Cultural Sacrifice

Ikemefuna was an adolescent who was sufficiently unfortunate to be bound to die. This was a boy who had been sacrificed by his village, Mbaino, to Umuofia because when one of the women from Umuofia had gone to the market in Mbaino, she had been killed for no apparent reason. Therefore, Ikemefuna and a virgin - to replace the woman as the widow’s wife – were sent to Umuofia as a sort of peace offering to not trigger a fight of any sort. Ikemefuna was Okonkwo’s responsibility while the decision of his final fate was going to be; so, Ikemefuna live with Okonkwo with his family in his property. Three years passed and every one had seemed to have forgotten about the fact that he wasn’t a part of Okonkwo’s household until one day; one of the village elders came in and announced to Okonkwo that the killing of Ikemefuna was going to be performed that night. Three years later, Okonkwo and Nwoye, Okonkwo’s first son, had grown much attached to him; however, Okonkwo put all feelings aside and took part in Ikemefuna’s killing. What Okonkwo had not predicted was the fact that he was actually going to miss Ikemefuna. Okonkwo was embarrassed by the fact that his feelings where taking over since being manly meant showing no emotions. 

The White Man's Myth

In Umofia, and Nigeria in general, the usual color of skin to find is a dark colored skin, so the thought of a white between a tribe and clan in the times that Things Fall Apart is set is quite odd.  At the end of chapter eight, the narrator foreshadows the first appearance of the white men in Village; the author tells: “it is like the story of the white men who, they say, are whit like this piece of chalk […]. And these white men, they say, have no toes.” (pg. 74) Umofia, like us, and practically any civilization, could stay ignorant for eternity and possibly believe the world is flat and that they are the only ones who populate it. In the times the story is set we can perhaps predict that this soon, in the story, will come the time in which the English colonization in Nigeria and Central Africa begins. The fact that the men are exchanging stories about communities that seem fairly more prosperous and developed in the families’ gathering seems to hint the events that are going to happen; however, the men discard the possibility and consider it ridiculous and rather funny. The Igbo culture might not acknowledge it, but war might be around the corner and while the clan considers fighting wars is the dispute of honor, the Europeans fight for the thirst of conquering the material. The Igbos will not know what hit them.

Agon in the Coliseum

In Umofia, after it was the time to celebrate the coming crop season, the New Yam Festival came the time of the competitions and the wrestling. Drums would start to play at noon all the way until dusk even though the wrestling itself begun at sundown. “The drummers took up their sticks and the air shivered and grew tensed like tightened bow.” (pg. 49) The men would strike the instruments harder and harder every time; “they were possessed by the spirit of the drum.” (pg. 46)  The entire village gathers around and the crowds are huge. The wrestling event is somewhat similar to the Roman gatherings in which gladiators and animals would fight to death  in the Coliseums for the sake of entertainment. People would get together and it would be an event in society that you would be privileged to witness.  In Umofia, the wrestling escalated and so did the tension; first the youngest, 15 and 16 year olds, wrestled and then the age increased until the strongest and probably most valuable men, strength and cunningness-wise, wrestle. Once the men “danced into the circle and the crowd roared and clapped. The drums rose to a frenzy. The people surged forward.” (pg. 47) The events resemble the Greek Agon and the Roman Gladiators.

The Father, The Son and The Lizard

Pride and self-respect are traits that go hand in hand. Even though Okonkwo fought hard to gain these characteristics on a daily basis to be at peace with himself, he found it quite hard. Okonkwo’s craving of being the opposite of his father helps us see the disgrace he brought to the family. I could personally not imagine having any self-respect if I do not fully respect my parents. However, Okonkwo is not fond of his father for he was lazy and unsuccessful. The author tells us how even though his father, Unoka, left earth with huge debts to be sorted; he also left his son contacts and many friends who would be useful to Okonkwo in the future. Nevertheless, Unoka’s young was not proud of him and felt somewhat ashamed of him. It seems like Okonkwo walked through life attempting to prove himself and demonstrate that he was a better person than his father. On the other hand, Unoka was proud of his son and hoped he would rise to be the man he never was. And so he did. Okonkwo started out with nothing in his possession for he had inherited nothing from his father. Okonkwo contacted some of his father’s friend and in spite of his father’s failure; it was thanks to his father that Okonkwo could plant his first seed yams that were given to him by Unoka’s friends. Though don’t get me wrong, Unoka was not a role model of a man which lead Okonkwo to grow as a sturdy man, mentally and physically; one of his father’s friends even commented about Okonkwo’s character while he was asking his father’s friend for seed yams : “The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did.” (pg. 21)

The Nine Villages

Our Main character's name is Okonkwo. Okonkwo is somewhat a hero to his people and throughout the nine villages; he defeated a very strong and sturdy man in combat who had been undefeated for seven years. The man he defeated had been a man who was agile and crafty; he had been such a good fighter that he had been given the name of Amalinze the Cat because, like a cat, "his back would never touch earth." (pg. 1) In Okonkwo's village, Umuofia, people were proud of him and said that his actions brought honor to the village and we all know honor is a valuable thing to have.

Okonkwo’s village was one very rich in culture and tradition. The story is set in the time in which Nigeria was being colonized by the English and people in the village still measured time spans in moons. We can imagine a setting that includes mud houses with straw roofs, huts, and mud beds. The dark was terrifying for the population of Umuofia. "It was always quiet except on moonlight nights. darkness held a vague terror for these people, even the bravetst among them. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark." (pg. 9) In the village, the elderly were considered knowledgeable and wise as well as vastly judgmental. However, they weren’t the only considered wise for Okonkwo was too for his personal achievements and the honor he brought to the village; he was not only considered wise though, also manly and with masculinity came the capability of having multiple wives and an aggressive personality. The story portrays a man who seems to grow in fame by the minute and grow fierce by the second; Okonkwo was a heavy breather and a man who seemed like he was going to pounce any moment. " Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel mas. But his hole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness." (pg. 13) The author explains how he had no patience with unsuccessful men which somewhat foreshadows his motives to act the way he did, his past and insecurities.

About the Author

African writer, Chinua Achebe, is currently "one of the most important living African poet and novelist." He was born and raised in the extensive village of Ogidi, in Igboland, located in Eastern Nigeria, into a Christian evangelical family. While receiving an English education fused with an Igbo education of colonial tradition, he managed to observe firsthand how the Christian education affected, both positively and negatively, the Igbo culture due to the fact that his father taught at a missionary school. Chinua studied medicine as well as literature and commenced working in a broadcasting company. At the time he was working there, he felt ashamed of the way Nigerians and Africans were being portrayed in the texts and novels British writers had composed about Achebe’s land and Africa itself; therefore, the wrote Things Fall Apart in 1958 in the midst to the Nigerian Literary Movement. The novel was an immediate favorite and Chinua soon won several prices and awards for his masterpiece. 

The successful author discarded his radio career on the verge of the Biafran War wherein he got in trouble for writing A Man of People; this novel illustrates a story of a man in the middle of the conflict between the Northern Nigerians, the Muslim Hausa, and the Igbo people. However, he managed t narrowly escape and was free to continue with his academic and professional career.  He later took upon very high class positions such as co-founding a publishing company with a fellow poet, becoming editor of a prominent Nigerian magazine as well as “founding Iwa ndi Ibo in 1984; this bilingual publication was dedicated to Igbo cultural life.” Like his father, Chinua has also become a professor teaching a University of Nigeria, University of Massachusetts and the University of Connecticut. He receive the Nigerian National Merit Award in 1987 and several other awards for his great works.

Chinua Achebe is happily married today and has children. He resides in the United States and is proud to teach at Bard College.

Sources

"Biography of Chinua Achebe | List of Works, Study Guides & Essays | GradeSaver." Study Guides & Essay Editing | GradeSaver. Web. 02 Sept. 2011. <http://www.gradesaver.com/author/chinua-achebe/>.

"Chinua Achebe Biography - Life, Family, Children, Parents, Story, Young, Book, Old, Information, Born, College." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Web. 02 Sept. 2011. <http://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Achebe-Chinua.html>.

"Things Fall Apart Background | GradeSaver." Study Guides & Essay Editing | GradeSaver. Web. 02 Sept. 2011. <http://www.gradesaver.com/things-fall-apart/study-guide/about/>.