Background
- Industrial Revolution in Europe
- British Imperialism, balance of power and the view of imperialism as a means of enhancing national prestige
- Scramble for Africa - Europeans race to colonize Africa and obtain their resources
- Movement of Christian missionaries, exploitation and violence.
- Igbo's made decisions including the entire tribe
-Umuofia avoids war with Mbaino by taking a virgin and a young boy as a negotiation
Main Characters
Okonkwo
- very masculine
- support traditions no matter what
- tries very hard to be nothing like his father
- very concerned with what others think of him (narcissistic?) - almost obsession
- Achievements = 5 heads, best yam farmer, 3 wives plus a wife who ran away from her previous husband to be with him
Unoka - Ok.'s dad
Nwoye - Ok.'s oldest son (from his 1st wife)
Ikefuna - Ok.'s adopted son
Ekwefi - Ok.'s 2nd and favorite wife
Ezinma - daughter of Ekwefi
Nwakibie - elder who gives Ok. his 1st yam seeds
- Ok. plants these seeds to early (same time as every one else) and his crops are wiped out by a great rain
- Ok. vows he will only follow his own advice for when to plant
Obierika - Ok.'s best friend, and polar opposite
Uchendu - Ok.'s Uncle
Mr. Brown - British missionary
Rev. Mr. Smith - British missionary
Direct Commissioner - British government official and judge
Discussion
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...
-William Butler Yeats Poem "The Second Coming"
-Hints at chaos of systems collapsing
-"the center cannot hold" = the African tribes cannot stand to the imperialistic Europe
- Falcon & Falconer - Government sends of the colonizers but does little to control them once they are
off, not dealing with the consequences of the horror they commit
And at last the locusts did descend. They settled one very tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roods and covered the bare ground. Mighty tree branches broke away under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth bicolor of the vast, hungry swarm."
- Arrival and Settling of the colonizers
- Collapse of traditions and culture that won't allow the Igbo tribe to survive
- Animal imagery dehumanizes the tribe to justify the crime!
Perhaps down in hiss heart, Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness"
- Achebe referring to the struggles of being a black man in this colonized whorld where the white man makes them feel inferior in their own homes
- Stereotyping
- Fighting past images of his lazy father
*Similar to Nobu....
"I cannot understand why you refused to come with us to kill that boy," he asked Obierika. "Because I did not want to," Obierka replied sharply. "I had something better to do." "You sound as if you question the authority and the decision of the Oracle who said he should die."
- Okonkwo is speaking with Obierka about the killing of Ikemefuna that was ordered by the Oracle.
- Whatever the Oracle says, goes
Significane of the tortoise shell story is when things fall apart you can still piece them back together. You must look out for others.
- Similar to Ok.'s father who took from everyone and never felt the need to pay anyone back.
Significance of Ok. killing the son of Ezeudu and Ezeudu's "Warrior Funeral" lead to his banishment from the village for 7 years (instead of forever since it was a female aka unintentional crime)
- Crime against the Earth - highest crime, highest God
Exile limits his leadership because he is not a high authoritative figure in his motherland, his uncle is his superior who knows more than him and therefore has more power. His banishment was also a blow to his status, a sort of degradation, allowing people to not see him as the same mighty leader.
If Ok. hadn't been exiled, how would he have responded to the white missionaries? Ok. is too concerned with the status of the Igbo culture and traditions to allow a white group of men to compromise what they believe in and have followed for so long, he probably would've attempted to start a rebellion.
Week of Peace and the Feast of the New Yam
- Week of Peace shows values of the tribe in regards to the importance of the blessings on their crops
- peace = prosperity
- Female God! shows culture's respect for women (Mother Earth?) unlike Okonkwo when he beats his
wife during this week...
Places
Part 1. Umuofia - Things in Place with Okonkwo as representative of his culture
Part 2. Mbanta - Thing out of place, Okonkwo in exile
Part 3. Umuofia - Things fall apart...
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