"To show affection was a sign of weakness, the only thing worth demonstrating was strength." The meaning of this quote is that showing affection or love for something can signal weakness. If someone knew what you cared about or what mattered to you they'd know your weakness. If you only show strength then you will be feared and it would be harder for someone to find your weaknesses.
There are people that I know who are like this and don't show affection in fear of being seen as weak. People want to show their strength and not affection because they want to be seen as strong.
This quote also applies to the main character of the story, Okonkwo who became known as one of the strongest people in his village after winning in a fight against a strong person in his village as a young man. In the book he doesn't want to show affection or his feelings because he didn't want to show any of his weaknesses. He only showed his strength and his power to others so others would respect and fear him.
We have all been in a position where we want to be feared. We all want to show strength in us sometimes. But sometimes we have to show affection to the things we love even if that means showing our weaknesses.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Things Fall Apart Pre-Reading
It would be a "perfect" world if you could do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. However, often religion, social conformity, cultural expectations, and society's norms control the person you are. Discuss how these constraints control you as an individual. Why do we follow these "rules," and when do you think it is necessary to break from them.
Sometimes we are given "rules" to follow in society these rules aren't the law or criminal but instead they rely on how humans act. For instance, it isn't against the law to wear pajamas to McDonald's, but is seen as a violation to society's expectations. This in fact can change who we are and how we act.
But it isn't just society that changes how we act it's also our self-consciousness that affect us. It would be hard to have a perfect world even if we could do what we wanted because of our conscious. You wouldn't want to go to McDonald's in your pajamas because it would be embarrassing and awkward.
The reason we have those rules to control how we act stems from our conscious. The reason why the sense of being awkward is so unpleasant, is because it literally activates parts of the brain that sense physical pain. It literally hurts to be embarrassed and that's probably another reason for why we have social laws.
But sometimes we break these rules in society. Maybe on a day we don't care what others think, or maybe we feel comfortable with others judging us. Sometimes we break these rules and suffer the consequences of our acts. Or maybe we break these rules when no one's around.
Sometimes we are given "rules" to follow in society these rules aren't the law or criminal but instead they rely on how humans act. For instance, it isn't against the law to wear pajamas to McDonald's, but is seen as a violation to society's expectations. This in fact can change who we are and how we act.
But it isn't just society that changes how we act it's also our self-consciousness that affect us. It would be hard to have a perfect world even if we could do what we wanted because of our conscious. You wouldn't want to go to McDonald's in your pajamas because it would be embarrassing and awkward.
The reason we have those rules to control how we act stems from our conscious. The reason why the sense of being awkward is so unpleasant, is because it literally activates parts of the brain that sense physical pain. It literally hurts to be embarrassed and that's probably another reason for why we have social laws.
But sometimes we break these rules in society. Maybe on a day we don't care what others think, or maybe we feel comfortable with others judging us. Sometimes we break these rules and suffer the consequences of our acts. Or maybe we break these rules when no one's around.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)