Things fell apart...

In chapter thirteen of Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", things really do fall apart. In a sudden flash, Okonkwo's life has been ruined for at least seven years. But what is intriguing is the reaction of Okonkwo's friend, Obierika. Obierika is saddened by Okonkwo's situation, and yet he can do nothing but follow the customs of their culture and help kick out Okonkwo. After Okonkwo has been kicked out, Obierika goes to his obi and "Mourns his friend's calamity." He then begins to wonder why the customs are in place, and certain rules must be followed. He then concludes that if certain rules are not followed and leniency is allowed, the Gods will be angered. Why is Okonkwo's society so strict and unmoving? How is it that a man so accomplished can be punished so harshly for one mistake?

A day in the life of Steve

The door creaked open, causing Steve's eyes to flick open. He'd been awake for about fifteen minutes already, enjoying the comfort of his twin bed and heavy covers. He waited for the steps to approach his bed, but they didn't. His mother must have seen his eyes open. Peering over to the doorway, he saw the blurry outline of his mother standing there. She had paused at the doorway, watching her son stir slowly. Then, with the expectant, "come on," she walked briskly out of the room. Jake rolled back over, thinking to himself how much he hated morning people. Finally, with a sigh, he pushed back the covers and swung his feet onto the floor. He walked slowly to the bathroom. No need to rush. He passed Martin in the hallway. The Swedish exchange student had been woken up earlier, as was custom, and now seemed wide awake and alert. Steve couldn't make out his facial features; he didn't have his contacts in yet. But he could tell by Martin's gait that he had been up for a while. Reaching the bathroom, he put in his contacts almost immediately. Steve hated not being able to see, therefore his contacts were vital to his day. Seeing quite clearly now, Steve rubbed his eyes and stepped into the shower. It ended quickly, as did breakfast and the rest of the morning routine. Steve stood by the door, waiting for Martin to finish whatever he was doing, which usually took him another fifteen minutes. But Steve got lucky today, and Martin walked briskly out of his room, carrying his running shoes. Apparently the Soccer team was running today. Steve would have been carrying his shoes too, if Mr. Turns hadn't called an emergency run-through of Act 1 of their fall play. On the drive over to school, Steve idly thought about his responsibilities while Martin handled the ipod. Sure, soccer was important and he should attend every practice, but being assistant director was even more so. So, Martin would have to explain to coach again. But coach wouldn't mind. Steve had already talked to him about it. By now, Young Seezy was blasting from the speakers, and Steve had relaxed into the drive. Too bad they had just pulled into the school parking lot. Steve parked the car in his usual spot, turned off the engine and grabbed his backpack from the back seat. He then walked up the ramp to school with Martin and entered the quad, immediately striking up a healthy conversation with his friend Larry. Larry always got to school early, so Steve could rely on some entertainment the moment he got to school. All too soon the bell rang, and Steve was off to class. 1st block was statistics. It went by slowly, as was custom. Steve had the next block free, and spent the time chatting with Lucy, who was always fun to talk to. On the way to Morning Meeting, Steve realized he never really did much work in his frees. Steve disregarded that thought, reminding himself that there wasn't much homework for him anyways, being a Senior. Morning meeting was a drag, as usual. With no announcements that pertained to him, time slowly marched by, while people's announcements gradually got longer and longer. Finally, it was over, and Steve was off to Government. He couldn't pay much attention today, he was way too hungry. Finally, the lunch bell rang, and Steve briskly walked to the line of pizza buyers. Upon purchasing his pizza, he sat down with Larry and some other friends, and listened to them talk about some upcoming football game. Steve liked football, but he would never get into it as much as his friends did. After a little while, the bell rang and Jake walked to Mr. Turns' room, where he had Advanced theatre. There, he worked on his scene with Lucy until the class ended. they were making good progress, but Steve wasn't sure they'd be ready to perform it by next week. But, he and Lucy had the next block free, so they worked on it even more. Satisfied with their work, The two of them left school towards the end of the block and got slurpees at the Seven Eleven. School ended after that, and Steve once again walked over to Mr. Turns' room. Rehearsal was productive, it seemed as though the actors had taken Mr. Turns' words to heart, and memorized their lines. Rehearsal therefore ended early, and Steve hung out in the quad until Martin was done with practice. Finally, Martin was done, so he and Steve headed home, all the while talking to each other about the day. Steve's mom had already prepared dinner for them by the time they got home, so they ate quickly, devouring the food and satiating their hunger. Martin then disappeared into his room, muttering something about homework. He had plenty of it, being a junior. Steve also went to his room, saying the same excuse. there, he took out his stats and looked at it for a while, then decided against it and put his backpack away. It was getting pretty late (dinner was a big deal at Steve's house), so he lazily got ready for bed, taking his time to carefully do each of his nightly rituals fully and completely. When he finally climbed into bed, he was very ready to do so, and drifted off almost immediately. (909)

reflections on The Spiderman Blog

I be sittin here chillin tryin tah write mah blawg,

But nuttin's in mah mind, gotta shake da thoughts off,

Crazy thoughts runnin' tru' mah head,

So I think I right 'em down, just do that instead.

It's dem thoughts about life, that's plaguin' mah mind,

Who I is, what I done, and who I've become,

I feel like I put mahself inside a bind,

What has been, what's tah come, is dis life any fun?

It's dem thoughts a her, an' who she be,

I tried tah change up mah style but she sees tru' me,

I guess I am what I am, I cain't change wheneva,

Cain't become what she wants, I just ain't that cleva,

It's dem thoughts about me, an' how I look,

Can da outside world read me like a book?

Do dey examine my life, judge e'ry step i took,

To dem I play like a pawn, or do I rove like a rook?

It's dem thought's a mah style, that I be thinkin 'bout,

Is I an arrogant fool beyond a reasonable doubt?

That ain't what I wanna be, that ain't who I oughta be,

I better come off that high chair an' see what I gotta see.

All dese thoughts in mah head, now that dey've been put down,

jus' make me think a that spidahman clown,

An' how he said to put yah life in his shoes,

An' see that it's difficult to live a life like da fool's,

Well, spidey boy I gotta answer ya now,

And after some reflection here's jus' what i found,

E'rybody's life ain't easy, jus' like dey might show,

we all got some hardships, it's jus' part a da flow,

Life is a challenge, no matta what we do,

Whether ya got a blog tah write or ya got swine flu,

ya gotta save da world, or ya gotta go tah school,

But I guess that's da point that I'm tryin' to prove,

So, yes, we got flaws in our "costume suits,"

An' sometimes what we say, in our hearts ain't true,

But if we work hard an' try tah change da impression,

We jus' might end up teachin' others a lesson.

-I decided to write my blog entry like this for a few reasons. Firstly, I really enjoyed the style in which James Hall's poem is written, and wanted to give it a shot, with a modern twist. And secondly, the spiderman in the poem inspired me to write about my own struggles with my identity, who I am, and what I'm perceived as. This led me to think about other people's perceptions of themselves and others, and gives rise to the end of my poem. Overall, I think that we put on disguises and assume identities for a reason, and being judgmental is a major part of modern society. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, it just is. But what I've discovered is that these impressions, especially when hindering or harmful, are hard to break: one cannot easily go back on what society has deemed them. This makes redemption and reinvention nigh impossible, unless we really do work hard and try to change the impression. (536)

Antigone's Historical significance

Greek mythology has always held a special place in my heart. It does not matter whether I am reading about the fall of Troy or the triumph of a young Theseus over the Minotaur, the stories of old have always fascinated me. So when I learned that I would be reading Antigone by Sophocles for English IV, I was pleasantly surprised. I was familiar, of course, with the play, but had never taken the time to read it. But what truly captured my attention when read Antigone was its theme's historical relevance. The idea of martyrdom, or dying for what you believe in, has been a central theme throughout the course of history, and its complexities were beautifully captured in Sophocles' play. Whether it was the French resistance to Hitler's iron rule in World War Two, or the bloody American Revolution, humankind has always believed that there were things worth dying for. Antigone still holds relevance in today's war-torn world, as many radical muslim factions wage Jihad on foreign troops, just as the crusaders waged their "holy wars" over the desert surrounding Jerusalem.

While Antigone's choice to die for the sake of upholding a "Higher Law" is not as extravagant and destructive as a car bomb, the similarities between the two are quite apparent. Both commit suicide in order to further their belief, albeit Antigone's method is more indirect than that of a terrorist. And both martyrs have an effect on their targets: Creon is reduced to a raving madman at the end of Antigone, and the car bomber strikes chaos and fear into the unsuspecting community, damaging the public order and hindering the government's progress. Also, both are unchangeable, permanent, and life-ending. These actions carry a certain magnitude with them; the idea that someone believes so strongly in something that they are willing to die for it means that this idea carries weight. It is an ideal that has become a movement, which in turn has become a force to be reckoned with. And every force to be reckoned with is dangerous.

Antigone is an interesting take on an obviously ancient theme. The idea of losing one's own life is frightening, but especially moving when the ultimate sacrifice is given for a belief. This theme has raised armies, crushed tyrants, and spread chaos all around the world, and continues to do so today. (394)

My Ten Most Memorable Books

1. The Amber Sypyglass- The final book in the His Dark Materials Series was moving and creative, redoing the story of creation told by the Bible.
2. The Bible, more specifically, The book of Revelations- This is the end-all be-all of apocalyptic stories, and I was intrigued by its design from an early age
3. Judgment Day- This tale of a renegade christian cult who comes across a god-given technology is a compelling story. The reenactment of WACO is tragic, especially when told from the side of the cult.
4. Mortal Engines- The idea of a post-apocalyptic world where cities moved on wheels and ate each other was so fantastic, it was almost believable. The world created in this book was fascinating.
5. Brisingr- Christopher Paolini's conclusion to the Inheritance trilogy was engaging, as well as very exciting.
6. Inkspell- The second story of a group of people who could read characters out of books was really an interesting tale, and better than the first.
7. The Steel Wave- An interesting take on historical fiction, this book caught me because of its engaging battle scenes and war-room sequences. It is a great D-Day book.
8. Gregor The Overlander- This was yet another fantastical idea that stated that there were civilizations of people, giant rats, and other enlarged creatures living under New York City.
9. Summerland- Though I am not the biggest fan of Baseball, this fantasy-esque take on the sport and the world in general was extremely fun to read.
10. The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown's epic interested me not because of the story, but of the concept of Jesus having children and a bloodline.

Reflections upon reading the curious incident of the dog in the night-time

When I first picked up The curious incident of the dog in the night-time a few weeks ago, I was immediately transfixed. The compelling and tragic story of an autistic child living in modern-day England was interesting enough, but the author Mark Hadden's chosen style -to narrate through the mind of the child itself- gave the book an interesting and thought-provoking twist. Because Hadden decided to narrate through the perspective of a fifteen year-old boy with autism, I -as the reader- often found myself relating to his struggles, even though I do not have autism. It might be because I was once diagnosed with ADD, but when I was younger (much younger than fifteen, however), I would find myself doing things, both physically and mentally, that were very similar to the actions and thoughts of Christopher Boone (the main character). Things such as forcing myself to only walk on certain colored tiles in the house, or flicking my eyes back and forth in patterns, or walking to certain beats in my head; these were all habits that I formed at a very young age and took me a while to break. This is why I felt a connection to Christopher, even though my habits were not nearly as pronounced or as hindering as his. These similarities that I found between an early me and Christopher made the book feel authentic; it gave me a sense of understanding of Christopher's position, no matter how small the similarities between us might have been.
While there were some noticeable similarities between my younger self and Christopher Boone, I did find that the two differed on several things, the main one being thought processes. While Christopher uses cold hard logic and numbers to solve his problems, I often thought about life and people in a much more moral way. For example; Christopher wouldn't speak with anyone until he had spent an extended time period with them and deemed them acceptable and trustworthy, while I was almost immediately trusting of a person if they were introduced in the proper manner. Also, Christopher believed solely in science and thought that everything could be explained through application of the logical scientific method. I, on the other hand, believed, and still believe, that there are some things out there that cannot be explained solely through science.
Overall, these similarities and differences that I found between an earlier Jake Villadolid and the autistic Christopher Boone made for a very engaging read. It made me think about my brain and the way my mind works in a totally new perspective, while giving me insight towards the different mind set that autistic children are blessed, and cursed with. (447)