About India

The Indian subcontinent ranges from Afghanistan to Burma (Myanmar). It has troubles with Pakistan over the region of Kashmir. Both countries have tested with nuclear arms. The Caste System still gives India problems even though discrimination based on caste is illegal. India's most populated city is Mumbai which as recently as 2008 has been attacked by what were believed to be Pakistani militants. Present leaders include the President, Pratibha Patil, and the Prime Minister, Manhohan Singh. India has at least 18 official languages including Hindi and English. Religions include Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1154019.stm

Freewrite on India

When I think of India, I have to go to the source I know the best: movies. Movies about India include Gunga Din, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and that movie about Gandhi (possibly called Gandhi). They're religion, as far as I know, is still Hinduism, though Islam may have gotten more of a foothold relatively recently. It is a country of extremes in wealth and poverty. In the past they were controlled by Great Britain.

Misconceptions

I have a problem with Misconception 1. I can't think of anyone I know who thinks Islam is a peaceful religion. This also contradicts Misconception 7 that says "Islam tollerates the killing of inoccents". I have never heard of two contradicting misconception. I think this is rather suspicious. Maybe my views are warped since I am an American. Isn't it a good thing to be thought of as a peaceful religion?

Middle East Background

http://amaz95.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/noble_quran1.jpg

Since a lot of the Middle East practices Islam, I looked into the study of Allah. Allah is more like the Old Testament God, cruel and vengeful, though he is also not. Since Allah is indescribable, he is everything: evil and good, violent and peaceful, creator and destroyer. It is impossible to understand Allah. This is basically stated in the phrase "Allah akbar" meaning, "Allah is greater". This says that Allah is greater than anything ever made or will be made. When someone understands something of Allah, it changes. (http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/gospel/g4105efm.htm)

Middle East Freewrite

When a person from the United States thinks of the Middle East, they usually think of a turban wearing guy with belts of dynamite strapped to him screaming "Allah akbar!" into a crowded market. This is perceived to be normal because this is what the media focuses on. The Middle East in general is a dangerous place, between little water, terrorists, and smugglers, but it is also a place of great history. The Holy Land is centralized in the Middle East for three of the biggest religions in the world: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Allah ascended to heaven there, Christ was born and crucified there, and Moses along with other important Jewish figures lived there.

The thing I think I might be surprised to learn about the Middle East is: actual borders.

Because of Chance

Back in fifth grade was when students at BTGS got to choose either band, choir, or both. I choose band and then had the option of what instrument I would like to play. A demonstration was done using all the instruments we could play, and I liked the tuba. When it came time to choose our instrument, I wanted the tuba, but couldn't remember what it was called. Instead of asking what it was called, I guessed and called it a trombone. I was quite shy back then and instead of saying I made a mistake and named the wrong instrument, I went with trombone. At the present, I know I would have said I made a mistake as I am now more outward with what I think. Now, I love the trombone. My life has been greatly influenced by it. I have gone to band camp, been to Eastern Conference Montana Jazz Band, gotten the highest marks in music festival, and have become Vice President of the SGHS Band. Would I have done all these things if had played tuba? Maybe or maybe not, but as of right now, I am really happy with my mistake.

Achebe Final Writing

Okonkwo is a person that believes in the warrior lifestyle; conquering land, being brave, and never showing emotion. The village promotes this with feasts honoring warriors and how many people they have killed. This makes it confusing when he kills himself because a person involved in the warrior lifestyle would want to go down fighting. A possible explanation is that he thought he was saving the village. After he killed one of the messengers, the ones that escaped would surely tell their superiors and a force would come looking for Okonkwo. With Okonkwo dead, the tribe would hopefully be spared the wrath of the force.



Another option is that Okonkwo was scared that the white men would torture him. This seems unlikely because it has been proven throughout the story that Okonkwo is brave. Dying for the tribe is considered honorable, but suicide is considered evil. Spending the rest of eternity as a tortured soul that angered the gods would probably be more torturous than some painful deeds by mortal men.

Considering these options, I found it unlikely that Okonkwo commited suicide because of one of these. There is probably some reason that no one outside of Ibo society would understand. This increases the excitement of the book, making the reader want to know more about Ibo culture.

Africa

While Africa is the second largest continent, its people seem to be mostly tribal and of the hunter/gatherer type. The few large cities that dot the landscape of the African continent seem quite poor. It is strange that this is true considering that many scientists believe that the origin of the human race began somewhere in Africa, giving its native inhabitants more time getting to know their land and its properties rather than exploring a new land.
Africa has a wide range of terrain types from the Saharan Desert in the north, stretching to a brief stretch of Savannah, continuing on to the middle of Africa which is dominated by vast jungles, finally getting to a bigger Savannah down to the southern tip. This wide variety of geography gives the people of Africa great distinction. People in the Sahara Desert survive around wells sparsely laid out across the land. Savannah people have to survive through the drastic season changes and violent animals. Jungle tribes have to fight of disease and the various insects that could plague a person daily.
Africa has a wide variety of people to suit its many different landscapes. It seems that nowhere in Africa is very safe, considering there aren't that many people living there. This may answer my query earlier that why Africa was very poor. Its people have to fight for survival every day, giving them little free time to study chemistry, or invent complicated machines. Life in Africa was a fight for survival since the birth of man. It would not be hard to believe that humans succeeded so well because of the trials they faced in their early existance in Africa.

The Beginning

This is a new beginning. Also a test to see how this works.