TFA+Reflections+SeungHyon

__**TFA Discussion #1 (Chapters 3-5)**__

Today in the discussion, there were two very thoughtful insights that each group member made according to how they thought about Okonkwo, and how the different proverbs demonstrated in the novel portrayed different signs of how cultures acted upon their beliefs and traditions.

1. "When a man says yes, his chi says yes also". This was the first proverb of the many that my discussion group had discussed. We thought it showed a strong sign of symbolism, a strong sign of what every man did in the society that was crucial. If a man within the society agreed if something was right, their personal gods inside their hearts also agreed. This means that there are two sides of beliefs inside a man's heart when he makes a decision.

2. Okonkwo's Personality. - As my discussion group had moved into talking about the personality of Okonkwo, we thought it was really interesting. There were many signs, and different sides of how Okonkwo had good and both bad sides within is characteristic personality. We thought that he had a warm heart, when he showed his affections to care for his children. However, the way he expresses his vague feelings and how he punishes his wife was unnecessarily mean.

By: Seung-Hyon Lee


 * What were the two most interesting ideas or insights that were discussed in your group meeting today?

__Discussion #2__

1. Okonkwo shows signs of weakness inside him. 2. Okonkwo cares dearly for his children. The one main interesting topic that was discussed today in our groups, was about how Okonkwo had went through some major changes throughout the story. In the previous discussion, every member in our group agreed to the fact that Okonkwo had always been strong inside and outside, to show no sign of weaknesses within his family. However, after todays discussion, our opinions and thoughts had changed. Alex, Joon, Peter Lee and I all agreed to the fact that although Okonkwo always talked about violent stories and often beat up his sons and his wives. However, after the death of his son- Inkemefuna, Okonkwo showed signs of weakness as he did not eat for two days in a row. With this evidence in the book, I now knew that although Okonkwo had shown strong signs of toughness in the family, he also cared for his children. In addition, another example portrays how Okonkwo had cared for his children. When his daughter Enzema had been taken by the goddess, Okonkwo had followed her around and it had been described in the book that he was really worried. With these signs, our group and myself summarized that no humans were completely strong on the inside and the outside. At one point, every human showed some sign of weakness.

**What were the two most interesting ideas or insights that were discussed in your group meeting today?


 * __Discussion # 3__**

The two most interesting ideas that were discussed today, was the characterization of Okonkwo and how the Igbo society and its people had been proven to be weak. First, Okonkwo grows weak and shows signs of sadness. As he had been exiled for seven years, our group had discussed how he changed although he still had the manly characteristics inside him. When he had felt grief and sorrow when he returned to the village as he was not welcomed, this showed how Okonkwo still held various emotions inside him. When Okonkwo also expressed his opinion about his daughter Enzima, he also portrayed his loved emotions. Ononkwo began to show his inner feelings a little bit more as the society in the Igbo land changed dramatically from time to time.


 * __Discussion #4__**


 * Evaluation

Today, I believe that the overall discussion for the past few days had went well. Every group member had participated actively, suggesting opinions and thoughts that contributed to the whole whole group. For the overall discussion, if I had to reflect myself, for the discussion that went on for the past few days, I would say that although I was not exceptional, I did contribute enough thoughts and opinions for the numerous roles that were assigned to me. Our group I think did well, because we did not quarrel over some of the topics that we had disagreed on, but we led a thoughtful conversation as every individual stated out the pros and cons of a certain opinion/thought that they had wanted to share. That went with myself, and with every individual in the group. So overall, I was satisfied with the 4 discussions that went on for the past previous days. **