established more of a government instead of just the church, a government that wanted to change the people so they attacked their traditions and culture to convert them.

One day Akumma is talking to Mr. Brown explaining him their beliefs, and even though they had some things in common, Mr. Brown was strict and denied their gods entirely, calling them fake. Mr. Brown also spends time with Nwoye, who changes his name to Isaac and is studying to be a teacher. Okonkwo doesn’t approve of this, even though he isn’t his father anymore, so he threatens to kill Mr. Brown if he ever came near again. He can see how weak the people of Umuofia are, since they were all under government from the Commissioner, who had everything his way. One of the religious fanatics called Enoch commits one of the biggest crimes in Umuofia, he unmasks one of the egwuwu’s to prove that they aren’t special nor magical, and just dressed up humans acting like spirits. Later, they burned down his house.

Ajofia convinces the clan to clean the tribe from Enoch's sins by burning down the church. Mr. Smith tries to stop them, but he also dies. This made the commissioner angry and vengeful, so he made a plan and convinced the tribe to reunite with him like friends. When the time comes, soldiers take them all to prison to be treated cruelly. They got out because the clan paid 200 cowries to release them. Now Okonkwo is angry and goes to convince the clan in the meeting to attack the white men. When he notices that the tribe doesn’t want to go to war, and two white messengers arrive, he kills one and leaves. 

The Commissioner goes to Okonkwo’s house to look for him, but instead he finds Obierika, who tells him that Okonkwo isn’t home, and then asks him for help. Okonkwo hanged himself, but the tribesmen cannot take him down, and they explain that his body is evil now and that only strangers can touch it. Obierika is angry at him for Okonkwo's suicide, and tells the Commissioner to bury Okonkwo. The commissioner tells his servants to do it, and leaves. He has a very mean and cruel attitude; he thinks he understands the tribe. He is writing a book called "The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger” and he thinks that Okonkwo´s death would make an interesting paragraph or two in it.

Part II Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo was exiled from Umuofia and in 7 years he can’t come back to the land. He and his family went to Mbanta, Okonkwo´s motherland and they were well received. Uchendu is Okonkwos uncle; he is the oldest and wisest man in Mbanta. Unchendu´s sons, the cousin of Okonkwo gave to him seed-yams so he and his family start again their life. One day Unchendu talked to all the young people about Nneka and how important the woman and mothers are in this clan. After a while Obierika, the best friend of Okonkwo came to Mbanta to visit him. He stayed to meet Uchendu. Obierika told them what happened with Abame people that they disappeared because of the white men. What happened to them was that one white man came to the tribe of Abame and the Oracle said to them that the white men will bring destruction in them so they killed the white man; time later 3 white men came and kill the abame people. So Uchendu told them a story so they can understand the message "Never kill a man who says nothing".

Two years later Obierika came back with Okonkwo to give him some money he had in Umuofia, they started to talk and Obierika told him about Nwoye, and that the missionaries have arrived to Umuofia and that they will to Mbanta. In Mbanta people did not care much about the white men but one of the ones that did and also believe in them was Nwoye. The missionaries asked for land so they can build a church, and they give them some land in the Evil forest, and the Mbanta people thought that they will go to die there, but they didn’t. The missionaries did build the church and start making them to believe in their religion. The people of Mbnata started to become Christian and believed in Jesus Crist. After a time a outcast killed a python that was the sacred animal, and the punishment for this was to make a sacrifices in a ceremony but this time was an exception. Okonkwo and other men in the clan wanted to punish the man that did it but because they were very peaceful they thought that it was a better idea to stop talking and take away all their privileges to the women and men that became Christians.

Mother Kite and Daughter Kite Chp 15 Things Fall apart

In chapter 15 we learn more about Uchendu´s personality, as and elder we can see his perspective toward life and his great wisdom. After Obierika informs them about Abame`s tragedy by the white missionaries it’s Obierika start telling them a story about a Mother kite and its daughter kite. The Mother sends its daughter to hunt food and first it brings a duckling, the mother asks her daughter, how the mother of the duckling react when she took the little duckling and she said that mother duckling didn’t do or say something, so Mother Kite said to her daughter to return the duckling because “There is something ominous behind the silence” she said. After this the daughter returns the duckling, it took a chick instead, when she came back with her mother she asked the same question and the daughter replied “It cried and raved and cursed me”, so Mother kite said “There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts”.  

In my opinion this is a message we all need to remember and know for life, sometimes everything it’s not what it seems and we need to be intelligent to see and observe how others react to the circumstances and base us in them. People react depending in what they live, if they are scared the are impulsive put if they are angry they are more vindictive. 

Things Fall Apart Chapter 7-13

Ikemefuna, the son Okonkwo always wanted, the boy that helped him with everything, was killed by the men of Umuofia and also and most painfully by Okonkwo because it was time to sacrifice him. After this Okonkwo was very sad and missed very much Ikemefuna, but because of his reputation of strong and very tough he showed the opposite to everyone, except with his friend Obierika, he got of his chest with him and told him everything about how he was feeling and Obierika said to Okonkwo that it wasn´t good to be involved in Ikemefuna´s sacrifice. After this Obierika asked Okonkwo to be the bride price business of his daughter wedding and he said yes of course. Ezinmna the daughter of Ekwefi and Okonkwo was sick of fever, and everyone was afraid that she died like all the other nine babies of Ekwefi. The community justice was based on the spirits and the judgment they did about everything, they see the problems and make the solutions. Time after, Ezeudu died, a great man and very respected by everyone on the village and because of this he had to have a big funeral, this means that they killed animals in his memory and men took guns and shoot to the sky. Okonkwo was one of the men that shoot at the sky but by mistake he shoots the son of Ezeudu, which was the biggest mistake of all. The people of Umuofia starts burning his farm, all his crops and he and his family were expelled from Umuofia for seven years, they went to Okonkwos motherland, Mbanta. Things fall apart for he and his family, and because of this they have to start from cero there life.    

Things Fall Apart Chapters 1-6

This story it’s about the Ibo tribe, there costumes and culture. There are 9 villages but were the most important events takes place it’s in Umuofia. Okonkwo the main character it’s a very known person in all the villages because he is an excellent wrestler and very wealthy man. Okonkwo´s past has change the way he acts in every way. He is a very aggressive man, he does not express himself emotionally and it’s a very impulsive person.

One day one of de nine villages killed a woman of Okonkwo´s tribe. The whole village didn’t want war, so they made an exchange the killed woman for a boy and another woman. The kid´s name was Ikemefuna; he stayed with Okonkwo and start living with him as a son.  

After some time the week of peace came by, this it’s a tradition of this tribe. This week it’s very important because is to praise the earth goodness so they would have very good crops this year. Okonkwo as a very capricious man broke the law, that you can’t bit someone at the peace week no matter what. Because of this incident there were consequences, he´s village punish him but not that hard because he was very importunate and well known.

The Feats of New Yam came along. This very special date for them, because they don’t work on the week and they stay together to eat yams. In this week are a lot of events one of them is wrestling. All nine villages are involved and each one of them have a representative boy so they can fight.  

-Elsie Rangel

African Literature

The African literature began in 2300 B.C and “ended” in 2100 B.C, in North Africa in Egypt by burial text papyrus then it descended to the Saharan Africa by oral culture, proverbs, also riddles, epic narratives, oration, personal testimony, praise poetry, songs, rituals and much more. The griots transmit all this stories and they were traveling performers. All this literature was influenced by the Islamic culture. 

The first African story was "The Sudan" by Abdal-Rahan al-sadi. When the African literature started was written in an African language called: "Swahili". When the colonization started the oral traditions and written work of Christian beliefs had a lot of ethic. These traditions were destroyed by the pagan and primitive culture because they wanted slavery. The salves narratives started in 1789 and they went on through some generations.

The Europeans helped a lot to developed education and journalism in the African culture.

The negritude started in 1920 and ended in 1930, it was made by African artist and it began because they were slaves. This part of literature was located in France mostly in Paris because it was the capital of art. The woman was a symbol of art and culture and this is called “Womanly”.

Some authors are:

·         Leopold Sedar-Senghor (1906-2001)

·         Alan Paton (1948) “Cry of The beloved Country”

·         Frantz Fanon (1967) “The Black skin)

·         And much more.

-Class notes

Chinua Achebe

He was born in November 16 of 1930 in Orgidi, Nigeria. He´s complete name is Albert Chinaulumogu Achebe. He was a novelist, poet, professor and critic. He´s childhood was raised by his parents, he was an excellent student at school and thanks to this he won scholarship for his studies. As time came by, he started to be more and more interested in the African culture and traditions. He started to write stories and novels in Brown University as a student.

In 1950´s he wrote he´s most famous book in modern African literature, that it´s called “Things fall apart” because of this he was known though all the world. Some of the novels he has written are: 

• No longer at East  (1960)
• Arrow of God (1964)
• A man of the people (1966)
• Anthills of the Savannah (1987)
• and much more. 

Albert always has written his books in English because it´s a language of colonizer.  Today this famous and world while known writer is 82 years old.

-Notes of Chinua Achebe Biography :  

• En.wikipedia.org (1930) Chinua Achebe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe [Accessed: 25 Jan 2013].
• Unc.edu (1930) Chinua Achebe's Biography and Style. [online] Available at: http://www.unc.edu/~hhalpin/ThingsFallApart/achebebio.html [Accessed: 25 Jan 2013].

Importance of Literature in Education & Development

The literature is everything that is written; it’s considered an art, a profession or a hobby for some. The literature helps us in our daily life; in everything we work on, or search for.  Thanks to the literature we have a past, a percent or future.  For centuries people has written literature expressing their culture, the time or period were they are living, myths after they were passed on, orally throw generations, emotions they are experience, discoveries, etc.

The literature is the basic tool through education and cultural information. This one gives us from the alphabet so we can write though every story or event we know from our past, present or our future. Thanks to the literature and every concept it posses we can learn more and more about the subject we desire and read about it.

Actually most of the world’s population can acquire through this information and study with it whatever they wish to. The world has developed a lot through the years because of the information that literature can provide to us, that it’s more than infinite. 

Passed generations used the literature so younger generations can do something wisely with it, and help humanity through this source. Our whole society its based on the literature we have read and learn in our career. Without literature we don’t have anything, not a future not a present and not a past, literature is everything we have, its what makes everything we do valuable and important in this world through the years and the future of our planet.