Monologue

Nwoye speaking to Ezinma:

You just do not understand, Ezinma.  You shouldn't have come to beg me to go home.  I won't.  I cannot go back to that place.  I now belong with the missionaries here in Umuofia.  And I know you are shocked.  Me, Nwoye, a soft-hearted coward who never disobeyed anyone finally built up the courage to stand up for myself.  I have never told anyone this but growing up, I knew I was different from the other men here.  I did not act nor thought the way our father did.  In fact, I much preferred the stories mother used to tell us about animals and nature than our father's stories about blood, gore, and war.  At first, I thought this was acceptable.  I mean, what was wrong with a young boy simply being himself?  But soon, I noticed the disgust in my father's eyes as he talked about our grandfather, Unoka, who was very much as soft-hearted as I.  And then, I started to see that he looked at me the same way, and you do not have a clue how much that hurt me.  I was always afraid of making mistakes and afraid of being a disappointment.  The sadness I had stored inside kept building up with every hurtful word father said to me ...until a miracle came into our lives.  Ikemefuna became like a brother to me.  Do you remember that?  He taught me activities fit for a man as father never had the patience to.  And with my new founded interest, father finally took notice in me.  The bond between him and I grew strong and I could honestly say that I was happy again.  I remember the night he invited Ikemefuna and I into his obi and we just shared tales for hours and hours.  I would kill to live that night once again.  How could father take that away from me?  How could he let them kill Ikemefuna, a brother I never had but loved so dearly?  I cried myself to sleep many nights after, of course making sure father could not hear me.  It was always about trying to impress him and being someone I was not and I just got tired of that.  I no longer felt loved by anyone and I yearned to feel a belonging.  And I guess that is why I became a Christian.  I fit into a community without having to change the person I really am.  I know that you will never understand my motives Ezinma, but you never had father look at you with such hatred.  I have never told you this before but I truly envy you.  I miss home and sometimes I wish that I had never left our family but this fire in me that I have never felt before told me that this is the right thing to do.  I need to find the true me and to fill the curiousity I have within.  I need to know that there is another way out there in this vast world of ours and that the customs we follow with sacrifices and murder is never a solution.  Father had always thought of me as lazy but he does not know of the drive and determination I am capable of.  He does not know me and he never will because I am not going back to him Ezinma.  But don't worry, I will come back for my brothers, sisters, and my mother and I will shed the light upon you as Christianity has done to me.  As for now, you must leave as I have a church service to attend to.  Please take care of yourself and the family.  I will be seeing you soon. 

Do Not Judge a Book By the First Few Chapters

            After reading the first few chapters, I was certain that Okonkwo was a hero.  He would have been considered a great hero in the middle ages as he is strong, loyal to his clan, and proud of his achievements.  I also thought he was much like a modern day hero as well.  In his childhood, Okonkwo was given very little as his father was not a successful man.  However, Okonkwo worked hard and gained fame and fortune as he grew older.  Because of this, I found Okonkwo to be very inspirational and determined, making him a modern day hero. 
             My opinion started to change as I continued with the novel.  The man who was greatly respected by his fellow clansman was in fact not a very good man at all.  He beat his wives and children and did not feel sympathy for anyone.  Often, Okonkwo would not listen to the opinion of others and found his own to be the most important.  His own son's feelings were ridiculed just because Okonkwo did not agree with them.  Nwoye was disowned after his father became aware of his interest in Christianity.  A hero is supposed to be open-minded and listen to what others have to say.  Okonkwo kept his focus on his own achievements and reputation, and that is not what a hero does.  A hero would put others in front of their own well-being.  What destroyed Okonkwo was his need to be accepted by others.  He needed his achievements to be recognized and praised in order to keep his self-esteem high.  One of his only goals in life was to be the opposite of his father, a man who passed away without any titles.  A hero has confidence and respects himself as well as others.  This was something Okonkwo was not capable of as he often took his anger out on his wife and children. 
               With all these factors, this man is definitely not who I would consider a hero.  The ending of the novel was what made my opinion final.  Okonkwo's suicide shows that he is not as strong as others thought he was.  In fact, he is a coward.  He took his own life just because his life was not going the way he planned.  He felt betrayed because some of his clansmen decided to become Christians.  Okonkwo's burning anger got the best of him and before he took his own life, he killed an important missionary.  A hero would fight for their cause despite the obstacles that come their way.  To me, Okonkwo is not a hero as he contradicts the characteristics a hero should possess.

Liar Liar

         In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-time by Mark Haddon, the central conflict is between Christopher, the protagonist and his father, Ed Boone.  Ed is very protective of Christopher because he is afraid that his only son, who has Asperger's Syndome, will get hurt by others.  This results in him making up multiple white lies in order to prevent Christopher from discovering the haunting truth.  In the beginning of the novel, Christopher starts off wanting to solve the mystery of the murder of Wellington, his neighbour's dog.  He begins his investigation by asking his neighbours questions and snooping in their yards.  Christopher comes close to solving the mystery as he narrows down the possible suspects but his father tries to stop him from furthering the investigation.  Ed hides the notebook Christopher uses to record his observations and track the progress he makes with the mystery.  Also, Ed sternly tells Christopher that he must not ask anymore questions about Wellington.  Christopher disobeys his father and continues the investigation only to unravel yet another mystery.  Christopher goes into his father's room to search for his notebook and stumbles upon letters addressed to himself written by his mother.  He uncovers the truth that his father had tried so hard to hide from him.  A couple years ago, Ed informs his son that his mother had passed away from a heart attack.  However, the letters were written after her death and he soon realizes his mother had not died.  In fact, she left Ed for another man and moved to London.  This leaves Christopher hurt and confused as his father is one of the only few people he can trust.  Ed tries to explain his motive but Christopher refuses to listen.  Right when Christopher feels that nothing else can go wrong, his father also reveals that it was him who murdered Wellington.  He wonders how he can ever believe the words his father tells him again and Christopher starts to feel alone and scared.  His mind starts to churn and Christopher realizes that it is a possibility his father might try to kill him as he also killed Wellington.  With this idea in mind, Christopher decides that his only chance of survival is to secretly take a train to London and look for his mother.  The conflict between Christopher and his father is not yet resolved and it is unknown if Christopher will go through with his plan.
           This situation is easily relatable because every person in this world has told a lie in order to prevent someone else from getting hurt.  A white lie can be as shocking as the one Ed told his son or as small as telling your little sibling that the meal they cooked for you with ingredients you are afraid to know is delicious.  I believe that there are some instances in which lying is acceptable.  A few years ago a good friend gave me an item of clothing for my birthday.  It was in a colour I look horrible in and had a cut and style I would never wear.  Not wanting to hurt her feelings, I put on my brightest smile and told her I loved it.  Sometimes telling someone the truth does more bad than good.  It would only cause drama and conflict between us if I told her that her gift was not something I would wear.  She went out of her way to purchase it for me and even if it was not exactly on point, she still put a good amount of thought into it.  Ed's lie may seem unjust and he could have gone about it in a different way but it is plain to see that his only motive was to protect his beloved son.

Post-colonialism then and now

        Post-colonialism is the aftermath and result of colonialism.  It began to take place when Europeans traveled to other countries in order to gain resources.  However, they did not agree with the beliefs and traditions of these people and replaced them with what they thought was a proper lifestyle.  The Europeans felt superior to those with a different skin color and therefore, felt it was necessary for the indigenous people of these nations to learn the European way of living. 
       Many people are unaware that post-colonialism is still happening in the world.  Even though racism is greatly frowned upon, why is it that so many of us are ashamed to be in our own skin?  The media plants ideas in our minds that we have to look a certain way to be considered beautiful.  We cannot help but think that features a white female would possess, such as big colored eyes and light hair and skin, is attractive due to the commercials and ads we see everyday.  For many people, it is difficult for them to be satisfied with their appearance when there are easily accessible ways for them to completely change the way they look such as plastic surgery and whitening products.  In Japan, there is a popular trend called 'gyaru'.  There are many tutorials on Youtube of girls who show how to achieve this look and they often require countless steps in their makeup routines.  These looks include coloured contacts, which have become very popular recently.  Most girls wear blue, gray, light brown or green contacts lenses that have a wider diameter than your natural pupils; therefore, making your eyes appear larger.  The makeup gurus also show other techniques to form the illusion of doll-like eyes such as wearing false eye lashes and adding white eyeliner.  They even contour their noses with brown makeup to make them appear slimmer.  Below is an example of a gyaru makeup tutorial.