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God's Bits of Wood Chapters 19-20

Last post for God's Bits of Wood. I'm a little sad that the book ended the way that it did but also glad that it is over. I started off loving the book and saw similarities between Things Fall Apart, the book that made me decide to do IB English, and I really liked the story.

I started to dislike the book when Bakayoko arrived and the women lost a lot of their power and confedenice. I also didn't like how the author made Tiemoko sound terrible and that he was causing all sorts of problems. In the end he only ran the trial with Diara and didn't show up again. What I did like was that Fa Keita came back into the picture. I was wondering for most of the book what had happened to him and was glad that we got to see what he was going through. I thought that the author forgot about Fa Keita and was glad that "the old one" returned safe.

All in all, I liked the book because of the story line and the development characters. I love it when characters change for the better but in this book we see change but don't know if the change sticks. All of the women change to be stronger but after the book ends we don't know if the women will revert to their old ways and let the men run everything. I am still left with questions but all good books do that.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 17-18

I am starting to hate this book. First off, my favorite character, Penda, has been killed off. She was the strongest character in the book and added a sense of power and independence to the book. It did take me a second to figure out that she died and I was very disappointed.

I was also upset that N'Deye has chosen polygamy and wants to be Bakayoko's second wife. She was completely against it at the beginning but know has decided that she loves Bakayoko enough to be his second wife. She has gone from being someone who hated the traditional African ways to one that will now follow them. This just bothers me so much. She needs to stick with an idea and go with it.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 15-16

In chapter 15 we finally meet Bakayoko and I don't find him that great. He has basically been traveling around and been spreading the news of the strike. He would have been more helpful if he were helping to find water and rebelling against the French from Dakar or Thies. When he does return and they hold the conference between the French and Senegalese, he is actually doing something that will affect his country in return.

Besides Bakayoko's big entrance into the novel, Penda decides to march the women from Thies to Dakar. If I have not already mentioned, I love Penda. She is so strong and I love how nothing gets in her way and she does what she wants. She successfully gathers all the women and marches them together to Dakar. Another interesting moment in this section was that we finally found out the father of the blind woman's child. I have a feeling that during this time period there were not a lot of single mothers and yet the blind woman wants to be a single mother and be independent. She is also one of my favorite characters and I can see that Penda looks up to her. She sees that the blind woman can do everything she can and more. The blind woman and Penda are very similar and it makes sense that they are drawn to each other.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 13-14

"They had tasted the bitter fruits of danger and now nothing else had a flavor."

This quote happens after the apprentices have shown what they can do to help the strikers and families. They loved the thrill of stealing food and getting away with it. They could not go back to just killing lizards and snakes but wanted to have a "real" mission again. This is what lead them to smashing the glass and being more rebellious.

There was also a quote that I found very funny and it happened in a show that I was watching.  The quote was "the women don't wait to have one before they're pregnant with another." In How I Met Your Mother, Marshall, Ted, and Barney watch the Star Wars Trilogy every three years and imagine what their lives will be like. In 2012, Ted thinks that Marshall will have impregnated Lily, his wife, with  their fifth child even before they have their forth. Immediately when I saw this quote I got on Youtube and looked up the scene. And i'll post it so you can see the relationship.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 11-12

In these chapters we have met new characters, like Penda, and are getting closer to meeting the famous Bakayoko. I am usually not open to the introduction of characters as a novel goes on but Penda is an exception. She is a lot like a modern day teenager. She reads trashy magazines, has posters of actors on her walls, and does not care what people think of her. She is very independent and knows what she wants. I always love a strong woman character in novels and in God's Bits of Wood the author incorporates a lot of them.
I also think that Bakayoko will appear later in the novel. He is a major discussion topic with the characters and it has left the audience confused as to why this major character is not involved with the other characters. I am interested in meeting Bakayoko and understanding why he is such a praised character.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 9-10

In these last chapters fire played a major role. The women in the novel are standing up for themselves and are trying to survive but are destroying things in the process and getting into even more trouble. In the discussion today someone used the phrase "fighting fire with fire" which is exactly what they are doing.

This tactic does lead to the downfall of the rebellion and it also emphasizes that the colonizers have the resources and are willing to waste them. Everyone is scrounging to find food and the water has been cut off. People can live without food for a few days but water is essential for life. When the women follow Rama to the officials office they are surrounded and sprayed with high pressure fire hoses. These people have been starving and cannot find water anywhere and yet the colonizers are willing to use this precious water to teach them a lesson. During this process one woman dies and it seems that the end is near for the strike and the suffering.

In chapter 10 I was confused as to why this chapter was even included. I felt that it added nothing to the story and we did not need to have anymore characters. At this point in the novel we know people are starving and that there is suffering all around. I felt that this chapter should have been cut or moved to the beginning of the novel.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 7-8

These last two chapters have answered some of my earlier questions. In the beginning Ad'jibid'ji did not like Tiemoko and I see why. He has caused all sorts of problems. First, he devises a plan to take Diara and hold a trial because Diara stopped participating in the strike and joined the other side. He tried to pin everyone against Diara, even Diara's son. While this trial is going on Ad'jibid'ji and her grandfather, Fa Keita, show up at the meeting and Keita speaks his mind on the matter and how they should not hurt Diara anymore than they already have. Tiemoko feels as though Keita stole his moment and the reader now sees how selfish he truly is and how the world revolves around him.

After this very memorable moment, disaster strikes. The militiamen come by Ad'jibid'ji's and Niakoro's home looking for Keita. They find him and drag him from his home and in the process injure Ad'jibid'ji and kill Niakoro. I knew before this incident that things would get out of hand fast but this was, in a way, an accident and Ad'jibid'ji's fault. She wanted to go to the meeting and forced Keita to come along. If he did not speak up at the meeting, the militiamen would not have taken him from his home. Niakoro's death was also a part in this because if the men did not show up she would not have been killed by them. I also think that it was an accident that they hit her and she died. She was not their target but was in the way of the final goal. Her death is very similar of the one the twin had in the beginning of the novel.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 5-6

"They scarcely recognized the woman beside them as the Ramatoulaye they had always known, and they asked themselves where she had found this new strength. She had always been quiet and unassuming and gentle with the children; at the street fountain she never took part in the arguments, and she never spoke badly of her nieghbors. Where, then, had this violence been born?"(74)

The last sentence at the end of the third chapter was "and the men began to understand that if times were bringing forth a new breed of men, they were also bringing forth a new breed of women" (34). This idea has started to show in the fifth and sixth chapters. Rama and the other women living in her house have taken charge and are doing everything they can to keep the children and themselves alive. Personally, I did not think that this idea would take place until later in the novel.

Rama is also not the only woman changing. Mame Sofi also stands up to the water carrier and argues with  him to let her pay for the water later. Eventually all the women around Rama go through a change when they stand up to the policemen that want to take Rama and their food from the ram. I am really enjoying the story that revolves around Rama and her "God's bits of wood." I love the power that the women are showing and I'm finding the mens view on the strike boring. But so far, this has been my favorite part because Rama is my favorite character and I love that she is standing up for herself.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 3-4

I have never read a school book where the title of the novel is revealed before the first fifty pages. I know this does not mean much to most people but I love it when a play, movie, or book hides the title in the words for me to notice it. It is an "aha" moment where you think "so that's where the title came from!"

I also know what the title is referring to. From what I gathered, Ramatoulaye is the eldest of her family and was given the house. The author introduces the title right after we meet her with the line "her responsibilities had become very great, because the house of which she was the eldest was large: there were no less than twenty of 'God's bits of wood'"(40). Since the title is in a way connected to Ramatoulaye I predict that more of the book will revolve around her. I also know what "god's bits of wood" actually means: it is referring to the people that live in the house.

Aside from finding the title, the chapters were very religious. I kept seeing the word "God" and Islam was being referred to. I expected as much because the title does have "God" in it and religion seems to be playing a large role in the recent books we have read.

I hope that my prediction is true and the main character is actually Ramatoulaye.

God's Bits of Wood Chapters 1-2

So far the book has caught my attention. I had a feeling that it was going to be very similar to Chinua Achebe's book Things Fall Apart. I really enjoyed Things Fall Apart and that was one of the reasons why I joined IB English because I wanted to read more books like that(I obviously got my wish). Already several significant things have happened: a strike was planned and has started to take place, there is a lot of tension between the natives and the French settlers, and a baby has died.

In the short thirty pages that I have read, I have learned very little about the situation that the characters are in and know next to nothing about some important characters that are mentioned like Ibrahim Bakayoko and Tiemoko. The author has done a good job in introducing the characters but he also leaves me with questions.

First off, why does Ad'jibid'ji not like Tiemoko? He has done nothing wrong at this point in the novel and was only voicing his opinion as was everyone else at the meeting. I also do not understand how two cities that are on opposite sides of Africa have anything to do with each other? The author may make a connection to the two places but I think that they are two far away to have any similarities or correlations. This is not really a question, but  I am very curious to know what happens to Maimouna. One of her babies has been killed and she is blind. I have no idea how she must feel and how the other baby feels. Twins have a connection but since one is dead, the other one must feel lost.