Okonkwo dislikes his father, Unoka. Is it just? It is to Okonkwo. Being a product of the society he lives in, Okonkwo shares in the village’s distaste for his father. His father’s folly was that he never looked to the future. A man of the present, Unoka immediately squandered any money that came his way on palm-wine and merry-making. Unoka’s prime concern in life was to live it fully and experience everything. His only fear was to not experience enough in his lifetime.
However, the village did not share in Unoka’s beliefs and therefore outcast him. Being raised in the village, Okonkwo, too, adopted this belief, and hated his father. Eventually this hatred gave way to a fear. Okonkwo’s fear was not that he would not experience enough in life. Rather, his fear became that other men would not approve of the life he lived. In essence, Okonkwo was living not for himself, but rather he was living for his fear of what other men thought of him. The only reason he strived to be successful was so that the others would view him as so, and therefore not associate him with his father. Okonkwo lives in constant fear that he will be compared to this “contemptible” man.
Even though Unoka was never successful and acquired many debts and hardships, he was still able to enjoy his life. He laughed at the debter who sought to collect his money. He paid little attention to those who spoke ill of him. He was even able to die, although shamefully, playing the flute he loved so very much. So it appears that even though Unoka was a failure, he was much more successful at being happy and enjoying life.
Ikemefuna is dead. He is dead and Okonkwo played a part in his murder. And even though Ikemefuna’s death was carried out as restitution to the society in which he values above all else, Okonkwo cannot help but feel a bitter pain inside. Ikemefuna was like a son to him, yet he was there at his death, and even helped in hewing the young man down. Could this be a culmination of Okonkwo’s fear of failure and self-subjugation to village society? Perhaps. Could this event bring him about, so that he no longer feels that he must honor the village’s values over his own? That is, indeed, a possibility. At this point it seems that Okonkwo is still able to master his emotions and hide them, but it is becoming a struggle to forget what he did in the name of the village. I do not feel that Okonkwo will be able to survive in this state for too long…it just seems as though it would be impossible to exist when you cannot honor your own values enough to fight for the life of your own “son”. Hopefully, Okonkwo will come to realize that having his own ideals and emotions is fine, and that he must not always follow the pack mentality of the village. If he cannot accomplish this soon enough, I fear that he will find himself quickly falling down the path to his own demise.
Ezinma is Okonkwo’s favorite daughter. He often wishes that she had been born a man so that he may pass some of his fortune and legacy onto her. Unfortunately, she has grown seriously ill, and with her mother’s record of child-mortality this is cause for serious concern. Okonkwo diagnosis the young girl with iba, and immediately runs out to grab the ingredients for the remedy. This image of Okonkwo, a powerful and sometime thick-headed man, running around in order to save his daughter is actually extremely touching, and it demonstrates that Okonkwo is not, at heart, an evil person (this image sort of presented itself when he killed his own “son”, Ikemefuna). In fact, this whole scene presents Okonkwo as a caring father, who would run around in the middle of the night searching for ingredients in order to save his sick daughter. This is a fatherly image that we can relate to in our culture. It is the role of caretaker. Okonkwo, as a father, must assume the responsibilities of caring for his children. This is just a nice instance of Okonkwo outwardly showing his concern for his offspring, even though he isn’t exactly defying any kind of laws or traditions in doing so. Though he has not yet demonstrated that he is ready to change is his ways after the death of Ikemefuna, this is at least an example of Okonkwo being a caring father.
The priestess arrives at Okonkwo’s compound in the middle of the night, demanding to see Ezinma. The priestess declares that Agbala wants to see the young girl. Okonkwo is more than ready to comply with the priestess. Ekwefi, however, attempts to keep the recently deathly ill child at home. Her attempts end in vain as the priestess removes Exinma from the home and proceeds off into the night with her. Ekwefi, fearing for the life of her only surviving child, takes off after the pair. She follows them for quite some time, eventually reaching the farthest village and then ending up back at the shrine. There, Ekwefi is confronted by Okonkwo, who has been checking the shrine for them every couple of hours throughout the entire night. These events not only show the amount of care and dependency that Ekwefi has for Ezinma, but it also shows that Okonkwo has made an almost 360 in his views. Perhaps spurred by memories of Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo allows his feelings and impulses to overcome him, and challenges the powers of the priestess and Agbala. This is a vital point in Okonkwo’s development, as he was willing to not only challenge the norms of society by not trusting Agbala’s priestess with the safety of his child and wife, but it also shows that he was ready to defy the will of a god. It takes a true father to defy such a powerful deity in order to ensure the safety of his beloved daughter, and I feel it is important to note that Okonkwo went to such a length to ensure the safety of Ezinma.
Okonkwo’s accidental murder of a young man in the village has led to his exile to his mother’s home village for seven years. There, Okonkwo is well received by his family and is able to rebuild his life to some extent. During this seven-year period, however, white men have begun to enter into the villages. Acting as evangelists, these outsiders are spreading the new and radical teachings of Christianity. The introduction of this foreign religion rattles and eventually splits the village society. It is interesting to see how Christianity, a faith many of us were born into and now accept as an absolute truth, is able to confound and even anger these people. The villagers are used to their ways and traditions. They have grown up in a society based upon wooden and stone idols for generations. It works for them. However, these white men have shown up to challenge these gods. These outsiders say that the village gods are false, and that they have the answer in their one, true God. The real issue with this movement of Christianity is that it is almost unneeded in the villages. The villagers are content and peaceful with their gods. They have found meaning in life, and aren’t really searching for a higher purpose other than survival and wealth. If all this is true, then why do they need an outside religion? They don’t. That is the flaw of religion. Why force a new belief system on another culture or society just because it is right to you? It’s obviously not right to them. In this way, Christianity, a religion that preaches unity and love for all, essentially shattered the stability of the village society.
It is coming to the attention of Okonkwo and Oberieka that their village traditions have more or less lost the battle against white men and their powerful culture. Okonkwo had wanted a triumphant return to his village. He wanted it to be known as the return of the great warrior who had powerful sons and beautiful daughters. However, with all the talk and excitement about the new religion and the trade store and the schools and the district court, people merely did not take notice of their great warrior’s return from exile. This saddened Okonkwo deeply, and I feel this is not a good thing in any way. Okonkwo’s adherence to the, now, ‘old ways’ will undoubtedly lead to his downfall. A thought just occurred to me a moment ago. At the beginning of the book, Okonkwo is trumpeted as a wealthy warrior, poised to take lordship over the clan. Later, I had hoped for Okonkwo to change in his stubborn, impersonal ways. Now, I feel for his ways to hold so that he may be triumphant over the white men. This is all very curious. The image of Okonkwo has gone from heroic to sympathetic through the course of the book. It will be interesting to see where the stubborn, fallen hero will go next.
Good book. It was quite the unfortunate ending for our hero, however. Okonkwo challenged the new society that had made him nothing, and ended up paying having to pay the ultimate price for it. I really enjoyed this book, even though it really was just one massive fall from grace on Okonkwo’s part. He was once a village hero, and had driven his way to the top of the village hierarchy, nearly achieving all the top ranks and titles. However, the times changed on him, and as he returned from his exile he found that the society in which he had thrived for so long was now all but gone, replaced by a gentler, more ‘civilized’ society, dominated by the white man. He did all he could to challenge it, but in the end his actions led to his demise. Unable to survive in such a society, Okonkwo took the only route that seemed left to him. Suicide was his only escape from the society that demanded that he change his entire person and submit to white law and rule. In the end, the theme is all tradition versus change and individual versus society. Okonkwo was not only the individual against the society around him, he was tradition attempting to stand up to the new wave of change sweeping over his native land. It was inevitable that he would be destroyed in the end. Overall though, great story.
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.
8 comments:
Things Fall Apart
1-4
Okonkwo dislikes his father, Unoka. Is it just? It is to Okonkwo. Being a product of the society he lives in, Okonkwo shares in the village’s distaste for his father. His father’s folly was that he never looked to the future. A man of the present, Unoka immediately squandered any money that came his way on palm-wine and merry-making. Unoka’s prime concern in life was to live it fully and experience everything. His only fear was to not experience enough in his lifetime.
However, the village did not share in Unoka’s beliefs and therefore outcast him. Being raised in the village, Okonkwo, too, adopted this belief, and hated his father. Eventually this hatred gave way to a fear. Okonkwo’s fear was not that he would not experience enough in life. Rather, his fear became that other men would not approve of the life he lived. In essence, Okonkwo was living not for himself, but rather he was living for his fear of what other men thought of him. The only reason he strived to be successful was so that the others would view him as so, and therefore not associate him with his father. Okonkwo lives in constant fear that he will be compared to this “contemptible” man.
Even though Unoka was never successful and acquired many debts and hardships, he was still able to enjoy his life. He laughed at the debter who sought to collect his money. He paid little attention to those who spoke ill of him. He was even able to die, although shamefully, playing the flute he loved so very much. So it appears that even though Unoka was a failure, he was much more successful at being happy and enjoying life.
Things Fall Apart
5-7
Ikemefuna is dead. He is dead and Okonkwo played a part in his murder. And even though Ikemefuna’s death was carried out as restitution to the society in which he values above all else, Okonkwo cannot help but feel a bitter pain inside. Ikemefuna was like a son to him, yet he was there at his death, and even helped in hewing the young man down. Could this be a culmination of Okonkwo’s fear of failure and self-subjugation to village society? Perhaps. Could this event bring him about, so that he no longer feels that he must honor the village’s values over his own? That is, indeed, a possibility. At this point it seems that Okonkwo is still able to master his emotions and hide them, but it is becoming a struggle to forget what he did in the name of the village. I do not feel that Okonkwo will be able to survive in this state for too long…it just seems as though it would be impossible to exist when you cannot honor your own values enough to fight for the life of your own “son”. Hopefully, Okonkwo will come to realize that having his own ideals and emotions is fine, and that he must not always follow the pack mentality of the village. If he cannot accomplish this soon enough, I fear that he will find himself quickly falling down the path to his own demise.
Things Fall Apart
8-10
Ezinma is Okonkwo’s favorite daughter. He often wishes that she had been born a man so that he may pass some of his fortune and legacy onto her. Unfortunately, she has grown seriously ill, and with her mother’s record of child-mortality this is cause for serious concern. Okonkwo diagnosis the young girl with iba, and immediately runs out to grab the ingredients for the remedy. This image of Okonkwo, a powerful and sometime thick-headed man, running around in order to save his daughter is actually extremely touching, and it demonstrates that Okonkwo is not, at heart, an evil person (this image sort of presented itself when he killed his own “son”, Ikemefuna). In fact, this whole scene presents Okonkwo as a caring father, who would run around in the middle of the night searching for ingredients in order to save his sick daughter. This is a fatherly image that we can relate to in our culture. It is the role of caretaker. Okonkwo, as a father, must assume the responsibilities of caring for his children. This is just a nice instance of Okonkwo outwardly showing his concern for his offspring, even though he isn’t exactly defying any kind of laws or traditions in doing so. Though he has not yet demonstrated that he is ready to change is his ways after the death of Ikemefuna, this is at least an example of Okonkwo being a caring father.
Things Fall Apart
11-13
The priestess arrives at Okonkwo’s compound in the middle of the night, demanding to see Ezinma. The priestess declares that Agbala wants to see the young girl. Okonkwo is more than ready to comply with the priestess. Ekwefi, however, attempts to keep the recently deathly ill child at home. Her attempts end in vain as the priestess removes Exinma from the home and proceeds off into the night with her. Ekwefi, fearing for the life of her only surviving child, takes off after the pair. She follows them for quite some time, eventually reaching the farthest village and then ending up back at the shrine. There, Ekwefi is confronted by Okonkwo, who has been checking the shrine for them every couple of hours throughout the entire night. These events not only show the amount of care and dependency that Ekwefi has for Ezinma, but it also shows that Okonkwo has made an almost 360 in his views. Perhaps spurred by memories of Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo allows his feelings and impulses to overcome him, and challenges the powers of the priestess and Agbala. This is a vital point in Okonkwo’s development, as he was willing to not only challenge the norms of society by not trusting Agbala’s priestess with the safety of his child and wife, but it also shows that he was ready to defy the will of a god. It takes a true father to defy such a powerful deity in order to ensure the safety of his beloved daughter, and I feel it is important to note that Okonkwo went to such a length to ensure the safety of Ezinma.
Things Fall Apart
14-18
Okonkwo’s accidental murder of a young man in the village has led to his exile to his mother’s home village for seven years. There, Okonkwo is well received by his family and is able to rebuild his life to some extent. During this seven-year period, however, white men have begun to enter into the villages. Acting as evangelists, these outsiders are spreading the new and radical teachings of Christianity. The introduction of this foreign religion rattles and eventually splits the village society. It is interesting to see how Christianity, a faith many of us were born into and now accept as an absolute truth, is able to confound and even anger these people. The villagers are used to their ways and traditions. They have grown up in a society based upon wooden and stone idols for generations. It works for them. However, these white men have shown up to challenge these gods. These outsiders say that the village gods are false, and that they have the answer in their one, true God. The real issue with this movement of Christianity is that it is almost unneeded in the villages. The villagers are content and peaceful with their gods. They have found meaning in life, and aren’t really searching for a higher purpose other than survival and wealth. If all this is true, then why do they need an outside religion? They don’t. That is the flaw of religion. Why force a new belief system on another culture or society just because it is right to you? It’s obviously not right to them. In this way, Christianity, a religion that preaches unity and love for all, essentially shattered the stability of the village society.
Things Fall Apart
19-21
It is coming to the attention of Okonkwo and Oberieka that their village traditions have more or less lost the battle against white men and their powerful culture. Okonkwo had wanted a triumphant return to his village. He wanted it to be known as the return of the great warrior who had powerful sons and beautiful daughters. However, with all the talk and excitement about the new religion and the trade store and the schools and the district court, people merely did not take notice of their great warrior’s return from exile. This saddened Okonkwo deeply, and I feel this is not a good thing in any way. Okonkwo’s adherence to the, now, ‘old ways’ will undoubtedly lead to his downfall. A thought just occurred to me a moment ago. At the beginning of the book, Okonkwo is trumpeted as a wealthy warrior, poised to take lordship over the clan. Later, I had hoped for Okonkwo to change in his stubborn, impersonal ways. Now, I feel for his ways to hold so that he may be triumphant over the white men. This is all very curious. The image of Okonkwo has gone from heroic to sympathetic through the course of the book. It will be interesting to see where the stubborn, fallen hero will go next.
Things Fall Apart
22-25
Good book. It was quite the unfortunate ending for our hero, however. Okonkwo challenged the new society that had made him nothing, and ended up paying having to pay the ultimate price for it. I really enjoyed this book, even though it really was just one massive fall from grace on Okonkwo’s part. He was once a village hero, and had driven his way to the top of the village hierarchy, nearly achieving all the top ranks and titles. However, the times changed on him, and as he returned from his exile he found that the society in which he had thrived for so long was now all but gone, replaced by a gentler, more ‘civilized’ society, dominated by the white man. He did all he could to challenge it, but in the end his actions led to his demise. Unable to survive in such a society, Okonkwo took the only route that seemed left to him. Suicide was his only escape from the society that demanded that he change his entire person and submit to white law and rule. In the end, the theme is all tradition versus change and individual versus society. Okonkwo was not only the individual against the society around him, he was tradition attempting to stand up to the new wave of change sweeping over his native land. It was inevitable that he would be destroyed in the end. Overall though, great story.
Post a Comment