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“No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women, and his children he was not really a man”.( Chinua Achebe ).This make me feel upset and broke my heart. The quotation above shows that even how prosperous a man is he never been called a real man if he didn’t threatened his women and his children in a good ways. In Chapter 7 Okonkwo feels to the boy that have given him by the Umuofia named Ikemefuna as well as for his son. Instead of that I am very upset of what Okonkwo do to Ikemefuna. Because Okonkwo didn’t think that the boy thinking him as his real father and recognizing Nwoye as his little brother.But time past Okonkwo thinks that Ikemefuna is just only a bad influence to his son. When the time that Okonkwo seek to tells Ikemefuna that they are going to Mbaino. Ikemefuna doesn’t believe of what Okonkwo tells him.I am very happy when Ikemefuna can go home to Mbaino. But when I really know the truth that it is just only a lies my heart cut into pieces. They did not notice that Nwoye hear what they are talking that Ikemefuna was leaving he feel burst into tears …show more content…
and eaten his father. It is very unbelievable that Okonkwo do this to Ikemefuna. On the journey with the Ikemefuna and the other men of Umuofia they hear the “peaceful dance from a depart clan”.
It broke my heart when the men of Umuofia strikes the first blow of their machete to Ikemefuna in the time that he turned back. When Ikemefuna cries out I am crying to beacause Ikemefuna seeking help for he thinks his real father but it turns into nothing. Instead of seeking help he actually beaten him and kill by using his machete. When Nwoye knows that Ikemefuna is dead everything changes with him. Being one of the warrior man and a respected person in your village you can do anything just for the seek of everone. Upon reading “ Things Fall Apart” I realized that even if you are against in your tradition you must follow it in the seek of your Oracle. It is hurt to think that the father his threat as his real father is the one who end up his life with a senseless
killing.
For members of the Ibo tribe, being submissive and respectful to your elders and culture is the only accepted way to live, yet the son of one of the greatest men in Umuofia seems to defy this ideal. Nwoye, the son of Okonkwo, one of the most majestic warriors and farmers in their small village, has never really been attracted to the manly nature and attitudes expected of him. Never being fond of blood and fighting and not wanting to participate in any of the hard work in the household has left Nwoye with a more feminine personality. Not only does he reject the ideas of the Ibo culture, he also accepts those of a white man and lives life like a Westerner. In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, Nwoye defies traditional Ibo values by emphasizing the importance of not killing Ikemefuna, highlighting the fact that it is acceptable to convert to Christianity, and not living up to be the manly hero his dad want him to be.
This quote shows that Okonkwo is really sympathetic and how he has a liking ness to some children for different reasons. This also shows how Okonkwo is not a heartless man and actually cares for his children. “He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy.” (Achebe Ch 4) This shows that Okonkwo even shows sympathy to those that are not related to him. Ikemefuna came in as a prisoner but later ended up becoming apart of Okonkwo's family.
Nwoye is one of the characters that shows the culture clash in its full effect on both sides for an individual and for the old culture. We see that it impacts him very positively but it’s still not cool to take over a culture of another peoples. We see that Nwoye is one of the men of the tribe that doesn’t necessarily agree with their cultures and is facing an internal struggle all through part one. Nwoye is looked down as weak by his father.
Chinua Achebe wrote this novel from the perspective of Okonkwo, but this passage in particular is more from Nwoye’s point of view and is told through a third person omniscient narrator. It takes place in the middle of a larger topic involving the manliness of Nwoye and Ikemefuna, and is located in paragraphs three and four of chapter seven, in part one. Here, Nwoye and Ikemefuna are sitting in Okonkwo’s obi listening to “masculine stories of violence and bloodshed” (TFA, location 574). Nwoye is pretending to be interested in the stories to please his father, but he prefers the womanly stories his mother told.
Some people are faithful to their religion, as for Okonkwo he was faithful to his religion and culture. Okonkwo thought nothing wrong until the missionaries came upon on the land. Before the missionary came he was a man who didn’t treat his family as a loving and caring one. Sometimes he wished for his children to be different than who they really are. Okonkwo didn’t know what his actions and thoughts could do to his people. Okonkwo had things planned but as soon the missionaries came alone he didn't know what was upon him. When they came to the land he had his future built for himself, he planned what to do but the plans changed and fell apart.
This next quote exhibits how much Okonkwo loves and cares for his daughter, Ezinma. “I wish she were a boy,” thought Okonkwo within himself. She understood things so perfectly (Achebe, pg. 173). A woman can’t rule a household, according to Okonkwo and his clan. If Ezinma were a boy, she could run a household and be a proud son. Okonkwo would never imagine his daughter being in charge of a house. Although Okonkwo has changed and he has more compassion for his daughter. Okonkwo also respects, and treats, women better now. When Okonkwo was exiled to 7 years to his mother's land, he grew more respect for the women in his life. Okonkwo will also never love Ikemefuna as a son. But Okonkwo changed and he does love him as a son. We can say Okonkwo kills himself because he is angry at the Christian missionaries, so he commits suicide to make an example of how much they believe in their religion. One can think after Okonkwo being so violent, when he was a young man, he realized there is more to life than
‘’Nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives to do one of those difficult and masculine tasks in the home, like splitting wood, or pounding food. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister, Nwoye would feign annoyance and grumble aloud about women and their troubles. Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna.’’(38) Nwoye wasn’t like the other ibo boys. He didn’t like to do manly things. He was more interested in how things work, the logic behind everything. Okonkwo didn’t like that. He wanted a son that could eventually take on his lead and provide for his family. That is why he liked Ikemefuna better because he showed all the characteristics he wanted in a
Okonkwo is “a man of action, a man of war” (7) and a member of high status in the Igbo village. He holds the prominent position of village clansman due to the fact that he had “shown incredible prowess in two intertribal wars” (5). Okonkwo’s hard work had made him a “wealthy farmer” (5) and a recognized individual amongst the nine villages of Umuofia and beyond. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw isn’t that he was afraid of work, but rather his fear of weakness and failure which stems from his father’s, Unoka, unproductive life and disgraceful death. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness….It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” Okonkwo’s father was a lazy, carefree man whom had a reputation of being “poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.” (5) Unoka had never taught Okonkwo what was right and wrong, and as a result Okonkwo had to interpret how to be a “good man”. Okonkwo’s self-interpretation leads him to conclude that a “good man” was someone who was the exact opposite of his father and therefore anything that his father did was weak and unnecessary.
Throughout the novel the setting does not change much in Umoufia where mostly everything takes place. “And it was not too hot either, because the cold and dry harmatten wind blowing down the north” (4). Here is a minor description on how Chinuea Achebe takes us back to the 19th century era in Nigeria. We can see how the Igbo (Ibo) people have adapted and react to certain weather. “When the rain finally came, it was in large drops of frozen water which people called the nuts of water of heaven” (108). This is an indirect quote that tells us a few things about these Ibo people. First of all the hail is interpreted as the “nuts of frozen water of heaven”. This shows the reader and the audience how valuable hail and water is
A main character in the novel, Okonkwo has several wives. He orders them around like dogs. They are never to question what they are instructed to do; they are expected to be obedient. We see this early in the story, when Okonkwo brings Ikemefuna into his home. Okonkwo tells his senior wife that Ikemefuna belongs to the tribe and that she is expected to look after him. She in turn asks him if he will be staying with them for a long period of time. This sends Okonkwo into a fury. He snaps at her in a very degrading manner, "Do what you are told woman. When did you become one of the ndichie (meaning elders) of Umuofia?"(pg.12) Clearly she receives no respect. Later in the story we see this woman try to comfort Ikemefuna. She "mothers" him as if he is one of her own children. She tries to put him at ease and can almost instinctively feel how much he misses his own mother.
In the beginning chapters (Chapter 4) Okonkwo did not have a very good relationship with his two sons. He was a slightly more caring man when Ikemefuna was sick. But when they were assisting him in planting the seeds for the crops all he did was belittle them and make them feel bad about themselves and how they were completing the task at hand. By the end of this group of chapters (Chapter 7), his sons had loosened up to him and seemed to feel more open to how they had been treated. Although how Okonkwo acted was not okay, the relationship between them did strengthen and as he became more proud of his son, specifically Ikemefuna, he grew to like Okonkwo more. The end of the chapter however, showed that deep down the true colors of Okonkwo shined
Ikemefuna had become a role model and a part of their family, but as he was going to be sent away by the elders to go back to his village, you could really tell the tone of the book. But why would Okonkwo kill Ikemefuna, even if he was a perfect masculine boy? It is because Okonkwo, deriving back to his insecurity about being weak, wanted to show the elders and other men that he could maintain a level of respect and masculinity amongst the Umuofia people. As he returned that night, Nwoye knew of the death of Ikemefuna, and felt heartbreak inside of him, just like when he was in the forest where twins were left to die in pots earlier in his
Ikemefuna was Okonkwo’s “adopted” son. Ikemefuna and a little girl were taken away from their families in a neighboring village after a man from his village killed a man in Umuofia’s wife. Ikemefuna was given to Okonkwo as a peace offering and he fit in quite well with his new family. Okonkwo’s other sons were greatly influenced by Ikemefuna, and Ikemefuna’s relationship with Okonkwo was closer than that with his biological father. After three years of living with Okonkwo, Ikemefuna was told that he was going home. In reality, the oracle had told Okonkwo that Ikemefuna was to be killed. As Ikemefuna was on his journey “home” his innermost thoughts give his opinion
In the Igbo world, family seems not as crucial as the modern world, at least Okonkwo does not care too much about all family members. Okonkwo’s first son named Nwoye, supposed be act like his father, is causing Okonkwo great anxiety. Instead of teaching him to be a real warrior, he does not spend a lot of time to train his son. He fear Nwoye will become his nightmare, Okonkwo’s father, and Okonkwo also afraid to teach Nwoye by himself. As a result, Nwoye grows up with his mother. Since Okownkwo is too timid to undertake raising responsibility, his son became the man as similar as Okownkwo’s father. Okownwo himself does not impute his mistakes about raising his son to his fear. Consequently, he blames his son to become a coward. During the exile, Okownwo is planning to help his other two sons to earn their titles and consider his daughters marriages. If Nwoye does not join the white people, Okownkwo will still give up on him. Even a criminal has his second chance, why Nwoye can not? Okownkwo is surrounded by his own fear, because he knows he is lack of ability to persuade his son to become a real warrior in the Igbo world. As a result, he chose the simplest way to avoid trouble, deserting his first son. In the whole story, Okownkwo never mentions about his mother’s name, though he is aware of mother is supreme. Okownkwo also ask his daughter to marry in his father’s village instead of his mother’s. Ikemefuna has not any blood connection with Okownkwo’s family, but he helps Okonkwo’s family a lot, he could be called a half family member in Okownkwo’s family. Someone thinks Ikemefuna could be a potential menace to the whole clan, so Okownkwo choose to believe Ikemefuna will cause a lot of problem in the future. No matter how much Ikemefuna contribute to this family, Okownkwo choose to kill him. After killing Ikemefuna, Okownkwo regrets and suffers. He fear to break the
In chapter Seven the elders of Umuofia decide the fate of Ikemefuna by leading him away from Umuofia and killing him. The elders didn’t want Okonkwo to join them because Ikemefuna called Okonkwo “father” and they felt