This second part of Things Fall Apart is much shorter than the first, yet it describes a much longer span of time. While in the first part, we mostly got a few weeks following Okonkwo’s life, the second part tells about his seven years in exile. I think that Achebe summarizes these seven years so quickly because Okonkwo is so ashamed that he was forced to crawl to his mother’s kinsmen in Mbanta, the village of his mother. The years passed by without much notice, except for the arrival of the European men. Other than that, I think this was a time period Okonkwo preferred to forget, hence the quicker pace of this section.
I honestly feel bad for Okonkwo and the misfortune that fell upon him. I fully expected him to end up one of the most powerful of his clan and this unfortunate event really shook everything up for him. However, it’s clear that he can also find a way to gain power in his motherland.
One very interesting tidbit I enjoyed was the clansmen talking about the white man’s “iron horse”. I didn’t actually pair this with what it was later revealed as, but it shows how foreign and intriguing the European culture is to the villagers. When I continued to read and discovered that it was a bicycle, it definitely made me giggle. The villagers simply had the bicycle tied up to the trees for weeks. Their fascination with formerly unknown technology is both amusing and also revealing about their culture at this point in time.
I’m surprised by the peacefulness with which the villagers and the white settlers first approached one another with. In history, this is not how the story usually goes, although this could be because the white settlers do not seem to come in high numbers.
I think Nwoye’s decision to join the Christians is foreshadowing further destruction of relationships in part three. In such a family oriented culture, it’s very taboo to go against the customs of your family and your father. I’m curious to see how the book pans out now that this huge betrayal has happened.
Achebe has been very consistent with his including of Ibo words in Things Fall Apart. Born in Nigeria, Achebe gives his audience insight on his culture of Ogidi, the village in which he lived. I believe this builds Achebe’s ethos.
In the part two of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is shunned from his village for committing a female crime. He inadvertently killed a kinsman. I found it interesting how there were two different kinds of crimes to commit. We know Okonkwo as a strong man who of course does not want to reveal the feminine side of him. Okonkwo is upset and feels as if he is the greatest sufferer, a common feeling among those who have suffered a lot or have dealt with hard times. It is clear that Okonkwo’s exile upsets him because he is forced into his motherland. This compels him to spend time in a village where his mother grew up. Therefore, he feels it is a more womanly place.
At the beginning of chapter fifteen, two years have gone by in exile. Though a short second part of Things Fall Apart, a lot occurs, the biggest event being the first encounter with the Europeans. I was excited to see that my statement in part one about the locusts symbolizing the invasion of Umuofia by Europeans was valid. On page 139, Obierika states “…the other white men were on their way. They were locusts…and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain.” This quote assured me that my inference was correct and it made me very excited.
As chapter sixteen comes to an end, four years have passed. The arrival of missionaries has caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta, where Okonkwo was in exile. The European missionaries are beginning to promote the idea of a “true God and He has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us.” This reminds me of the time in history when Americanization was occurring in the Native American culture. The idea of Americanization was based on the idea that when indigenous people learned about the United States and European-American values, they would be able to convert the Native Americans to Christianity and leave all tribal traditions behind.
Okonkwo’s little faith in his son Nwoye connects to Nwoye’s fascination of the new religion proposed by the European missionaries. Again, as in the beginning of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo feels as if his son has failed him. Okonkwo’s early feelings in the novel were a foreshadowing to a larger disappointment. Nwoye was spotted among the Christians, fascinated with their knowledge and ways of religion and education. Okonkwo shamefully asked himeself “Why, he cried in his heart, should he, Okonkwo, of all people, be cursed with such a son?”
Will Nwoye make a return to his father? I think that in part three, there will be a war and Nwoye will be on the missionary side and therefore, Okonkwo will have to kill his own son, which we know is frowned upon in the Ibo village. I can’t wait to find out what happens.
At the start of this second part Achebe shows us Okonwo's internal state and we can see his true feelings. Okonwo sees affection towards other people as a sign of weakness so he tries to push aside his emotions. I don't think he's a cruel man that most would think he is, I think he is just a guy who's worried about a lot of things.
In this part, Chielo forces Okonwo to see how important his wife and child are. His big ego prevents him from being himself.
I think when Ikemefuna becomes part of Okonwo's family, he sort of mends the break that Okonwo and Nwoye have. Okonwo unfortunately loses Nwoye's heart when he decides to kill the boy who became his son. I really fell bad for Okonwo also because nothing ever seems to go the right way for him.
I think Okonwo is genuinely pissed off that his exile has forced him to spend time in a feminine place. He hates to deal with the fact that he has a feminine side. But he's not suffering alone, so it's not all that bad. There's plenty of other people going through a lot worse.
The second part of Things Fall Apart follows the story of the seven years after Okonkwo had to leave his village. His uncle helps him begin a farm so that he can start a new life in this new village. In his old village, he had worked so hard to reaching a high status in the village but now all that is lost. He would like to start over but has no will or power to do so. It is clear here that Okonkwo is ashamed of what he has now become. As Sam said, I also feel bad for Okonkwo. He had earned his power in his last village. He worked hard daily and was an honest man. To have all that be lost now because of a mistake, I really sympathize for him. If he had the will and same enthusiasm as before, he could probably rise up to the same status, even higher, than before. As Renee mentioned before, the author adds some Ibo words into the book. I think this is a great effect in having the reader engage themselves into the story. The more you learn about the culture, the easier it is to understand the events happening in the story. In the previous chapters, we saw how Okonkwo showed no affection toward his sons. Although he admired the work and masculine personality of Ikemefuna, he does not show any affection toward him. During part two of the book, Uchendu tries to show Okonkwo the importance of family. Despite the fact that he had to return to his motherland (which clearly makes him feel less superior and less masculine), he must learn to pick up from where he is and start a new life. One where affection and love can be and should be shown. Moving on into part two, the “white man” arrives on his iron horse which we later learn (very funny), is a bicycle. I think this is a point where the reader can see the difference in cultures. The Europeans are so developed in the eyes of the Nigerians because they are riding on these “iron horses”. By chapter seventeen, many missionaries had come to the village. Along with that, the white men had destroyed some villages. These missionaries are trying to promote the idea of “Christianity” and “true god…”. Nwoye’s conversion into Christianity symbolizes the effects of change in the village and culture. These villages have always lived under one religion, one culture. And here, these white men are changing everything they have ever known.
A new setting is introduced, the land of Mbanta. Mbanta is the land of Okonkwo’s mother, and until now much has not been revealed about the mother. So, through her people knowledge is gained, and to me I feel like an essential part of Okonkwo’s life, the half that was his mother, is revisited.
Right off the bat I knew life in this village would be different for Okonkwo, because a new side of him is exposed to the reader. The first display of this, is on page 134, where Unchendu challenges Okonkwo on his knowledge. All this time Okonkwo was characterized as this strong man that struggled to know enough to be prosperous. At last a weak spot is shown , he does not know EVERYTHING. I feel like because of a man’s position and power that he should know a great amount of information. This revelation specifically explains the role of a mother, that which Okonkwo failed to do. It was one of the few moments were a woman’s effort was recognize in a positive manner. The effort of a woman is just as crucial to the Earth as the efforts of man. If it not for the woman their would be no children, obviously, and it is said on page 165 that “ he who has heath and children will also have wealth”. I also find that when Unchendu speaks of the hardships of other that it belittled Okonkwo in my perspective. At that moment, Okonkwo reminded of a little child complaining about his problems when others have it worse. Even though he did not express his troubles, the need for Unchendu to say such things and warn Okonkwo must mean that the uncle sensed a weak spot in Okonkwo that the readers could not detect. Honestly I did not feel bad for Okonkwo as Monika and Samantha felt. Personally the way that Chinua Achebe characterized Okonkwo , made me not worry when he got into trouble, I felt that he could handle and fend for his family and himself the way he brought himself up to be.
Besides the introduction of a new village, new ways of the “white man” start to become more prominent. Changes are easy to be detected. As religion spread , people of different clans start to betray their people, and the gods that they once feared. I felt as if the “white men” had already won, when they did not drop dead as the people of the villages thought that their gods would have punished them. I would only think that the people at that moment would start to question the power of their gods, even though dome people stayed strong and true. The feelings and thoughts of everybody were not exposed to the reader. I imagine that the people were scared; that all they had known is crumbling down, everything they lived by was being proven wrong. I wonder if some people thought that they were living a lie. Those were the people that alright, when Okoli died. This is because “his death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles”, which made me express sigh of relief for the people.
The last impression that part two left in mind was the idea of fear. When the elders die, the younger ones will have to be the ones suffering the changes of the new world. I feel like the younger generations at this point were characterized as weak, as one of the elders expressed that the young ones “do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship” .I can only imagine that the elders do not know what will become of the future of their clan
Like I said, I went back through this book because I feel like I missed out on a whole lot of themes and meaning of the story.
I think in this second part, although Achebe shows us that the Igbo society is mostly patriarchal, he also strives to show that Igbo woman, in at least a limited capacity, are respected and protected. There is sort of an interest in justice and fairness.
I looked more closely at unity in this section too, because all though its a shorter section, it describes a lot more about the community and Okonwo's life in it. The festival in this part shows some of the bonds of Umuofia's community. The gift-giving is definitely generous and shows communication on both sides. Even the interruptive incident of the loose cow is resolved quickly and peaceful. During this festival in the book Achebe emphasizes the strength of the social fabric of Umuofia. The social organization and customs of the tribe are not the barbaric practices of a primitive people, but rather a rich system of tradition and wisdom that preserves peace and harmony between the people of Umuofia. As Achebe shows us the rituals and celebrations of the Igbo, I saw that in some way they sort of echo what is going on in the central story of the novel.
In my Part One comment, I commented on Achebe’s use of irony when describing some of the tribes’ traditions, and made a totally incorrect prediction about what it meant. Clearly I know now that it was supposed to foreshadow the ease of missionary conversion. The villagers doubt in their own belief leads them to turn to God; especially true in those who have the lowest social status.
Here is where we see things start to fall apart. Okonkwo’s dream becomes ruined. His dream was to become rich and of high status, rich because he had to buy the titles. This emphasis on wealth kind of relates to the American Dream. After all, isn’t the American Dream at its core to be rich? We see wealth as a ladder to happiness—for Okonkwo, it’s a ladder to social status. Are our two societies really that much different when it comes to basic want?
Everyone else mostly seems to feel bad for Okonkwo, but I don’t. Yes, it technically was an “accident.” But I also think it’s somewhat symbolic of his own weaknesses, as I kind of also touched on in my Part One post.
But the main focus of this chapter revolves around the Europeans. At first I was surprised that the relations were peaceful, but then I realized that most of the relations in this book have been peaceful (except for everything Okonkwo suggests…). The kola nut symbolizes this fact—everything is done to make peace between their kin. They are gracious enough to extend this to the Europeans, showing what a peaceful and humane culture they are. In fact, the situation has some humor, as Samantha pointed out, the whole bicycle situation was funny along with the whole “my buttocks” part. Neither side is made to be the enemy; they both have the fault of ignorance.
What really stood out to me as the biggest theme in Part Two was the idea of kinship. Mr. Kiaga feels joyous when Nwoye joins them—“Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake.” Nwoye forsakes his family for a new God. But the elders of the tribe stress the importance of tribal kinship. If they don’t stay strong and united, there is the downfall. It’s exactly what happens between Nwoye and Okonkwo. Since their bond wasn’t close, Nwoye was able to easily cast away his family. This is the only real clash between the Europeans and the natives at this moment: a clash of values. Yet back in Okonkwo’s old village, which he continuously describes as more violent, I’m certain there will be many more problems.
One final note is that I noticed Achebe uses a lot of symbolism in this section. Right in the beginning of Part Two, we see a rainfall which symbolizes rebirth. Yet the rebirth is full of anger, the lightning is described as an “angry, metallic, and thirsty clap.” I think it’s meant to emphasize Okonkwo’s emotions about having to start over in a new land. But then in the last chapter of Part Two, there is a rainbow. The rainbow is supposedly a symbol of peace between Gods and man (according to Thomas Foster, hopefully you guys read that book first!). I think this foreshadows that there will be peace in Okonkwo’s motherland; after all, they really stress peaceful relations. But in Part Three, I predict things will turn violent.
Towards the end of part one, and the beginning of part two, a great change in Okonkwo is becoming evidant. At the very start of the book, everything with Okonwo is about pride, being a man, but as the story goes on certian events take place that start to almost soften Okonkwo, and change his outlook on life, and the way he interacts with people around him.
For example, what happened with Ezinma had brought out a new side of Okonkwo. When the sick Ezinma was carried by Agbala to the cave, Okonkwo, a man who once killed a boy who was like a child to him in fear of being looked at as weak, became "gravely worried." Ekwefi, scared of what might happen, followed Agbala all the way to the cave, while Okonwo surprisingly took his own route to the cave out of fear for Ezinma. The mere fact that Okonkwo cared enough for the young girl to go to the cave shows that he is starting to give into his emotions.
Okonkwo does not only experience an emotion change. One day while attending a funeral of Ezeudu, a respected elder of the clan, Okonkwo accidentaly shot the dead man's 16 year old son. In order to follow custom, Okonkwo must be exciled out of the clan to live in his motherland, leaving fellow clansman such as Obierika questioning the way that the clan handled such affairs.
Okonkwo eventually finds himself in his motherland of Mbabta, where he is warmly greeted by his uncle Uchendu. Okonkwo finds that he no longer cares for working on the farm, as all he has ever worked for has been stripped away from him, leaving him as an empty shell. Uchendu sees the sadness in Okonwo, causing him to give Okonwo a reality check. He tells Okonwo that he is not "greatest sufferer in the world," going on to tell Okonkwo that he himself has had a tough life, losing wives, and even burying twenty two of his children.
Just when it looks as though Okonkwo has no where to go but up, his friend from his previous clan, Obierika, visits him bringing terrible news of a clan being demolished by a group of white men. Obierika returns once again a year later saying that the white men have come to Umoufia, bringing a new religion and converting many of the clansmen to their ways. One such clansman to take a particular interest in the religion was Nwoye, the son of Okonkwo.
Okonkwo is definetly causing himself pain. He shuts himself away so as to seem manly, but I feel like what he is suppressing would not seem as terrible to others as Okonkwo fears. It's just like all personal insecurities -- we think that to others they would seem just as horrible as they do in our own minds, and perhaps even worse. But in reality, these insecurities do not even read as something that should be hidden; rather they come across as normal human qualities. Okonkwo seems to be realizing this, as is suggested on page 153: "Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash". And I wonder if Obierika, Okonkwo's best and wise friend, already knows about Okonkwo's softer side that lies beneath the harsh layers. If he does know, it could be what draws the two together. And if that is the case, Okonkwo should realize that.
It is interesting that these people seem to disregard women, yet they respect them highly. It is an oxymoron. Men can beat women freely, yet if a man beats a woman too much he is scolded. A woman has rights, yet she cannot own anything herself, not even her children. A woman's wedding day is a great day for her and in some cases she may even choose her own husband, yet she is also like a bargaining chip for her family. A wife is just a wife, but when she dies she is mourned greatly, as the song for when a woman dies goes, on page 135: " 'For whom is it well, for whom is it well? There is no one for whom it is well'". I admire the pedestal that women are put on, and I think it reflects the love and respect these people have for everything and it shows that they are not as primitive as many would think, but the contradiction confuses me as well.
By now we know about the country's visitors: the white man. I know the "white man" is going to ruin things because I have read the history books, but I don't know what exactly he will ruin and how it will connect to Okonkwo. But I wish I could jump into the story and warn everyone to fear the white man and drive him out now and to be curious later.
I think one of the most remarkable aspects about Part Two of is how Okonkwo experiences such an internal change of heart throughout the section. Even from the beginning of Part One, we can see the drastic change in Okonkwo’s lifestyle and personality. Originally, his most desired aspiration was to be the polar opposite of his father, to be a hard-working and determined person. This desire reflects one of the most prevalent motifs of the novel. This motif is internal struggle, meaning the problematic relationships inside a person, a family or even a society.
The motif can be extended even further. In Okonkwo’s case, his relationships are the most obvious examples of internal struggle. Disappointed and saddened by the actions of his father, Okonkwo drives himself to be “better” than his father. He does this by making himself a more masculine person, eliminating all things feminine from his lifestyle. He mainly does this by acting irrationally and violently toward his wives and children. In his own eyes, these displays of rage and anger make him seem more masculine
Along with the problems Okonkwo internally deals with, the society in which he resides also places a great deal of pressure on him to act a certain way. In his village, there are very strict and certain ways to act in specific situations. Defying these social rules may have the impact of ostracizing Okonkwo as an “outsider” or even as a “failure”. This type of label could isolate Okonkwo to the point where he is compared to his father, something he obviously goes great lengths to avoid. After the missionaries try to influence Okonkwo and the society, they find themselves in a very confusing compromise. To accept the outsiders would be kind, for they seem helpful, safe and are willing to coherently converse in their language. However, accepting the outsiders would also burden their society, almost tainting it with new (and different) cultural influences. Like Okonkwo, the society is infected with a serious internal conflict. This conflict rapidly spreads and impacts the lives of many.
Achebe rightly depicts this motif of the novel through the influence of the missionaries. Okonkwo is so deeply threatened by the notion that people will perceive him wrongly. This can also be seen in the society as well when the villagers do not initially accept the missionaries, because that is not how their society usually functions. Achebe continuously reinforces these ideas through the deepening struggle Okonkwo has with his relationships, and through the issues the society faces with the invading missionaries.
The second section of Things Fall Apart is fairly short. It skips a lot of what happened while Okonkwo was in Mbanta. Uchendu shares his knowledge and ways of living with Okonkwo, as he deals a lot with his emotions and faces a immense change.
I noticed that while he was in Mbanta, Okonkwo was having a tough time referring to Nwoye as his son because of betrayal. I thought it was very weird how people can easily disown others from their family. Okonkwo doesn't play games, he is very serious about his beliefs and customs. The difference between Okonkwo and Uchendu is that Uchendu knows how to treat his loved ones.
There was a shift in the story during the second part of the book. Achebe talked more about religion and God and being a Christian. Nwoye became enthralled by a new religion and way of living upsetting Okonkwo even more. Causing Nwoye to leave his family. When Okonkwo was on the verge of beating Nwoye, Uchendu saved him. "Leave that boy at once!"...It was Okonkwo's uncle, Uchendu..."Are you mad?"... Okonkwo did not answer. But he left hold of Nwoye who walked away and never returned." (p 152). I was surprised when Okonkwo actually left Nwoye alone because being as powerful and stubborn as he is, and feeling betrayed by his own child, Okonkwo obeyed what his uncle had told him to do.
At the end of the section, I felt like even though Okonkwo felt that he didn't belong in that village dealing with society and missionaries, he was still respected and honored by the people in some way. When he has the final feast after his seven years there, everyone seems to feel as though he was the one who brought them all together. I found it vastly ironic because Okonkwo didn't even want to be there to begin with.
I think it’s fascinatingly interesting how easily the Europeans (British in this case, I think) gained influence over the Ibo people – as well as terribly historically accurate. If you look at virtually any religious invasions throughout history, the pattern is clear: the lower classes convert first, and usually most willingly, purely because those in charge typically have no reason to want change. Virtually every religion experienced this – it’s pretty much the only way a religion can gain followers (much like the only way I can get followers is by shamelessly promoting my twitter account on this blog post). And Achebe’s portrayal of this feels honest. It’s confusing, it’s difficult, but it happens – it’s a kind of evolution (though for better/worse remains to be seen, at least in this case).
Nneka’s conversion is the perfect example of this; why does she convert? Because she is sick of continuously giving birth to twins and having to kill them because her religion tells her to (151). And then there are the outcasts, people whose clans kicked them out and turned them into social lepers (155). Christianity welcomes them. Again, they are the people who have the least to lose and most to gain by converting. It seems amazing. Mr. Niaga creates tolerance by grouping everybody who feels wronged by the Ibo religion or general society together, literally under God’s roof. Most notable in this group is Nwoye. He has been rejected by the man who is probably most important in his life – his father. So what does Nwoye do? He rejects his father right back. Their break up is eerily reminiscent of that between Unoka and Okonkwo – the son deciding he had to become the complete opposite of everything his father stood for, the son deciding he had to make a life for himself completely independent of his father. (Bascally, Okonkwo left and decided to create his own life as far away from the world his father lived in purely because he and his dad didn’t get along. Wait, did I say Okonkwo? I meant Nwoye. Or did I?) For all Okonkwo’s insistence that Nwoye is more like his mother, or even his grandfather, the patterns of his life thus far have closely resembled those of his father. The saddest part of this particular incarnation of this story? Okonkwo’s reaction. “Nwoye was not worth fighting for” (151).
Achebe spends the entirety of this part of the book doing two things: creating this massive disparity between the Europeans and the Africans, and throwing Okonkwo into an environment in which he is simply not comfortable. The latter’s purpose is basically to show the stubbornness of Okonkwo, his complete and utter lack of adaptiveness. It is Okonkwo who, when listening to one of the missionaries with the rest of his village, mocks Christianity (147) even as his son begins to fall for the religion. Again, the people who have the least to lose and the most to gain by converting are the first to do so. Those who do not – most of the Ibo people – completely reject the intrusion into their lives. They even attempt to wipe it out entirely, first by killing the one white missionary in Abame (138), then by giving the missionaries the land they believed to be full of evil spirits, the land whose very location should have been enough to kill the Europeans. It was not (149), and as Mr. Niaga says, “We have now built a church” (150). In fact, he says this twice, or at least, Achebe shows this particular piece of conversation twice. Why? Because it’s absolutely essential. What is Niaga really saying here? He’s announcing victory. “We have built a church” does not mean “we have built a church and now we are going to sit in it and pray and not have anything else to do with your people.” That would be pointless. Why waste the money, the effort, the lives? No, what Niaga is really saying is, “We have built a church and now we will gain converts and then we will gain power.” We know this is what he is saying because we know what happens next.
But the person who rejects this the most is not one of the elders of this clan; it is Okonkwo. He, in fact, has been rejecting everything about the motherland (which is both literally and figuratively the motherland – both the land of his mother and the land that places emphasis on the matriarch, as Uchendu’s speech toward the beginning tells us – the mother is the ultimate protector [134]). Okonkwo cannot adapt to Christianity; he cannot even adapt to life outside of Umuofia. To him, creating a brand new life when he’s already done it before is nearly heart-breaking; “work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have” (131). In other words, the stubborn, famous Umuofian, Okonkwo just wants to remain the stubborn, famous Umuofian, Okonkwo. Interestingly, the ability to adapt is one of the base definitions of life. Does this mean Okonkwo is not really alive – or just that he is gearing up to die?
I feel like Achebe’s illustration of the cultural disparity between the British and the Ibo serves primarily to create a strange new world for the Ibo people, a world to which they will eventually need to adapt. After all, the Europeans have much bigger guns than the Ibo, and as we saw from the slaughter in Abame, they will stop at nothing to communicate their message (138). Interestingly, even though my instincts tell me that Achebe is not sympathetic to the British, he does seem to see their arrival as sort of inevitable, an unavoidable part of the cycle of life. After all, at the beginning of this part, the dry season ends and the rain – “the nuts of the water of heaven” (130), in fact – begins, marking a new yam-growing cycle. It is difficult to believe that such heavenly precipitation could be something so negative, and yet the rain season seems to me to symbolize the end of an era, the end of the Ibo era, especially when we take the double rainbow into consideration: “The rainbow began to appear, and sometimes two rainbows...the one young and beautiful, and the other an old and faint shadow” (163). It’s almost too heavy-handed to believe; the young and beautiful rainbow is the European religion/culture, the old and faint shadow is the slowly but surely fading Ibo religion/culture.
And then Achebe ends this transition part, this part where the Europeans and Africans coexist almost peacefully, with fear – specifically the fear of the elders, who do not believe that the Ibo people can hold together against the incredible force that is Christianity. The Ibo people simply “do not know what it is to speak with one voice” (167), and for this reason, they cannot hold up against Christianity.
I was expecting Okonkwo to go through some hard times. I subscribe to the belief that “what comes around goes around” in life. Because of the manner in which he treated his family, and the way that he viewed his father, Okonkwo is being punished. At least, that’s how I justify his pain of being exiled. Then again, can Okonkwo be completely at fault for his behavior? He saw how society treated his father, a lazy beggar, and sought to avoid the same treatment. That led him to developing a harsh exterior and becoming determined to make a name for himself in his community. As well, the men in that society are expected to be masculine, and are expected to hold certain qualities in order to prove that: determination, strictness, reliability.
However, now, Okonkwo isn’t the center of it all. He and his family leave for Mbanta-his mother’s homeland-to live with his mother’s family. I’m glad that his family is so welcoming to him, though, because support and encouragement are what he needs most at this time. Okonkwo seems to have lost his motivation in life. One of the best parts of the book to illustrate this is when Achebe writes: “His life had been ruled by a great passion-to become one of the lords of the clan...Then everything had been broken. He had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach, panting” (131). Okonkwo had lived his life with one goal in mind: become a great clan leader. He tried to fit into the mold of what he thought one was like-he was stern, powerful, determined. However, he loses that opportunity when he accidentally kills a fellow clan member’s son and is banished. I was shocked that his fellow people would turn on him so quickly, considering all that he had done for them. Yes, he did kill someone, but it was an accident, and isn’t he considered to be the golden boy of the clan?
Although the narration is in third-person, Achebe makes the writing seem much more personal. As he describes the characters’ and their emotions, it seems as though they are confiding in him on their own. The thoughts are just that revealing. The narrator’s words seem to be the characters’ own.
I wonder if Okonkwo feels emasculated from having to depend on the kindness of others in his time of need? Does he feel thankful for them at all, or does he just feel ashamed of himself?
I agree with Kaela that Okonkwo is shutting himself off for fear of not appearing manly. He has too much pride! People are allowed to break down, to cry, when they encounter obstacles and setbacks in their lives. Doing that is what allows them to reevaluate themselves and the direction their lives are taking. He cares too much about what other people might think of him that he is suppressing his true emotions and is giving himself a lower quality of life. He is afraid of being perceived as weak or emotional if he doesn’t continue to put up a facade. In regards to what Kaela said about there being an oxymoron in terms of how women were viewed in African society, I don’t agree with the idea that the women are put on a pedestal. It doesn’t seem as though women’s opinions are considered with much importance. Personally, I see the situation like this: The women are like dolls-they bring a sort of fulfillment for those who are “playing” with them. A person can love the doll, but ultimately, he/she wants to be in control of the doll. So, in this case, those women are desired, but only for the sake of being a possession, one that can be treated in whatever manner the other person would like.
I feel bad for the villagers of Abame. Did they know what kind of catastrophe would be brought about by the appearance of the white man (138)? When the villagers came upon the white man, were they hesitant to go near him because he was a stranger, or because he was white? If it was because he was white, they had probably already heard about the destruction the white man had/would wreak on Africa.
This section really spent most of the time talking about the white man’s culture and the loss of the native’s culture. Though it does start talking about Okonkwo’s exile it quickly deters to the style of living of the newcomers. The uncomfortable feel between the natives and the settlers is evident- shown through the integration of the two cultures and the use of social class.
The beginning starts again with a simile comparing starting a new to learning to become left handed, oddly different than Achebe’s usual similes with animals, but only appropriate as he quickly introduces the white man with their odd ways. The lack of acceptance is evident at the beginning as the white men bring a translator from a different tribe who “instead of saying ‘myself’ [would] say ‘my buttocks’” only representing their difference in language but symbolically showing an even deeper separation of understanding (144). The intruders come not only speaking a different language but bring someone to translate into a different language, it becomes an even more odd separation.
Belief also becomes a problem as the Christians accept everyone from all walks of life while people like Okonkwo are still raising their children with beliefs of social class and differences. Because of this gap it makes it easier for the Christians to lure people in and in effect tearing apart the native culture. This really highlights Okonkwo as a character and his fears. The fears surroundings him are his son’s “degenerate and effeminate” characteristics and dying without anyone to praise his and his fathers’ spirits (153). Because of the strict old ways the youth is being pulled to the embracing Christian lifestyle leaving mostly adults to their old ways increasing their displeasure because without the youth their culture will die.
The fear of losing their culture is what is setting this village into turmoil and as the intruders increase so will the disgruntled feelings felt by the natives. This idea embodies page 167 where Okonkwo is told of the loss of culture and the Christians are symbolizing the embodiment of this fear.
I completely agree with Nidale’s points (with the exception of the lowly peasant status of the blog that she must post a link to her twitter account to gain more followers). Achebe does a great job in portraying how the Europeans took over the native people. It was very interesting reading about the outcasted people joining the church and being welcomed by Mr. Kiaga as sons and daughters of God. What was most interesting about Nidale’s points was the idea of change and adaptation. This section of the book deals closely with the idea that adaptation takes time and force. Okonkwo, a man who can not even adapt to his mother’s homeland, would certainly not be able to adapt to a completely new way of life and a new set of beliefs. I am looking forward to a real clash between Okonkwo and religion (Christianity wise). The use of the double rainbow could also have another meaning besides the fading of one culture and the coming of another. Rainbows are happy optical illusions. Is Achebe going from the viewpoint of Nwoye and the converts and saying that there is still happiness? “The rainbow is called the python of the sky,” (163) and what do pythons eat? Nearly everything that can breathe. Umofia is powerful and greatly feared by other clans. Umofia got so powerful by “eating” other clans. Power is gained through land, elders, and magic. However, when the magic and the elders fail, land goes with it. The Europeans have machines, iron horses, and guns. They corrode the ideals of the land with new thoughts. They change the laws. In short, they come and conquer. One rainbow is disintegrated by a newer, shinier, more beautiful one. I can only partially agree with Andrew on the capitalism and native society comparison. Sure, Okonkwo wanted to stay in Umofia in order to get more power. However, the society back then did not pride themselves on material possessions. Status was gained through masculinity, age, and animism. People are not trampling over each other in order to get more power, and if they are, Achebe does not illustrate this. There is a certain amount of respect the clansmen have for each other, which that can not be compared to society today. I think Achebe made this section the shortest to really get across how Okonkwo felt. He wanted the time to go by as quickly as possible while in Mbanta. Time goes by quickly, because that is the true feelings of Okonkwo, he wants to return to Umofia as soon as possible. All the time in the world is willed to pass by as quickly as possible. Also, the short section amplifies how quick change comes. One year, two years, seven years pass by in this section, whereas in the previous section only a couple years pass by with considerably more detail. In the year Obierika comes to visit, Nwoye has already left Okonkwo. Christian missionaries have already arrived and have gained a handful of converts from the clan. I found it funny that the clans believed in mysticism and the idea of the Evil Forest to go as far as giving a piece of land in the forest to the missionaries (149). This is where logic conquers magic. Or in the more modern sense, science triumphs over well, things not explained by science. The foreigners quickly build a church and gain converts while the villagers are bewildered that the Evil Forest has not cursed and chased out these unwanted visitors. It is the power of the mind that separates the villagers from the foreigners. The missionaries do not know about the Evil Forest, they have no idea what it symbolizes, thus they are not afraid. Bad events occur when people believe said events will happen. Mr. Kiaga only has thoughts of spreading the religion, he knows of no curses, no evils, and certainly no medicine men.
As effect of the exile Okonkwo and his family now have to begin as if start a whole new name for himself. He now once again has to prove to society he is a respected man and crawl out of the deep whole he is now in, as his father was. By Okonkwo showing his true feelings about the upset of an exile, this illustrates the strength of harm it is doing to him. By him caring so much when it is look down upon showing true feelings, demonstrates the importance of the how society portrays one. Can he do it? Can he bring himself back home and still carry his respected fame? Two major questions I keep in the back of my head from here on out. So at the end of the novel I will be able to answer it.
I agree with Monika when she had said that the more you learn the culture the more the understanding of the novel is less difficult. In order to truly understand what Okonkwo or anyone in general, you must understand their culture before you judge. Some may say Okonkwo seem to be such an cold hearted person because he was feared in his original home. In reality, he is just trying to honor his culture.
What was known to be the “iron horse”, which was actually a bicycle makes complete sense why they called it that. This highlights that they were not up to date with modern inventions. Again because it was not their custom to live or invest in materialistic items, yet, to live simple with money. Again it refers to relating back to understanding their culture and their way of life.
Okonkwo now believes he is cursed because of the exile as well as his oldest son betraying him and joining the Christians. I think it is because he tries so hard to be respected and nothing like his father, he turned his own son away from being the same respected man as he was known as. Everyone has their own culture and they are their own individual. Some will be raised with their culture and follow it. Or some will be raised with their culture and decide to go about their life in their own path. And Nwoye is one of the individuals to direct in a different direction, and it’s perfectly fine in my opinion.
n the second part of Things Fall Apart we see Okonkwo living with his kinsmen. It seems the author is giving okonkwo one last chance to reflect on himself before it’s too late. Usually when people are given limited exile the punishment period is intended to be a time of repentance even if it’s mostly for the village’s sake to seek forgiveness from the gods because “if one figure brought oil it soiled the others”. Unfortunately this is not what happens. His time in exile didn’t hange him in anyway rather to him it was just an inconvenience. It’s true that his suffering has empowered him to archive greatness, but at the same time has created false assumptions about what it means to be strong. Being strong does not mean you have no weakness because being able realize your limitation and reflecting on mistakes rather hiding them until they rip you apart shows true strength which something at point Okonkwo will never do or ever consider.
I think that Okonkwo losing his son to Christianity is what is going to the second last push for him to finally fall apart. Although he says his not worth fighting for, his betrayal looms over him more than anything else. He knows his to blame, but admitting that would question his beliefs about strength, but what he seems to not understand is that his inability to try to understand others will show him that even with his achievements, family and friend his alone. The moment I think he realizes this it will be too late as he watches his world fall apart unable to understand why his alone and unable to it from falling apart. That I believe will his final push over the cliff because holding things inside is like bomb that just needs the right spark to blow.
The author also wrote “They were locusts, it said and that first man was their Harbin”. This is not the only time the author has used biblical references in his book. Another example is that the village’s founder engaged a spirit of the wind for seven day and seven nights. If you recall according to the Bible the earth was created by god in seven days. At first I thought the reason for these references might be that the author is Christian or maybe that he wanted to show that in the villager’s religion there events similar to those in Christianity. I changed my mind when the missionaries started to spread Christianity in the villages. Going back to ancient times Greek Gods gave way to Christianity with the belief in one God who they did not fear like Zeus rather a God they could praise and have hope in thus it was easier to embrace this god rather than the one they knew. This similar event occurs in the story as villagers leave their traditions and beliefs to turn into Christians. For the villages this is were things star t to fall apart because their beliefs are being questioned and proven wrong one by one. The thing that the villages can’t understand is that Christianity gave the followers answers that they wanted them to ignore and place were they were welcomed.
Like Okonkwo who stubbornly refused to understand why his son left the village the villagers condemn the followers rather than trying to understand why they left. This ignorance is what led to more followers and the decline of their culture. This part of the book teaches us that sometimes in life the assumptions we about life are not always true and having a belief system in which you exclude others and rule by fear will always fall apart. Most people in their minds questioned some of the cruel customs like throwing away children that were born as twins, but had no other way to find answers until Christianity come. I’m not blaming the Villagers for their misguided practices because like many other s they were victims of their time. The main point is things change with time and those are unwilling to accept that or try to understand that like Okonkwo and the other villagers will become frozen by that ignorance as they watch what they worked so hard to make fall apart.
I was actually unsurprised that Achebe covered Okonkwo’s seven years in exile so quickly. While the speed in which events were presented changed drastically from part one to part two, I share Sam’s belief that Achebe wanted the audience to understand Okonkwo’s humiliation and discomfort. By touching upon the entire span so lightly, we infer that exile is hardly anything to brag about, and this fast pace reflects his desire to leave the land of his mother’s kinsmen. Additionally, despite the fleeting fashion in which Achebe tells the story of Okonkwo’s exile, efforts are still made to emphasize the fact that he is “bowed with grief” (133). The eldest of his mother’s kinsmen, an uncle named Uchendu, gives Okonkwo a great speech, reminding him that “he does not belong here [in Mbanta],” and that he has “[found] refuge in his motherland,” demolishing a significant amount of Okonkwo’s precious ego (133). As Okonkwo was thrown into exile, he was thrown into “beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth,” separating him further from the man he had tried so hard to be (131).
In part two, along with a new start and a new setting comes a new theme. While part one of Things Fall Apart revolved around the idea of reputation and constructing and preserving an image (whether individually or as a body, a community), part two introduces the opposite, the idea of revelation and modesty. When Achebe strips Okonkwo of his previous reputation as one of the strongest, most powerful, most respected men in a community and drops him into a new land where he is not only being punished but where he has been forced to seek refuge, she humbles his character to an extreme degree. We see the truth behind the hard exterior as we learn just how weak Okonkwo is, his “life-spring” unfulfilled, and “everything broken,” and he himself, at a loss, completely “yielded to despair” (131). This particular revelation not only changes our entire perspective on Okonkwo’s character, but also modifies part one’s major theme, revealing how much of Okonkwo’s character consisted merely of a decorated exterior.
Further evidence of this idea includes Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity. With the arrival of the missionaries and white men comes a whole wave of truths. While some of these truths are as simple as the discovery of what an “iron horse” actually is—a bicycle—others are far more complex (145). The missionaries and their attempts to convert the Ibo people to Christianity are a spiritual sort of truth, assuming the audience is Christian, as the Ibo people’s beliefs are dismissed and the “true” beliefs of Christians are spread. Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity is an account of him—for the first time that we, as an audience, can see—being true to his own self, following his own beliefs, as he abandons his father in addition to the person he was always trying to be because of his father.
The ease with which these outsiders gained influence , as Nidale pointed out, is curious. For a people that seemed so stuck in their ways, so faithful to what they are taught (for it is all they have ever known), to change beliefs so quickly, to trust aliens to their world with so little protest is unlikely. Or is it? I thought Nidale’s analysis of their behavior was spot-on, and found much sense in the patterns of conversion (i.e., the lower classes converting first, hungry for a new start). In my opinion, this wave of change in faith reflects that theme of revelation (no biblical pun intended), because of the old ideas passed on proved not entirely trustworthy, a whole new, prosperous world introduced to a people convinced that theirs thrived alone.
In chapters 9-16 of Things Fall Apart, we are starting to see a shift in Okonkwo's personality from being a hard, violent person who viewed emotions as a sign of weakness to being a man whose true feelings are starting to break through.
On p.108, Okonkwo's mental acceptance of his emotions is most apparent when he arrives with his machete at the cave where the priestess, Chielo, took Ezinma and waits there with Ekwefi out of worry for his daughter. Personally, I find Okonkwo's actions a bit of a surprise. After reading Part 1, I would have never expected a man who views women as weakness, a man who killed a boy who was like a son to him out of fear of looking weak, to ever have so much worry for a young girl.
As we continue reading, we learn that Okonkwo is sent into exile after "his gun had exploded and a piece of iron had peirced the boy's heart" (p.124) killing Ezeudu's sixteen year old son, a very serious crime. Despit the death being accidental, Okonkwo is still in exile to his motherland, leaving his friends to questioning the actions of the clan. Okonkwo goes back to Mbanta, where he is well ecieved by his uncle, Uchendu, who tries to help him plant a new farm, but it was "like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth" (p. 131). For Okonkwo, "his life had been ruled by a great passion- to become one of the lords of the clan, then everything had broken" (p.131).
Here again, we see the struggle that Okonkwo is having with himself. His inner conflict between his old thoughts of what masculinity should be (lack of gentleness and idleness)and his newly released emotions are starting to affect him, his work ethic, and his life. His passion-gone,his vigor-gone, and his enthusiasm- again gone.
At the end of Part 2, we see that Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, has been converted to christianity by the European missionaries and that the white, European settlers are now starting to settle amongst the Ibo people. I knew that this would happen because Achebe foreshadowed this event at the end of Part 1, but I do find it surprising that Nwoye would betray his father, his family, and his entire clan to become a Christian. I guess killing Ikemefuna had a pronounced affect on Nwoye then I thought.
As I read mostly everyone's comments, I don't believe that Nwoye betrayed his father. He simply freed himself from the abuse of his father. Christianity happens to be a safe haven for him.
Upon reading that the new converts to Christianity have been the outcasts of the village, I expected that Okonkwo would eventually join the bandwagon, seeing that he had nothing to lose and maybe inwardly, he might have been yielding towards Christianity. I thought wrong. It is this stubborness and pride in Okonkwo that caused his misfortune in the first place. It would have been better for him to join them and live, rather than be dishonored by the white people and die his shameful death later on.
The fact that Okonkwo disowns his son shows that he hasn't changed or learned anything from his exile. As long as he clings to his fake, cold exterior, he will continue to have misfortune and bad karma, and this will also lead to his destruction.
It is also ironic how the Christians-a group of outcasts and rejects-are more prosperous and powerful than the villagers, yet the village leaders claim to be strong and powerful. The author uses this irony to emphasize his overall message, that humility comes before honor, and occassionally, change is necessary. This concept is clearly seen through the events in Okonkwo's life : arrogancy and brutality have brought him to exile and his unwillingness to change his ways and accept sensitivity keep him in his hole.
Personally, I don't feel pity for Okonkwo, because he can change his ways. If he were to lighten up, no one else in the village would scold or look down on him. His commitment to maintain an exaggerated masculine image is what imprisons him; therefore, no sympathy is felt.
I agree that Okonkwo's inner conflicts have become more of an issue in Part two. I have noticed that throughout the book, Okonkwo continues his pattern of ignoring anything that seems "wrong" to him. Since Part 1, if an emotion he felt was considered weak, he refused to show it. Now, when he visits the church and listens to the missionaries, Okonkwo automatically is "fully convinced" that the Christians were "mad." So, Okonkwo shows his lack of care by shrugging his shoulders and walking away (147). To me, Okonkwo's habit of ignoring things was a mistake in this instance. Rather than helping to keep his tribe united, he is ignoring the problem and assuming everyone will follow suit. Okonkwo has been absent for seven years though, so it seems unlikely that many people will follow his actions like they did before he left. Okonkwo's ignorance and the refusal to accept has kept me from feeling sorry for him.
The missionaries are ignorant too, however. They assume that they can simply tell the clansmen that their gods are "not alive" (146) and Umuofia will not try to resist. However, it is quite obvious that it takes more than words and preaches to convert an entire tribe. The Christians have to realize that their religion is just as baffling to the Ibo people as the polytheistic religion is to them.
I predict that this constant ignorance on both sides will mean the end of Umuofia.
It seems as though Okonkwo is more ashamed to move to Mbanta his mother land than being thrown out of his village into exile.
I feel like Okonkwo's constant tormenting on Nyowe caused their relationship to deteriorate. Okonkwo never seemed to even like his son, never mind be proud of him. Just like Nidale stated, I was disppointed when Okonkwo said that “Nwoye was not worth fighting for.” (151) What kind of father is he?
Sometimes Okonkwo gets me really upset thats why I felt no sympathy for him when he was thrown into exile. Everything happens for a reason. I did felt bad for his family because they had to suffer too because of his mistake.
Okonkwo's life in exile in Mbanta passed by quite quickly. Yet an important event happened. The Christian Missionaries arrived and gained some converts like Nyowe. Nyowe's decision to follow Christianity and leave his father was like the ultimate slap in the face for Okonkwo. He deserved it! While in Mbanta, Okonkwo doesn't seem as "knowledgeable" like he was in Umuofia. When Uchendu does challenge his knowledge, it revealed that Okonkwo doesn't know everything, like Cynthia said. In Mbanta Uchendu is more respected and he seems more like a real man. He doesn't complain about everything like Okonkwo does like when cried " why should he cursed with such a son? [Nyowe]" (152)Okonkwo always makes it seem like he has it the worst and instead of maybe changing his ways, he just continues to complain.
The Christian invasion seems more peaceful than what is portrayed in history except the incident that happened in the village of Abame.
Thus far I have enjoyed this book because it isn't anything like the stories I've read. The culture is very different too and there is a lot of action. I'm really looking forward to the third part of this book.
Ok, I'll try to remember everything I was thinking of while reading this. At first while reading of his journey to his mother's land I imagined that this change would actually change a little of who Okonkwo is inside. Kind of like a revelation, or rebirth, as the beginning in some way in my head echoed the beginning of part one, with Okonkwo getting a large amount of seeds for free. As I saw the first rains that were talked about more beneficial to the yams, I thought it would mean a rebirth of Okonkwo’s ways. But the more I read it; I think I saw it as a point of no return for him and the tribes. As Christianity spreads, it threatens the clan's way of life, going after what they hold closest, their traditions. I don't quite feel like the church actually represents the church, but more of an ironic destroyer toward the people. I also like the point that Nidale made in talking about Okonkwo's relationship with his son, how he is doing exactly what Okonkwo did at that age. I almost overlooked that. Since most of what I was thinking has been in some way or another said already, I noticed in the first chapter of part 2, the number 22 is mentions a few times. For the ceremony 22 were gathered; Uchendu had to bury 22 children that didn’t make it. So naturally I wondered, does anyone think there is something significant about that number? Or am I just nuts? As a whole I liked the way part two progressed and was written a lot more than part one. It kept my attention more and gave me more to think about and try and connect to other parts of the book and other things.
This section focuses on Okonkwo’s fall from grace, and his fall is very much an educational process. Okonkwo is forced to seek refuge in his motherland, which can be seen as him submitting himself to a woman, and that is a shameful process for Okonkwo or any other man from a patriarchal society. This shame is especially acute in Okonkwo because he has to forsake his pride and wealth and substitute these values for humility and submissiveness in a land where he can only be seen as an exile. This “effeminate” image that Okonkwo now projects is to him a graver problem than the crime he committed, there is no talk of any inner remorse. Okonkwo is afraid that his reputation will be tarnished, and that somehow he will be reconnected with the image of his father. He is also preoccupied with the status he lost in his fatherland, which is what he worked his entire life for; this exile attacks Okonkwo’s core and breaks his spirit.
Though the exile is meant to last seven years, Okonkwo maintains contact with Umuofia and he has to deal with momentous changes taking place in a land he can no longer return to. This adds to his feeling of impotence and amplifies the distance he feels from his fatherland. What was once a physical distance starts to become much deeper. Okonkwo, who is now dealing with not having any power or control, starts to realize the impact the seven-year exile will have on his status, and that he might no longer be regarded as a noble man. This distance between Okonkwo and Umuofian society foreshadows the incompatibility of Okonkwo’s values and the new tribe he is about to encounter.
The missionaries who Okonkwo once dismissed start to affect him in a really personal level when his son Nwoye was converted. This is confirmation that a foreign force is really encroaching Okonkwo’s homeland. Okonkwo, being in exile for seven years, remains for the reader the reflection of the Umofia before the missionaries, and the cultural clash between the missionaries and him is representative of the clash that is to come between the tribes and the Europeans.
Part 2 of “Things Fall Apart” really resonates well with the title of the book. Things REALLY are falling apart, we found out that Okonkwo has been exiled for seven years out of Umuofia, for something he committed accidentally. Not only that we see the falling apart of Okonkwo’s tribe and culture when the white missionary converts roll in on their ‘iron horses’.
First, I would like to address the humiliating hand of fate that Okonkwo has been dealt with. Seemingly for his whole life he has been trying to get away from the ‘agabala’ ways of his father, he is masculine all the way. He has defined his character by the number of yams he has, the number of men he has killed, the number of sons and wives he rules over on his compound, he is the man’s MAN. So his submission into retreating into exile in his mother’s land must be humiliating indeed. For so long he has sought to build a home and a name for himself, but in times of sorrow, like his uncle has said, they seek refuge in the motherland. Now I would think that these seven years of exile would perhaps soften Okonkwo a bit, perhaps loosen him up, but no. During his stay in Mbanta, he loses his son Nyowe to Christianity. Now he blames the white people and his son’s foolishness, but I think it’s clear to everyone that Okonkwo’s iron fist temperament is what drove the poor boy away.
Now, wait- does anybody see a resemblance to something here? Okonkwo’s son leaves him in pursuit of his new life, abandoning the tribes, the customs, the polytheistic rituals that he has grown up around….OH WAIT! This definitely parallels Okonkwo and his father as well. Oh how history repeats itself. Speaking of history, I do very well agree with Nidale about how easily the white missionary converts gained power throughout the villages, slowly raking up converts from the lower classes to the higher ones.
I also think that Achebe was trying to highlight point on behalf of the elderly and leaders of Umuofia when they dismissed the white men would be taken care of by their Gods and deities. Underestimation and presumptions always tend to lead to chaos and havoc, and that’s exactly what they got. By allowing the white men to stay, they basicly let the pests breed and conquer, little by litte. They were too warped in their concrete ideas that they dismissed anything that challenged their ways of thinking and belief. That is seen through Father and son relations and paralled through cultural comparisons too.
Okonkwo tries so hard to maintain his culture, or rather his past life, that although he knows that Umuodia has undergone “profound change” he wants to restore it, drive away the converts. He continues to have these outlandish fantasies, even gloating about his two beautiful daughters chases by suitors. His relunctance to change and acceptance of ideas other than his own is definitely one of his greatest downfalls.
At the end of this part, the seven years of Okonkwo's exile are almost due. As such, he decides to celebrate with a feast. But not just any feast, he wouldn't settle for anything but the best and pretty much overdoes it on gathering food. And once again, his overly obsessive desire for being seen as a true man compels him to strive for unnecessary actions.
"But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship" (167). This is what one of the older members of the family speaks during the feast. So again, I find myself referencing the title. Make the thing that is really "falling apart" is not just Okonkwo's life, but rather the traditional structure of life in Umofia and its surrounding villages in Nigeria. The younger generation is evidently being swayed by outside forces, the Christians, and at this rate tradition, customs, and the older ways of life will come to be abandoned to rot. Sounds familiar, huh? Feels like The Namesake was trying to say the same thing. Forsake your roots, and you'll also lose a part of yourself, for the worse.
The clansmens' conversions to Christianity, to me, outlined the feebleness of the clan's integrity. Before the white men came, the clan was quite adamant in their belief of the Earthmother and such. Adamant enough, in fact, to exile Okonkwo without hesitation, despite bearing no hatred for him. Their faith in their indigenous belief was out of blind devotion. So when the white men came bearing a new religion, many people just hopped on and abandoned their previous beliefs. Not so stoic, now huh? Okonkwo ought to be mad, considering the beliefs most people are now abandoning were what got him exiled in the first place.
Even though Okonkwo has been so unlucky to have killed a clansman and been exiled, he is extremely lucky that his mother’s family takes him in. What his uncle, Uchendu, says in explanation about why they say “Mother is Supreme” when he tries to comfort Okonkwo makes so much sense. It doesn’t really apply to our world, but there, in the villages of Nigeria, mothers are the source of comfort. I didn’t think of it that way until Uchendu spoke about it; I felt sorry for Okonkwo. He lost everything but his family and was forced out of his home, his fatherland.
Okonkwo feels that Umuofia would not have fallen under the Christians’ control if he had only been there when it began a few years after his exile. I agree with him, although I believe that he would have only been able to slow down the takeover. Even in the first chapter, we are given the knowledge that Okonkwo is a warrior, one of the best wrestlers among the clans. He alone is responsible for his great success in his village; he worked hard, fought for what he wanted, and was a true man. Furthermore, he was able to accomplish all this despite his father’s comparative failure, since every man is judged by his own worth, skills and accomplishments, not his father’s. In this way, the clan society in the book kind of mirrors the basic ideas and core beliefs that we have in America, particularly “rags to riches” and the American dream. Since Okonkwo was such a great man and leader among his people, he may have been able to make them fight, to make them see the evident evil in what the white man brought to Umuofia. On the other hand, however, Okonkwo failed horribly in saving his son from the Christians. His oldest son, Nwoye, left his father, cast him away, and joined the missionaries. This was really unexpected, but looking back at the small hints in the first part of the book – the way he reacted when Ilkemefuna was killed, his uneasiness about the thrown-away twins, how he was becoming a “sad-faced youth” due to his father’s treatment of him – the betrayal did not come out of nowhere (14).
What is interestingly ironic about the story is that the Christians are portrayed as evil, and the reader is made to see and understand this through Okonkwo’s perspective. Generally, Christianity is associated with holiness and goodness. Evil is death, destruction, temptation. However, that is not the case in this place. As readers I think we kind of assumed that certain parts of the culture in the clans is wrong, such as the killing of innocent babies. They sound barbaric to us, but are minds are sort of made to think that way because of how we were raised. That’s like in Brave New World when babies are conditioned to hate flowers or reading and to believe that “everyone belongs to everyone else” or something along those lines.
The second part of Things Fall Apart was oddly shorter than the first but it covers a longer period of time. In part two we learn of the seven years that Okonkwo spends after being forced out of the village. I wondered while reading why Achedbe decided to put 7 years in such a short amount of pages when the first part covered less in a way more. I just don’t see why Okonkwo had to kill Ikemefuna…It just honestly confused me because Ikemefuna looked up to him, he saw him as somewhat of a father figure how can someone kill someone who looked up to them as their “father” it was just beyond my imagination of killing someone like that. Another thing the author did in part two I noticed was the adding of words of the Ibos into his writting. I found that this as a few others said brought us into ther reading more. By adding in Ibo words it brought us (the readers) more into their culture and what they are most used too. In part two we also see a new side of Okonkwo. After being forced from his village and into Mbanta the home of his mother he is somewhat forced to need to show he isnt just a masculine wifebeater like we saw in part one. Now in his new land we see that he does have (some) emotions. Im quite interested in how the end of the book will go.. I wanna know how Okoknwo will be welcomed back into his village…I’m not sure if he will be welcomed back or if he will still be shunned.. I guess I’ll see.
The conversation between Uchendu and Okonkwo further emphasizes Okonkwo’s conceitedness. Uchendu asked if Okonkwo is the “greatest sufferer in the world?” And Uchendu continued, “I did not hand myself, and I am still alive (135).” Using Uchendu’s dialogue, this unveils Okonkwo’s inability to recognize his own flaw. This could have been a moment where Okonkwo would recognize his own mistakes, and to turn his life around. When the clansmen meet with Europeans, the Europeans try to deceive them (gradually) claiming that the Christian religion offers better freedom and equality to all people. This certainly attracted many exiled people and those who live as outcasts. Another method that the European did was to claim that they are “sent by this great God to ask to leave [their] wicked ways and false gods (145).” Initially, the clansmen treated the Europeans very peacefully with some relations. But, Okonkwo never trusted them. Again, Achebe creates a balancing quality [good and bad] in Okonkwo. Therefore, readers do not feel that he should be hated or praised.
Although the second part of Things Fall Apart is shorter than the first, it covers a longer period of time, specifically the 7 years Okonkwo is exiled. When Okonkwo must leave to go to his motherland, I believe he feels helplesss and weak. He doesn't want his relatives to see him as a failure because of one stupid mistake. I feel sorry Okonkwo must go through this, but every man must pay for his crimes, even if they were not on purpose.
I thought it was very interesting how the white man come into these peoples lives and take over their clans almost. I have known of this happening in history, but I never seen it in the perspective of the people suffering through it. Oknokwo loses is first-born son Nwoye, to the christians. This is upsetting to me because his father has done everything in his life for that boy to one day be succesful, however, Nwoye did not see it as this. That is because Okonkwo did not express his true emotions.
I believe that Nwoye's decision to leave his family and join the church was foreshadowin the events that take place in part 3 of how strong the church becomes even in Umuofia.
I actually didn't read the book by the three parts. For me, the second chunk was chapters nine to seventeen. In these chapters I have grown fond of Ekwefi. She is very daring. Not only did she run away from her husband to be with Okonkwo at such a young age, but she was willing to die with her daughter Ezinma in a matter of seconds. Though she seems very strong on the outside, she has personal wars conflicting within her veins. She blamed her chi for not being able to have a healthy child like Okonkwo's other wives. They had strong, healthy sons. When Ekwefi was finally able to have Ezinma, she made her child her entire life. When the priestess carries Ezinma such a long distance on her back, Ekwefi immediately follows (zombie-like, almost). She is a very strong woman in my opinion.
Ekwefi might be taking all of Okonkwo's strength. He is no longer the man he once used to be. He helped kill a young boy that he loved, in fear of seeming weak, but saw no problem in caring for Ezinma when she became ill. He immediately acted to help her in any way that he could. Okonkwo used to be one of the most respected men in the clan. After having killed a young boy (by accident) who was mourning his father's death, Okonkwo was forced to leave the clan for seven years. He had to return to his motherland. All of his hard work was gone in an instant. Once he reached his motherland, he became spineless. He was told not to weep for his sorrows because many people had it worse than he did. He was in a loving and protecting motherland where he was free to rebuild and reinvent himself.
The culture of Okonkwo's clan confuses me. They try to stick to the laws of their gods as much as they can. It makes no sense to me that they would make an exception for the man who beat his wife. He was supposed to be paid back the bride-price. Instead, he was seen as being wrong. I thought it was accepted to beat a woman as long as it wasnt during the week of peace. If she goes back to him, he will probably just end up beating her even harder than he had done in the first place. Its just weird to me that men are even able to beat women or children in the first place. A nice part of their culture is their sharing of folk stories. They teach morals of appreciation and honesty. When the woman interrupts the folk stories to tell a prophecy I was instantly reminded of Harry Potter. The only difference is, everyone laughed when the professor would announce one spontaneously.
This second part of the book was less about character. I feel as if the first section was more about fleshing out characters, giving them their distinct personalities, getting to know them intimately. This part felt more like a story to me where as the first section felt more like little anecdotes of Okonkwo's daily life.
This was when the white missionaries came to Abame and Obierka told Okonkwo about the events that followed. Despite he white man's harmlessness, I felt as much suspense and was just as wary as the Africans when he arrived. History has taught me all about what happened when white missionaries came to Africa, some of it is good, most of it ends in bloodshed and wars. Therefore when I read that the people of Abame were slaughtered after they killed the white man, I wasn't surprised. I would've been more surprised if nothing was done in retaliation.
Nwoye's own conversion to Christianity when the missionaries came to Mbanta wasn't surprising as it was symbolic. Nwoye seemed more genle than his father and he even admits that he sometimes acts tough to please his father (the first section). So when he goes off to join the new church, I saw it as another betrayal, except instead of a father betraying his son (which was the case between Unoka and Okwonko- his father betrayed him by being lazy and leaving him with nothing), this was a son betraying his father by casting away his ancestors' gods.
Achebe, I noticed, paints the church in Mbanta as harmless. Throughout most of the section, it is mainly about the struggle between two very different cultures living next to each other. The only time violence comes into play is when one of the new church members does something. To me though, I can see that a lot of this book is about religion and I think that Achebe is making that a major point in his book. How religion can control people to do some terrible things, for example killing twins when born or killing a baby that refuses time after time to live for more than a few months. This sentiment is also applied to Christianity. Because the people of Abame refused to convert and killed one of the white men's people, they were slaughtered in the name of a higher power. I believer that Achebe is pointing out that religion can be both a joining and a dangerous thing.
Part 2 of Things Fall Apart allows us to see the more vulnerable side of Okonkwo since now he has to start from scratch. Okonkwo has to seek help from his mother's people in order to return to his clan 6 years later. I feel like it's kind of ironic how Okonkwo is sent to his motherland when he doesn't really respect women at all, whatsoever. On page 134-135 Uchendu gives Okonkwo a spiel about a woman's worth and I feel like that was long overdue in this book.
When the Europeans invaded the African land, it reminded me of the missionaries that we learned about last year in AP world history. I remember reading about how they tried to convert the natives to Christianity and how the natives refused because they wanted to keep their diverse religious beliefs. In all honesty, I did not feel bad for Okonkwo one bit because like I said before, he deserved everything he got because of his previous actions and his ruthless behavior.
The second part of the book is full of ironies and a series of downfall. Although Okonkwo was once powerful, he lost all his power and wealth and is forced to move back to his motherland, Mbanta.Unlike Umofia, Mbanta focuses on the ideas of peace and women superiority, ideas that Okonkwa disagree with.When Okonkwa wanted to fight the missionaries, the men of Mbanta disagreed and wished to solve the problem through a more peaceful matter. While the women in the first part of the book were abused and seen as property, women of Mbanta are seen as supremes who run the family and can provide stability. The author has created two different settings to present the differences and values in culture. I think through the exile, Okonkwo has to learn to change his perspective on power.This is a tragedy so will Okonkwo end up losing everything again and die? Another downfall in this part of the book is how Nwoye switches to Christianity, betrayal to his father. This reminded me of The Namesake, when Gogol changes his name to Nikhil and joins Maxine's family, an escape from Indian culture. A part of Nwoye is trying to find his own identity and idea of power.
Part two of “Things Fall Apart” focuses on the seven years in exile that Okonkwo and his family had endured as an effect of the accidental killing of the sixteen year old boy in Umuofia. As a means of escape, and nowhere to live, Okonkwo adventures to his mother’s kinsmen in the village of Mbanta; which I feel as though is degrading and humiliating especially In context to his culture, and being able to fend for oneself as well as ones family. I feel as though part two is Achebe’s way of degrading Okonkwo’s masculinity and worth in society through his reliance on his mother for security. However, Okonkwo exile to this land is almost a symbolic of a change for him to start anew and further discontinue himself from his haunting past of his father’s actions that have un-welcomingly been spawned upon him. I agree with Xi that his journey back to his mothers land is an ironic downfall of the character, because in his home village he had been considerably powerful, and in the land of his mother it is as if he must start from scratch and this which ultimately alters his outlook on power, masculinity, ect.
One of the most significant themes in part two of the novel however is Nwoye betrayal of his original culture through the newly found interest and transition into the Christian religion. I feel as thought this betrayal is a symbolic of the past relationship amongst Okonkwo and his own father Unoka, and is foreshadowing what will become of Okonkwo and his biological son if he does not break the societal barriers that are holding him from developing a “healthy” affectionate relationship with his child. I am curious as to the symbolic meaning of the use of the Christian religion as opposed to all others; I feel as if there is deeper significant meaning to this considering that the Christian religion is one of the most dominant world religions that has historically transitioned and complicated many past cultures. Nwoye’s defiance of the Umuofia culture, is his way of attempting to reach out to his Father and alter his values and outlook on society within the clan
In Part two of Things Fall Apart it starts off with seven years after Okonkwo was forced to leave his village. He committed a female crime and also killed a kinsman. His village completely lost all respect for him and he lost all his power and recognition from his people. When Okonkwo was exiled you start to see a change in him because he was in the motherland. A man feeling like hes losing his man hood can be such a depressing and heart breaking moment for a man. No man wants to addmitt that they have a feminine side so I believe thats why he holds his guard up even to people he adores such as Ikemefuna because his masculine ways. In Okonkwo eyes thats weakness and he doesnt want to be labeled as that. I wonder if the motherlands will some how teach him to show emotions and not think only females show emotions because we all are human beings and sometimes we feel the same way and once you start hiding your feelings one day it will burst!
This site will be the summer resource for students in Mr. Gallagher and Ms. Clapp's AP Literature courses. You'll come here to discuss summer reading, college searches and applications, and literary topics in general.
43 comments:
This second part of Things Fall Apart is much shorter than the first, yet it describes a much longer span of time. While in the first part, we mostly got a few weeks following Okonkwo’s life, the second part tells about his seven years in exile. I think that Achebe summarizes these seven years so quickly because Okonkwo is so ashamed that he was forced to crawl to his mother’s kinsmen in Mbanta, the village of his mother. The years passed by without much notice, except for the arrival of the European men. Other than that, I think this was a time period Okonkwo preferred to forget, hence the quicker pace of this section.
I honestly feel bad for Okonkwo and the misfortune that fell upon him. I fully expected him to end up one of the most powerful of his clan and this unfortunate event really shook everything up for him. However, it’s clear that he can also find a way to gain power in his motherland.
One very interesting tidbit I enjoyed was the clansmen talking about the white man’s “iron horse”. I didn’t actually pair this with what it was later revealed as, but it shows how foreign and intriguing the European culture is to the villagers. When I continued to read and discovered that it was a bicycle, it definitely made me giggle. The villagers simply had the bicycle tied up to the trees for weeks. Their fascination with formerly unknown technology is both amusing and also revealing about their culture at this point in time.
I’m surprised by the peacefulness with which the villagers and the white settlers first approached one another with. In history, this is not how the story usually goes, although this could be because the white settlers do not seem to come in high numbers.
I think Nwoye’s decision to join the Christians is foreshadowing further destruction of relationships in part three. In such a family oriented culture, it’s very taboo to go against the customs of your family and your father. I’m curious to see how the book pans out now that this huge betrayal has happened.
Achebe has been very consistent with his including of Ibo words in Things Fall Apart. Born in Nigeria, Achebe gives his audience insight on his culture of Ogidi, the village in which he lived. I believe this builds Achebe’s ethos.
In the part two of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is shunned from his village for committing a female crime. He inadvertently killed a kinsman. I found it interesting how there were two different kinds of crimes to commit. We know Okonkwo as a strong man who of course does not want to reveal the feminine side of him. Okonkwo is upset and feels as if he is the greatest sufferer, a common feeling among those who have suffered a lot or have dealt with hard times. It is clear that Okonkwo’s exile upsets him because he is forced into his motherland. This compels him to spend time in a village where his mother grew up. Therefore, he feels it is a more womanly place.
At the beginning of chapter fifteen, two years have gone by in exile. Though a short second part of Things Fall Apart, a lot occurs, the biggest event being the first encounter with the Europeans. I was excited to see that my statement in part one about the locusts symbolizing the invasion of Umuofia by Europeans was valid. On page 139, Obierika states “…the other white men were on their way. They were locusts…and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain.” This quote assured me that my inference was correct and it made me very excited.
As chapter sixteen comes to an end, four years have passed. The arrival of missionaries has caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta, where Okonkwo was in exile. The European missionaries are beginning to promote the idea of a “true God and He has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us.” This reminds me of the time in history when Americanization was occurring in the Native American culture. The idea of Americanization was based on the idea that when indigenous people learned about the United States and European-American values, they would be able to convert the Native Americans to Christianity and leave all tribal traditions behind.
Okonkwo’s little faith in his son Nwoye connects to Nwoye’s fascination of the new religion proposed by the European missionaries. Again, as in the beginning of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo feels as if his son has failed him. Okonkwo’s early feelings in the novel were a foreshadowing to a larger disappointment. Nwoye was spotted among the Christians, fascinated with their knowledge and ways of religion and education. Okonkwo shamefully asked himeself “Why, he cried in his heart, should he, Okonkwo, of all people, be cursed with such a son?”
Will Nwoye make a return to his father? I think that in part three, there will be a war and Nwoye will be on the missionary side and therefore, Okonkwo will have to kill his own son, which we know is frowned upon in the Ibo village. I can’t wait to find out what happens.
At the start of this second part Achebe shows us Okonwo's internal state and we can see his true feelings. Okonwo sees affection towards other people as a sign of weakness so he tries to push aside his emotions. I don't think he's a cruel man that most would think he is, I think he is just a guy who's worried about a lot of things.
In this part, Chielo forces Okonwo to see how important his wife and child are. His big ego prevents him from being himself.
I think when Ikemefuna becomes part of Okonwo's family, he sort of mends the break that Okonwo and Nwoye have. Okonwo unfortunately loses Nwoye's heart when he decides to kill the boy who became his son. I really fell bad for Okonwo also because nothing ever seems to go the right way for him.
I think Okonwo is genuinely pissed off that his exile has forced him to spend time in a feminine place. He hates to deal with the fact that he has a feminine side. But he's not suffering alone, so it's not all that bad. There's plenty of other people going through a lot worse.
The second part of Things Fall Apart follows the story of the seven years after Okonkwo had to leave his village. His uncle helps him begin a farm so that he can start a new life in this new village. In his old village, he had worked so hard to reaching a high status in the village but now all that is lost. He would like to start over but has no will or power to do so. It is clear here that Okonkwo is ashamed of what he has now become. As Sam said, I also feel bad for Okonkwo. He had earned his power in his last village. He worked hard daily and was an honest man. To have all that be lost now because of a mistake, I really sympathize for him. If he had the will and same enthusiasm as before, he could probably rise up to the same status, even higher, than before.
As Renee mentioned before, the author adds some Ibo words into the book. I think this is a great effect in having the reader engage themselves into the story. The more you learn about the culture, the easier it is to understand the events happening in the story.
In the previous chapters, we saw how Okonkwo showed no affection toward his sons. Although he admired the work and masculine personality of Ikemefuna, he does not show any affection toward him. During part two of the book, Uchendu tries to show Okonkwo the importance of family. Despite the fact that he had to return to his motherland (which clearly makes him feel less superior and less masculine), he must learn to pick up from where he is and start a new life. One where affection and love can be and should be shown.
Moving on into part two, the “white man” arrives on his iron horse which we later learn (very funny), is a bicycle. I think this is a point where the reader can see the difference in cultures. The Europeans are so developed in the eyes of the Nigerians because they are riding on these “iron horses”. By chapter seventeen, many missionaries had come to the village. Along with that, the white men had destroyed some villages. These missionaries are trying to promote the idea of “Christianity” and “true god…”. Nwoye’s conversion into Christianity symbolizes the effects of change in the village and culture. These villages have always lived under one religion, one culture. And here, these white men are changing everything they have ever known.
A new setting is introduced, the land of Mbanta. Mbanta is the land of Okonkwo’s mother, and until now much has not been revealed about the mother. So, through her people knowledge is gained, and to me I feel like an essential part of Okonkwo’s life, the half that was his mother, is revisited.
Right off the bat I knew life in this village would be different for Okonkwo, because a new side of him is exposed to the reader. The first display of this, is on page 134, where Unchendu challenges Okonkwo on his knowledge. All this time Okonkwo was characterized as this strong man that struggled to know enough to be prosperous. At last a weak spot is shown , he does not know EVERYTHING. I feel like because of a man’s position and power that he should know a great amount of information. This revelation specifically explains the role of a mother, that which Okonkwo failed to do. It was one of the few moments were a woman’s effort was recognize in a positive manner. The effort of a woman is just as crucial to the Earth as the efforts of man. If it not for the woman their would be no children, obviously, and it is said on page 165 that “ he who has heath and children will also have wealth”. I also find that when Unchendu speaks of the hardships of other that it belittled Okonkwo in my perspective. At that moment, Okonkwo reminded of a little child complaining about his problems when others have it worse. Even though he did not express his troubles, the need for Unchendu to say such things and warn Okonkwo must mean that the uncle sensed a weak spot in Okonkwo that the readers could not detect.
Honestly I did not feel bad for Okonkwo as Monika and Samantha felt. Personally the way that Chinua Achebe characterized Okonkwo , made me not worry when he got into trouble, I felt that he could handle and fend for his family and himself the way he brought himself up to be.
Besides the introduction of a new village, new ways of the “white man” start to become more prominent. Changes are easy to be detected. As religion spread , people of different clans start to betray their people, and the gods that they once feared. I felt as if the “white men” had already won, when they did not drop dead as the people of the villages thought that their gods would have punished them. I would only think that the people at that moment would start to question the power of their gods, even though dome people stayed strong and true. The feelings and thoughts of everybody were not exposed to the reader. I imagine that the people were scared; that all they had known is crumbling down, everything they lived by was being proven wrong. I wonder if some people thought that they were living a lie. Those were the people that alright, when Okoli died. This is because “his death showed that the gods were still able to fight their own battles”, which made me express sigh of relief for the people.
The last impression that part two left in mind was the idea of fear. When the elders die, the younger ones will have to be the ones suffering the changes of the new world. I feel like the younger generations at this point were characterized as weak, as one of the elders expressed that the young ones “do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship” .I can only imagine that the elders do not know what will become of the future of their clan
Like I said, I went back through this book because I feel like I missed out on a whole lot of themes and meaning of the story.
I think in this second part, although Achebe shows us that the Igbo society is mostly patriarchal, he also strives to show that Igbo woman, in at least a limited capacity, are respected and protected. There is sort of an interest in justice and fairness.
I looked more closely at unity in this section too, because all though its a shorter section, it describes a lot more about the community and Okonwo's life in it. The festival in this part shows some of the bonds of Umuofia's community. The gift-giving is definitely generous and shows communication on both sides. Even the interruptive incident of the loose cow is resolved quickly and peaceful. During this festival in the book Achebe emphasizes the strength of the social fabric of Umuofia. The social organization and customs of the tribe are not the barbaric practices of a primitive people, but rather a rich system of tradition and wisdom that preserves peace and harmony between the people of Umuofia.
As Achebe shows us the rituals and celebrations of the Igbo, I saw that in some way they sort of echo what is going on in the central story of the novel.
In my Part One comment, I commented on Achebe’s use of irony when describing some of the tribes’ traditions, and made a totally incorrect prediction about what it meant. Clearly I know now that it was supposed to foreshadow the ease of missionary conversion. The villagers doubt in their own belief leads them to turn to God; especially true in those who have the lowest social status.
Here is where we see things start to fall apart. Okonkwo’s dream becomes ruined. His dream was to become rich and of high status, rich because he had to buy the titles. This emphasis on wealth kind of relates to the American Dream. After all, isn’t the American Dream at its core to be rich? We see wealth as a ladder to happiness—for Okonkwo, it’s a ladder to social status. Are our two societies really that much different when it comes to basic want?
Everyone else mostly seems to feel bad for Okonkwo, but I don’t. Yes, it technically was an “accident.” But I also think it’s somewhat symbolic of his own weaknesses, as I kind of also touched on in my Part One post.
But the main focus of this chapter revolves around the Europeans. At first I was surprised that the relations were peaceful, but then I realized that most of the relations in this book have been peaceful (except for everything Okonkwo suggests…). The kola nut symbolizes this fact—everything is done to make peace between their kin. They are gracious enough to extend this to the Europeans, showing what a peaceful and humane culture they are. In fact, the situation has some humor, as Samantha pointed out, the whole bicycle situation was funny along with the whole “my buttocks” part. Neither side is made to be the enemy; they both have the fault of ignorance.
What really stood out to me as the biggest theme in Part Two was the idea of kinship. Mr. Kiaga feels joyous when Nwoye joins them—“Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake.” Nwoye forsakes his family for a new God. But the elders of the tribe stress the importance of tribal kinship. If they don’t stay strong and united, there is the downfall. It’s exactly what happens between Nwoye and Okonkwo. Since their bond wasn’t close, Nwoye was able to easily cast away his family. This is the only real clash between the Europeans and the natives at this moment: a clash of values. Yet back in Okonkwo’s old village, which he continuously describes as more violent, I’m certain there will be many more problems.
One final note is that I noticed Achebe uses a lot of symbolism in this section. Right in the beginning of Part Two, we see a rainfall which symbolizes rebirth. Yet the rebirth is full of anger, the lightning is described as an “angry, metallic, and thirsty clap.” I think it’s meant to emphasize Okonkwo’s emotions about having to start over in a new land. But then in the last chapter of Part Two, there is a rainbow. The rainbow is supposedly a symbol of peace between Gods and man (according to Thomas Foster, hopefully you guys read that book first!). I think this foreshadows that there will be peace in Okonkwo’s motherland; after all, they really stress peaceful relations. But in Part Three, I predict things will turn violent.
Towards the end of part one, and the beginning of part two, a great change in Okonkwo is becoming evidant. At the very start of the book, everything with Okonwo is about pride, being a man, but as the story goes on certian events take place that start to almost soften Okonkwo, and change his outlook on life, and the way he interacts with people around him.
For example, what happened with Ezinma had brought out a new side of Okonkwo. When the sick Ezinma was carried by Agbala to the cave, Okonkwo, a man who once killed a boy who was like a child to him in fear of being looked at as weak, became "gravely worried." Ekwefi, scared of what might happen, followed Agbala all the way to the cave, while Okonwo surprisingly took his own route to the cave out of fear for Ezinma. The mere fact that Okonkwo cared enough for the young girl to go to the cave shows that he is starting to give into his emotions.
Okonkwo does not only experience an emotion change. One day while attending a funeral of Ezeudu, a respected elder of the clan, Okonkwo accidentaly shot the dead man's 16 year old son. In order to follow custom, Okonkwo must be exciled out of the clan to live in his motherland, leaving fellow clansman such as Obierika questioning the way that the clan handled such affairs.
Okonkwo eventually finds himself in his motherland of Mbabta, where he is warmly greeted by his uncle Uchendu. Okonkwo finds that he no longer cares for working on the farm, as all he has ever worked for has been stripped away from him, leaving him as an empty shell. Uchendu sees the sadness in Okonwo, causing him to give Okonwo a reality check. He tells Okonwo that he is not "greatest sufferer in the world," going on to tell Okonkwo that he himself has had a tough life, losing wives, and even burying twenty two of his children.
Just when it looks as though Okonkwo has no where to go but up, his friend from his previous clan, Obierika, visits him bringing terrible news of a clan being demolished by a group of white men. Obierika returns once again a year later saying that the white men have come to Umoufia, bringing a new religion and converting many of the clansmen to their ways. One such clansman to take a particular interest in the religion was Nwoye, the son of Okonkwo.
Okonkwo is definetly causing himself pain. He shuts himself away so as to seem manly, but I feel like what he is suppressing would not seem as terrible to others as Okonkwo fears. It's just like all personal insecurities -- we think that to others they would seem just as horrible as they do in our own minds, and perhaps even worse. But in reality, these insecurities do not even read as something that should be hidden; rather they come across as normal human qualities. Okonkwo seems to be realizing this, as is suggested on page 153: "Okonkwo's eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash". And I wonder if Obierika, Okonkwo's best and wise friend, already knows about Okonkwo's softer side that lies beneath the harsh layers. If he does know, it could be what draws the two together. And if that is the case, Okonkwo should realize that.
It is interesting that these people seem to disregard women, yet they respect them highly. It is an oxymoron. Men can beat women freely, yet if a man beats a woman too much he is scolded. A woman has rights, yet she cannot own anything herself, not even her children. A woman's wedding day is a great day for her and in some cases she may even choose her own husband, yet she is also like a bargaining chip for her family. A wife is just a wife, but when she dies she is mourned greatly, as the song for when a woman dies goes, on page 135: " 'For whom is it well, for whom is it well? There is no one for whom it is well'". I admire the pedestal that women are put on, and I think it reflects the love and respect these people have for everything and it shows that they are not as primitive as many would think, but the contradiction confuses me as well.
By now we know about the country's visitors: the white man. I know the "white man" is going to ruin things because I have read the history books, but I don't know what exactly he will ruin and how it will connect to Okonkwo. But I wish I could jump into the story and warn everyone to fear the white man and drive him out now and to be curious later.
I think one of the most remarkable aspects about Part Two of is how Okonkwo experiences such an internal change of heart throughout the section. Even from the beginning of Part One, we can see the drastic change in Okonkwo’s lifestyle and personality. Originally, his most desired aspiration was to be the polar opposite of his father, to be a hard-working and determined person. This desire reflects one of the most prevalent motifs of the novel. This motif is internal struggle, meaning the problematic relationships inside a person, a family or even a society.
The motif can be extended even further. In Okonkwo’s case, his relationships are the most obvious examples of internal struggle. Disappointed and saddened by the actions of his father, Okonkwo drives himself to be “better” than his father. He does this by making himself a more masculine person, eliminating all things feminine from his lifestyle. He mainly does this by acting irrationally and violently toward his wives and children. In his own eyes, these displays of rage and anger make him seem more masculine
Along with the problems Okonkwo internally deals with, the society in which he resides also places a great deal of pressure on him to act a certain way. In his village, there are very strict and certain ways to act in specific situations. Defying these social rules may have the impact of ostracizing Okonkwo as an “outsider” or even as a “failure”. This type of label could isolate Okonkwo to the point where he is compared to his father, something he obviously goes great lengths to avoid. After the missionaries try to influence Okonkwo and the society, they find themselves in a very confusing compromise. To accept the outsiders would be kind, for they seem helpful, safe and are willing to coherently converse in their language. However, accepting the outsiders would also burden their society, almost tainting it with new (and different) cultural influences. Like Okonkwo, the society is infected with a serious internal conflict. This conflict rapidly spreads and impacts the lives of many.
Achebe rightly depicts this motif of the novel through the influence of the missionaries. Okonkwo is so deeply threatened by the notion that people will perceive him wrongly. This can also be seen in the society as well when the villagers do not initially accept the missionaries, because that is not how their society usually functions. Achebe continuously reinforces these ideas through the deepening struggle Okonkwo has with his relationships, and through the issues the society faces with the invading missionaries.
The second section of Things Fall Apart is fairly short. It skips a lot of what happened while Okonkwo was in Mbanta. Uchendu shares his knowledge and ways of living with Okonkwo, as he deals a lot with his emotions and faces a immense change.
I noticed that while he was in Mbanta, Okonkwo was having a tough time referring to Nwoye as his son because of betrayal. I thought it was very weird how people can easily disown others from their family. Okonkwo doesn't play games, he is very serious about his beliefs and customs. The difference between Okonkwo and Uchendu is that Uchendu knows how to treat his loved ones.
There was a shift in the story during the second part of the book. Achebe talked more about religion and God and being a Christian. Nwoye became enthralled by a new religion and way of living upsetting Okonkwo even more. Causing Nwoye to leave his family. When Okonkwo was on the verge of beating Nwoye, Uchendu saved him. "Leave that boy at once!"...It was Okonkwo's uncle, Uchendu..."Are you mad?"... Okonkwo did not answer. But he left hold of Nwoye who walked away and never returned." (p 152). I was surprised when Okonkwo actually left Nwoye alone because being as powerful and stubborn as he is, and feeling betrayed by his own child, Okonkwo obeyed what his uncle had told him to do.
At the end of the section, I felt like even though Okonkwo felt that he didn't belong in that village dealing with society and missionaries, he was still respected and honored by the people in some way. When he has the final feast after his seven years there, everyone seems to feel as though he was the one who brought them all together. I found it vastly ironic because Okonkwo didn't even want to be there to begin with.
I think it’s fascinatingly interesting how easily the Europeans (British in this case, I think) gained influence over the Ibo people – as well as terribly historically accurate. If you look at virtually any religious invasions throughout history, the pattern is clear: the lower classes convert first, and usually most willingly, purely because those in charge typically have no reason to want change. Virtually every religion experienced this – it’s pretty much the only way a religion can gain followers (much like the only way I can get followers is by shamelessly promoting my twitter account on this blog post). And Achebe’s portrayal of this feels honest. It’s confusing, it’s difficult, but it happens – it’s a kind of evolution (though for better/worse remains to be seen, at least in this case).
Nneka’s conversion is the perfect example of this; why does she convert? Because she is sick of continuously giving birth to twins and having to kill them because her religion tells her to (151). And then there are the outcasts, people whose clans kicked them out and turned them into social lepers (155). Christianity welcomes them. Again, they are the people who have the least to lose and most to gain by converting. It seems amazing. Mr. Niaga creates tolerance by grouping everybody who feels wronged by the Ibo religion or general society together, literally under God’s roof. Most notable in this group is Nwoye. He has been rejected by the man who is probably most important in his life – his father. So what does Nwoye do? He rejects his father right back. Their break up is eerily reminiscent of that between Unoka and Okonkwo – the son deciding he had to become the complete opposite of everything his father stood for, the son deciding he had to make a life for himself completely independent of his father. (Bascally, Okonkwo left and decided to create his own life as far away from the world his father lived in purely because he and his dad didn’t get along. Wait, did I say Okonkwo? I meant Nwoye. Or did I?) For all Okonkwo’s insistence that Nwoye is more like his mother, or even his grandfather, the patterns of his life thus far have closely resembled those of his father. The saddest part of this particular incarnation of this story? Okonkwo’s reaction. “Nwoye was not worth fighting for” (151).
Achebe spends the entirety of this part of the book doing two things: creating this massive disparity between the Europeans and the Africans, and throwing Okonkwo into an environment in which he is simply not comfortable. The latter’s purpose is basically to show the stubbornness of Okonkwo, his complete and utter lack of adaptiveness. It is Okonkwo who, when listening to one of the missionaries with the rest of his village, mocks Christianity (147) even as his son begins to fall for the religion. Again, the people who have the least to lose and the most to gain by converting are the first to do so. Those who do not – most of the Ibo people – completely reject the intrusion into their lives. They even attempt to wipe it out entirely, first by killing the one white missionary in Abame (138), then by giving the missionaries the land they believed to be full of evil spirits, the land whose very location should have been enough to kill the Europeans. It was not (149), and as Mr. Niaga says, “We have now built a church” (150). In fact, he says this twice, or at least, Achebe shows this particular piece of conversation twice. Why? Because it’s absolutely essential. What is Niaga really saying here? He’s announcing victory. “We have built a church” does not mean “we have built a church and now we are going to sit in it and pray and not have anything else to do with your people.” That would be pointless. Why waste the money, the effort, the lives? No, what Niaga is really saying is, “We have built a church and now we will gain converts and then we will gain power.” We know this is what he is saying because we know what happens next.
(hi there is more)
(hi I am more)
But the person who rejects this the most is not one of the elders of this clan; it is Okonkwo. He, in fact, has been rejecting everything about the motherland (which is both literally and figuratively the motherland – both the land of his mother and the land that places emphasis on the matriarch, as Uchendu’s speech toward the beginning tells us – the mother is the ultimate protector [134]). Okonkwo cannot adapt to Christianity; he cannot even adapt to life outside of Umuofia. To him, creating a brand new life when he’s already done it before is nearly heart-breaking; “work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have” (131). In other words, the stubborn, famous Umuofian, Okonkwo just wants to remain the stubborn, famous Umuofian, Okonkwo. Interestingly, the ability to adapt is one of the base definitions of life. Does this mean Okonkwo is not really alive – or just that he is gearing up to die?
I feel like Achebe’s illustration of the cultural disparity between the British and the Ibo serves primarily to create a strange new world for the Ibo people, a world to which they will eventually need to adapt. After all, the Europeans have much bigger guns than the Ibo, and as we saw from the slaughter in Abame, they will stop at nothing to communicate their message (138). Interestingly, even though my instincts tell me that Achebe is not sympathetic to the British, he does seem to see their arrival as sort of inevitable, an unavoidable part of the cycle of life. After all, at the beginning of this part, the dry season ends and the rain – “the nuts of the water of heaven” (130), in fact – begins, marking a new yam-growing cycle. It is difficult to believe that such heavenly precipitation could be something so negative, and yet the rain season seems to me to symbolize the end of an era, the end of the Ibo era, especially when we take the double rainbow into consideration: “The rainbow began to appear, and sometimes two rainbows...the one young and beautiful, and the other an old and faint shadow” (163). It’s almost too heavy-handed to believe; the young and beautiful rainbow is the European religion/culture, the old and faint shadow is the slowly but surely fading Ibo religion/culture.
And then Achebe ends this transition part, this part where the Europeans and Africans coexist almost peacefully, with fear – specifically the fear of the elders, who do not believe that the Ibo people can hold together against the incredible force that is Christianity. The Ibo people simply “do not know what it is to speak with one voice” (167), and for this reason, they cannot hold up against Christianity.
I was expecting Okonkwo to go through some hard times. I subscribe to the belief that “what comes around goes around” in life. Because of the manner in which he treated his family, and the way that he viewed his father, Okonkwo is being punished. At least, that’s how I justify his pain of being exiled. Then again, can Okonkwo be completely at fault for his behavior? He saw how society treated his father, a lazy beggar, and sought to avoid the same treatment. That led him to developing a harsh exterior and becoming determined to make a name for himself in his community. As well, the men in that society are expected to be masculine, and are expected to hold certain qualities in order to prove that: determination, strictness, reliability.
However, now, Okonkwo isn’t the center of it all. He and his family leave for Mbanta-his mother’s homeland-to live with his mother’s family. I’m glad that his family is so welcoming to him, though, because support and encouragement are what he needs most at this time. Okonkwo seems to have lost his motivation in life. One of the best parts of the book to illustrate this is when Achebe writes: “His life had been ruled by a great passion-to become one of the lords of the clan...Then everything had been broken. He had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach, panting” (131). Okonkwo had lived his life with one goal in mind: become a great clan leader. He tried to fit into the mold of what he thought one was like-he was stern, powerful, determined. However, he loses that opportunity when he accidentally kills a fellow clan member’s son and is banished. I was shocked that his fellow people would turn on him so quickly, considering all that he had done for them. Yes, he did kill someone, but it was an accident, and isn’t he considered to be the golden boy of the clan?
Although the narration is in third-person, Achebe makes the writing seem much more personal. As he describes the characters’ and their emotions, it seems as though they are confiding in him on their own. The thoughts are just that revealing. The narrator’s words seem to be the characters’ own.
I wonder if Okonkwo feels emasculated from having to depend on the kindness of others in his time of need? Does he feel thankful for them at all, or does he just feel ashamed of himself?
I agree with Kaela that Okonkwo is shutting himself off for fear of not appearing manly. He has too much pride! People are allowed to break down, to cry, when they encounter obstacles and setbacks in their lives. Doing that is what allows them to reevaluate themselves and the direction their lives are taking. He cares too much about what other people might think of him that he is suppressing his true emotions and is giving himself a lower quality of life. He is afraid of being perceived as weak or emotional if he doesn’t continue to put up a facade. In regards to what Kaela said about there being an oxymoron in terms of how women were viewed in African society, I don’t agree with the idea that the women are put on a pedestal. It doesn’t seem as though women’s opinions are considered with much importance. Personally, I see the situation like this: The women are like dolls-they bring a sort of fulfillment for those who are “playing” with them. A person can love the doll, but ultimately, he/she wants to be in control of the doll. So, in this case, those women are desired, but only for the sake of being a possession, one that can be treated in whatever manner the other person would like.
I feel bad for the villagers of Abame. Did they know what kind of catastrophe would be brought about by the appearance of the white man (138)? When the villagers came upon the white man, were they hesitant to go near him because he was a stranger, or because he was white? If it was because he was white, they had probably already heard about the destruction the white man had/would wreak on Africa.
This section really spent most of the time talking about the white man’s culture and the loss of the native’s culture. Though it does start talking about Okonkwo’s exile it quickly deters to the style of living of the newcomers. The uncomfortable feel between the natives and the settlers is evident- shown through the integration of the two cultures and the use of social class.
The beginning starts again with a simile comparing starting a new to learning to become left handed, oddly different than Achebe’s usual similes with animals, but only appropriate as he quickly introduces the white man with their odd ways. The lack of acceptance is evident at the beginning as the white men bring a translator from a different tribe who “instead of saying ‘myself’ [would] say ‘my buttocks’” only representing their difference in language but symbolically showing an even deeper separation of understanding (144). The intruders come not only speaking a different language but bring someone to translate into a different language, it becomes an even more odd separation.
Belief also becomes a problem as the Christians accept everyone from all walks of life while people like Okonkwo are still raising their children with beliefs of social class and differences. Because of this gap it makes it easier for the Christians to lure people in and in effect tearing apart the native culture. This really highlights Okonkwo as a character and his fears. The fears surroundings him are his son’s “degenerate and effeminate” characteristics and dying without anyone to praise his and his fathers’ spirits (153). Because of the strict old ways the youth is being pulled to the embracing Christian lifestyle leaving mostly adults to their old ways increasing their displeasure because without the youth their culture will die.
The fear of losing their culture is what is setting this village into turmoil and as the intruders increase so will the disgruntled feelings felt by the natives. This idea embodies page 167 where Okonkwo is told of the loss of culture and the Christians are symbolizing the embodiment of this fear.
I completely agree with Nidale’s points (with the exception of the lowly peasant status of the blog that she must post a link to her twitter account to gain more followers). Achebe does a great job in portraying how the Europeans took over the native people. It was very interesting reading about the outcasted people joining the church and being welcomed by Mr. Kiaga as sons and daughters of God.
What was most interesting about Nidale’s points was the idea of change and adaptation. This section of the book deals closely with the idea that adaptation takes time and force. Okonkwo, a man who can not even adapt to his mother’s homeland, would certainly not be able to adapt to a completely new way of life and a new set of beliefs. I am looking forward to a real clash between Okonkwo and religion (Christianity wise).
The use of the double rainbow could also have another meaning besides the fading of one culture and the coming of another. Rainbows are happy optical illusions. Is Achebe going from the viewpoint of Nwoye and the converts and saying that there is still happiness? “The rainbow is called the python of the sky,” (163) and what do pythons eat? Nearly everything that can breathe. Umofia is powerful and greatly feared by other clans. Umofia got so powerful by “eating” other clans. Power is gained through land, elders, and magic. However, when the magic and the elders fail, land goes with it. The Europeans have machines, iron horses, and guns. They corrode the ideals of the land with new thoughts. They change the laws. In short, they come and conquer. One rainbow is disintegrated by a newer, shinier, more beautiful one.
I can only partially agree with Andrew on the capitalism and native society comparison. Sure, Okonkwo wanted to stay in Umofia in order to get more power. However, the society back then did not pride themselves on material possessions. Status was gained through masculinity, age, and animism. People are not trampling over each other in order to get more power, and if they are, Achebe does not illustrate this. There is a certain amount of respect the clansmen have for each other, which that can not be compared to society today.
I think Achebe made this section the shortest to really get across how Okonkwo felt. He wanted the time to go by as quickly as possible while in Mbanta. Time goes by quickly, because that is the true feelings of Okonkwo, he wants to return to Umofia as soon as possible. All the time in the world is willed to pass by as quickly as possible.
Also, the short section amplifies how quick change comes. One year, two years, seven years pass by in this section, whereas in the previous section only a couple years pass by with considerably more detail. In the year Obierika comes to visit, Nwoye has already left Okonkwo. Christian missionaries have already arrived and have gained a handful of converts from the clan.
I found it funny that the clans believed in mysticism and the idea of the Evil Forest to go as far as giving a piece of land in the forest to the missionaries (149). This is where logic conquers magic. Or in the more modern sense, science triumphs over well, things not explained by science. The foreigners quickly build a church and gain converts while the villagers are bewildered that the Evil Forest has not cursed and chased out these unwanted visitors. It is the power of the mind that separates the villagers from the foreigners. The missionaries do not know about the Evil Forest, they have no idea what it symbolizes, thus they are not afraid. Bad events occur when people believe said events will happen. Mr. Kiaga only has thoughts of spreading the religion, he knows of no curses, no evils, and certainly no medicine men.
As effect of the exile Okonkwo and his family now have to begin as if start a whole new name for himself. He now once again has to prove to society he is a respected man and crawl out of the deep whole he is now in, as his father was. By Okonkwo showing his true feelings about the upset of an exile, this illustrates the strength of harm it is doing to him. By him caring so much when it is look down upon showing true feelings, demonstrates the importance of the how society portrays one. Can he do it? Can he bring himself back home and still carry his respected fame? Two major questions I keep in the back of my head from here on out. So at the end of the novel I will be able to answer it.
I agree with Monika when she had said that the more you learn the culture the more the understanding of the novel is less difficult. In order to truly understand what Okonkwo or anyone in general, you must understand their culture before you judge. Some may say Okonkwo seem to be such an cold hearted person because he was feared in his original home. In reality, he is just trying to honor his culture.
What was known to be the “iron horse”, which was actually a bicycle makes complete sense why they called it that. This highlights that they were not up to date with modern inventions. Again because it was not their custom to live or invest in materialistic items, yet, to live simple with money. Again it refers to relating back to understanding their culture and their way of life.
Okonkwo now believes he is cursed because of the exile as well as his oldest son betraying him and joining the Christians. I think it is because he tries so hard to be respected and nothing like his father, he turned his own son away from being the same respected man as he was known as. Everyone has their own culture and they are their own individual. Some will be raised with their culture and follow it. Or some will be raised with their culture and decide to go about their life in their own path. And Nwoye is one of the individuals to direct in a different direction, and it’s perfectly fine in my opinion.
n the second part of Things Fall Apart we see Okonkwo living with his kinsmen. It seems the author is giving okonkwo one last chance to reflect on himself before it’s too late. Usually when people are given limited exile the punishment period is intended to be a time of repentance even if it’s mostly for the village’s sake to seek forgiveness from the gods because “if one figure brought oil it soiled the others”. Unfortunately this is not what happens. His time in exile didn’t hange him in anyway rather to him it was just an inconvenience. It’s true that his suffering has empowered him to archive greatness, but at the same time has created false assumptions about what it means to be strong. Being strong does not mean you have no weakness because being able realize your limitation and reflecting on mistakes rather hiding them until they rip you apart shows true strength which something at point Okonkwo will never do or ever consider.
I think that Okonkwo losing his son to Christianity is what is going to the second last push for him to finally fall apart. Although he says his not worth fighting for, his betrayal looms over him more than anything else. He knows his to blame, but admitting that would question his beliefs about strength, but what he seems to not understand is that his inability to try to understand others will show him that even with his achievements, family and friend his alone. The moment I think he realizes this it will be too late as he watches his world fall apart unable to understand why his alone and unable to it from falling apart. That I believe will his final push over the cliff because holding things inside is like bomb that just needs the right spark to blow.
The author also wrote “They were locusts, it said and that first man was their Harbin”. This is not the only time the author has used biblical references in his book. Another example is that the village’s founder engaged a spirit of the wind for seven day and seven nights. If you recall according to the Bible the earth was created by god in seven days. At first I thought the reason for these references might be that the author is Christian or maybe that he wanted to show that in the villager’s religion there events similar to those in Christianity. I changed my mind when the missionaries started to spread Christianity in the villages. Going back to ancient times Greek Gods gave way to Christianity with the belief in one God who they did not fear like Zeus rather a God they could praise and have hope in thus it was easier to embrace this god rather than the one they knew. This similar event occurs in the story as villagers leave their traditions and beliefs to turn into Christians. For the villages this is were things star t to fall apart because their beliefs are being questioned and proven wrong one by one. The thing that the villages can’t understand is that Christianity gave the followers answers that they wanted them to ignore and place were they were welcomed.
Like Okonkwo who stubbornly refused to understand why his son left the village the villagers condemn the followers rather than trying to understand why they left. This ignorance is what led to more followers and the decline of their culture. This part of the book teaches us that sometimes in life the assumptions we about life are not always true and having a belief system in which you exclude others and rule by fear will always fall apart. Most people in their minds questioned some of the cruel customs like throwing away children that were born as twins, but had no other way to find answers until Christianity come. I’m not blaming the Villagers for their misguided practices because like many other s they were victims of their time. The main point is things change with time and those are unwilling to accept that or try to understand that like Okonkwo and the other villagers will become frozen by that ignorance as they watch what they worked so hard to make fall apart.
I was actually unsurprised that Achebe covered Okonkwo’s seven years in exile so quickly. While the speed in which events were presented changed drastically from part one to part two, I share Sam’s belief that Achebe wanted the audience to understand Okonkwo’s humiliation and discomfort. By touching upon the entire span so lightly, we infer that exile is hardly anything to brag about, and this fast pace reflects his desire to leave the land of his mother’s kinsmen. Additionally, despite the fleeting fashion in which Achebe tells the story of Okonkwo’s exile, efforts are still made to emphasize the fact that he is “bowed with grief” (133). The eldest of his mother’s kinsmen, an uncle named Uchendu, gives Okonkwo a great speech, reminding him that “he does not belong here [in Mbanta],” and that he has “[found] refuge in his motherland,” demolishing a significant amount of Okonkwo’s precious ego (133). As Okonkwo was thrown into exile, he was thrown into “beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth,” separating him further from the man he had tried so hard to be (131).
In part two, along with a new start and a new setting comes a new theme. While part one of Things Fall Apart revolved around the idea of reputation and constructing and preserving an image (whether individually or as a body, a community), part two introduces the opposite, the idea of revelation and modesty. When Achebe strips Okonkwo of his previous reputation as one of the strongest, most powerful, most respected men in a community and drops him into a new land where he is not only being punished but where he has been forced to seek refuge, she humbles his character to an extreme degree. We see the truth behind the hard exterior as we learn just how weak Okonkwo is, his “life-spring” unfulfilled, and “everything broken,” and he himself, at a loss, completely “yielded to despair” (131). This particular revelation not only changes our entire perspective on Okonkwo’s character, but also modifies part one’s major theme, revealing how much of Okonkwo’s character consisted merely of a decorated exterior.
Further evidence of this idea includes Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity. With the arrival of the missionaries and white men comes a whole wave of truths. While some of these truths are as simple as the discovery of what an “iron horse” actually is—a bicycle—others are far more complex (145). The missionaries and their attempts to convert the Ibo people to Christianity are a spiritual sort of truth, assuming the audience is Christian, as the Ibo people’s beliefs are dismissed and the “true” beliefs of Christians are spread. Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity is an account of him—for the first time that we, as an audience, can see—being true to his own self, following his own beliefs, as he abandons his father in addition to the person he was always trying to be because of his father.
The ease with which these outsiders gained influence , as Nidale pointed out, is curious. For a people that seemed so stuck in their ways, so faithful to what they are taught (for it is all they have ever known), to change beliefs so quickly, to trust aliens to their world with so little protest is unlikely. Or is it? I thought Nidale’s analysis of their behavior was spot-on, and found much sense in the patterns of conversion (i.e., the lower classes converting first, hungry for a new start). In my opinion, this wave of change in faith reflects that theme of revelation (no biblical pun intended), because of the old ideas passed on proved not entirely trustworthy, a whole new, prosperous world introduced to a people convinced that theirs thrived alone.
In chapters 9-16 of Things Fall Apart, we are starting to see a shift in Okonkwo's personality from being a hard, violent person who viewed emotions as a sign of weakness to being a man whose true feelings are starting to break through.
On p.108, Okonkwo's mental acceptance of his emotions is most apparent when he arrives with his machete at the cave where the priestess, Chielo, took Ezinma and waits there with Ekwefi out of worry for his daughter. Personally, I find Okonkwo's actions a bit of a surprise. After reading Part 1, I would have never expected a man who views women as weakness, a man who killed a boy who was like a son to him out of fear of looking weak, to ever have so much worry for a young girl.
As we continue reading, we learn that Okonkwo is sent into exile after "his gun had exploded and a piece of iron had peirced the boy's heart" (p.124) killing Ezeudu's sixteen year old son, a very serious crime. Despit the death being accidental, Okonkwo is still in exile to his motherland, leaving his friends to questioning the actions of the clan. Okonkwo goes back to Mbanta, where he is well ecieved by his uncle, Uchendu, who tries to help him plant a new farm, but it was "like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth" (p. 131). For Okonkwo, "his life had been ruled by a great passion- to become one of the lords of the clan, then everything had broken" (p.131).
Here again, we see the struggle that Okonkwo is having with himself. His inner conflict between his old thoughts of what masculinity should be (lack of gentleness and idleness)and his newly released emotions are starting to affect him, his work ethic, and his life. His passion-gone,his vigor-gone, and his enthusiasm- again gone.
At the end of Part 2, we see that Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, has been converted to christianity by the European missionaries and that the white, European settlers are now starting to settle amongst the Ibo people. I knew that this would happen because Achebe foreshadowed this event at the end of Part 1, but I do find it surprising that Nwoye would betray his father, his family, and his entire clan to become a Christian. I guess killing Ikemefuna had a pronounced affect on Nwoye then I thought.
As I read mostly everyone's comments, I don't believe that Nwoye betrayed his father. He simply freed himself from the abuse of his father. Christianity happens to be a safe haven for him.
Upon reading that the new converts to Christianity have been the outcasts of the village, I expected that Okonkwo would eventually join the bandwagon, seeing that he had nothing to lose and maybe inwardly, he might have been yielding towards Christianity. I thought wrong. It is this stubborness and pride in Okonkwo that caused his misfortune in the first place. It would have been better for him to join them and live, rather than be dishonored by the white people and die his shameful death later on.
The fact that Okonkwo disowns his son shows that he hasn't changed or learned anything from his exile. As long as he clings to his fake, cold exterior, he will continue to have misfortune and bad karma, and this will also lead to his destruction.
It is also ironic how the Christians-a group of outcasts and rejects-are more prosperous and powerful than the villagers, yet the village leaders claim to be strong and powerful. The author uses this irony to emphasize his overall message, that humility comes before honor, and occassionally, change is necessary. This concept is clearly seen through the events in Okonkwo's life : arrogancy and brutality have brought him to exile and his unwillingness to change his ways and accept sensitivity keep him in his hole.
Personally, I don't feel pity for Okonkwo, because he can change his ways. If he were to lighten up, no one else in the village would scold or look down on him. His commitment to maintain an exaggerated masculine image is what imprisons him; therefore, no sympathy is felt.
I agree that Okonkwo's inner conflicts have become more of an issue in Part two. I have noticed that throughout the book, Okonkwo continues his pattern of ignoring anything that seems "wrong" to him. Since Part 1, if an emotion he felt was considered weak, he refused to show it. Now, when he visits the church and listens to the missionaries, Okonkwo automatically is "fully convinced" that the Christians were "mad." So, Okonkwo shows his lack of care by shrugging his shoulders and walking away (147). To me, Okonkwo's habit of ignoring things was a mistake in this instance. Rather than helping to keep his tribe united, he is ignoring the problem and assuming everyone will follow suit. Okonkwo has been absent for seven years though, so it seems unlikely that many people will follow his actions like they did before he left. Okonkwo's ignorance and the refusal to accept has kept me from feeling sorry for him.
The missionaries are ignorant too, however. They assume that they can simply tell the clansmen that their gods are "not alive" (146) and Umuofia will not try to resist. However, it is quite obvious that it takes more than words and preaches to convert an entire tribe. The Christians have to realize that their religion is just as baffling to the Ibo people as the polytheistic religion is to them.
I predict that this constant ignorance on both sides will mean the end of Umuofia.
It seems as though Okonkwo is more ashamed to move to Mbanta his mother land than being thrown out of his village into exile.
I feel like Okonkwo's constant tormenting on Nyowe caused their relationship to deteriorate. Okonkwo never seemed to even like his son, never mind be proud of him. Just like Nidale stated, I was disppointed when Okonkwo said that “Nwoye was not worth fighting for.” (151) What kind of father is he?
Sometimes Okonkwo gets me really upset thats why I felt no sympathy for him when he was thrown into exile. Everything happens for a reason. I did felt bad for his family because they had to suffer too because of his mistake.
Okonkwo's life in exile in Mbanta passed by quite quickly. Yet an important event happened. The Christian Missionaries arrived and gained some converts like Nyowe. Nyowe's decision to follow Christianity and leave his father was like the ultimate slap in the face for Okonkwo. He deserved it! While in Mbanta, Okonkwo doesn't seem as "knowledgeable" like he was in Umuofia. When Uchendu does challenge his knowledge, it revealed that Okonkwo doesn't know everything, like Cynthia said. In Mbanta Uchendu is more respected and he seems more like a real man. He doesn't complain about everything like Okonkwo does like when cried " why should he cursed with such a son? [Nyowe]" (152)Okonkwo always makes it seem like he has it the worst and instead of maybe changing his ways, he just continues to complain.
The Christian invasion seems more peaceful than what is portrayed in history except the incident that happened in the village of Abame.
Thus far I have enjoyed this book because it isn't anything like the stories I've read. The culture is very different too and there is a lot of action. I'm really looking forward to the third part of this book.
Ok, I'll try to remember everything I was thinking of while reading this.
At first while reading of his journey to his mother's land I imagined that this change would actually change a little of who Okonkwo is inside. Kind of like a revelation, or rebirth, as the beginning in some way in my head echoed the beginning of part one, with Okonkwo getting a large amount of seeds for free. As I saw the first rains that were talked about more beneficial to the yams, I thought it would mean a rebirth of Okonkwo’s ways. But the more I read it; I think I saw it as a point of no return for him and the tribes. As Christianity spreads, it threatens the clan's way of life, going after what they hold closest, their traditions. I don't quite feel like the church actually represents the church, but more of an ironic destroyer toward the people.
I also like the point that Nidale made in talking about Okonkwo's relationship with his son, how he is doing exactly what Okonkwo did at that age. I almost overlooked that.
Since most of what I was thinking has been in some way or another said already, I noticed in the first chapter of part 2, the number 22 is mentions a few times. For the ceremony 22 were gathered; Uchendu had to bury 22 children that didn’t make it. So naturally I wondered, does anyone think there is something significant about that number? Or am I just nuts?
As a whole I liked the way part two progressed and was written a lot more than part one. It kept my attention more and gave me more to think about and try and connect to other parts of the book and other things.
This section focuses on Okonkwo’s fall from grace, and his fall is very much an educational process. Okonkwo is forced to seek refuge in his motherland, which can be seen as him submitting himself to a woman, and that is a shameful process for Okonkwo or any other man from a patriarchal society. This shame is especially acute in Okonkwo because he has to forsake his pride and wealth and substitute these values for humility and submissiveness in a land where he can only be seen as an exile. This “effeminate” image that Okonkwo now projects is to him a graver problem than the crime he committed, there is no talk of any inner remorse. Okonkwo is afraid that his reputation will be tarnished, and that somehow he will be reconnected with the image of his father. He is also preoccupied with the status he lost in his fatherland, which is what he worked his entire life for; this exile attacks Okonkwo’s core and breaks his spirit.
Though the exile is meant to last seven years, Okonkwo maintains contact with Umuofia and he has to deal with momentous changes taking place in a land he can no longer return to. This adds to his feeling of impotence and amplifies the distance he feels from his fatherland. What was once a physical distance starts to become much deeper. Okonkwo, who is now dealing with not having any power or control, starts to realize the impact the seven-year exile will have on his status, and that he might no longer be regarded as a noble man. This distance between Okonkwo and Umuofian society foreshadows the incompatibility of Okonkwo’s values and the new tribe he is about to encounter.
The missionaries who Okonkwo once dismissed start to affect him in a really personal level when his son Nwoye was converted. This is confirmation that a foreign force is really encroaching Okonkwo’s homeland. Okonkwo, being in exile for seven years, remains for the reader the reflection of the Umofia before the missionaries, and the cultural clash between the missionaries and him is representative of the clash that is to come between the tribes and the Europeans.
Part 2 of “Things Fall Apart” really resonates well with the title of the book. Things REALLY are falling apart, we found out that Okonkwo has been exiled for seven years out of Umuofia, for something he committed accidentally. Not only that we see the falling apart of Okonkwo’s tribe and culture when the white missionary converts roll in on their ‘iron horses’.
First, I would like to address the humiliating hand of fate that Okonkwo has been dealt with. Seemingly for his whole life he has been trying to get away from the ‘agabala’ ways of his father, he is masculine all the way. He has defined his character by the number of yams he has, the number of men he has killed, the number of sons and wives he rules over on his compound, he is the man’s MAN. So his submission into retreating into exile in his mother’s land must be humiliating indeed. For so long he has sought to build a home and a name for himself, but in times of sorrow, like his uncle has said, they seek refuge in the motherland. Now I would think that these seven years of exile would perhaps soften Okonkwo a bit, perhaps loosen him up, but no. During his stay in Mbanta, he loses his son Nyowe to Christianity. Now he blames the white people and his son’s foolishness, but I think it’s clear to everyone that Okonkwo’s iron fist temperament is what drove the poor boy away.
Now, wait- does anybody see a resemblance to something here? Okonkwo’s son leaves him in pursuit of his new life, abandoning the tribes, the customs, the polytheistic rituals that he has grown up around….OH WAIT! This definitely parallels Okonkwo and his father as well. Oh how history repeats itself. Speaking of history, I do very well agree with Nidale about how easily the white missionary converts gained power throughout the villages, slowly raking up converts from the lower classes to the higher ones.
I also think that Achebe was trying to highlight point on behalf of the elderly and leaders of Umuofia when they dismissed the white men would be taken care of by their Gods and deities. Underestimation and presumptions always tend to lead to chaos and havoc, and that’s exactly what they got. By allowing the white men to stay, they basicly let the pests breed and conquer, little by litte. They were too warped in their concrete ideas that they dismissed anything that challenged their ways of thinking and belief. That is seen through Father and son relations and paralled through cultural comparisons too.
Okonkwo tries so hard to maintain his culture, or rather his past life, that although he knows that Umuodia has undergone “profound change” he wants to restore it, drive away the converts. He continues to have these outlandish fantasies, even gloating about his two beautiful daughters chases by suitors. His relunctance to change and acceptance of ideas other than his own is definitely one of his greatest downfalls.
At the end of this part, the seven years of Okonkwo's exile are almost due. As such, he decides to celebrate with a feast. But not just any feast, he wouldn't settle for anything but the best and pretty much overdoes it on gathering food. And once again, his overly obsessive desire for being seen as a true man compels him to strive for unnecessary actions.
"But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship" (167). This is what one of the older members of the family speaks during the feast. So again, I find myself referencing the title. Make the thing that is really "falling apart" is not just Okonkwo's life, but rather the traditional structure of life in Umofia and its surrounding villages in Nigeria. The younger generation is evidently being swayed by outside forces, the Christians, and at this rate tradition, customs, and the older ways of life will come to be abandoned to rot. Sounds familiar, huh? Feels like The Namesake was trying to say the same thing. Forsake your roots, and you'll also lose a part of yourself, for the worse.
The clansmens' conversions to Christianity, to me, outlined the feebleness of the clan's integrity. Before the white men came, the clan was quite adamant in their belief of the Earthmother and such. Adamant enough, in fact, to exile Okonkwo without hesitation, despite bearing no hatred for him. Their faith in their indigenous belief was out of blind devotion. So when the white men came bearing a new religion, many people just hopped on and abandoned their previous beliefs. Not so stoic, now huh? Okonkwo ought to be mad, considering the beliefs most people are now abandoning were what got him exiled in the first place.
Even though Okonkwo has been so unlucky to have killed a clansman and been exiled, he is extremely lucky that his mother’s family takes him in. What his uncle, Uchendu, says in explanation about why they say “Mother is Supreme” when he tries to comfort Okonkwo makes so much sense. It doesn’t really apply to our world, but there, in the villages of Nigeria, mothers are the source of comfort. I didn’t think of it that way until Uchendu spoke about it; I felt sorry for Okonkwo. He lost everything but his family and was forced out of his home, his fatherland.
Okonkwo feels that Umuofia would not have fallen under the Christians’ control if he had only been there when it began a few years after his exile. I agree with him, although I believe that he would have only been able to slow down the takeover. Even in the first chapter, we are given the knowledge that Okonkwo is a warrior, one of the best wrestlers among the clans. He alone is responsible for his great success in his village; he worked hard, fought for what he wanted, and was a true man. Furthermore, he was able to accomplish all this despite his father’s comparative failure, since every man is judged by his own worth, skills and accomplishments, not his father’s. In this way, the clan society in the book kind of mirrors the basic ideas and core beliefs that we have in America, particularly “rags to riches” and the American dream. Since Okonkwo was such a great man and leader among his people, he may have been able to make them fight, to make them see the evident evil in what the white man brought to Umuofia. On the other hand, however, Okonkwo failed horribly in saving his son from the Christians. His oldest son, Nwoye, left his father, cast him away, and joined the missionaries. This was really unexpected, but looking back at the small hints in the first part of the book – the way he reacted when Ilkemefuna was killed, his uneasiness about the thrown-away twins, how he was becoming a “sad-faced youth” due to his father’s treatment of him – the betrayal did not come out of nowhere (14).
What is interestingly ironic about the story is that the Christians are portrayed as evil, and the reader is made to see and understand this through Okonkwo’s perspective. Generally, Christianity is associated with holiness and goodness. Evil is death, destruction, temptation. However, that is not the case in this place. As readers I think we kind of assumed that certain parts of the culture in the clans is wrong, such as the killing of innocent babies. They sound barbaric to us, but are minds are sort of made to think that way because of how we were raised. That’s like in Brave New World when babies are conditioned to hate flowers or reading and to believe that “everyone belongs to everyone else” or something along those lines.
The second part of Things Fall Apart was oddly shorter than the first but it covers a longer period of time. In part two we learn of the seven years that Okonkwo spends after being forced out of the village. I wondered while reading why Achedbe decided to put 7 years in such a short amount of pages when the first part covered less in a way more.
I just don’t see why Okonkwo had to kill Ikemefuna…It just honestly confused me because Ikemefuna looked up to him, he saw him as somewhat of a father figure how can someone kill someone who looked up to them as their “father” it was just beyond my imagination of killing someone like that.
Another thing the author did in part two I noticed was the adding of words of the Ibos into his writting. I found that this as a few others said brought us into ther reading more. By adding in Ibo words it brought us (the readers) more into their culture and what they are most used too.
In part two we also see a new side of Okonkwo. After being forced from his village and into Mbanta the home of his mother he is somewhat forced to need to show he isnt just a masculine wifebeater like we saw in part one. Now in his new land we see that he does have (some) emotions.
Im quite interested in how the end of the book will go.. I wanna know how Okoknwo will be welcomed back into his village…I’m not sure if he will be welcomed back or if he will still be shunned.. I guess I’ll see.
The conversation between Uchendu and Okonkwo further emphasizes Okonkwo’s conceitedness. Uchendu asked if Okonkwo is the “greatest sufferer in the world?” And Uchendu continued, “I did not hand myself, and I am still alive (135).” Using Uchendu’s dialogue, this unveils Okonkwo’s inability to recognize his own flaw. This could have been a moment where Okonkwo would recognize his own mistakes, and to turn his life around.
When the clansmen meet with Europeans, the Europeans try to deceive them (gradually) claiming that the Christian religion offers better freedom and equality to all people. This certainly attracted many exiled people and those who live as outcasts. Another method that the European did was to claim that they are “sent by this great God to ask to leave [their] wicked ways and false gods (145).”
Initially, the clansmen treated the Europeans very peacefully with some relations. But, Okonkwo never trusted them. Again, Achebe creates a balancing quality [good and bad] in Okonkwo. Therefore, readers do not feel that he should be hated or praised.
Although the second part of Things Fall Apart is shorter than the first, it covers a longer period of time, specifically the 7 years Okonkwo is exiled. When Okonkwo must leave to go to his motherland, I believe he feels helplesss and weak. He doesn't want his relatives to see him as a failure because of one stupid mistake. I feel sorry Okonkwo must go through this, but every man must pay for his crimes, even if they were not on purpose.
I thought it was very interesting how the white man come into these peoples lives and take over their clans almost. I have known of this happening in history, but I never seen it in the perspective of the people suffering through it. Oknokwo loses is first-born son Nwoye, to the christians. This is upsetting to me because his father has done everything in his life for that boy to one day be succesful, however, Nwoye did not see it as this. That is because Okonkwo did not express his true emotions.
I believe that Nwoye's decision to leave his family and join the church was foreshadowin the events that take place in part 3 of how strong the church becomes even in Umuofia.
I actually didn't read the book by the three parts. For me, the second chunk was chapters nine to seventeen. In these chapters I have grown fond of Ekwefi. She is very daring. Not only did she run away from her husband to be with Okonkwo at such a young age, but she was willing to die with her daughter Ezinma in a matter of seconds. Though she seems very strong on the outside, she has personal wars conflicting within her veins. She blamed her chi for not being able to have a healthy child like Okonkwo's other wives. They had strong, healthy sons. When Ekwefi was finally able to have Ezinma, she made her child her entire life. When the priestess carries Ezinma such a long distance on her back, Ekwefi immediately follows (zombie-like, almost). She is a very strong woman in my opinion.
Ekwefi might be taking all of Okonkwo's strength. He is no longer the man he once used to be. He helped kill a young boy that he loved, in fear of seeming weak, but saw no problem in caring for Ezinma when she became ill. He immediately acted to help her in any way that he could. Okonkwo used to be one of the most respected men in the clan. After having killed a young boy (by accident) who was mourning his father's death, Okonkwo was forced to leave the clan for seven years. He had to return to his motherland. All of his hard work was gone in an instant. Once he reached his motherland, he became spineless. He was told not to weep for his sorrows because many people had it worse than he did. He was in a loving and protecting motherland where he was free to rebuild and reinvent himself.
The culture of Okonkwo's clan confuses me. They try to stick to the laws of their gods as much as they can. It makes no sense to me that they would make an exception for the man who beat his wife. He was supposed to be paid back the bride-price. Instead, he was seen as being wrong. I thought it was accepted to beat a woman as long as it wasnt during the week of peace. If she goes back to him, he will probably just end up beating her even harder than he had done in the first place. Its just weird to me that men are even able to beat women or children in the first place. A nice part of their culture is their sharing of folk stories. They teach morals of appreciation and honesty. When the woman interrupts the folk stories to tell a prophecy I was instantly reminded of Harry Potter. The only difference is, everyone laughed when the professor would announce one spontaneously.
This second part of the book was less about character. I feel as if the first section was more about fleshing out characters, giving them their distinct personalities, getting to know them intimately. This part felt more like a story to me where as the first section felt more like little anecdotes of Okonkwo's daily life.
This was when the white missionaries came to Abame and Obierka told Okonkwo about the events that followed. Despite he white man's harmlessness, I felt as much suspense and was just as wary as the Africans when he arrived. History has taught me all about what happened when white missionaries came to Africa, some of it is good, most of it ends in bloodshed and wars. Therefore when I read that the people of Abame were slaughtered after they killed the white man, I wasn't surprised. I would've been more surprised if nothing was done in retaliation.
Nwoye's own conversion to Christianity when the missionaries came to Mbanta wasn't surprising as it was symbolic. Nwoye seemed more genle than his father and he even admits that he sometimes acts tough to please his father (the first section). So when he goes off to join the new church, I saw it as another betrayal, except instead of a father betraying his son (which was the case between Unoka and Okwonko- his father betrayed him by being lazy and leaving him with nothing), this was a son betraying his father by casting away his ancestors' gods.
Achebe, I noticed, paints the church in Mbanta as harmless. Throughout most of the section, it is mainly about the struggle between two very different cultures living next to each other. The only time violence comes into play is when one of the new church members does something. To me though, I can see that a lot of this book is about religion and I think that Achebe is making that a major point in his book. How religion can control people to do some terrible things, for example killing twins when born or killing a baby that refuses time after time to live for more than a few months. This sentiment is also applied to Christianity. Because the people of Abame refused to convert and killed one of the white men's people, they were slaughtered in the name of a higher power. I believer that Achebe is pointing out that religion can be both a joining and a dangerous thing.
Part 2 of Things Fall Apart allows us to see the more vulnerable side of Okonkwo since now he has to start from scratch. Okonkwo has to seek help from his mother's people in order to return to his clan 6 years later. I feel like it's kind of ironic how Okonkwo is sent to his motherland when he doesn't really respect women at all, whatsoever. On page 134-135 Uchendu gives Okonkwo a spiel about a woman's worth and I feel like that was long overdue in this book.
When the Europeans invaded the African land, it reminded me of the missionaries that we learned about last year in AP world history. I remember reading about how they tried to convert the natives to Christianity and how the natives refused because they wanted to keep their diverse religious beliefs. In all honesty, I did not feel bad for Okonkwo one bit because like I said before, he deserved everything he got because of his previous actions and his ruthless behavior.
The second part of the book is full of ironies and a series of downfall. Although Okonkwo was once powerful, he lost all his power and wealth and is forced to move back to his motherland, Mbanta.Unlike Umofia, Mbanta focuses on the ideas of peace and women superiority, ideas that Okonkwa disagree with.When Okonkwa wanted to fight the missionaries, the men of Mbanta disagreed and wished to solve the problem through a more peaceful matter. While the women in the first part of the book were abused and seen as property, women of Mbanta are seen as supremes who run the family and can provide stability. The author has created two different settings to present the differences and values in culture. I think through the exile, Okonkwo has to learn to change his perspective on power.This is a tragedy so will Okonkwo end up losing everything again and die? Another downfall in this part of the book is how Nwoye switches to Christianity, betrayal to his father. This reminded me of The Namesake, when Gogol changes his name to Nikhil and joins Maxine's family, an escape from Indian culture. A part of Nwoye is trying to find his own identity and idea of power.
Part two of “Things Fall Apart” focuses on the seven years in exile that Okonkwo and his family had endured as an effect of the accidental killing of the sixteen year old boy in Umuofia. As a means of escape, and nowhere to live, Okonkwo adventures to his mother’s kinsmen in the village of Mbanta; which I feel as though is degrading and humiliating especially In context to his culture, and being able to fend for oneself as well as ones family. I feel as though part two is Achebe’s way of degrading Okonkwo’s masculinity and worth in society through his reliance on his mother for security. However, Okonkwo exile to this land is almost a symbolic of a change for him to start anew and further discontinue himself from his haunting past of his father’s actions that have un-welcomingly been spawned upon him. I agree with Xi that his journey back to his mothers land is an ironic downfall of the character, because in his home village he had been considerably powerful, and in the land of his mother it is as if he must start from scratch and this which ultimately alters his outlook on power, masculinity, ect.
One of the most significant themes in part two of the novel however is Nwoye betrayal of his original culture through the newly found interest and transition into the Christian religion. I feel as thought this betrayal is a symbolic of the past relationship amongst Okonkwo and his own father Unoka, and is foreshadowing what will become of Okonkwo and his biological son if he does not break the societal barriers that are holding him from developing a “healthy” affectionate relationship with his child. I am curious as to the symbolic meaning of the use of the Christian religion as opposed to all others; I feel as if there is deeper significant meaning to this considering that the Christian religion is one of the most dominant world religions that has historically transitioned and complicated many past cultures. Nwoye’s defiance of the Umuofia culture, is his way of attempting to reach out to his Father and alter his values and outlook on society within the clan
In Part two of Things Fall Apart it starts off with seven years after Okonkwo was forced to leave his village. He committed a female crime and also killed a kinsman. His village completely lost all respect for him and he lost all his power and recognition from his people. When Okonkwo was exiled you start to see a change in him because he was in the motherland. A man feeling like hes losing his man hood can be such a depressing and heart breaking moment for a man. No man wants to addmitt that they have a feminine side so I believe thats why he holds his guard up even to people he adores such as Ikemefuna because his masculine ways. In Okonkwo eyes thats weakness and he doesnt want to be labeled as that. I wonder if the motherlands will some how teach him to show emotions and not think only females show emotions because we all are human beings and sometimes we feel the same way and once you start hiding your feelings one day it will burst!
Post a Comment