This was not life, this was a nightmare.

A blog on American Gothic Literature. By Mia Giannini

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annotation post

Source # 1

Understanding Things Fall Apart: Selected Essays and Criticisms by Solomon O. Iyasere

As a distinguished English professor at California State University Bakersfield, Solomon O. Iyasere spent over 30 years developing and teaching courses on literature, specifically African literature. He is most renowned for his literary analysis of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. He writes about the novels great appeal to the non-African world and the way that cultural biases affect certain criticisms. This piece is written for an audience that is familiar with Chinua Achebe and his work but can be understood by anyone with any sort of literary education. Iyasere argues his point the you cannot truly criticize this novel without understanding the Ibo literary tradition under which it was written. He points out that Western critics tend to force this novel into the typical Western pattern and then criticize it for not fitting quite right. Iyasere is one of many analysts of this novel that see the problem with evaluating a culture you are not a part of. He concludes his introduction to these essays by saying those with an understanding of the Ibo culture were able to more closely examine the book on its own, rather than a nonconforming addition to the Western canon.

Source # 2

Masculinity and Cultural Conflict in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart by Adegbite O. Tobalase

Adegbite Tobalase is a professor of languages and literary study at Adeleke University. He has written many research pieces on masculinity and culture and how they work within each other to affect literature, including Masculinity and Cultural Conflict in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The intention of this piece is to identify the roles that masculinity plays within the African culture and the clash that ensues when Western entities arrive in African literature. This study is intended for readers that are familiar with Things Fall Apart, but it is difficult to read if you are not familiar with common literary terminology. Tobalase argues that the true story of Things Fall Apart is not really about Okonkwo and his tragedies, but about the clash between masculinity and femininity, along with traditional and western culture. Within his research, Tobalase aligns himself with others in his field by identifying the conflicting themes present in this work. He concludes his work by questioning who within the book is truly masculine or feminine, and the influence of western culture on the actions of these particular individuals.

Source # 3

Culture in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart by Diana Akers Rhoads

Diana Akers Rhoads, a professor of English and Rhetoric at Hampden-Sydney College, contributes to this conversation with a piece written for the African Studies Review called Culture in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Rhoads writes this paper in order to claim that the dangers of viewing this novel through a Eurocentric lens are obviously present, but what’s more important is the theme of a ‘common humanity’ that both cultures share. This paper is written for those with a slightly significant knowledge of literature and it can be very dense at some points. Rhoads’ opinion is that although this book is about a cultural clash, it is primarily a book about humans experiencing common human events and emotions that should be relatable beyond the confines of a specific culture. This opinion is quite different from the other sources I’ve found that claim the most important themes are very deeply culturally rooted. Rhoads doesn’t try to argue that the opinions of her peers are baseless, but she provides a deeper insight into how we could be interpreting this novel too closely. She concludes by saying that this book focuses on events that both American and Nigerian cultures can relate to such as masculinity vs femininity and the capacity for change.

Source # 4

Chinua Achebe by Jago Morrison

Jago Morrison is a specialist in contemporary literature and lecturer at Brunel University in London. He is also a renowned expert in postcolonial studies concerning the works of Chinua Achebe. This work is a biography of Chinua Achebe and his works, and it offers insights into why Things Fall Apart was written and what Achebe’s intentions were. The intended audience for this piece is anyone who as an interest in Chinua Achebe and his depiction of Nigeria and the writing style is not very complicated. Morrison tries to remain unbiased as a narrator of Achebe’s life, but he hints to the fact that Achebe’s job with the Nigerian Broadcasting Company may have played a role in his depiction of Nigeria in Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease, another early work of his. Morrison’s biography focuses on how Achebe’s life events determined how he portrayed certain themes in his works, primarily Things Fall Apart. There is no evident conclusion because it’s a biography, but I believe the way he presents the information points to the conclusion he wanted the reader to reach on their own. This conclusion is based on the NBC wanting Achebe to produce content that shows Nigeria benefitted from British involvement, which he does the opposite of in Things Fall Apart. He shows a dignified Nigeria that was present before colonial interruption.  The conclusion we reach is that Achebe intended for Things Fall Apart to be read and understood by an audience outside of Nigeria and that is why he wrote it in English and was originally published in Britain rather than Nigeria.

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class work from monday 4/2

Concerning the source Understanding Things Fall Apart: Selected Essays and Criticism by Solomon O. Igasere... 

- In Understanding Things Fall Apart: Selected Essays and Criticism, Solomon Igasere discusses how Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is a piece of African Literature that appeals beyond the confines of Africa.

- This novel is so widely produced and translated, and it contains themes that are relatively present in every culture around the world. It was even originally written in English and published in Britain, so it’s target audience was a group that was typically uneducated on African culture (white people). 

- When taking the culturally stylized writing into account, it is quite easy to claim this book as American. While dealing with the struggle of modernization, change, and hegemonic masculinity, Chinua Achebe’s novel greatly reflects issues very near and dear to American readers. 

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exploratory post

The specific point that I’ve chosen to argue in my final paper is that “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is an American novel. There are a lot of characteristics that can be defining for a quintessential American novel.

My thinking, relative to the American-ness of the novel, has evolved. When I first read it, I would never have thought that the characters in this book would ever be comparable to the American people. However, after considering what part of the American Gothic Literature genre to argue, I felt like American-ness was the best choice. I started thinking about characteristics or themes that I associate with America that are present in this novel.

Some of the characteristics I identified were the roles of women, hypermasculinity, the idea of the missionaries representing western ideas and technology, straying from tradition and repercussions of doing so, and the lack of religious acceptance. I know a lot of these issues have been resolved or are currently being resolved in America, but they were prevalent issues at one time or another in American history.

I found an article in the International Journal of English and Literature called “Masculinity and cultural conflict in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart” by Tobalose Adegbite O. This article discusses masculinity and gender and social systems present in this book. This article reaffirms some of the ideas I had about this book and it also introduces new ones. Some of the new ideas were traditional beliefs vs logic and technology. I’ve found a few other articles that are very similar in content. A lot of people have identified gender and social structure as two of the most prevalent themes in this book.

I find this article to be really outstanding, because of the unique take on how the social systems control a society and how newcomers present an unwelcome comparison. This article really aided my thought process on how exactly to argue the American-ness of this book.

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DISCLAIMER: I’m a little unsure about my choice for this paper/project and the piece that I’m focusing on might be subject to change!!

 I’ve chosen to argue that Chinua Achebe’s book, “Things Fall Apart”, can be classified as American Gothic Literature. The first and broadest category is Literature. Not to sound too simplistic, but it’s just a book so it’s obviously going to qualify as literature. I feel like I don’t need to make much of an argument for this one.

Some important aspects of gothic literature, some of which I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, are curses/prophecies, intense emotions, death or murder and heroes.

These particular things are all present in “Things Fall Apart”. The main character, Okonkwo, is a tragic hero. He builds himself a wealthy and respected life, which ultimately leads to a rise in power followed by a fall from grace. The fall from grace is related to the prophecy given to his tribe from the oracle. His adopted son, Ikemefuna, must die and Okonkwo must play no role in his death. However, he accompanied the party that plotted to kill him. When Ikemefuna runs toward him, begging his father to help him, Okonkwo, instead of turning away and looking weak, cuts him down. This was in direct violation of the oracle; therefore, his death was destined to be shameful and ‘womanly’. Okonkwo also has very strong and intense emotions. He feels very negatively towards his father and almost all of his decisions are made to contrast him. Okonkwo punishes his son, Nwoye, when he thinks that he is being lazy or unproductive. He also cares deeply about how the tribe views him and how the actions of his family affect his reputation.

Some of these strong feelings and emotions are also things that help characterize “Things Fall Apart” as American literature. Although it is written by a Nigerian man about a Nigerian tribe, a lot of Okonkwo’s thoughts and feelings mimic those associated with the American Dream. He wants to be successful, both in terms of wealth and in how the tribe perceives him. This sense of needing to be able to provide for your family and be more successful than the people that preceded you is so American. Also, there are some pretty large aspects of colonization and the combination of old world and new world in this novel. These are also indicative of many classically American themes.

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blog post #4

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the townspeople are inconsolably frightened when one day, their gentlemanly parson dons a black veil. This veil becomes a permanent addition to the town, as the minister wears it every day for the rest of his life. The veil has quite the impact on the lives of the minister and his parishioners.

Following the debut of the veil, many things change. The minister becomes afraid of his own reflection, going so far as to flee the scene of a funeral after glimpsing his face in a mirror. The townspeople are more deeply affected by his sermon, as if the veil gave him some sort of edge. His sermons did not differ at all from before the veil, and yet the parishioners felt his sermons now to be increasingly more powerful. The townspeople gossiped, and rumors spread about why he was wearing the veil. Some people thought he had committed a terrible sin and was covering his face in shame. Others felt like he was personally targeting them, as if he could somehow know their deepest secret.

One of the questions that arises is why the veil specifically horrifies so many people. Personally I think that the fact that his eyes are covered is what scares people. There’s that saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul. I think that definitely comes into play here. I feel like a lot of people’s emotions are conveyed through their eyes. When you can’t see someone’s eyes, you can’t tell their true emotions. I think this is what makes the townspeople so uneasy. They can’t see their pastor and they don’t know what he’s thinking. Also. People hate not being able to know something. When you refrain from telling people why you’re doing something, it makes the whole thing sinister for some reason. Covering your face makes people feel like you have something to hide, especially if you won’t tell them the reason.

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blog post #3

“The Fall of the House of Usher” is a short story by Edgar Allen Poe. This story is overflowing with sentences that can be dissected for further meaning. Poe takes every opportunity to make a pun or poke fun at the reader. It’s almost as if he’s trying to make the reader second guess what parts of the story they should take seriously. However, there are parts of the story that I think can be more seriously examined. One of the most obvious metaphors that runs throughout the entire story is that the Usher family is directly represented by the physical House of Usher itself.

Starting within the first few paragraphs of the story, the narrator mentions that when people refer to ‘the House of Usher’, they are referring to both the family and the legitimate house. Poe’s blatant personification adds to this idea that the house is alive. He refers to the windows of the house as “empty eye-like windows”. There is a large crack down the center of the house representing the house and the family falling apart. As Madeline declined in physical health, the narrator became more and more frightened. Roderick’s mental state is also declining parallel to Madeline’s. The house becomes darker, and it is filled with a sort of tangible sadness that covers everything. The narrator is trapped in this house of horrors as he tries to comfort his childhood friend. This is symbolic to the confining boundaries of the Usher family line. We know that the family tree has no branches, so the family name has been passed down incestuously through the house.

Following Madeline’s burial and eventual return from the dead, Roderick also dies. As this happens, the house splits down the middle and descends into the lake. The house falling apart is symbolic of the end of the race of Ushers. The family name died with Roderick and Madeline. The destruction of the house is the end of the House of Usher and the apparent evil that resided within it’s walls. 

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After I finished listening to the podcast S-town, I had so many questions. One of those questions was whether or not I considered S-town to truly fit into the category of American Gothic Literature. For something to be gothic, it has to have certain characteristics. This is also true in order for something to be characterized as American.  

               Some of the characteristics that I associate with gothic works are things like isolation, mystery, and a gothic setting. S-town displays all of these elements, just in a more modern way than we’re used to.  John is in a town full of people, but he is mentally isolated. He is the only liberally minded person in his town. No one else seems to see all the problems that he sees within his town and in the world. John focuses in on things like climate change and racism both worldwide and within his town in Alabama. He is alone in his concerns and therefore he is isolated. There is also an element of mystery that is present all throughout the telling of this story. The listener is initially intrigued by the possibility of a murder mystery in a small town in Alabama. Although this initial mystery is quickly solved, the mystery surrounding the life and death of John McLemore soon captures the attention of the listeners. The music in this podcast also adds to the aspect of mystery. The music plays at specific points in order to amplify the feeling during a revealing moment. I’ve attached one of my favorite songs from the podcast that I feel perfectly encapsulates the mysterious sense in the story. Another aspect I noticed while listening to this podcast is the setting. John’s home, when described, sounds almost whimsical. He lives on a large piece of land in Alabama. He has created a large hedge maze in his yard that has 64 possible solutions and two void solutions. He also had a set of tunnels under his house with gates, that Tyler described as “dungeons”. These sort of things make John’s property seem like its straight out of a gothic story.

               Another important characterization of this story is how American it truly is. S-town is most certainly targeted at a Northern audience. This affects the characterization of S-town as an “American” story. While it focuses entirely on the south, it seems to have a gawking tone in which the actions of these Southern people are merely observed, rather than understood. Brian tells us about the things that occur in S-town, but he often does not explain why. This journalistic attitude greatly supports the case that this podcast is not really intended for these deep southern listeners. I feel like there are many parts of the podcast that southerners and northerners would have very different takes on. However, maybe this deep-rooted disagreement between the two halves of this country is inherently American. The sort of feud between the north and the south has existed for a large part of the lifetime of America itself.

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Blog Post 1

For the past three weeks, I've been listening to a podcast called "S-town", similar in style to popular podcasts such as "This American Life" and "Serial". One of the questions that came up during our class discussion on Wednesday was whether or not this work is exploitative of the life of John B. McLemore and the other residents of this so-called Shittown. The story delves into the lives of John and the people that surround him.

One of the key points that stood out to me was the issue brought upon by John's suicide. Following John's death, Brian Reed, an outsider, became the chief narrator of the story. He determined the complete layout of the recordings and decided when in the series to release certain bits of information. One of the problems that arises from this situation is the fact that Brian is not a resident of Bibb County. So how are we to trust that he is being completely unbiased in the telling of this story? Brian could simply be another northerner looking to poke fun at the ways of these backwater people. We as listeners are forced to place our trust in Brian and his journalistic integrity. This becomes increasingly more difficult when we find out new information about John after his death. Brian mentions the time that John told him, off camera, that he identified as a 'semi-homosexual'. This revelation shows that Brian is willing to put the story before the privacy of his 'friend'.

Along with this, we begin to question Brian's intention through his telling of this story. It begins with a standard plot of a murder mystery, but this reaches its resolution in the middle of the second episode. Brian continues the story after John's suicide because he thought there was something suspicious in the way that John's estate was being handled. There seems to be no true plot to the rest of the podcast, which makes it easy for the listener to judge the people and the community in Woodstock, Alabama.

Although I understand that Brian set out to tell a story, he failed to realize that he does not have the permission to do so. John got no say in the editing process of all of the recording and he gets no personal interpretation of the chain of events. John was the narrator of the story and usually when your narrator dies, that' the end. This podcast is beautiful and tragic and intriguing, but it is also sinister and deceptive in it's entirety.