Clue (Things Fall Apart)

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“Okonkwo was given a plot of ground on which to build his compound, and two or three pieces of land on which to farm during the coming planting season. With the help of his mothers kinsmen he built himself an obi and three huts for his wives. He then installed his personal god and the symbols of his departed fathers. Each of Uchendu’s five sons contributed three hundred seed-yams to enable their cousin to plant a farm, for as soon as the first rain came farming would begin.”

During this scene we are shown that Okonkwo will never let any obstacle stop him from succeeding. Although he was helped by his mothers kinsmen, he is using this given land to rebuild what he has lost and start his new life. Okonkwo was questioned for his arrival in his motherland after so many years of being away. He was an outsider, according to customs he did not belong to this “foreign” land. However this did not stop him from coming. In this scene we get a hint of what his mother maybe been like. Her kinsmen still respect her and care for her family. They care for her land and property, and now her son. We may see Okonkwo attempt to get closer with his past. Maybe reconnect with his mothers people, and decide to stay in this new land and not go back to his clan after the 7 years.

False Prophets

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Clue
“If we leave our gods and follow your god,” asked another man, “who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?”
“Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm,” replied the white man. “They are pieces of wood and stone.”
When this was interpreted to the men of Mbanta they broke into derisive laughter. These men must be mad, they said to themselves. How else could they say that Ani and Amadiora were harmless? And Idemili and Ogwugwu too? And some of them began to go away.”

The snapshot above shows the strong belief many of the villagers have in their own religion as the reaction observed by them when Mbanta translate what the “white man” says which causes to laugh. However, this can also be interpreted as the inverse as well as it also shows the people who did not walk away and continued to listen which we learn later in the story that one of them was Okonkwo’s son Nwoye who has doubt in their own religion. This allows us to see that possibly there is several other people who may disapprove of the religion and not agree with it completely and is willing to hear an different perspective and look for answers from a god that is not made of “pieces of wood and stone”.

A Better Way

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” Why did Ikemefuna have to  die? What did he do to our gods to anger them so? I saw more twins abandoned in the Evil Forest, what did they do to deserve death? Our gods seem to favor us one moment then punish us the next, why did they decide to have my fathers gun explode and get us exiled for seven years from our home? These punishments seem extreme and without reason; but these strange men with their strange god say that our gods are false; theirs is the true god. They speak ill of our gods, they even built in the Evil Forest yet our gods seem powerless to punish them, I think I need to look into what these strange men are trying to tell us a little more.”

This is from the perspective of Nwoye, Okonkwo’s oldest son. He already has a strained relationship with his father, and throughout the story we get glances at that he also is troubled by some of the decisions that his community makes based on their beliefs. So I believe it was only natural for him to be interested in the god that the white man brings; especially because this god seems very merciful when compared to the cruel ones that condemned Ikemefuna to death. He is prepared to risk the wrath of his father because he sees hope in following a god that is prepared to forgive his followers, unlike the gods of his village.

 

 

HW for December 5

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Class,

Thanks for your excellent work today.  Keep thinking about the broad guiding questions that have come up as you continue reading: culture as performance, Okonkwo’s relationship to culture, parallels between colonizers and villagers, gender relations, the role of religion, etc.

For Monday, please read chapters 9-13.  Ideally, we’ll finish the book by December 12 and have a couple sessions to do review for the final exam (more on that shortly).  Blog group 2, you’re’ up; please post a Create, Connect or Clue (make sure this is only your 1st or 2nd time doing whichever category you choose) by Sunday at 5.  Looking forward to seeing your posts and your classmates’ responses.