Things Are Starting to Fall Apart...

   Chapters 12-19 were the most eventful and exciting chapters I've read so far in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo accidentally kills a deceased elder man's son, "In the center of the crowd lay a pool of blood. It was the dead man's sixteen year old son...Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy's heart," (Achebe 124). Okonkwo and his family are exiled from the village of Umuofia. He can return to the village in seven years, as opposed to never returning to the village, because he accidentally killed the boy.

    Okonkwo, along with his wives and children, travels to Okonkwo's motherland, Mbantu. There, the book introduces Uchendu, his mother's brother. Uchendu earned the spot as my favorite character in the  book with just one speech to Okonkwo, "A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you...And that is why we say that mother is supreme," (Achebe 134). He puts Okonkwo in his place, and I like that he is so firm but caring at the same time. To be honest, I've become a little annoyed with Okonkwo, and reading this scene between him and Uchendu eases my irritation. 

    The white men, or missionaries, move into the villages. I'm surprised to read that they do not force the villagers to convert, at least not at yet. Instead, the missionaries give speeches about God to inspire the villagers to convert to Christianity. "'We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die,'" (Achebe 145). The missionaries could genuinely be trying to "save" the people of the villages, and they seem to be doing so peacefully, but I don't like how they disrupt the lives of the villagers. I agree with Okonkwo; I would be very angry if people invaded my village and started to change everything I'd ever believed in. 

     At the end of Chapter 19, Okonkwo and his family prepare for the journey back to Umuofia. Zwoye  is already back in Umuofia, because of his decision to convert to Christianity. Missionaries have built a church in Umuofia, which leads me to think that a lot of villagers have also converted. I'm nervous to see how Part Three of the book will play out.

Lisa Bu: The Magic of Books

Lisa Bu begins the TED talk explaining how, as a child, her parents made her think that she had to become an engineer in order to become a successful, happy adult. Lisa had been trained in gymnastics for two years, and the government offered to send her to a school for athletes on a scholarship, but her parents insisted she stay on the track to a well-paid job. She also explains how, after the gymnastics phase, she desperately wanted to become a Chinese opera singer. She went to great lengths to try to make this happen, even writing a letter to the principal of a Chinese opera school, but nobody seemed to take her seriously. At 15 years old, it became clear that any opportunities of turning her Chinese opera singer dream into a reality had passed, because one had to begin training Chinese opera from a young age for the necessary experience.

Lisa then explains how she turned to books for "parental advice". She certainly did not want to follow in her parent's footsteps in becoming an engineer, but she did not know what else she could become. However, Lisa found inspirations in the books she read. For example, she claims she found a role model in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, because Jane was an independent woman.

One of my favorite parts of the TED talk was when Lisa excitedly says books "have given her a magic portal to connect with people of the past and present", and that with books she "knows she will never feel lonely or powerless again". Finally, Lisa says that "coming true is not the only purpose of a dream; it's most important purpose is getting in touch with where dreams come from, where passion comes from, where happiness comes from". With those last lines, Lisa's point really hit home with me. Without books, I don't think I would be the person I am today. I am inspired by everything I read, and I take away meaningful insight from every author (and character). Books allow me to dream and set goals for myself, which is exactly what Lisa Bu learned from them, too.