*Please respond to the four sections of the prompt completely. Show off what you know about the book!
"Cion" is a meta fiction, a tale of people finding themselves and struggling to come to terms with family and heritage, all the while examining our country's cultures and histories.
What is your take on the book? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Are you more of a mix of the two (hopefully)? Reflect a minute on parts that had you laughing, areas you thought were clever, or areas in the book that taught you something important or got you thinking; with this in mind, go back through the book and see if you can come up with page numbers to cite passages. Now write your take on the passages you selected, then move on to the next step.
Reflect a minute on things that confused you, areas of the book that you thought weren't necessary perhaps, or anything in general that you did not like about the novel. Again, with this in mind, go back through your book to see if you can come up with passages and page numbers to represent this. What would you change about the book? What is wrong with the sections you are criticizing?
Now, think about the ending of the book. Did you like the way the story closes? Even if you liked it just fine, take a minute to write an alternate ending to the book.
Finally, write a few sentences about the title and other other symbols in the book. Why do you think Zakes Mda chose the title Cion? Can you give examples of how the metaphor of grafting works with the story (see the diagrams below)?
Grafting is when you take a branch or group of branches of a foreign species and grow them off of a domestic trunk or stock of a tree.
*--Show off your knowledge of the book! Especially those of you who performed sub-par on the quizzes.
22 comments:
Cion, an interesting piece, though it never grabbed me. I found it easy to put down and harder to return to. A few portions that i was able to take in fully were such things as how Ruth ended up opening to her children, but only when they appeased her in ways. Other than that I found little humor and was unable to see anything captivating enough to get me thinking. there were some word plays that had a clever tone to them, but their presence was the only thing of interest in this book.
The novel had no way for me to engage with it. I have lived in a small town, but have hated everything that was used as an analogy, which made engagement impossible. Not much confused me in the book, some of the concepts were basic to the point of making me ask, whether this was a college level book or not.
I am just glad it is over. I never engaged so I can't state enjoyment or disatisfaction with the ending. I just wish that the ending would have went somewhere else, which would have made more sense.
an alternate ending would involve Orpah getting close to Toloki but Toloki remembering his first love and leaving orpah. Though distraught Orpah gains the confidence to move on with her life and becomes a curator at a museum of art in cleveland, where she can admire that which she finds important.
The title deals with grafting, of Toloki into kilvert, thus causing a different fruit to bear. A grafting of Obed into a religious culture that would otherwise have left his life empty and barren. A grafting of openness to Ruth, where she could have easily lived on in her conservative ideal. Also Mahlon, who grafted his past love of plant life into his current protest against it.
I wouldn't say that I liked the book, but i didn't hate it. It was easy to read once you got started so that was good. arts that made me laugh were when Obed shot a hen and of course that is something you are not suppose to do, and another part that made me laugh is when Toloki said he was leaving and all that Mahlon said to him was "don't let the bed bugs bite."(254)
In the beginning of the book I was confused of when the story kept going back and forth from chapter to chapter about the Quigly's then the Absynnian Queen. Also at the end I was a little confused when they were at OU and then were going to parades and lock parties, I didnt know if Orpah and Toloki had left or not yet. on page 300 it says "I can't leave my daddy. He needs me for the memories." and then almost immediately after he is following her and she is telling him it is still early and not to worry about driving.
I did like the end of the book. I like that they got away from everything and went off together. Another ending would be something like Toloki wakes up in the morning and Orpah is missing, he waits for her for a couple of says and she doesn't return, so he sets off on his own without her.
I is similar for one because you are taking a foreign branch, Toloki, and having it grow into another tree, the quiglys. Toloki came and stayed with the Quiglys and it seemed he grew a lot with his stay. By the end of the book he started to speak up to Ruth and Orpah. By him saying, "Orpah has all her stuff her Ruth... she only goes to the RV to visit.." he tells it to Ruth like it is and doesn't just have pity on her like he would do before. I also feel it is like grafting because once the branches are fully grown together it is something completely different, and after Toloki stayed for awhile, the Quigly's had changed a lot. Mahlon finally started to approve of Toloki and he started to be involved with living things again. Ruth started using the rotary cutter which seems like she lost a little stubborness.
I actually did like the book Cion. I had a hard time beginning the book because it started a little slow and seemed pretty boring. But Zakes Mda brought the characters to life with what seemed like real life events. One of the parts that made me laugh was when Toloki began describing how he has "a tongue that knows its what around the strategic parts of bodies..."(pg 278). I just didn't think that Toloki was that intimate of a person to begin with and when he said this i couldn't help but chuckle. The important thing i learned from this book is to appreciate things from the past. Things were done in a certain way in the past for a reason, and we need to sometimes learn to appreciate our past.
The main thing that confused me was the sciolist in the novel. I couldn't make my mind up as to whether or not he was real, or part of Toloki's conscious. The sciolist is also considered to be God-like, "The sciolist is in the God business. And like all Gods he liuves life vicariously through his creations" (312). This statement left a very confusing image as to what the sciolist really was. Another thing that really made me mad about this book is how Ruth and Mahlon were constantly hounding Toloki about how he was corrupting her children. "I Hear Orpah is always in your RV. God knows what you do there. And Obed, we don't see him no more 'cause your meddling got him together with that Beth Eddy or whatever" (275). She does this numerous times in the book, and after a while it just becomes tedious, as if that's the only thing Ruth will talk to Toloki about.
I thought that the ending of the book left me feeling a little empty. It seemed too abrupt for me. I would've liked to know what happened to Orpah and Toloki, and what they say about the Sciolist confused me even more as to what that actually is.
The title, Cion, deals with the grafting of and unknown person (Toloki), into the town of Kilvert. He is placed in this town and pretty much told to adapt to his new surroundings, which is what a new tree has to do when it is being grafted into another tree. Toloki appearance in Kilvert does compare to Grafting because he had grown as a person while living there. He had become a stronger individual, and during Grafting the tree will start weak and grow strong, but not without the help of the trunk which is comparable to the City of Kilvert and its residents.
Overall I thought the book was okay. I felt like some parts of the book were strange and did not even tie into the plot. I did think the themes of slavery, friendship, and family were interesting. For example, Ruth was always for keeping the family together through traditions. "We're people of tradition. Our patterns have come down from our great-great-grandmothers, and ain't no little squirt's gonna change that" (138) I agree that tradition is important to keep families together, but if one does not want to partake in the traditions (for example Orpah) it should not bring family members farther apart like it did in Cion. A specific example that confused me in the book was I still do not completely understand is the sciolist. " ... the sciolist in his Godly madness had conjured me into existence a decade or so before" (2). I feel like the sciolist just came and went without being fully developed as a character within the book. As far as then ending of the book went it was okay. I liked how Orpah and Toloki's journey across the Ohio River relates to Nicodemus and Abednego. An alternative ending to the book could maybe be more about Ruth changing as a person toward the entire family since her being so strict was a big part of the book. Also, I wish the book did a better ending the correlated the two stories together. I do not understand why Zakes Mda used the title Cion. The metaphor grafting works within the story because every plot within the story all ties together, relates, and works off each other. For example, the correlation between Ruth's patterns and The Abyssinian Queen's patterns telling stories.
For a classroom book, I thought that Zakes Mda's, Cion was a pretty good read. I definitely thought that the beginning of the novel was best, though that is my own opinion. I like his stylized writing and how he reflects the upbringing of the families to the upbringing of our country. His imagery was something to be appreciated, as well as the creation of such three dimensional characters.
Something that would have possibly been more helpful to this reading is if we were to have read Zakes book prior to Cion, which I believe is a sequel. Parts of the reading got rather choppy and sometime required some retracing to tie everything up. Some parts were slightly uncomfortable to read, Mda, had created some very complicated and strange characters some that seem to be a bit unbelievable. I honestly don't think there needs to be any change in regards to this book; it is the story that he is attempting to convey and though some characters are hard to believe, I think that it is almost un-admit ably possible for some people of such regards to actually exist.
I think that the closing of this novel was fairly strong, it ties a lot up about the story and liberates characters that the reader has been with all the way through. His writing about the sciolist and Toloki's freedom from it mirrors his ancestors quest for freedom and how all the characters were in a way enslaved to something or someone; not always in the most literal of ways. I think that a reflection upon this would have been helpful, at very least an interesting recount of the novel and overall feeling or attitude. There are many different ideas of freedom as well as slavery, I think that had this been emphasized more literally in the novel, people would have a slightly better grasp on it.
Cutting the people down from their stalk, or homeland and then transporting them to a different part of the world in order to be grown much like a plant would. People, like the plant become commodities, something to be bought and sold is certainly a very dehumanizing thing.
My view on the book is that it was okay. It not the first book I would have picked up to read in my spare time. I'm more of a high fantasy/ fiction person myself. The book had some fiction in it and I liked how it flashed back in time. The jumping back and forth from the present to the past made me more interested in the book. The book had some funny parts to me. One that really sticks out to me was when Toloki was caught outside the window. It just really made me laugh. Some confusing parts in the book were where the book was really slow moving. Like in chapter 1, the section from page 7 to page16 when Toloki was in the city of Athens and is just walking down the street and he goes into detail about what he sees. This part of the book could have moved a lot faster for me because i wanted Toloki to meet Obed and get on with the rest of the book. The part seemed irrelevant. I like the fact that the end of the book took us back to Halloween; 1 year. It sort of tied the whole story back to the start. Kind of like the musical rent, don't know if you have ever seen it but the way it starts and ends is very similar to Cion. Christmas eve in New York in the beginning, then the story spreads all over the place, then back comes back to New York for the final scene. (Just a random comparison i thought was cool.) I wouldn't have changed the ending. It seems to me it kind of tied everything together. In comparison to the figure on the blog i feel like Toloki was the Cion. He was put into this families life and by doing so he sort of split them up. But in the end they grew on each other. Kind of like the diagram shown on the blog.
I feel like Cion was a decent novel. It was a lot better than most of the novels that I read for class in high school but it wasn't exactly a book I would just pick up and read. I really enjoyed the novel during the escape of Abednego and Nicodemus and for them most part during their life on the plantation before that but i feel like the rest of the novel was kind of dull. The novel did teach me several things including how important heritage is which really comes out at the end (page 283) when it is discovered that Mahlon Quigley's mother's real name is Tobias, which happens to be the same name shared with the man that killed Nicodemus and who was killed by Abednego.
The final chapter was kind of confusing in terms of how it was put together. It kind of jumped around a lot and didn't flow particularly well. The story really wasn't confusing at all though. Besides this I would only change the length to which he followed some ideas which I feel made the story somewhat dull. For example I feel that the beginning of the novel could definitely be shortened in terms of the description given of Halloween. I also feel that the descriptions of Toloki's sexual actions toward both his thoughts of Orpah and her sitar playing are unnecessary. An example is on page 197 where it says, "Orpah. She will never know the things I have done with her in my sleep."
I feel that the ending of the novel was just fine. Overall I think that the end of the novel is fine but one alternate ending would be Toloki leaving by himself without Orpah as a result of his relationship with the Quigley's not getting better. Mahlon could have not appreciated the mourning that Toloki did after finding his mother's grave.
I feel that the title of the novel was somewhat important but symbols such as the quilts and the ghost trees are much more important. Quilts are seen again and again throughout the novel and represent both being proud of your heritage, in regards to Ruth, and they represent hope to the Abysinnian Queen and the other slaves at the Plantation. The ghost trees to me represent a hiding place both physically and mentally. Before their escape Abednego and Nicodemus hide things in a ghost tree and later in the story Orpah hides behind her drawings of the ghost trees.
I believe that grafting is a metaphor for the impact that Toloki had upon the Quigley family. During his stay he introduced many different thought processes and everyone in the family ended up changing for the better as a result.
I did enjoy this book. I didn't think that it was entirely appropriate for in class reading, but I did like the fact that it gives you some heritage about Athens County. Stepping into other peoples lives from this area really helps you see the other point of views, issues, and culture that is is so close, yet so far away from Athens. I really thought that the fact the "mark of the Irishmen" had to do with Orpah's you know what. I know that its weird, but it really had me laughing because it was so random. Who would think to insert this into a book? Did it really have any relevance to growing or maturing for Orpah other than her being comfortable with her own body? Um.. I don't think so. I really think that this entire book taught me to let my children be inspired, and to be proud of who they are rather than try to make them someone their not. This way I don't have a forty year old daughter living with me who stays in her room drawing pictures with crayons. "I can hear Orpah and Mahlon clapping their hands and singing "The Song of Massa Blue Fly."" I thought that it was really creepy that this really old guy and his forty year old daughter are singing and clapping...in her room... to this dreadful song while she's coloring. Mahlon must love his daughter way too much =)
As i said before, I do not think that it was necessary for the mark of the irishmen to be inserted in the text. I think that the only outcome from inserting it was showing the fact that she was comfortable with her body as she grows fond of Toloki. Toloki refers to her not being embarrassed about it anymore. This signifies that she has grown comfortable with him. I'm sure though that Mda could have shown this many different ways. Doesn't having sex itself show that there is a comfort level.. or the fact that she starts staying with him? I don't think that I would necessarily change anything about the book. I liked it. It definitely showed a maturing in characters, and that is the best type of books. If there are no lessons to be taught, what are the reasons of reading? The point is to gain more knowledge and experiences, correct?
I did like the ending of the book because it leaves it open to tell more of the story later on. I also think that this ending shows that everyone has grown throughout the book in their own ways. If there were an alternate ending, I believe that Orpah would have never left Mahlon because she was never going to grow up and make her own decisions, Obed leaves Beth Eddy and embarks on Toloki's journey to see how many scams he can endure, and Mahlons cow dies dispite the fact that he is ready to be a part of supporting living things again. That would be a horrid ending though.. wouldn't it? =)
I believe that Mda chose the title Cion because this is what Toloki is. Ruth has passed down their heritage and culture to Toloki and this enables him to then pass on the information. Their story will always be told. I believe that the grafted tree signifies the spreading of the heritage. The trunk is the basis of the heritage, and then the other branches, the "different species" are the different people who encounter the stories and the culture. I think this is also a concept with Toloki's quilting. Toloki will take his knowledge everywhere he goes, knowledge is the one thing in life that no one can take away from you. The quilts can show a significance of how he will tell the story. Incorporating Orpah's drawings into this also creates a new sense of heritage, their heritage. So then this begins a new story, Orpah and Toloki's story.
The book was alright. It wasn't my favorite but I did not mind reading it. The part i like the most was when it talked about Nicodemus and Abednego. This was my favorite part because it was very interesting to hear and learn about what happened when there were slaves. The parts i laughed at were when they talked about Orpah and Toloki's relationship. What i thought was important was when the book talked about how Ruth was so in to tradition. I love tradition and it is very important to me. Even though Ruth is very stubborn about not wanting to create a new tradition, i think it is important to start something new. I couln't find it in the book but i know Ruth quotes something to Orpah about the quilts and how important it is to stick with the same pattern.
I did not like that Orpah and Mahlon performed stories at night. I think it was a little immature and not necessary to do. I was also confused about how the Quigley's lived. I know that they were poor but i feel like that they did not try very hard to make money. Toloki suggests to Ruth in the book, that maybe if she tried to make different patterns in her quilts that they would sale better. i know Ruth was big on tradition but sometimes you have to give up on things that are important to you so you can help your family out. I would not change anything in the book, besides maybe making the ending go a little bit longer. I would do this because it would be interesting to see how Toloki and Orpah's relationship ended.
Yes i liked how the story ends but i kinda wish it went a little farther. I think it would be better if Zakes Mda said that Orpah and Toloki made it Virgina and they were very successful in their mourning and this made them move farther down south. Finally they decide to go back to Africa for a couple years and get married and have children while continuing to mourn. Eventually they would go back to Kilvert to visit Ruth and Mahlon where they decided to move back and take care of them while Ruth and Mahlon die of old age.
To be honest i am still confused on why Zakes Mda choose Cion as the title. I know Ruth says "I want a boy Lord, I said; give us a cion who'll carry our name to the future" (76). It seems to me that it means gives us a "sign". I think there could have been a better title. I think the number one symbol for this book is quilting. It is talked about through the book and how important it is. Quilts lead slaves out of slavery and helps the Quilgey's make money when Ruth sells them. I think grafting works is used in the book when the characters start to change and branch out to new things. Orpah branches out by leaving her family to go with Toloki. Obed changes alot throughout the book how at the end he is becoming a Brother. Mahlon even changes by changing his garden from fake things such as flags to real things such as flowers. Ruth does not really change throughout the book, she is still very stubborn.
Overall I was not a big fan of the book. I think it was well written but it just did not captivate me. A part that made me chuckle was when Toloki first got his RV. I think it made me laugh because it was just so unexpected. It began as one of those ideas that don't often come to fruition and is laughed off as a joke, but it really happened. I also thought it was quite clever how for a good part of the book the reader and Toloki where lead to believe that there is something odd and mischievous going on between Orpah and Mahlon. However, we were thrown through a loop, with Toloki, when we realize all the meetings where overgrown story hours. This is shown in the following quote, " I can see Mahlon pacing the floor as he recites something about a long journey which the mesa blue fly undertake".(264) The prior event occurred between pages 264 and 266.
One thing that through me off a lot in the book was the constant switching between Toloki's tale and the story of Nicodemus and Abednego. I can understand why the second story was in the book, but I also feel like that second story took a lot of effort and time away from Toloki's tale. The two stories could easily be two separate books and this made frustrating to read. There where times when I would finish a chapter and look forward to knowing what happens to Toloki next, but then I would have to read an entire chapter about characters that had nothing to do with the chapter I just read. I felt this way every time the stories would switch, it was very annoying.
The ending of the book was in a way the best part. It did what an ending should do and tie up all the loose ends. However, I think a good alternate ending would be for Toloki to return to Africa and let the family grow on their own after they have embraced his lessons and teachings. I also believe that in the end it would have been better for Orpah to get together with Nathan when Toloki leaves, this could have easily been done Orpah says to Toloki, " I can't leave my daddy he needs me for the memories". (300) After their falling out Toloki would leave and Nathan would come Orpah and help her in her grief, this would help rebuild their relationship and start dating.
As for the title, I am not sure exactly what it means or Zakes Mda chose it, but there are other symbolic items in the book mean that represent a lot. The quilts help show family history and heritage, along with the quilt making process. The ghost trees are symbolic for their beauty and for what they did for the escaped slaves.
I actually really did enjoy the book. It wasn't hard for me to sit down and read. Also, for me, it was entertaining to make connections with the characters and predict what they might do next.
I think that two of the better parts for me were towards the end of the book. I found the scene with the family mourning Margaret Tobias' grave to be a relief in a way. Starting on page 286, with Toloki telling the family "how" he was going to mourn and then continuing to the end of chapter 9, page 288. Through the whole book I was wanting for everything to work out, for Mahlon and Ruth to, at least, respect Toloki and for Orpah to come to terms with the fact that she did have feelings for Toloki.
Also pages 277-278, where Toloki goes into detail about the relations that are between he and Orpah, as a section that caught my attention. The details that are given make you feel like you are apart of the story and I think that this was a very important part because Orpah is finally starting to grow up some, and Toloki is letting go. He is beginning to let go of the past, including Noria, which is a step in the right direction to continue his life.
One area of the book that was slightly confusing regarding the characters, and that irritated me a bit was in chapter 8. When Mahlon caught Toloki spying on he and Orpah and then continued to invite Toloki in, if for nothing else but to make Orpah mad, irritated me a bit. This scene is on pages 2263-266, and I think that it bothered me because Mahlon himself is acting like a child. He has never liked Toloki and therefore he will do what he can to make his daughter not like him as well. Also Orpah herself, treated Toloki with no respect. They had become friends and she was very protective of the stories and angry at Toloki. An adult wouldn't sway back and forth like that, and it did remind the readers of her immaturity.
I personally did like the ending of the book. I think that it left the author with enough that we can continue to make the story in our heads, yet at the same time i found it to be a positive ending. Everyone came to a place of respect and mostly happiness for one another. If I were to write an alternate ending I think that I may have ended with Beth Eddy and Obed getting married, and also continuing just a bit further into what each character's lives would be like now that everything is settled between them.
I think that Mda gave the book the title Cion because as you showed with the grafting of the trees, families have all different parts, or branches. There were members from slaves families and slave catchers that all came together and made the Quigley family. It is another example of how diversity will give color to the world and to a family. No matter where the branches come from it is still family and that family will become whole, like a tree.
I did not enjoy the book Cion. I feel like in every english class I have had a popular theme is slavery, which is fine, but I'd rather read a book that dealt with something else. An example would be a science fiction book or just anything more interesting. The part I laughed at was when Toloki described Athens on Halloween. "I buy a slice of pizza and a can of soda from a bloody girl at the window of a trailer and walk back to Court Street to watch and be watched" (9). This makes me laugh for some reason and I do not think he is trying to be funny either, oh well. The book taught me that change is important, even if it hurts. Orpah says "we should of brought our costumes, Daddy, I wanna be a mourner. I wanna mourn with you,. We gunna mourn up a storm!" (288).I feel that in this quote Orpah sounds childish and more like a 12 year old than her actual age. The fact that Orpah was 40 years old and still listening to bed time stories from her father is ridiculous. It made me realize that even though I may not depend on my parents that much, that I am going to have to grow up and get married and move on, hopefully before the age of 40 unlike Orpah. Something that I thought was clever in the book was that Mahlon's mom ended up being a Tobias. Toloki says,"Sthe wouldn't have used no Quigley 'cause they didn't recognize the marriage. She was of the Tobias family. Margaret Tobias" (283). Even though the family does not know the significance of this, to the reader it is very mind boggling that they're all connected and in the end we are all one people together.
I thought there were a lot of areas in the book that were not extremely necessary. One example is the in depth detail of what happened to Toloki when he was with Orpah. Every time he hears her sitar he gets turned on, or every time she is angry and cusses he is turned on. "Oprah. She will never know the things I have done with her in my dreams" (197). This was just really annoying to read about because it was not written in a classy way, it was just gross.
I did not like how the book ended. I feel like nothing drastic, other than killing William Tobias, happened in either of the time periods. I know that Orpah and Obed moved on, but they're old and they should anyways. I also recognize that Mahlon started his garden again but the fact that it was so easy for Toloki to find his mother's grave was boring. Mahlon could have done that himself many years ago and the family would have been fine. "The process of locating graves is a painless one. Gilkey has records" (282). This shows how easy it was for Toloki to find the grave.
I understand the title now that I know what a cion is. The idea of grafting makes perfect sense with the book. Ruth, Mahlon, Obed, Beth Eddy,Orpah, and Toloki are all extremely different from each other, but in the end they all come together in peace. Just like the foreign branches from other species that are put together to grow. Some symbols are the sciolist, the quilts, the masa blue fly. These are all very significant within in the story and direct how the characters make decisions and live.
I liked he book a lot. It was a little confusing at some times when Zakes would jump back and forth. But, when i could figure everything out, i loved the book. I definitely would recommend it to people.
Confusing areas were probably the times when Zakes would jump around to the past and present. At times it was a little bit confusing and i wold end to get lost. For example, Chapter 6 deals with talking about Niall Quigley and then chapter 7 jumps to present time immediately. There are still a few more examples in the book. I think that if i could change the book, i would not jump around so many times in one chapter. I would just say the past events at the begining of the chapter only.
A part where i caught myself laughing was when Toloki was caught outside of Orpah's room when he was turned on by the sound of her sitar (263-266). Also, I laughed when they were about to have sex and Orpah got naked and revealed the mark of the Irishman (237). I think this is a little creepy but it made me laugh a lot because i don't know why someone wold do this. To me this was pretty funny because Orpah had dark hair everywhere else and only one little patch of blonde hair.
The ending was pretty good. I liked how Toloki and Orph ended up together and left together. My alternate ending would be that Toloki would teach Orpah the ways on how to mourn and she wold go off on her own and begin to mourn at funerals by herself and Tolki would go back to Africa, then about 10 years later they reunite again in Africa and begin their love for each other all over again.
To be honest, I really don't understand why the author chose the name cion for the book. I believe a metaphor of Grafting is when Toloki comes to America, He teaches Orpah how to mourn and then Orpah goes off and teaches other people how to mourn.
I did not like Cion very much at all. I enjoyed the stories about our country's history and how it was told on a personal level of the slaves and their story but I felt the connections were forced. Although the family understands that its ancestors were slaves, he seemed to try and connect them with very important slaves way too hard. I accept that this may be possible but he forced the idea onto the family making the connection feel less genuine. An example of this was when Toloki, all of a sudden, gained an urge to mourn and found the grave of the first Quigley. They did not stumble upon it and the sudden urge and the insight to find the grave in such an odd place was forced. The connection was very good but I felt the presentation was very poor. Also the story of the Quigleys was very independent of the connection even though it seemed so important. They lived their lives with their own memories and ideas but somehow those had a vague connection to the history. It seems that he almost had the story of the Quigleys and half way through he thought he would make it about the slaves too so he created another story in itself. Good idea, bad way of telling it to the audience.
I also found that a few connections to his last book seemed very unnecessary. Yes, they did explain some of his feelings but again they seemed forced. The random onion diet was a great example because he did not elaborate on the fact, only mentioned it. Again he had a very good notion on capturing some the past ideas in his other book but they were forced.
Despite my recent criticism, I did enjoy many parts of the book. The assimilation of Toloki into the Quigley family was interesting and sometimes funny. He learned a lot and I liked how merely his presence caused change within the family. Lastly, I loved how developed his characters were. He presented many sides of each character and none of them were flat unless intended. He always made their actions somewhat predictable gave enough flaws and change within the characters to add an element of surprise. I would say that his character development is the best part of his book. The best example is shown of page 90 when Obed says, "... I nailed that bitch. man. I nailed her good." Obed is seemingly a scoundrel but he shows later how he is good with children and eventually becomes a man of God and dates the 'bitch' that he 'nailed.' He provides much change in character structure and shows how their change reflects on what they once were.
I already explained many things about the book I found unnecessary but there are a few more. The graphic nature of the intimate scenes were a little unnecessary to me. Although I understand the author is trying to explain how important and passionate the scenes are, I felt he could have accomplished this much in much less brash terms. Also there were a few unnecessary scenes in the RV, the procrastinating with leaving Kilvert, and some talk at the community center I found unnecessary. Some things tried to explain characters more but seemed like over-kill. Obed's hand trembling came out of nowhere and it was gone just as fast. I found it very annoying that even after performing a great feat, it was completely thrown away without a second thought. It helped explain Obed's nature but it seemed significant and it was only discussed briefly. It pertained to the characters thought Obed and Ruth's reaction but I felt it held more merit. His unnecessary points definitely held validity but they were excessive in many cases.
I had problems with the ending. It was very choppy and went back and forth between what was and wasn't going to happen. He created unnecessary problems between Orpah and others that only caused the same result. Her indecisiveness and Toloki's separation from the family was only frustrating. Everyone grew and everything was changed but more and more problems arose just making the ending more drawn out and frustrating. It was not a bad way to end the book but I felt like we had a good idea of who the characters were and we knew what was going to happen and he took us through a large loop that was completely irrelevant. If I was to change the ending, I would merely take away the concert and the fights in order to end the book on a good note and keep the passion involved with the trip instead of bogging it down with more petty fights.
The metaphor in the name of the novel is seen throughout the book. Toloki was the scion itself, pushing into another culture where he grew. He served another purpose, the stump for the scion that was the Quigley family. They grew upon him as he grew upon them. It is a great metaphor to show how two different cultures can promote growth for the individual. The title fits the book very well.
I thought the book was ok. I would definitely say that i am a mix of the two. I cant really say that i laughed at any time throughout the book but i will say i smiled when Obed dressed as Nicodemus so he could cop a feel on some sorority girls, or when Toloki says that Orpah was a "virgin virgin," and he liked lovers who had been around the block a bit.
The story of the quilts was very interesting and taught me more about how slaves used different ways to communicate with another.
I felt that Nathan trying to win back Orpah that late in the story after he had his chances many a times and the overall immaturity of a 40+ year old woman who acts the way Orpah acts throughout the novel just really chapped me.
Page 280 explains Nathan and Orpahs fight about getting back together and his awesome insults to Toloki saying that he is from Africa and lions live there and talking about dumping in the woods with snakes around. Then, Orpahs immaturity by calling her father "daddy" like she is a child and her temper tantrums of ripping up pictures and quilts shows that she is just so immature for her age and I believe needs counseling.
I dont exactly know what i would do to change the book but maybe be more specific on how certain characters fit into the story like the Sciolist?
The ending for the book was fairly decent as Toloki went his own way. The only problem is that he is taking along a huge mental and emotional burden that is Orpah.
My ending would have Toloki setting out on his own like he did in the beginning coming from Africa...withOUT Orpah. He doesnt need her and she needs way more than just Toloki.
This book used a great deal of symbolism to help explain certain things throughout. The quilts for communication and safety advice, the ghost trees as shelter and history holders, and the sciolist to symbolize a type of "god" for Toloki. I think Mda chose Cion as the title because as they diagram shows that although none of the characters were similar in any way, they all in fact came together full circle in the end just as the cion bring the branches together.
I thought the book was interesting. It was very different from any other book that I would ever chose to read, but I still enjoyed it somewhat. I am definitely a mixture of liking the book and hating the book. One of the parts that had me thinking was when Ruth would tell Obed and Orpah to grow up, but yet would still not anyone to take her children away from her. On page 276 Ruth is talking to Toloki and telling him how no one will take Orpah away from her and Mahlon. Ruth says to Toloki at one point, "...Orpah's ours. No one must take her away" (276). This made me think because earlier in the book Ruth was trying to get Orpah to marry Nathan and make her move on with her life, but now she is saying that no one will take her away.
Some of the book seemed a little too harsh at times, like at the beginning of the book when it was back in the time of the slaves, it was talking about how some of the slaves were used for just breeding and if the other slaves didn't do their work correctly they would be beat. I just think that some of the details used were too much and were unnecessary to the story. One example is when the owner of Fairfield Farms picks the slaves he wants to be the "breeding" slaves and asks them if they like their "new" job because it is better than just working in the fields. Becoming a "breeder" slave was not a priviledge, it was demeaning to the person. Also, when Abednego and Nicodemus were caught "spying" on the owner's wife, she threaten their lives the next day, as well as the Abyssian Queen's life too, since they were somewhere where they should not have been.
I would not change a lot about this book, it was a different type of book, but all in all interesting. I don't know what to change really, other than not sharing so many harsh detaials.
The sections I criticized just seem too detailed, not that in books there can be "too much detail" but some of the things shared were just overwhelming and flat out disgusting!
I did like the way the book ended, it was a happy ending with Orpah and Toloki finally getting to be together. Them being together finally kind of solved one of the major issues throughout the whole book, of Orpah's freedom and Toloki's feelings for Orpah. Even though I liked the ending of the book, an alternate ending could have been that Ruth and Mahlon decided not to let Orpah go with Toloki and therefore Toloki left on his own, leaving Orpah and all his feelings behind and just moving on with his life and his job of professional mourning.
The use of symbols throughout the book meant a lot to the story. The quilts stood for the family and it's history and strenght. The ghost trees stood for memories and shelter and safety. The title Cion makes sense because it is like a group of stories that were split up, but yet tied back together to make the family complete again. So I think that Zakes Mda choses this title because it resembles the family and their history.
The book was great. I think this book has brought a new prospective to my eyes. In the book, the detail is uncannily wonderful. You feel like your there, you know the characters, and you have lived their lives. I think one part that me and my friend still laugh about is when Toloki said was "and I walked away in disgust." That statement has been bouncing back and forth between use after we read it making for some good times. This book to me has had a overall family theme, because even when they were mad at each other they eventually worked out their problems(no matter how stubborn any one was!)
I thought that the part of the story where they talked about Toloki's relationship with Orpah in chapter 8 was unclear on what it was stating. It seemed to basically give to little of description for me to unstand if they were messing around or just cuddling all night. It was later clarified in Chapter 10 that they did start to get more involved with each other. I felt the ending was vague; almost as if to leave room for a sequel to this book like when they travel on the road or even return home. I think an alternate ending to the story could be maybe just ending with a small memory of how Toloki had changed sense the beginning of time with the Quigley family.
I think the title was based on Toloki, because he was like a cion for them to take change in stride. The family had been at a stand still until he came and rocked the boat with his beliefs and traditions. In the sense of grafting he was grafted into the family which was surprising to me, but truly I know of this kindness by my grandmother being the same way. They welcomed him full-heartedly in their home without really knowing much about him, and even though most of them wouldn't admit it the whole family grew to love him.
1) I thought that reading the book was tedious and boring. Some parts were interesting (such as the tales of Abednego and Nicodemus, and the snide comments in narration made by Toloki), but overall i felt like there was alot of un-needed pork in the narration. I thought it was clever the way Zakes used the sciolist to be a sort of guardian angel for Toloki when he gets stuck. The sciolist gives him ideas of where to look for other mourners at the end of the book, which seems to continue the story and leave a lot of plot details open ended. Where do Toloki and Orpah actually find other mourners? Do they just stay in Virginia? Do they even stay together? I also thought it was very interesting the way Toloki said that the sciolist was in the "God Business" (312). I am led to believe that maybe the sciolist was actually a supernatural being that helps Toloki and maybe others, as well as living his life "vicariously through his creations" (312).
2) I got severely confused on why Mda worded Toloki's feelings the way he did. Instead going into detail about Toloki's sick and twisted habits of pleasuring himself to Orpah's sitar, he could have simply stated that Toloki was excited more ways than one by her playing (158). It was just an awkward moment in the story and I felt put off by the book at that point. Although I am complaining about Zakes writing, I would not dare change it because it is not my own work. I think he paints pictures with his words wonderfully and alludes to certain ideas and events without plainly stating it.
3) I thought the ending was a bit hokey. It was just a typical happy ending that you would hear in a fairy tale, but this story is no fairy tale. This book is about people with social issues. They may have worked through those issues, but they are still there. Orpah pretty much throughout the WHOOOOLLLLLEEEE book acts like a child and is back and forth about Toloki and whether she likes him, but it is most prevalent in the last two chapters. It just angered me and i got frustrated and confused. Another thing that confused me was the fact that the last chapter jumped back and forth in time. It was just frustrating to try to figure out when events happened. I think putting dates at the beginning of every chapter or "time jump" would help significantly.
If i were to end the story, this is how it would go down:
Toloki comes to his senses and realizes that Orpah is a wishy washy person, and that her new found interest in mourning is a childish adventure. He sees that her interest is unfounded, and she is only doing it because she thinks it is "cool" and does not know why it must be done. Toloki will go back to Africa and bring back his experiences in America, though he will be out of place because he is so used to American society.
4)I think Zakes used the title Cion because Toloki is like a little splinter being forced into the stalk of American society and more specifically, the Quigley family. His quilt making endeavors show his growth from the Quigley family in a physical way, but his mental growth is present throughout the book. Another symbol that is prevalent in the book is the quitls. The quilts change throughout the story. Ruth is very adamant about making traditional quilts, but by the end she is branching out and making biblical figure quilts. Religion plays another huge role in the story because it guides much of the story through Ruth. She rips up Orpah's pictures because the good word tells her that they are abominations, which leads to Orpah leaving the house to explore her creativity. Also the fact that they put grandma Quigley to rest, as all dead should be, and Mahlon begins to heal shows that religion is a powerful tool for healing.
I would have to say that I had mixed feelings about this book. One of the parts I thought was funny was when Toloki thought Obed's actual name was Nicodemus when he wen to bail him out of jail and said "I tell them about Nicodemus and they say there was never anyone of that name in their custody" (17).
The main aspect of the book I did not like was how Mda uses character such as Massa Blue Fly to keep the story going. For example, I would have preferred Nicodemus and Abednego to find their way north on their own rather than following a giant fly. It even says "Nicodemus got the bright ideathat perhaps the fly was their guardian angel..."(103).
I thought the ending of the book was decent, but I think it was a bit abrupt. At first, Mahlon did not want Orpah to leave with Toloki, but as soon as they finished mourning Mahlon's mother everything was ok. I just think they should not have left so abruptly.
I think the title Cion was chosen because Toloki is a metaphorical Cion. When Toloki comes to Kilvert, Ruth complains that her children have no ambition and says this of Obed: I want a boy Lord...give us a cion who'll carry our name to the future. Now see what I got?" (76). By the end of the book, Obed wants to become a minister, and is now with Beth Eddy, and Orpah leaves with Toloki to mourn. If it weren't for Toloki these things would not have happened.
To me the "Cion" is Obed, but it could be Orpah too. Reason being is that Obed dressed up like Nicodemus, Abednego's brother who is in direct lineage with the Quigley family. Furthermore, the name Obed is very similar to Abednego.
Obed and Orpah look to graft themselves (family stock) in new places by the end of the book, just as their ancestors had generations prior.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and found that while some parts were hard to read or unbelievable, it was engaging and made me think about culture, heritage, racism, politics, and slavery in new ways, from different perspectives. "Cion" is a colorful piece filled with layers of meaning and social examination. This magical fiction gave me a renewed understanding of our country and in some ways, our world.
Hats off to Zakes Mda!
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