Jared Woods' Commonplace Reader by Jared Woods https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5 Oil painting by Ben Enwonwu, an influential Nigerian artist who wanted a modern Nigeria to be represented by its own culture. The green and white boxes are meant to represent the Nigerian flag. 🇳🇬 en-us 2021-02-22 23:53:03 UTC 2021-05-06 22:15:02 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4da.png #2 "When he does anything bad tell him quietly, don't tell anybody, don't even tell me" (Nwapa 146). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1240796232 Efuru's father, Nwashike Ogene, seems to be persuading his daughter to either share her frustration with her husband "quietly," as to not make too much of a fuss, or take on the emotional burden of keeping it to herself. I can imagine how discouraging it might be for Efuru, who has already had such great trouble with the mistreatment from her previous husband, to find some peace of mind or advice. Efuru’s problems are explicitly invalided for the convenience of her husband by someone who is meant to cherish her more than anyone, but does not for the sake of the “good man.”]]> 2021-02-25 13:08:48 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1240796232 #1 "Look after your daughter and your trade. Your husband will come back to you after all his wandering. Men are always like that" (Nwapa 51). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1241099402 It’s very interesting how women in Efuru’s community are so able to pick up the pieces of their life so easily disregarded by the men who are supposed to be leading it. Was it not Adizua’s job to earn money or at the least take care of his own child— it is his house after all. Yet, the patriarchy inverts itself and there is this already known expectation among women that it is their job to hold everything together; provide food and some income for their family.]]> 2021-02-25 14:10:22 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1241099402 #3 "These children get on my nerves. What exactly are they taught in that school of theirs that they mock at us and oppose us in nearly everything?" (Nwapa 194). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1250618865 More towards the end of the novel you can start to notice the effects which colonialism is having in Efuru's village. One could assume that the school, ran by the white colonizers, are teaching Western ethnocentric values that only work to circumvent the culture and tradition of the students. Rather than the white people assimilating to the culture of the villages they choose to preside in, they are forcing the young children (the most vulnerable and expansive population) to assimilate to values of a foreign country that they will likely never visit. Thus, when the young population gets older they will have more sympathy and compatibility with the intrusive laws and customs of the West.]]> 2021-02-28 19:06:10 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1250618865 #4 "As Zaza is son of Dukana, every Dukana man must be proud because Zaza have married woman from far country before before" (Saro-Wiwa 33). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1298090588 Throughout the novels we've read in class, we see a very prominent theme of villages or towns with such strong communities. In Dukana we see that if something happens for only one person it is if it has happened to everyone. I think such a community bond will be very telling of the impacts with the oncoming war will have on Dukana. I predict that the sense of community will be dilapidated if not depleted.]]> 2021-03-11 14:10:37 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1298090588 #5 "Na who go live to enjoy after that? Does it mean that myself, my wife Agnes and my mama go don die finish by that time? Then why are we fighting then?" (Saro-Wiwa 90). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1298123136 Mene is starting to put together the true effects that the war will have in his own life and the consequences it will have for his family and country. At such a point we realize the extent of naivety that had overtaken Saro-Wiwa's protagonist; he had truly joined the war effort mainly to impress others. However, once he learns of the serious consequences of war and the lack of reason to all the death; he reconsiders everything. We see this marking Saro-Wiwa's anti-war stance and the ability of war to ruin and corrupt the innocent. ]]> 2021-03-11 14:16:06 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1298123136 #6 "It is soza's life. Nobody can run away from death. After all some people die in their sleep. Old men can die and small picken can die. A sozaman and death are brothers" (Saro-Wiwa 163). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1298130193 At such a moment, similar to the explanation of "war is war," Saro-Wiwa enlightens readers that many of the soldiers were not meant to return from the war. They were made to be replaceable resources that could be killed by the enemy. It would seem that the government/leadership preyed on the naivety of the youth giving them an enemy to kill without a purpose. Mene has so much trouble finding his place back home because he was really not meant to come home.



The treatment of soldiers in the novel (and really in general) reminds me of Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us."]]> 2021-03-11 14:17:15 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1298130193 #7 "This fight was different. It was although their hands were controlled by a force that possessed every bit of their beings, even down to the smallest plasma of their blood, and it was perhaps this force -- and not their conscious beings -- that caused them to deploy heavy-handed tactics against each other" (Obioma 138). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1337847350 Obioma is constantly dropping hints that there is possibly a larger involvement of a darker force that is affecting the lives of Ikenna and Boja. This force, as we discussed in class, seems to culminate around or in the Omi-Ala. However, it could be posited, as in the theory that Professor McMann introduced, that the Omi-Ala represents a struggle or force which manipulates the conflicting parties of Nigeria; causing them to act against each other. ]]> 2021-03-22 13:36:15 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1337847350 #8 "Boja would rush out of his class, and take me to the latrine while his classmates and mine were thrown into a fit of laughter. He would wait for me to finish, clean me up and return me to class [...] This happened many times, and in all of those times, Boja did not once complain" (Obioma 188). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1337870865 The devastation that occurs from the events which Benjamin and his family endure becomes highlighted between the fazing in and out of childhood recollections. Readers are shown the contradicting personas of Boja— far past ones which detail empathy and later ones which show bitterness and jealousy. However, Obioma creates a nice balance so that readers can feel angry at Boja, but they are not able to absolutely hate him. As discussed in my previous quote, there is a force seemingly at play which has taken over Boja (and Ikenna) so that he is not himself when he commits his murder-suicide.]]> 2021-03-22 13:40:00 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1337870865 #9 "These days I tell myself that is why I stretched to accommodate every new level of indignity, so that I could have someone who would look for me if I went missing" (Adebayo 70). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491963707 Through Yejide, Adebayo reveals the sad truths that are often found in marriages after it is too late. As Yejide finds herself slowly losing control of her own life, she realizes the sad circumstance that her marriage devolves into. Beyond any semblance of love or passion, Yejide realizes she is married to Akin for no greater reason than to have someone who cares about her life; or even just to have someone who has to care about her life. However, Yejide knows she is lying as she says, "I tell myself," implying she cannot face the truth that she shouldn't have to "accommodate every new level of indignity."


Yejide's hurt is so intense because she loves Akin, a point I think she tries to convince herself is not true; but it is. This brought to mind Billie Eilish's "i love you," a song confronting what it means to be in love and every vulnerable aspect that follows with it; it's scary to leave so much on the line just for someone like Akin to completely disregard your feelings.]]> 2021-05-04 23:01:21 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491963707 #10 "His eyes held something I hadn't seen in Akin's eyes for so long, for far too long. Faith in me, in my words, in my sanity" (Adebayo 95). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491967024 While it was probably for the best that Akin did not encourage Yejide's false pregnancy, there is a cruelness that exists in his interactions with her that leave her to question her worth. This is even more despicable given that Yejide's obsession with having a child comes in large portion from Akin's fertility lie and him marrying Funmi to further his lie. To totally reject Yejide's beliefs, after she had dealt with so much mental strife, only works to create a longing within her that craves validation. For Yejide, this comes in the form of Dotun, someone that makes her feel that she is not isolated or deranged. I think at such a point Adebayo works beyond the case of marriage and more for the case of emotional wellbeing and comfort that at time can be greatly needed and deserved.]]> 2021-05-04 23:03:13 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491967024 #11 "As I factored unforeseen circumstances into my plan, I'd left out the things that would ruin it: sickle cell, Dotun losing his job, and all the mess of love and life that only shows up as you go along" (Adebayo 197). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491971609 Adebayo creates an interesting development in Akin's character as she has him realize the unethical decisions which he makes, but also has him try to defend those same decisions as though he is a victim to them. Perhaps she is commenting on the innate authority which men are unjustly given by society. Akin tries to manipulate the lives of those around him and tries to convince himself of his own lie because he thinks he can get away with it; he truly believes his actions might work out for him. It is only much later (as shown by the page number) when reality hits him that he realizes his wrongdoing. Though, he can't quite amend his actions or fully accept the blame as he believes that he is a victim of circumstance; he is ignorant of the control he had in the situation as a man. Akin has the privilege to act so ignorantly, though Yejide is given no control/say of her own life and has to face the consequences of Akin's actions.]]> 2021-05-04 23:06:01 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491971609 #12 "They fascinated him, the unsubtle cowering of the almost rich in the presence of the rich, and the rich in the presence of the very rich; to have money, it seemed, was to be consumed by money" (Adichie 32). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491981705 Adichie is able to have a very poignant discussion about capitalism through the development of Obinze. There is the constant too-good-to-be-true tone that is cast over the idea of being wealthy. While money is one of the largest motivations of each character, Adichie sets a fine separation between having money and being happy. While Obinze might recognize some of the faults that come with wealth, he nevertheless becomes quite wealthy; though he is never quite satisfied. Obinze, himself, becomes consumed by money whether he likes it or not.]]> 2021-05-04 23:12:35 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491981705 #13 "She ached for the lives they showed, lives full of bliss, where all problems had sparkling solutions in shampoos and cars and packaged foods, and in her mind they became the real America, the America she would only see when she moved to school in the autumn" (Adichie 139). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491986306 Beyond the lies which America advertises to those outside of the country, Adichie also touches on the lies which America quite literally advertises within the country. It is the elaborate lie that the hegemonic power of America uses to sustain itself and its authority in the world; the idolization of a place that will probably not welcome you unless you fit a certain description. Ifemelu illustrates how that power works within the country, to fuel the idea that as long as you work hard enough a perfect life is accessible at some level; though a perfect life cannot exist in an imperfect society.]]> 2021-05-04 23:15:27 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491986306 #14 "On an unremarkable day in early spring -- the day was not bronzed with special light, nothing of any significance happened, and it was perhaps merely that time, as it often does, had transfigured her doubts -- she looked in the mirror, sank her fingers into her hair, dense and spongy and glorious, and could not imagine it any other way. That simply, she fell in love with her hair" (Adichie 264). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491989989 Yejide falling in love with her hair is a very important and symbolic point in her character development. She is not just embracing her hair, it marks a point at which she is comfortable enough to embrace her identity. Adichie symbolizes the confinement of Yejide's natural hair as the confinement that  society places on black people, even more so when it is a black woman. So, when Yejide realizes her love for her hair, she is in many ways rejecting the judgement and pressures which others are imposing on her and embracing her identity as a black woman.



I meant to mention it before, but Adichie is sampled in Beyonce's song called Flawless (the remix), a song about embracing one's own beauty. You can find her sample around 1:18.]]> 2021-05-04 23:17:30 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1491989989 #15 "Barack Obama's voice rose and fell, his face solemn, and around him the large and resplendent crowd of the hopeful. Ifemelu watched, mesmerized. And there was, at that moment, nothing that was more beautiful to her than America" (Adichie 448). woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1492013804 It is with the election of Barack Obama that one of the most influential countries in the world, idolized by Ifemelu, Obinze, and many other Nigerians, becomes headed by a black man. In terms of representation, the US having an African American president acts to empower those who may have never thought it possible. For Ifemelu, I think the beauty that she is now seeing in America comes with the zealous pride of watching positive change happen; it becomes the start of a new political era that marks representation and reform for those who have been long ignored.




"Our stories are singular, but our destinies are shared."

]]> 2021-05-04 23:31:56 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1492013804 Prologue woodsj81 https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1498281356 While reflecting on each entry, I couldn't help but notice the strength of the Nigerian spirit. Whether through war, racial or gender discrimination, political turmoil, or irreconcilable problems with loved ones; there is the innate expectation to overcome. The culture of Nigeria exists independently from the economic or political troubles, it seemingly finds itself solely within the people. It is in the surviving legacy of a country claimed by colonialism that Nigerians strive forward and create their own identity.]]> 2021-05-06 14:12:47 UTC https://padlet.com/woodsj81/rjzhbgyz7cr3cgd5/wish/1498281356