Okonkwo Just Another Father

In thius chapter not only are we reminded of how great a warrior Okonkwo is, but also that he is a father. Prior to this chapter Ezinma had been taken by Chielo to see Agbala. At first it had seemed as if Okonkwo was not worried for his daughter, but we are later informed that he had made not just one, but four trips to the shrine where he expected Ezinma and Chielo to be. He made "manly intervals" to the shrine because he was "gravely worried" for his daughter like any father would be. In the marriage celebration we are reminded numerously of Okonkwo's greatness as a warrior. Do you think society plays a part in why Okonkwo has to act so "manly," since his reputation is of a great warrior?

Chapter of Wonder by David Selvala

In the beginning of chapter 4 Okonkwo is given the custody of a young boy named Ikemefuna. At first the boy is scared and dislikes living in Okonkwo's house but grows to like it. Okonkwo grows fond of the boy, but he does not show it. Okonkwo never shows emotion because he believes showing affection is a sign of weakness. His desire to be strong and masculine causes him to believe he is greater than he is and he is obsessed with proving his masculinity. Later in the chapter Okonkwo beats his wife Ojiugo. He does this during the week of peace and one of the clan's elders stands up to him and forces him to make a large sacrifice. Okonkwo follows his commands and makes the sacrifice. This shows how even though Okonkwo thinks he is mighty and powerful the clan is still able to keep him in check.
"Inwardly, he was repentant. But he was not the man to go abut telling his neighbors that he was in error." (p. 31)

One Day in the Life Baluba Charles

He heard his alarm phone ring for the third time. He knew it was time to get up, but his body would not respond. "Time to get up Baluba," screamed his father. He was able to get enough energy to get up and put his shoes on. That is all the energy he was willing to muster, for he was not about to waste energy in trying to look nice for just another common day. He brushed his teeth and headed for the exit. No breakfast again today. No shower because he had taken one the night before. Walking as slow as a sloth out the door, not fire burning inside his body.

Baluba makes it to his amazing luxury vehicle, a beamer. He gets in still half asleep and ignites the engine. Baluba was driving, but he was mentally not there. To him it was just one more time to experience the road. It was twenty minutes after he entered the car that he arrived at school. He pulled up to his parking place and turned off the big machine. He was more awake than when he had left his house. He gets his bag pack on and heads for school.

There was no time to waste for Baluba was going to be late. He had just realized this and in a blink of an eye his legs had more energy than in the entire day so far. Baluba could not be late to class, and fortunately for him, he was not. It was AP Calculus this morning. He sat down in his usual seat. He got out his working materials, a pencil, a pen, and a binder. This is all he would need to make it through the day. He started to jot down the notes his teacher Mr. Dueppen had put on the board. Class went by smoothly. They went over the homework, learned a new section of the book and started to work on the homework due the next day. Class was almost over when Mr. Duepppen started to give back the test they had taken earlier that week. Baluba was nervous to get his test back, but at the same time he was excited for he knew he had done well on this test. “Thump”. The test landed on Baluba’s desk. He slowly picked it up, making sure no one else other than he could see his grade. It was time to unravel the grade mystery. Baluba knew he would not be disappointed; he had studied so hard to do so well on is test. He turned the test around slowly and saw a ninety-two as his grade. A smile the size of a watermelon slice appeared on his face, he was obviously pleased. “RIIING, RIIING,” the bell went off, and everyone ran out the door. “On to the next class,” Baluba said to himself.

It was AP Biology next. It was lab today and so Baluba knew class would go by fast. Today they were going to experiment with pill bugs. Baluba was thrilled. As soon as Ms. Niewold was done with her lecture on how to carry out the experiment, Baluba transformed himself into a dark and evil scientist. He quickly walked to where the pill bugs were located. He picked up his spoon and went right to work. Baluba would not be satisfied with the small pill bugs and so he went for the juicy ones. After the momentary war with the pill bugs he went back returned to his lab partner and the torturous experiment commenced. It was time to encapsulate the pill bugs in different trays and see how they react to their new hostile environment. They finished their experiment swiftly and it was time for the next class. There was no bell this time. “Always seem to be off,” said Baluba to his colleague. Time for AP Statistics, the day was almost over for he had triple free after lunch.

Baluba stayed in the same class for that is where AP statistics would take place. Baluba did not take any notes; he figured he could just read the book later on that day. Baluba’s eyes were always on the clock, counting down how much class time was left. Eventually after countless seconds class was over and so was Baluba’s day.

It was easy street from here. He went down to lunch for he was broke at the moment. He returned and would have gone home but the rules of the school impeded him to do so. He would have to be here for activities period and he was not going to go home and then have to come back. Baluba relaxed the rest of the day speaking to friends and going from place to place not finding to do with himself.

The day soon came to an end and that was it for Baluba. He went home to do his homework, which took up most of his day and then went into hibernation for tomorrow was going to be an even longer day.