I’m going to get this out there now; although I don’t like Unoka, I think that Okonkwo may be even worse. These two men lived completely different lives, and the style of life that they choose were opposite extremes. While Unoka was lazy, Okonkwo is a hard worker, but his temper often gets the best of him. I believe that this quality may lead to his downfall (as shown in the title of the book). He shows no emotion except for anger; this is not only unhealthy, but is probably corrupting both him and his family. He may be successful now, but I would be extremely surprised if all of his success does not turn on him because of his anger. We have already seen instances where he has showed unnecessary anger and aggression (when he called the man who contradicted him a woman and when he beat his wife during the week of peace). These instances were forgiven and forgotten, but that may not be the case if he continues such behavior. As far as Unoka and Okonkwo go, living to the extremes is not working; I believe that one of the main points of this novel may be to find a middle path between emotion/laziness and aggression/overachieving.
The tribe described in this book is very unique, especially when you compare them to an individualistic culture like ours. The people are very wrapped up in the traditions of our culture. They celebrate frequent festivals and celebrate them in the same way that their ancestors did, rarely changing customs. They love proverbs that their wise relatives developed and frequently use those proverbs in everyday speech. They have traditions of masculinity and femininity that govern them and everything they do. Sometimes the tradition is good, but other times it leads to horrible occurrences, especially in Okonkwo’s case. Okonkwo takes the tradition of masculinity way too seriously when he nearly shoots Ekwefi and when he kills Ikemefuna with a machete. Although gender roles are important to the other people, nobody takes them as seriously as Okonkwo. It is somewhat ironic that Okonkwo takes the tradition of masculinity so seriously, yet he does not enjoy the other traditions, such as festivals and proverbs, that the rest of the people are ecstatic about. This book clearly shows that tradition plays a good role in some societies, but tradition can also be a vice that needs to be changed.
This section shows the complexity in the relationships between men and women of the clan. Akueke and Ibe go through an extremely complicated process for engagement; they go through traditions to “seal the deal,” but there seems to be little affection between the newly engaged couple. The small amount of affection between spouses is also shown when Okonkwo beats his wives and poorly relates to them. Uzowulu is very similar to Okonkwo in the fact that he beat his wife in occasions when it was not necessary. The fact that this dominance of men over women is a tolerated tradition is disturbing. Uzowulu receives a small amount of humiliation as his punishment for constantly beating his wife. This clearly shows the tolerance of men as higher than women. The relationship between Ogebuefi and Ozoemena is seen as ideal, but no other couples seem willing or capable to implement such a relationship in their lives. This patriarchal system is clearly not working, but very few people seem to understand this enough to change it.
This section was awesome! I love the fact that some of the people are finally starting to ponder their traditions rather than blindly following them. Nwoye begins to wonder if manliness is all it is cracked up to be, especially after Ikemefuna dies. Now Obierika questions the fairness of Okonkwo’s leaving and the destruction of his house. Besides the questioning of traditions, there is the fascinating story of the tortoise. Although I probably shouldn’t be using the cover of a book to make judgments about symbolism, it does strike me how closely the texture on the book resembles a tortoise shell. I would assume the broken up man on the front is Okonkwo. It would be very easy to apply the tale of the tortoise to Okwokwo; he came from a poor life where he had nothing, used persuasion and work to get where he wanted, was greedy, and will probably end up making everyone madder so that they let him fall and break apart. Somehow he will be put back together, but he will never be the same. Part two is probably where the audience can really see him fall to his breaking, although I think it is obvious that his fall began when he accidentally killed another clansman.
This section makes it obvious that Okonkwo has already “fallen” as the tortoise fell. He said he feels broken and what he was once passionate about no longer gives him pleasure. The story of the tortoise is probably also a symbol for Okonkwo’s whole mother clan. The whole clan is ostracizing the Christians and that is probably going to lead to their fall, just as it led to the fall of the Abame clan. Although the Christians are probably going about it the wrong way, they really are trying to help the people, but the people are being greedy and selfish, just as the tortoise was. The Christians, however, will be the ones who end up ruining the community because they came into the clan’s territory. Although the Christians have a faith that they are peacefully trying to convert people to, they need to learn the customs of the people and gain their respect. It they fail to do those things, the outcasts will be the only ones converted and there will be a huge split between Church and clan, as shown in the novel.
Things are clearly falling apart in this section. The culture of the clansmen is being taken over and changed by the missionaries. The missionaries have proved many Igbo beliefs wrong (cutting off the outcasts’ hair) and have thus won many coverts. Although they have shown the people they have false beliefs, they have also begun to break up a very complex and ancient culture. The missionaries may not agree with the religion of these people, but other traditions such as government and planting styles should not be changed. Although the clan is not being fully destroyed, they are definitely being broken up. All of the different clans will be put back together once the white people leave, but there will be rough edges and cracks where relationships and customs were once smooth. Although the white men are trying to help these people, they are doing much more harm than good. The split of between Christians and the clan, the new and the old, is only going to get bigger. Both the Christians and clansmen like Okonkwo are too set in their ways for any compromise to be reached.
I loved this book and it has an amazing message: respect others, no matter who they are or where they came from. The lack of respect and education between everyone is what ruined the peace and the Igbo culture. Obierika is the one person that begins to grasp the concept of education and why it is important to the people. He questions Okonkwo’s exile and wants to know the reasoning behind it. Although Obierika doesn’t do anything to try and understand why Okonkwo was exiled, he at least understands that there must be some kind of reasoning behind it. The reasoning behind every belief is what would have led to respect among these people. Both the Christians and the clansmen believed that their way of life was correct and that everything else was wrong; they had no understanding of why they believed things to be true and had no way to explain their beliefs to a stranger who was not familiar with their culture. Without understanding, there can be no respect between people, and without respect, there will be no peace. Okonkwo was literally destroyed because there was no understanding between these two groups. Blame for his death cannot be placed on any one person; it is placed on everyone because there was not respect between the two groups. Although the Christians did not have to agree with the clansmen, they needed to understand the reasoning behind their beliefs and why the held such beliefs for respect and peace to be present. The same thing is true for the clansmen. I believe that if there would have been understanding and respect between the two groups, than the whole conflict would have been avoided. Although it is hard to respect the beliefs of others, everyone must learn to do so. A person cannot keep pushing their views on others and expecting people to change their opinions; this will just lead to conflicts like those in the novel. People must voluntarily learn to change their views through education and respect for different opinions.
Didn't the passage of background information say that Antigone was a victim of Creon's hubris? Some of you are suggesting that Antigone is the tragic hero. Thoughts on that.
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"Things Fall Apart"
Chapters 1-4
I’m going to get this out there now; although I don’t like Unoka, I think that Okonkwo may be even worse. These two men lived completely different lives, and the style of life that they choose were opposite extremes. While Unoka was lazy, Okonkwo is a hard worker, but his temper often gets the best of him. I believe that this quality may lead to his downfall (as shown in the title of the book). He shows no emotion except for anger; this is not only unhealthy, but is probably corrupting both him and his family. He may be successful now, but I would be extremely surprised if all of his success does not turn on him because of his anger. We have already seen instances where he has showed unnecessary anger and aggression (when he called the man who contradicted him a woman and when he beat his wife during the week of peace). These instances were forgiven and forgotten, but that may not be the case if he continues such behavior. As far as Unoka and Okonkwo go, living to the extremes is not working; I believe that one of the main points of this novel may be to find a middle path between emotion/laziness and aggression/overachieving.
"Things Fall Apart"
Chapters 5-7
The tribe described in this book is very unique, especially when you compare them to an individualistic culture like ours. The people are very wrapped up in the traditions of our culture. They celebrate frequent festivals and celebrate them in the same way that their ancestors did, rarely changing customs. They love proverbs that their wise relatives developed and frequently use those proverbs in everyday speech. They have traditions of masculinity and femininity that govern them and everything they do. Sometimes the tradition is good, but other times it leads to horrible occurrences, especially in Okonkwo’s case. Okonkwo takes the tradition of masculinity way too seriously when he nearly shoots Ekwefi and when he kills Ikemefuna with a machete. Although gender roles are important to the other people, nobody takes them as seriously as Okonkwo. It is somewhat ironic that Okonkwo takes the tradition of masculinity so seriously, yet he does not enjoy the other traditions, such as festivals and proverbs, that the rest of the people are ecstatic about. This book clearly shows that tradition plays a good role in some societies, but tradition can also be a vice that needs to be changed.
"Things Fall Apart"
Chapters 8-10
This section shows the complexity in the relationships between men and women of the clan. Akueke and Ibe go through an extremely complicated process for engagement; they go through traditions to “seal the deal,” but there seems to be little affection between the newly engaged couple. The small amount of affection between spouses is also shown when Okonkwo beats his wives and poorly relates to them. Uzowulu is very similar to Okonkwo in the fact that he beat his wife in occasions when it was not necessary. The fact that this dominance of men over women is a tolerated tradition is disturbing. Uzowulu receives a small amount of humiliation as his punishment for constantly beating his wife. This clearly shows the tolerance of men as higher than women. The relationship between Ogebuefi and Ozoemena is seen as ideal, but no other couples seem willing or capable to implement such a relationship in their lives. This patriarchal system is clearly not working, but very few people seem to understand this enough to change it.
"Things Fall Apart"
Chapters 11-13
This section was awesome! I love the fact that some of the people are finally starting to ponder their traditions rather than blindly following them. Nwoye begins to wonder if manliness is all it is cracked up to be, especially after Ikemefuna dies. Now Obierika questions the fairness of Okonkwo’s leaving and the destruction of his house. Besides the questioning of traditions, there is the fascinating story of the tortoise. Although I probably shouldn’t be using the cover of a book to make judgments about symbolism, it does strike me how closely the texture on the book resembles a tortoise shell. I would assume the broken up man on the front is Okonkwo. It would be very easy to apply the tale of the tortoise to Okwokwo; he came from a poor life where he had nothing, used persuasion and work to get where he wanted, was greedy, and will probably end up making everyone madder so that they let him fall and break apart. Somehow he will be put back together, but he will never be the same. Part two is probably where the audience can really see him fall to his breaking, although I think it is obvious that his fall began when he accidentally killed another clansman.
Things Fall Apart
Chapters 14-18
This section makes it obvious that Okonkwo has already “fallen” as the tortoise fell. He said he feels broken and what he was once passionate about no longer gives him pleasure. The story of the tortoise is probably also a symbol for Okonkwo’s whole mother clan. The whole clan is ostracizing the Christians and that is probably going to lead to their fall, just as it led to the fall of the Abame clan. Although the Christians are probably going about it the wrong way, they really are trying to help the people, but the people are being greedy and selfish, just as the tortoise was. The Christians, however, will be the ones who end up ruining the community because they came into the clan’s territory. Although the Christians have a faith that they are peacefully trying to convert people to, they need to learn the customs of the people and gain their respect. It they fail to do those things, the outcasts will be the only ones converted and there will be a huge split between Church and clan, as shown in the novel.
Things Fall Apart
Chapters 19-21
Things are clearly falling apart in this section. The culture of the clansmen is being taken over and changed by the missionaries. The missionaries have proved many Igbo beliefs wrong (cutting off the outcasts’ hair) and have thus won many coverts. Although they have shown the people they have false beliefs, they have also begun to break up a very complex and ancient culture. The missionaries may not agree with the religion of these people, but other traditions such as government and planting styles should not be changed. Although the clan is not being fully destroyed, they are definitely being broken up. All of the different clans will be put back together once the white people leave, but there will be rough edges and cracks where relationships and customs were once smooth. Although the white men are trying to help these people, they are doing much more harm than good. The split of between Christians and the clan, the new and the old, is only going to get bigger. Both the Christians and clansmen like Okonkwo are too set in their ways for any compromise to be reached.
Things Fall Apart
Chapters 22-25
I loved this book and it has an amazing message: respect others, no matter who they are or where they came from. The lack of respect and education between everyone is what ruined the peace and the Igbo culture. Obierika is the one person that begins to grasp the concept of education and why it is important to the people. He questions Okonkwo’s exile and wants to know the reasoning behind it. Although Obierika doesn’t do anything to try and understand why Okonkwo was exiled, he at least understands that there must be some kind of reasoning behind it. The reasoning behind every belief is what would have led to respect among these people. Both the Christians and the clansmen believed that their way of life was correct and that everything else was wrong; they had no understanding of why they believed things to be true and had no way to explain their beliefs to a stranger who was not familiar with their culture. Without understanding, there can be no respect between people, and without respect, there will be no peace. Okonkwo was literally destroyed because there was no understanding between these two groups. Blame for his death cannot be placed on any one person; it is placed on everyone because there was not respect between the two groups. Although the Christians did not have to agree with the clansmen, they needed to understand the reasoning behind their beliefs and why the held such beliefs for respect and peace to be present. The same thing is true for the clansmen. I believe that if there would have been understanding and respect between the two groups, than the whole conflict would have been avoided. Although it is hard to respect the beliefs of others, everyone must learn to do so. A person cannot keep pushing their views on others and expecting people to change their opinions; this will just lead to conflicts like those in the novel. People must voluntarily learn to change their views through education and respect for different opinions.
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