Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - Book Critique

“That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog…” (208)

Things Fall Apart is an unbiased fiction book that provides a great view of the Ibo culture and its interaction with the “white man.” In the beginning of the book, we take a look at the life of Okonkwo in the clan Umuofia. It is noticeable that the role of man is violent but heroic, and you must act that way or you will not be considered a man. We find Okonkwo beating his wives, which also shows that the Ibo believe in polygamy. They are also polytheistic, believing that everyone has their own god, which they call chi.

They have an oracle who is believed to be in close contact with one of the gods, and he is approached when help and advice is needed. Once in a while they have large parties, and unfortunately Okonkwo shot a woman in the clan. This is very bad for his ego because he is well known throughout Umuofia, and being sent to his mother’s clan, Mbanta, would weaken his connection with his people, and he would be forgotten. He is banished for seven years, and during this time, the white men came into Umuofia and built a Catholic Church and schools in the area. Once he returned they were already settled, and this was good news for some, like Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye. But, there are still others with Okonkwo that are upset. Okonkwo gets in trouble and is whipped by the Commissioner, and this just later angered him more. He kills one of the Commissioner’s men, and then he kills himself.

Okonkwo is a very strong representation of the Ibo culture. After seeing his father, Unoka, “fail” in life, he didn’t want that to happen to him, so he wanted to be a well-known warrior and be respected. He would constantly act violently, but violence was what he stood for. The culture accepted this attitude, but when the white man saw people acting like this, he thought it was a corrupt community. I personally do not like Okonkwo, but I respect him for his representation of his culture, and he should have the right to stand for it. The white men did bring the culture benefits, but their rules took away the purpose of the people’s lives like that of Okonkwo’s. Okonkwo commits suicide because his life vision has died, and his son went off with the Christians. His life was deeply immersed in the culture for so long, and when it was gone, he had no choice.

Here is my poem that shows what life was like for Okonkwo when the white men came:

He’s trying to be a man,

Trying to be a warrior.

Afraid of being Unoka once more.

A man from another planet,

He returns to find home inside out.

Who he knew to be Is now worth nothing.

He’s trying to find a scent that is no more.
He doesn’t understand why Nwoye has gone.

His life is like a car without fuel

On a “not a through” street

That is only one way

An ape living in Antarctica.
His fright of realization

That feels like extermination.

A game that no one will play.

The church devoured his title.

He can no longer live – no way.

The white men of the Catholic Church were both a positive and negative influence. Mr. Brown, for example, was a very pleasant man, and he applied what he knew about the Ibo culture to the Church, bridging connections, which resulted in followers from the clan. This decision that the people of Umuofia made only gave them opportunities, and especially for the women. However, another white man, Mr. Smith, was not compromising. He saw blacks as corrupt, evil people. His goal with the Ibo culture was more to fix them and change them from their “evil ways” instead of help them. Even though they have helped some of them, they have destroyed the Ibo culture even if they meant to or not.

This book could open the eyes of many people. History has been written in the way that gives glory to the conqueror, and doesn’t ever tell the other side of the story. Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apartin the way that shows you what really happened, but never gives you his opinion. There might be many people that haven’t heard the overview of this sort of story, and might think exactly what Mr. Smith thinks – that the Ibo culture was evil and corrupt. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about the Ibo and also discover they are not cultureless. This book definitely will change the way people think for the better.

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Anchor Books, New York. 1959.

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz - Book Critique

“BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD. DON’T TAKE THINGS PERSONALLY. DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST.” - Don Miguel Ruiz

The Four Agreements is a small book about how the Toltecs live and think. Don Miguel Ruiz compiled all the information about he and his family act within this culture. It is called the Four Agreements because he simplified this Toltec wisdom into four rules- be impeccable with your word, don’t take things personally, don’t make assumptions, and always do your best. If you follow through with these agreements, even if you make mistakes, you will eventually reach heaven, in the emotional sense of the word.

Let me explain briefly the meaning of each of the agreements. To be impeccable with your word means to speak without sin, and by sin he means doing something that will in the end cause someone pain. In other words, mean what you say. Not taking things personally means don’t believe things that people say about you or something you care about because it is only the truth through the eyes who is seeing or noticing it, and it doesn’t mean it’s the real truth. Miguel also suggests not believing what you tell yourself, because that can also cause emotional poison. Don’t make assumptions because what ever you conclude in your head most likely isn’t the truth and can cause conflict with other people. When couples make assumptions, it can result in a break-up or a divorce. Always doing your best means enjoying what you do because that brings out the best in you. If you have a bad attitude and you try your best, it is quite overwhelming and stressful.

I liked this book because it was short and simple, and I can very easily believe that this book can change people’s lives. However, this is a self-help book, and will only be effective for those who are looking for help and take action in what they do. It is also useful for people who are looking for knowledge and information on the Toltec way.

Hard Times by Charles Dickens - Book Critique

"You are not impulsive, you are not romantic, you are accustomed to view everything from the strong dispassionate ground of reason and calculation. From that ground alone, I know you will view and consider what I am going to communicate." –Mr. Gradgrind

Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, is written in the industrializing Coketown, England. Thomas Gradgrind, the father of Louisa and Thomas, is a rational, fact-loving man. Along with his good friend Josiah Bounderby, another rational, fact-loving man, he drills factuality into the people around him. Bounderby asserts that he was born in a ditch, his mother left him when he was young, his abusive grandmother raised him, and he made his fortune from nothing. A student at the school, Cecilia “Sissy” Jupe, is abandoned by her carnie father. Mr. Gradgrind decides to take her in so she can learn to be less fanciful. Sissy becomes friends with Louisa, Mr. Gradgrind’s daughter, who desperately yearns for a more creative and free existence. Bounderby has his eye on Louisa while the whole of this is going on. She gives in and marries Mr. Bounderby like a good girl would. However, she is still deeply unhappy with her bland, factual life. Meanwhile, a factory worker, Stephen Blackpool, is also deeply unhappy with his life of bland factuality. He is in love with Rachael, another factory worker, but is unable to marry her because he is already married to a drunkard who often goes missing for months or even years at a time. Later, it is established that only rich men can get divorces and he is stuck with his current wretched wife. One day, Blackpool meets an odd old woman outside of Bounderby’s house. Ms. Pegler tells him that once a year she comes into Coketown and waits outside Bounderby’s house. She is not even positive he will come out, but she waits one day every year. Back at Stone Lodge, Mr. Gradgrind’s house, Thomas, Gradgrind’s son, is apprenticed to Coketown’s bank. Thomas is somewhat unreliable however because he robs the bank. He is forced to flee Coketown when his family finds out. With the help of Louisa and his father, Thomas escapes but he is never able to see his family again. Around Stephen Blackpool, there is a union being formed. However, Blackpool does not want to join the union because he believes a strike would further develop the tension between employees and employers. Blackpool falls in Old Hell Shaft, a mining pit outside of Coketown. After an emotional goodbye with Rachael, Stephen Blackpool dies. James Harthouse, a young, rich man from London, comes to become a political disciple to Gradgrind. He discovers Louisa whom he decides to woo and corrupt. Of course, Louisa decides she wants the sophisticated, young man instead of the bland, old man who she married. Louisa goes to her father and breaks down in front of him. She tells him she has made a mistake in marrying a man she doesn’t love and she wishes she had a less structured and factual life. Gradgrind realizes he has made mistakes in depending on factuality and he begins helping the poor instead of supporting his factual agenda. All the while, Bounderby is stressing his fact-based agenda and hunting down the thief, Thomas. In his investigation of young Thomas, Bounderby comes across Ms. Pegler who is revealed as his loving mother whom he banished from visiting him, also his whole story of being born in a ditch, abandoned by his mother, having an abusive grandmother, and a hand-crafted fortune, was exposed as a sham. Later, Bounderby dies alone and unsupported because of a “fit” in the streets of Coketown. Cecila Jupe, the abandoned girl who Gradgrind adopted, obtained a happy family. After Bounderby died, Louisa never remarried but was adopted by Cecilia’s new family, finally having a happy, and free family.

Obviously, Dickens wrote this book in order to show people how the Industrial Revolution was actually worsening many people’s lives at the time. Factory workers didn't have any rights to protect them. Even though they grew up with most likely no education, they were required to work twelve-hour days, and if the machines handicapped them, they weren't supported and would have to deal with it on their own. But generally, people at the time were put into a different mindset than before. They seemed to lose the thought of creativity, emotion, imagination, and faith, turning them into the very machines they created. Fact, reasoning, and calculation come from the left hemisphere of the brain. Before factories, many of the factory workers were people who were very intact with the right hemisphere of the brain, where they were advanced in their specific craft. All of this seems to have come and gone in America and Europe, but those trends from a few centuries ago have practically moved into China, where sweatshop workers have yet to attain laws to protect them. These same problems very well might be in full effect in other countries for a couple centuries to come.

Charles Dickens’ writing style is very descriptive. In his book Hard Times he goes in to depth with just about everything; he is very precise. An example is two characters in the book, Mr. Sleary and Stephen Blackpool. He uses a writing technique with words that are pronounced as the character would if they were talking in real life. Stephen Blackpool has a deep accent, an example of his talking is “I’ve tried a long time, and ’ta’nt got better. But thou’rt right; ’t might mak fok talk, even of thee…”. An example of how Mr. Sleary talks is, “Your thervant! Thith ith a bad piethe of bithnith, thith ith.” As you can see he uses extreme detail in his writing, which makes the book somewhat difficult to decipher what he is try to get at, or say. He also uses a humorous style and suspense to keep you sitting on the edge of your seat.
This story should be remembered because this book can teach about the real world. Mr. Gradgrind is a man that teaches nothing but facts. He believes that all things imaginary should not be mentioned, everything he wants is facts. This gives us an idea for the real world. In the real world are not be any excuses in jobs, you have to give bosses want they want. You have to grow up into the real world. Also, when Louisa married Mr. Bounderby, it causes family fights, jealousy and many other problems, which gives the idea that during life many obstacles are going to mess you up. This book gives a lot of clues for the real world. This book should be remembered for a long time.

Though Hard Times is quite a difficult read there were certain aspects which make Charles Dickens’ writing unique and intriguing. As the book start out, a conversation arises between several different characters. We thought that the beginning was a good way to start it now that we have finished the book, but as we were reading towards the beginning we had no idea what the first conversation had to do with the rest of the story. Something that Dickens’ did well in his writing was taking the problems of the industrial revolution and creating them into a type of story for readers to comprehend and enjoy. For some characters in this book he used a different type of language to try and describe what a particular character was like. For example: “I ha’ coom, to ask yo yor advice. I need’t overmuch. I were married on Eas’r Monday nineteen year sin, long and dree…” (75) that was the character of Stephen Blackpool, one important character. We thought that this use of language was effective because it got us to really listen and understand the text, since we would have to pay closer attention to the words to understand them.

Out of many of the classic books Hard Times is a great book. Even though to some it may not be as interesting as a comic book or adventure book. It is one that tells history in an interesting way. This book would be best read by young adults, in high school or above that think a high level reading is for them. For one thing, the reader has to be able to pay attention because as in many books it has its up’s and down’s in the story plot. Overall it has worked up to its acclaimed title as an American Bestseller and classic.

The Stranger by Albert Camus - Book Critique

"What did other people’s deaths or a mother’s love matter to me; what did his God or the lives people choose or the fate they think they elect matter to me when we’re all elected by the same fate, me and billions of privileged people like him who also called themselves my brothers? Couldn’t he see, couldn’t he see that? Everybody was privileged. There were only privileged people. The others would all be condemned one day. And he would be condemned, too. What would it matter if he were accused of murder and then executed because he didn’t cry at his mother’s funeral? Salamano’s dog was worth just as much as his wife." (121)

It’s not that often that characters like this our found in fiction stories. Monsieur Meuersalt’s life is quite dark and dull, but his personality and his reactions to things that happen are very interesting and unique. The book is based on the philosophy called existentialism, which states that individuals are responsible for all meaning in their own lives. “The Stranger” is a perfect name for this character, as his thought system seems alien. The situations he was involved in were awkward, but his responses to them were even more so. However, the character’s ideas are certainly noteworthy. It raises some questions as well, for example: “Should this man be punished for we he physically does, even though it wasn’t really his intention? Shouldn’t his thought system backfire and cause misery and self-punishment if it would be truly harmful to anyone?

The book starts off with Meuersalt’s mother dying, where he had tearless eyes at the funeral. Later, he finds a girlfriend, Marie, who he often thought he wanted during pleasurable moments at the beach and the movies. But, Marie asked him once if he wanted to marry her, and he said that would be fine. She questioned him again, asking him if he would marry another woman if she asked to marry as well, and he said yes. Within this time, he made friends with Raymond; a man who justified the abuse of his own girlfriend when he thought it was needed. Raymond asked Meuersalt to write him a letter to his girlfriend, who Raymond thought was cheating on him. Raymond wanted her to feel bad for what she’s “done,” and Meuersalt went ahead and wrote this “hate letter” for him.

Later on, Raymond, Meuersalt and Marie went to a barbecue on the beach with Raymond’s friends. On the way, they ran into two Arabs on the street that Raymond had fought with before, and they later encountered each other again on the beach. Masson, Raymond and Meuersalt almost ambushed the two Arabs (while Raymond carried a gun), but they ran away and Meuersalt took the gun from Raymond for safety. They all headed back toward the barbecue, but Meuersalt took a different route. He claimed it was very hot, and he felt pressured by it as it was beating down on him. He ascended a flight of stairs and ran into one of the Arabs on a bench a few steps in front of him. The heat forced him to continue forward, and the Arab pulled out a knife while Meuersalt raised his gun and shot several bullets at him.
A lot of these actions seemed careless and pointless to Meuersalt, but the court found him to be quite a strange character. The would likely think, “Why didn’t he cry when his mother died? Why did he write such hateful letters for people? Why did he shoot this man?” These things make it look like he was very hateful. Towards the end, Meuersalt’s chaplain, a man with strong Christian faith, was upset that Meuersalt didn’t believe in God, but claimed he would pray for him anyway. This made Meuersalt furious, since he doesn’t feel that he should be prayed for or that any man should be concerned with someone else’s life. He didn’t feel guilty or upset about his life so far, except for the fact that he was in prison. He thought that everyone was privileged, and that was all that people should know. He knew he could care less if someone did the same thing as he did. He goes far even to declare that his neighbor’s dog is equal in value as his neighbor’s wife. He observed that everyone would be condemned anyway, and we all have the same fate.

Even though Meuersalt seems to be so strange, what is it that we can learn from this? We can basically say that this shows existentialism through the thought that everyone should be concerned with himself or herself, since our life is all up to ourselves, and no one else. If someone was to do what Meuersalt did, he would say it’s their problem, not his. Even though Meuersalt’s life seems valueless, we know that the way we think and what we do is up to us, and punishment only comes from ourselves. Otherwise, punishers will be punishing themselves as well. This book is one of the strangest but most interesting of its kind, and brings up many questions that could change the way we see our lives.

I recommend this book to everyone, but specifically to people who like to contemplate the validity of the world’s morals and punishments. The world tends to judge people more on what they do than what or how they think. This book is very controversial, and is focused on this point of thinking/action. We are too worried about other people’s lives when we should worry about our own. The Stranger is not really for people who prefer fiction genres like science fiction, fantasy, and mystery, since those tend to make people daydream. Nevertheless, this book can free people from the seeming burdens and worries that the world presents to us, and can reveal our tendency towards prejudging and blaming others. You will find that this “stranger” has something to prove: that he is not as strange as we think.

Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Vintage International. New York. 1988.