Post-Reading: Things Fall Apart

2. "To show affection was a sign of weakness, the only thing worth demonstrating was strength."

There are many people who feel like this. Most people would immediately think that a man would be the only to say/think that, but some women feel like that too. Sometimes people who have experienced a lot of emotional pain feel like this (whether they are men or women) because they don’t want people to think they are weak and try to hurt them or because they simply don’t want to be hurt again. Thinking/feeling that is bad in my opinion because showing affection isn’t a sign a weakness, it is a sign that your are brave and strong. I believe that because to put yourself out there emotionally like that is hard sometimes because you are giving people the power to hurt you- you could get hurt by the person you care about or people can use that person to get to you- and that takes a lot of courage. 
There are examples of this quote all throughout the book Things Fall Apart. Okonkwo doesn’t show any affection to his children or his wives. He does this because the village/tribe he is from is one the most feared and he has to live up to that. A lot of the things he does is so that no one will think that he is weak. He also doesn’t show any sign of affection out of fear of becoming like his father. His father was a poor man whose wife and kids barely had enough to eat. He was said to be a coward and he couldn’t stand the sight of blood and he owed all of his neighbors money. Okonkwo was dominated by the fear of becoming a failure of becoming like his father, of becoming agbala. That is why this quote was like a motto to him. He feared doing anything that would make him look weak or anything like his father. That is why he killed Ikemefuna who was like a son to him. He killed him because he was afraid of looking weak to all the men that were there. In Okonkwo’s mind the only way to not be agbala was to never show anything but strength. He ruled his home with an iron fist, he worked all day and made sure that his family didn’t slack off. If they did they would get constant nagging and a beating, especially Nwoye, his eldest son.

In conclusion, I don’t agree with the quote because I believe that showing love and affection is a sign of strength and courage because there are millions of possibilities of getting hurt because of that affection and love. This quote is important in the book Things Fall Apart because it describes the way people lived/thought in Umuofia, Nigeria. The main character Okonkwo was afraid of losing the titles he held and becoming like his father so he never showed anything other than strength and he used this quote as a kind of motto.

Pre-Reading: Things Fall Apart

3. Many people are afraid of change.  Discuss a time when change was destructive, and discuss a time when change was beneficial.  Why are people so afraid of change?

Many people are afraid of change. Why? Because they don’t know what to expect. I, personally am not afraid of change. Though I do get nervous, but I am not afraid of change.  Sometimes change can be a bad thing, for example moving across the country. This would be a bad thing because not just because you are leaving all your family and friends behind but also because you leaving everything familiar and entering uncharted territory. But something good could come out of that. You could find better opportunities, like going to a better school/college or a better job. I believe something good always comes out of change.  Most people are afraid of change because they don’t know what’s going to happen and can’t prepare for it. It could also be that they are afraid because they can’t always control when or how things will change.

There are times when change can be beneficial, for example when slavery was abolished in the mid to late 1860’s. This was beneficial to all the African Americans who were held against their will as slaves. It took years for things to change and even after slavery was abolished that didn’t stop people from being racist. There are also times when change can be destructive. For example when Hitler/the Nazi’s took over Germany. They committed mass genocide, so many people died. So many women and children died. So many kids left without out parents, so many parents whose kids were killed.

In conclusion change can both be beneficial and destructive, but good things can also come out of the bad. When the Nazi’s controlled Germany they committed mass genocide, but they also helped the country become more prosperous, Germany came out of the depression it was in under the control of Hitler. That doesn’t make up for the millions of people killed during the Holocaust nor does it excuse or make any of it better, but it does show that even in the most dire of situations a little bit of good/improvement can happen.

Post-Reading: Tell The Wolves I'm Home

3. "Once you know something, you can't ever unknow it."

To me this quote means that once you know something, no matter how much you want to, you can’t just unknow it. So many people can relate to this quote. So many people go through things they wish they hadn’t and want to forget, but they know they can’t. Like finding out a family secret. And no matter how hard you try you can’t forget about it. Sometimes you do things to keep your mind off of it, but eventually someone does something to remind you.

When you first find out something you want to forget you are shocked, too shocked to move. You feel like your world is collapsing and there is nothing you can do about it. You try to forget it, but you can’t. Sometimes the thing you learned is so bad you just want to forget it and go back to what it was like before you knew. But it’s better to let it out, to tell your friends or someone you trust, because if you keep it all inside one day everything will come out, and there is no stopping it.

In Tell The Wolves I’m Home June finds out about her uncle Finn’s “special friend,” Toby’s past, the secret room he hid in. She tries to push them out of her mind, but she can’t. Just like she tries to forget and ignore the fact that Toby was the one who gave Finn AIDS. She didn’t forget any of it, but she did forgive Toby and she became his friend. I think this was the right thing to do. Unlike her parents and sister who hated Toby, she forgave him and they became friends.

June wanted to completely forget everything that she had learned since Finn’s death. Toby, the hidden room in the basement of Finn’s apartment, her mom’s secrets and Greta’s. She wanted to forget all these things and go back to the things were before Finn died. But by the end of the book she accepted them and she felt like nothing could get to her.

In conclusion I agree with the quote. No matter how much you want to you can’t ever unknow something. You can’t forget because it changes you. Whether that be the way you see or the way you act, knowing something important (like June finding out Toby gave Finn AIDS) changes how you see someone. And a lot of the time these secrets you learn make you stronger they make you feel like nothing can get to you because you have already been through so much.

Pre-Reading: Tell The Wolves I'm Home

1. Despite any family issues one's family might have, everyone has one family member who is truly special to them.  Write a blog about the family member you have the most special connection with (alive or someone who has already passed).  Explain why this person is so special to you, share experiences with them, etc.

I’ve always been very close to all my cousins and my family, but I hang out with some more than others. The family member I have the most special connection with is my cousin, Ilse. We are the same age (she is only three months older than me) and I think that is one of the reasons we are so close. Another reason why we are so close is because she practically lived at my house. Her mom worked all day and my mom took care of her and her brother because she didn’t work. I am also very close to my brother and my cousin, Axel (Ilse’s brother) because they were the one’s who took care of us since they were 2 years older than us. But I am closer to Ilse because when our brothers went to play soccer with their friends they didn’t like taking us (even though Ilse is really good at it), they didn't want to deal with us so we had to stay home and we only had each other as company.

When we were younger I was even extremely shy and didn’t talk to people if I didn’t know them, so my cousin would always defend me if anyone was being mean to me. She has always been my protector and I have always been the one to support her when her parents were against her going/doing something. We have always been there for each other and she is like my sister.

I also remember that when both Ilse and Axel had a sleepover at my house we would always play tricks on our brothers and stay up late talking about our day or just random things. She is one of the few people who knows everything there is to know about me. And she is also one of the few people who is on the same level of crazy as me. When we are hanging out I can always be myself. And even though we always have disagreements we can’t stay mad at each other for long.

Ilse is so special because she can always tell how I’m feeling. But we are very alike which can be very catastrophic sometimes because we are both so stubborn and we don’t always have the same opinions on certain topics which almost always ends up in a huge argument, but like 5 minutes later we are best friends again. Even though now that we are older and live farther apart and don’t see each other as much as we used to, but she is still like my sister and is the person I am closest to.

Post-Reading: The House of The Scorpion

"I always say the truth is best even when we find it unpleasant.....lying is the most personal act of cowardice there is."

To me this quote means that no matter the consequences lying is an act of cowardice. No matter what the consequences you should always tell the truth. You need to know the truth even though sometimes it’s unpleasant because in the end it could end up helping you. This quote is true, in my opinion, because if you are lying it is because you are afraid of the consequences that will come when the truth comes out and you aren’t courageous enough to tell the truth. Sometimes you are afraid of telling the truth because it hurts the people/person you love, but wouldn’t you want someone to tell you the truth no matter what? I hate it when people lie or "keep the truth" from me. I always want to know the truth no matter the consequences. That is why I always tell my friends and family the truth, even if it isn’t what they want to here.

Sometimes the truth helps you. For example if your ask your friend if your idea is good or not, and it's not, but they tell you it is and the next day you go and present it in front of your coworkers and boss, you make a fool of yourself. Or what if you were doing the presentation to get a promotion? You wouldn't have gotten it and it might have ruined your chances of ever getting a promotion in the future. It would have been better if your friend had just told you it was a bad idea, it might have hurt your feelings, but then you wouldn't have embarrassed yourself in front of your coworkers and boss. The people telling the truth (usually) understand the uncomfortableness and unpleasantry that the truth will cause, but they have enough courage to do the right thing, telling the truth.

In the House of The Scorpion Tam Lin and everyone else (including Celia and Maria) thought that Matt had killed Maria's dog -Furball- to get her to talk to him. Matt keeps telling him and everyone else that he didn't, but they don't believe him. I mean why would they? He is a clone after all and he also kidnapped Furball and wrote a ransom note -which he signed- but Tam Lin expects Matt to tell the truth and is disappointed that Matt isn’t telling the truth (but he is).

In the book so many people keep secrets and tell lies -I mean they are working for or are the family of a drug lord- and according to this quote all those people were doing a really cowardly thing, and I agree with that because to tell the truth you need to be strong and courageous to handle everything that comes after the truth is set free. An example of someone lying is Maria’s father - Senator Mendoza. He lied to Maria and told her that her mother had died, when she had actually left and and became set on taking down El Patron’s empire and destroying Opium.

In conclusion I agree with the quote on that “... the truth is best even when we find it unpleasant... lying is the most personal act of cowardice there is.” I feel like you should always tell the truth and that telling the truth can sometimes take courage and strength. It doesn’t always because sometimes the truth isn’t always bad, you may actually like your friends ideas and believe that they are amazing or you may think that they are wearing the prettiest dress in the world. And like John 8:32 says “... the truth will set you free.”

Pre-Reading: The House of the Scorpion

Think of the following two words: conscience and friendship.  Explain how each word influences decision making.  When making decisions which is a "bigger influence" for you and why?

Conscience and friendship influence you when you are making decisions. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's not. Friendship influences you because you don't want your friends to be mad at you for doing something they don't like. Also if your friend asks you to do something you want to do/try or help them do it. Conscience is also an influence on decision making because sometimes someone will ask you to do something you don’t agree with and your conscience tells you what to do.

Sometimes your friends will ask you to do something you know is wrong; some will do it, others won’t. Some will do it to impress or to keep the friendship. The ones who don’t do it are the ones I look up to, they don’t do something just because they were asked to do it. They are brave and strong to go against what their friends asked them to do. I don’t think you should do something you know is wrong just because your friends or even your family asked you. Everyone is different, some will do anything for their friends/family. While some take the time to think things through and see if the outcome is worth having to deal with the repercussion of doing something that is wrong. If your friends are true friends than they will forgive you. They will understand that you don’t want to do it. They would understand the toll it would take on you emotionally and/or physically. If they don’t understand or can’t forgive you for not doing it, then they aren’t true friends. They don’t care about you enough to understand that if you do something that goes against what you believe or that is wrong it will take a toll on you emotionally, that you might never be the same because of it.

Some people let their friends decide what to do for them, or let them influence their decisions. These decisions aren’t always about doing good or bad, sometimes it’s about something like what college you apply to. You want to stay with your friends so you apply to the same college/university as them even if you don’t want to go or have an opportunity to go to a top college. When I am making decisions conscience is a bigger influence on me. I wouldn’t do something that I know and/or believe is wrong even if my friends asked me to do it. Conscience is a bigger influence on me because I believe that it is better to have my closest friends being angry or disappointed in me than to have my conscience weighing me down because I did something that is wrong. If I did something that I know is wrong just because my friends asked me to do it, I don’t think I would be able to forgive myself. My conscience would never let me forget about it.

For me my conscience is a bigger influence on my decisions than my friends. Even though I do take them into consideration, my conscience, in the end is what is a bigger influence on my decision making.

Post-Reading: Ship Breaker

"You toss your luck in the air and it rattles down on the gambling boards and you either live or die."

To me this quote means that sometimes you just have to see what your luck will give you. You are either lucky and get what you were hoping for or you are unlucky and you don’t. There are many times when people put their fate in luck. For example when you buy a lottery ticket you don’t know if you are going to win or lose, you are seeing how lucky/unlucky you are. Also you sometimes put your fate in other people and it is their choices and decisions that decide what happens to you. For example when you go to court you put your fate in 12 people who know nothing about you and your reasons for doing whatever you did.

In the book Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi the ship breakers (beach rats, ship rats, etc) believe in Fates and luck. They view it as a religion. They give offerings to the Fates so that nothing bad would happen to them and so that they could get lucky. Whenever something happened -good or bad- they say it was because of the Fates. For example when Nailer gets out of the room (which he was trapped in) everyone says that the Fates were on his side and some even give him gifts so that they can be close to Fates. Another example of how the quote applies to the book is found on page 86 and 87. “The captain hadn't been lucky. And now Nailer and Pima were flush because of it.” Nailer and Pima find a downed clipper ship. While scavenging the ship for anything light they find the body of the captain. Nailer realizes that the captains bad luck is his good luck. I think that their is almost always a trade. Your good luck is someone else’s bad luck. Another example is when Nailer is stuck in the room filled with oil. Nailer decides that trying to escape is better than dying without trying. When he goes under to try and open the door he is putting his fate in luck.  

In conclusion this quote doesn’t just apply to the book, it applies to real life too. There are many instances when this happens. For example when you do something dangerous. Yes, when you do something dangerous it is because you know how to do it and are depending on your skill and whatever equipment you have, but your luck decides whether it is successful or not. Examples of this quote are shown all throughout the book, from the beginning to the end. Nailer and all the other ship breakers see Fates as their religion, and luck is a big part of how they live.