Answer the following prompts. Your responses should be 3-5 sentences. You must incorporate one quote into each response. Please site using MLA format.
Due Dates:
A Block - Thursday by midnight
B Block - Friday by midnight
1. Using the text as evidence, argue that Ikemefuma's death troubled Okonkwo.
2. Now, using the text, argue that it did not.
3. Describe an ogbanje (77).
4. What is the image of "white men" held by Okonkwo and Obierka?
5. Many of the traditions and beliefs held in Umuofia might be considered archaic. Which ones, if any, would you deem important to change? Why?
In the first few pages of chapter eight, it shows how Okonkwo is feeling very depressed after he have killed Ikefuma. He could not sleep or eat; he was just too weak. He tried to forget about Ikefuma, but he could not."He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikefuma, but more he tried the more he thought about him" (Achebe 63). He loved Ikefuma just as if he was his real son, he could not get over his death for three days.
ReplyDeleteIt seemed as if Okonkwo did not care about Ikefuma's death and that it did not trouble him when he was talking with Obierika. Because Obierika "reminded" him about his father, it reminded Okonkwo about his father's weakness and failure; he had a habit of talking about his own acomplishments when he thought about his father. He suddenly changed his topic to what he would actually not want to talk about, he asked Obierika why he did not come to kill Ikefuma. "But someone had to do it. If we were all afraid of blood, it would not be done. And what do you think the Oracle would do then" (Achebe 67)? He sounded as if he did care a little for Ikefuma's death, but not so much compared to the punishment he will get for not following the Oracle; when he down deep in he heart cared more about Ikefuma then the Oracle, he did it because he did not wanted to be viewed as a weak person. It also mentions that if the murder of Ikefuma was in the busiest time of the year, he would have not cared so much about it.
Ogbanje that is mentioned in page 77 is a wicked child who dies but then reenters thier mothers' wombs so that it can be reborn again. Ekwefi, Okonkwo's wife, had born ten children yet only Ezinma survived until this age; so the medicine man told Okonkwo that Ekwefi's child is an ogbanje.
Obierika and Okonkwo imagine “white men” to be as white as a chalk stick, and who is not admired much by women. “You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children” (Achebe 74). They believe that in the society of the whites, women are at the center of the family and that their children belong to themselves, not the men of the family.
I think that of the two chapters we have read, the tradition of Ogbanje seemed most archaic to me. Their style of thinking was very old styled and because people in the modern world do not believe in supernatural, I think that Ogbanje is archaic. How Ezinma and all the others believed that burying the iyi-uwa in the ground will bring the dead child again in the original mother’s womb, this is totally archaic. Everyone was so serious about the evil spirit, “Answer the question at once,” roared Okonkwo, who stood beside her” (Achebe 81).
Saya Shimoyama B2
Kiran Dixit A4
ReplyDeleteAlthough his personality speaks differently, it is easy to see that Okonkwo was deeply troubled by Ikemefuna's sad death. The text has an example of Okonkwo's torture, "Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna" (Achebe 63).
It is also possible to argue against this though, by Okonkwo's reaction after he got well again. "He began to wonder why he had felt uneasy at all" (Achebe 75). This shows that afterward, Okonkwo didn't even know why he was unsettled by Ikemefuna's death.
An Ogbanje is an evil-spirit baby that is born, then in a few days or months it dies, then it returns to the mothers womb again in a cycle and keeps causing the mother to get more and more depressed.
Okonkwo and Obierika think of the 'white men' as a sort of myth or fantastical creature in a way, that might not even exist. The way Obierika talked about them felt very sarcastic, leading to this conclusion. "'It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white like this peice of chalk,' said Obierika" (Achebe 74).
One of the most archaic parts of the story until where I've read, was when they were sorting out all the business about Ezinma being a Ogbanje. One especially archaic part I think was when they actually asked the innocent child Ezinma where she had 'hidden' her iyi-uwa. "'Wher they bury children,' she replied, and the quiet spectators murmured to themselves" (Achebe 81). This shows how much the people of this time actually believed in their superstitions, which was... completely.
1) "For the first time in three nights, Okonkwo slept"(Achebe 75). For me this quote tells me that Okwonko is a trouble man. This qoute was the start in chapter 9 but chapter eight tells about his trouble by he is wondering. The reason why i pick this is because, it is showing with the tough guy exterior, he still misses his child. And not sleeping for 3 days tells me that he is thinking of his child, and how much he misses Ikefuma.
ReplyDelete2) The quote in my first answers, might go into different direction by Okwonko is wondering why his wife kept having a child die. Although the quote implies more to Ikefuma, but it might be different by he is thinking about other things. He might also be thinking of the replacement of Ikefuma, for all i know he might be thinking about other things to because the quote dont really gives enough evidence that Okwonko misses Ikefuma.
3)The medicine man said that an ogbanje is wicked child, when they die the go to thier mothers to be born again. This statement really implies to Ekwefi problem having a child, Although she can get pregnant, but her childers tends to die. And Ekwefi had 10 children but only 1 survie, most of the babies die at the age of 3.
4) From the reading, the white man sounded different than them, they said the white man is like a white chalk. "these white men, they say, have no toes"(Achebe 74). This quote tells me that the white man have things that dont have, for instace shoes. The reason why is say that is because he has no toes on the quote. So for them a white man is for us an alien.
5) " he had a old rusty gun made by clever blacksmith who had lived in Umofia long ago"( Achebe 38). For me this quote is a bit vague but for me it sounded like Umofia had a liking for old weaponds. lived in Umofia long ago tells me that the gun is with him really long, and it tells me how Umofia is an archaic.
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ReplyDelete1) In the beginning of chapter 8, there are various quotes that portray Okonkwo’s emotion towards Ikefumena’s death. “He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna, but the more he tried the more he thought about him” (Achebe 63). This shows that Okonkwo is in emotionally unstable state. Time pass by, he realized how Ikemefuna is close to his vision of ideal son. Therefore, it was really hard for him to get over Ikemefuna’s baloney death.
ReplyDelete2) Obierika reminded Okonkwo about death perspective, “Okonkwo was beginning to feel like his old self again. All that he required was something to occupy his mind. If he had killed Ikemefuna during the busy planting season or harvesting it would not have been so bad” (Achebe 69). This quote implies Okonkwo is cold person that if he was busy enough, Ikemefuna’s death wouldn’t even be a shock or matter to him.
3) Ogbanje is believed to be a wicked child. The child is born, then dies in infancy, then enters his mother’s womb to be born again. It is the evil spirit that curses a family with misfortune. This caused the Ekwefi and Okonkwo to grief and made a habit of naming their children with symbolic meaning.
4) Obierika and Okonkwo see white men as outsider. "'It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk,' said Obierika" (Achebe 74). Obierika is talking about white men, who are colorless as chalk. One of the men jokes, saying that he has seen a white man and his name is Amadi. In fact Amadi isn’t white. He compared his white skin to lepers’ white skin, which shows that they disparage white men.
5) The customs in Umuofia is very archaic. The most archaic part is their mythological aspects. The society deeply believes in ogbanje. "'Let her not sleep in her hut. Let their go and stay with her people. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death” (Achebe 77). I think the whole idea of ogbanje is ridiculous. Especially when medicine men was advising Ekwefi. There will be definitely no change where she goes and who she stay with. The society itself needs to face life more realistically instead of depending on abnormality reasons.
Farah Okada B1
1)"'She should have been a boy,' he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter"(Achebe 64). Okonkwo was training Nwoye and Ikemefuna as a next leader, and Okonkwo was feeling relieved a little bit. However, he lost one of his sons, Ikemefuna, so he is worried. In other words, too worried that he even be under the delusion that Ezinma also can be the leader.
ReplyDelete2)However, this quote,"'She should have been a boy,' he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter"(Achebe 64),also means in other way that for Okonkwo, Ikemefuna was just a "son" and heir.It doesn't describe any further information about Okonkwo's feeling. As matter of fact, in the book, there is no word that he is depressed.
3)Ogbanje is a child or child's spirit that goes back to their own mother when they died. The medicine man says that it is a childhood, so I personally thinks that abortion won't count. However, from the tone of the medicine man, it sounds like monster or evil spirit.
4)The image of White Man in Okonkwo's area is completely other species. Okonkwo describes the white man is just like a white chalk on a ground. Whenever see the man, they calls him as white man in their language.
5)Based on their religion/tradition, the rank of woman is really low. It intercept all the possibility of other destiny and liberty. Maybe it might come during the story, but for suggestion, they should add a day or chance to obey and thank to women.
1. "Now and then a cold shiver descended on his head and spread down his body. " (Achebe 63) He couldn't eat, or sleep for two days. He tries to forget about Ikemefuna, but as he tries harder to forget Ikemefuna, he thinks about him more. This quote shows that he his frightened and I think he feels guilty, even though he's the one who killed Ikemefuna.
ReplyDelete2. "'But someone had to do it. If we were all afraid of blood, it would not be done.'" (Achebe 67) I'm not sure about this question, but I think this quote shows that he is proud of him self and kind of bragging about it to Obierika. Before he talks about this, they were talking about his father, which he didn't wanted to talk about so he thought about manly thing that he recently did, and he talked about Ikemefuna which he wanted to forget.
3. Ogbanje is a wicked children when they die, they return to their mother's wombs to reborn. Okonkwo went to medicine man after Ekwefi's second child's death, and the doctor said that the children are Ogbanje. To break the cycle of ogbanje, when she become pragnent again, she has to be with some people because it eludes from her tormentors.
4. "'It's like a story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk,'" (Achebe 74). I think this quote shows Okonkwo and Obierka's knowledge to white men. And their image to white man is that they are strange and there are part that Okonkwo have and white men don't. They said white people doesn't have toes, and I think this shows how they are not developed compared to European countries or America. So I think Okonkwo and his friends thinks that white people are weird and there's nothing in common.
5. Believing about Ogbanje was very archaic. In Japan, there are no beliefs like Ogbanje, and I think this beliefs made the people suffer from the wicked children. Also Okagbue and Okonkwo was too harsh to Ezinma, who is only nine years old. "'Answer the question at once,' roared Okonkwo, who stood beside her. All the family were there and some of the neighbors too" (Achebe 81).
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ReplyDelete1. Using the text as evidence, argue that Ikemefuma's death troubled Okonkwo.
ReplyDeleteChapter after the one where Ikemefuna died, it has shown many Okonkwo's trouble with getting over with Ikemefuna's death. "For the first time in three nights, Okonkwo sleep" (Achebe 75). Not being able to sleep tells me a lot about Okonkwo having troubles with the reality.
2. Now, using the text, argue that it did not.
Okonkwo has mentioned that he keeps thinking about Ikemefuna, because he was in the resting season of his job where he had nothing to do in his field. "If he had killed Ikemefuna during the busy planting season or harvesting it would not have been so bad; his mind would have been centered on his work" (Achebe 69). As the quote says he might have not been so troubled with Ikemefuna's death if it was during the busy season.
3. Describe an ogbanje (77).
Ogbanje is one of the things Okonkwo and people of Nigeria believes in. "This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be born again" (Achebe 77). Ogbanje is considered to be somewhat a negative thing for the people in the village and is always taken care by the medicine man that are the expert in the spiritual world.
4. What is the image of "white men" held by Okonkwo and Obierka?
The image of white men those Nigerians had was not so much about the appearances but more about their social status between men and women. "You might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children" (Achebe 74). If I think deeper I can take this Nigerian image of white men, as an insult calling white men as women in their definition, because Okonkwo thinks men should never be on bottom of women.
5. Many of the traditions and beliefs held in Umuofia might be considered archaic. Which ones, if any, would you deem important to change? Why?
Usually I do not wish to say any disagreements on any other cultures that I do not belong to. However if I was to say pick one tradition or belief that I would change, would be the treatment of the dead one's body. "Then he took it away to bury in the Evil Forest, holding it by the ankle and dragging it on the ground behind him" (Achebe 78). For me, respecting a person’s dead body is very important and I think that comes from a cultural background of mine. Also many cultures tend to take a good care of the dead body, so the soul will have a good after life. On the other hand, because of the Nigerian ritual, Okonkwo had treated his child's body in such way, which I would disagree on.
5)- In my perspective, the beliefe of ogbanje sounds the most archaic. "This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they die, entered their mother's wombs to be bourn again."(Achebe 77). Compared to a western society, this perspective concerning why babies die as infants might seem crazy. Since the western world has medicine to help babies who die young, I think that it would benefit Umuofia if thy changed their belief or custom concerning this subject.
ReplyDelete1) "He did not sleep at night. He tried to not think about Ikemefuna, but the more he tried he thought about him.(63 Achebe)" The death of Ikemefuna troubled Okonkwo because he was depressed that he killed him and because Ikemefuna was like his son to him (before Nwoye wanted him to notice him) so then that Okonkwo thought about it too much about how he was the one who killed him that he couldn't sleep anymore and stopped trying to sleep.
ReplyDelete2)Then the death of Ikemefuna did not troubled him because he was the one who killed him for, really a no good reason at all Okonkwo just killled him because he was told and because he didn't want to look weak in front of them. Also that when he killed Ikemefuna straight away without a guilt.
3)Obanje is a thing that Okonkwo and he poeplewho lives in town believed in. Obanje is a spirit that can be a child spirit or a child that goes back to their Mothers when they die to be reborn again. It has always beena negative thing in the village because it has always been taken care of by the medicine men that are professionals in the spiritual world.
4) The image of " white men" held by Okonkwo and Obierka is that Okonkwo describes a white man as a white chalk board on the ground and Obierka and there men describes a white man by joking about it.
1)- The first two sentences demonstrate how Okonkwo felt toward the killing of Ikefuma. "Okonkwo did not taste any food for days after the death of Ikefuma."(Achebe 63). Another quote to back up the previous sentence would be, "He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikefuma, but the more he tried the more he thought about him."(Achebe 63)
ReplyDelete2)- One of Okonkwo's remarks to himself in the book was "When did you become a shivering old woman,"(Achebe 65). This would demonstrate that Okonkwo didn't care about Ikefuma very much. rather then caring about the death of Ikefuma, he was caught up in him self.
3)- An Ogbanje was a wicked child that would re-enter it's mothers womb. "This man told him that the child was and ogbanji, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be bourn again."(Abhebe 77). These children are very sickly and will die at a young age.
4)- Okonkwo and Obierka pictured the wife in charge of the white man's family. "I have even heard that in some tribes a man's children belong to his wife and her family."(Achebe 74). Also they thought that white men had no toes. "And these white men, they say, have no toes."(Abhebe 74).
5)- In my perspective, the beliefe of ogbanje sounds the most archaic. "This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they die, entered their mother's wombs to be bourn again."(Achebe 77). Compared to a western society, this perspective concerning why babies die as infants might seem crazy. Since the western world has medicine to help babies who die young, I think that it would benefit Umuofia if thy changed their belief or custom concerning this subject.
Daniel Snow, B1.
ReplyDeleteMai Hiroyama
ReplyDeleteB2 Literature
1. Okonkwo has struggles with the assassination of Ikefuna. Even though he doesn't have any emotion or struggles for other previous people who Okonkwo has killed, Ikefuna's death seems different. On page 65, there is a quote that proves he is troubled with the boy's death: "'When did you become a shivering old woman,' Okonkwo asked himself, 'you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killled five men in the battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed.'" (Achebe 65). Okonkwo realizes that he is troubled, and he questions to himself.
2. The conversation between Obierika and Okonkwo supports the idea that Okonkwo doesn't get troubled with Ikefuna's death. Obierika and Okonkwo mentions about Ikefuna's death, Obierika asks Okonkwo who gave the dicision to kill Ikefuna. Responding to his question, Okonkwo answers that he is not the one, and also says "'But someone had to do it. If we were all afraid of blood it would not be done. And what do you think the Oracle would do then? '" (Achebe 67). Reading through this page, the tone of Okonkwo in this conversation seems normal, or no emotion. The replication doesn't show the regret of killing Ikefuna, therefore he is not troubled with his death.
3. When a child is born and dies with the repetition, the child will be called ogbanje. Ogbanje is a child who dies and reborn from their mother repeatedly, and the Ogbanie child is viewed as wicked kid from others. "This mantold him that the child was an ogbanie, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be born again" (Achebe 77).
4. Okonkwo and Obierika probably has not much interest about white men since they mention only a bit about them. They considers that white men are white, unlike Okonkwo and Obierika. They see the difference, though doesn't show any love nor hate toward the whites. "'It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk," (Achebe 74). Obierika gives a simile about white chalk and white men.
5. The traditional celebration using kola nut is archaic. Kola nut is used for praying to their god or their ancestors. "'I have brough you this little kola. As our people say, a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness. I have come to pay you my respects and also to ask a favor. But let us drink the whine first'" (Achebe 19).
1. “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna.” (Achebe 63). The quote show the hard time that Okonkwo been having after he killed Ikemefuna. It was against his will but he had not choice, as a religious man he has to obey the Oracle’s order. He really loved Ikemefuna, more than he loved his own son.
ReplyDelete2. “For the first time in three nights, Okonkwo slept.” (Achebe 75). Okonkwo didn’t get much sleep. Now, he tried to occupy his mind with something. After the conversation with Obierika, he felt more relax and like his old self again. This quote tells us that something is bothering Okonkwo for the past three days but it didn’t specifically tell if its towards Ikemefuna or othere things.
3. The word ogbanje represent wicked child. After they were die, they will go back into the mother and be reborn again. This relate to Ekwefi, she had a lot of children before but most of them die afterwords except one of them. Most of the children die when they were only around the age of 3 because of in infancy.
4. “”And these white men, they say, have no toes.”” (Achebe 74). They don’t see white men that often so they don’t really know what they were like, so all they could do is judge a book by its cover. They said that the white men has no toes, that because the men was wearing shoes. Well, of course the village people don’t know since they don’t wear shoes. This show that the white men is more wealthier than they are.
5. To me, the most archaic is that they believe in ognaje the wicked child. It is true that maybe other countries and cultures believe something similar to ognaje but those were just thoughts, there were no prove that those children are wicked. “This men told him that the child was an ogbanje,” (Achebe 77). This quote might not support much of my though but it still shows that the villagers really believe in ogbaje.
A4
As we know, Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna because he was afraid of being thought weak. However, Okonkwo liked Ikemefuna a lot, and he suffered alot because of the guilty that he killed his adopted son. "He drank palm wine from morning till night, and his eyes were red and fierce like the eyes of a rat when it was caught by the tail and dashed against the floor." (Achebe 63) he drank and drank wine all day long because he wanted to forget the fact that he killed Ikemefuna.
ReplyDeleteOkonkwo might be depressed because of other reason, maybe he thought that he killed a kid who is only around ten years old, and maybe he felt guilty for it. Not because he killed adopted son, but because he killed a innocent kid followed by Oracle's order.
Ogbanje basically means a child who borns and dies repeatly. "She had borne ten children and nine of them had died in infancy, usually before the age of three."(Achebe 77)This quote shows that how Ekwefi suffered hard to get a children. And Ezinma was the last child to born, and she survived for a fairly long time compare to other children. Okonkwo and Ekwefi believed in this superstition, and tried to get out of this by asking many people.
Okonkwo and Obierka thought white people are much more lower level than them, or they thought whites are like a tribe which respects woman. And they laugh at that fact. "I have even heard that in some tribes a man's children belong to his wife and her family."(Achebe 74)But probably Okonkwo knew that they are much more civilized than themselves, because he knows how the gun is strong which he has, and the gun is made by a white person long time ago.
At the chapter two, very beginning, Okonkwo's village got a virgin and a boy from other village because that village killed a person from Okonkwo's village. "...he returned home with a lad of fifteen and ayoung virgin."(Achebe 12)This means these villages could trade woman or child if they need to. Which is very archaic and barbaric tradition. Because it's a very common thing for us that people are not trade-able.
Kei Saya Datwani
ReplyDeleteA4 Literature
It is obvious that Ikefuma's death death troubled Okonkwo. In the book there is example that shows how Okonkwo was deeply troubled. "Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after death of Ikemefuna. He drank palmwine from mornig till night, and his eye were red and fierce dashed against the floor." ( Achebe 63)
First half of chapter eight was discussing about how Okonkwo troubled by the deathe of Ikemefuma. However last half of chapter eight discussed almot nothing about Okonkwo was troubled by death of Ikemefuma. For example ""I must go home to tap my palm treees for the afternoon."" .(Achebe 69) This quote tell that Okonkwo was focusing on his work and did not care about Ikemefuna's death.
Ogbanje is a wicked baby that born and few days or few month later dies, and go back to their mother and born again. Also medicen man described ogbanje as evil spirit.
"white man" for Obierika and Okonkowo is like alien. They think white man as a people who came from out side of the Earth. It also tells that Africa was not opened and not develop enough that thay did not know people in out side of the country.
The way of treating women is very archaic. People in Umofia treated women as their slave, and they did not have any respect towards women. Now in Japan women are treated equaly and women has same right as man does. Therfore very archaic part of Umoufia is way of treating women.
1. Ikemefuna's death definitely made Okonkwo struggle. "Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm-wine from morning till night." (Achebe 63). This shows that he regret killing Ikemefuna. "He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna, but more he tried the more he thouht about him." (Achebe 63).
ReplyDelete2. On the other hand, Okonkwo is also not in trouble. "I cannot understand why you refused to come with us to kill that boy." (Achebe 66). This tells us that Ikemefuna is showing his confident about killing people. Also, Okonkwo has killed many people and why should he be worried about one little boy?
3. "Ogbanje is one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be born again." (Achebe 77). This means when a child dies, he will reborn and come back to life again. This is like reincarnation.
4. The image of white men held by Okonkwo and Obierka was that they are extremely white, like the piece of chalk that Obierika is holding. "It is like a story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk." (Achebe 74).
5. The customs of Umuofia are very unique and considered archaic. Men are too strict to women and children. Men can marry many women, but women can't. Children always get beaten up by their fathers. However, in these days, in most countries, everyone is equal. In my opinion, discrimination is archaic to me.
Seiya Tabata B2
ReplyDelete1. Ikemefuma’s death strongly troubled Okonkwo. “He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna, but the more he tried the more he thought about him” (Achebe 63). He truly sunk into depression from Ikemefuna’s death.
2. “When did you become a shivering old woman…Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed”(Achebe 65). From this quote, I feel like Okonkwo can’t accept that he is acting like a woman. What more troubles him is that the idea of weakness. He wants to stay as a man and not only a man, a fearless man.
3. “…ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mother’s wombs to be born again” (Achebe 77). Ogbanje mentioned in page 77 is a wicked child that re-enters the mother’s womb and what it does is just die over and over.
4. Obierika and Okonkwo see white men as unnatural, weird, mythical-ish creature. “And these white men, they say, have not toes” (Achebe 64). From this quote I can tell that the white men are wearing shoes. For Obierika and Okonkwo, they take it as an alien like creature having no toe.
5. I think tradition and beliefs in Umuofia is very archaic. One example from the two chapters is the idea of ogbanje. “ let her not sleep in her hut. Let her go and stay with her people. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death” (Achebe 77). Of course the advices that the medicine man gave no impact to the cause of the children death. The idea of ogbanje should just dissapear.
B1 Christine
ReplyDelete1. Although Okonkwo did not want to show weakness, it was still obvious that Ikemefuna's death troubled him. "Okonkwo did not taste food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna."..."He called his son, Nwoye, to sit with him in his obi"..."He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna, but the more he tried the more he thought about him."(Achebe 63).All of these above showed that although Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna easily at the time, he couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards, and even called his real son to sit with him to feel his company-in a way replacing Ikemefuna-and also reassuring that he had his son. I think because he was very fond of the boy, it actually troubled him more than he imagined it would.
2. However, at the same time Ikemefuna's death and the feeling of guilt and regret that haunted Okonkwo soon passed and he was once again back to his old self. "All that he required was something to occupy his mind. If he had killed Ikemefuna during the busy planting season or harvesting it would have been so bad;"(Achebe 69). Although this is what Okonkwo came up with as a reason for his toubled feelings for killing Ikemefuna, I think he was only finding an excuse because even to himself, he didn't want to admit that he was weak. "He began to wonder why he had felt uneasy at all."(Achebe 74). His trouble over killing his adopted son was soon forgotten.
3.Ogbanje was, "one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be born again" (Achebe 77). Ogbanje was basically what they believed to be an evil spirit of a child who tortures its mother by being born again and again but dying each time.
4.To Okonkwo and others, White men are weird creatures that have unnatural skin color, "...who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk,"(Achebe 74). They are mysterious and in a way mythical, "And these white men, they say, have no toes."(Achebe 74). From this quote it is clear that these men have most likely never seen white men before and did not know what shoes were.
5. There are a lot of parts in this book that shows Umuofia as a very archaic society. It is very superstitious in believing in ogbanje but what I think should really change is the way they treat women and gain power. Although it is very important to earn respect from your family and friends, in Umuofia they achieve that through fighting and being harsh to their wives. "Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpectual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children."(Achebe 13)I think this isn't a true way for someone to respect another-just for the fear of him-but be more benevolent to people and still gain respect. They shouldn't make their wives that much lower than them and treat them as slaves. "Do what you are told, woman," (Achebe 14).
1. "Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna"(Achebe 63). After Ikemefuna's death Okonkwo felt lost, because Ikemefuna is like a step son to Okonkwo, which cause him a dilemma when the village decides to kill him.
ReplyDelete2. Okonkwo reminds himself of a warrior and not a loser. "Whenever the thought of of his father's weakness and failure troubled him he expelled it y thinking about his own strength and success. and so did now. his mind went to his latest show of manliness" (Achebe 66). This reminds him of his father as a failure and each time as Okonkwo think about him, it made him more independent.
3. Ogbanje is reincarnation. When a wicked baby or child dies, he goes back to his mother's womb and comes back to life again. "This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be born again" (Achebe 77)
4. White men are completely strangers to Okonkwo and Obierka. Okonkwo's village has never seen them and doesn't know culture or tradition about them. "And these white men, they say, have no toes" (Achebe 74). This quote is funny and being racist to white men.
5. One thing I disagree about this story is that men dominate women and children, which is not common in modern days. "That was the kind of story that Nwoye loved. But he now knew that they were foolish women and children, and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women's stories. And when he did this he saw that his father was pleased, and no longer rebuked him or beat him" (Achebe 54). This is terrible. Just because one person is different from other's, it doesn't mean someone can change his mind, which is uncommon and not acceptable these days.
1. In chapter eight, there were several scenes where Okonkwo feared the death of Ikemefuna. "He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefun, but the more he tried, the more he thought about him. Once he got up from bed and walked about his compound. But he was so weak that his legs could hardly carry him" (Achebe 63). Okonkwo was shocked that his 'son' had to be killed and that Okonkwo himself killed Ikemefuna. He was mentally unstable for several days, but did not want to show that to the other villagers. Okonkwo also did not eat for two days and his daughter Ezinma was worried about him and brought food for him to eat. It was hard for him to erase the memory of killing his beloved 'son' .
ReplyDelete2. After eating his food and reminding himself that he is strong, Okonkwo went to meet his friend, Obierika. Obierika did not participate in the killing of Ikemefuna and Okonkwo asked him, "But someone had to do it. If we were all afraid of blood, it would not be done. And what do you think the Oracle would do then?" (Achebe 67). Okonkwo is stating that you should obey to what the God told you to do, but Obierika disobeyed and did not go to the killing. Still, Ikemefuna's death troubled Okonkwo but more than that, he wanted to follow the Oracle and did not want to be viewed as a weak person. The quote is an evidence that Okonkwo did not care about Ikemefuna's death by showing Okonkwo was rather anxious about following the Oracle than the death of his 'son'.
3. Ogbanje is an evil spirit that continuously give a misfortune to a family. "This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be born again" (Achebe 77). As it says in the quote, ogbanje die and then come back again to the same mother's wombs and then die again. They just keep this cycle and give misfortune and depression to the family and especially to the mother, since she is the one that giving birth to her lovely children but they soon die after the birth. Ekwefi, Okonkwo's wife gave birth to ten children but only one is still alive, therefore Ekwefi's children were thought to be an ogbanje.
4. Okonkwo and Obierka's image of "white men" seems to be people that are not in the high position like them in their village, but more like a delicate and weak people. "It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk" (Achebe 74). White chalk resemble white men's appearance, that they are white compare to themselves and chalk is fragile, it easily breaks when you put too much strength. Okonkwo wants to tell that the white men are not Okonkwo and Obierka's enemy at all because the white men are not strong enough to fight, there is no merit for them.
5. One of the most archaic idea that is present in this story is the ogbanje. In those days, it was normal for them to give birth to ten children, but in the present time, it is normally one or two children per family. "This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be born again" (Achebe 77). They strongly believed in the evil spirit which entered the mother's wombs after the previous child died, because most of the children died at the young age. Not too many people believe in supernatural these days, so I think that this idea of ogbanje is nonsense. I would not say that they should change the idea since it is the village's belief, but still i do feel that it is foolish.
Risa Yamada B2
Kai Watanabe B1
ReplyDelete1) “He did not sleep at night He tried not to think about Ikemefuma, but the more he tried the more he thought about him.” (Achebe 63). After killing Ikemefuma, this quote tells that Ikemefuma’s death troubled Okonkwo. I personally thought Okonkwo thought Ikemefuma like a real son as the time passed by. But even though Okonkwo has all the emotions to Ikemefuma, he still care about Ikemefuma, and this time is not the first time to kill the people.
2) “He began to wonder why he had felt uneasy at all” (Achebe 75). Even though Okonkwo couldn’t do any thing because of killing Ikemefuma, the uneasiness it only lasted for three days and Okonkwo is already wondering why he felt uneasy. That means killing of Ikemefuma was included in small sadness in his entire life and it wasn’t a big deal.
3) Ogbanje is the baby who born to repeat the cycle of death and birth. Once the baby died, the baby will go back to womb and reborn again, and this cycle continues forever.
4) I think the image of white men in Okonkwo’s village is they are weird and completely like ailian to them. Whaite men look very different from Okonkwo and other village men, they have no toes, and they are soo white like chalk on the ground. “It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk,” (Achebe 74)
5) For me Ogbanje sounds similar to what I learned in the World History, and it was pretty old. I do think it is important to change archaic beliefs. I think it is important because I believe beliefs exist to explain what human cannot explain. As the time passes by, human discover and develop their knowledge and techniques so human could explain thing that they could not explain long time ago. Therefore sometimes it is more important to change beliefs over the time. But the beliefs are something that each person believes so they can hold together themselves, and to say if human should change their beliefs or not is always hard question to answer.
1, Ikemefuma”s death troubled Okonkwo, in page 63 “ He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna, but the more he tried the more he thought about him. Once he got up from bed and walked about his compound. But he was so weak that his legs could hardly carry him.” From this quote, I could tell that he couldn’t think and walk because he felt guilty to what he has done to Ikemefuma.2,
ReplyDelete3,Ogbanje was Ekwefi”s second dead child, medicine man told Ekwefi that his death child was an Ogbanje which means that whey the child is dead, they enter their mothers wombs to be born again, so when Ekwefi”s wife becomes pregnant, the dead child will come back to alive. The quote that supports its idea is on page 77 "Let her go and stay with her people. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death".
4,On page 74 Obierika said "It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk" and "And these white men, they say, have no toes" from these two quotes I could tell that these people were criticizing white people
5, The most archaic fact that I found in this book is that believing in Ogbanje. Nowadays people don't believe in those superstition however at this time people actually believed in this superstition which made me think that it is archaic fact.
Kazuya B2
1. In the first part of chapter eight we can tell that Okonkwo was troubled by Ikemefuna’s death. “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm wine from morning till night, and his eyes were red and fierce like the eyes of a rat when it was caught by the tail and dashed against the floor.” (Achebe 63) This quote tells that he was too depressed that he couldn’t eat nor sleep because he was disturbed by the fact that he killed his loving son.
ReplyDelete2. The part where Okonkwo is talking with Obierika shows that he wasn’t really disturbed by the fact that he killed his son. “But someone had to do it. If we were all afraid of blood it would not be done. And what do you think the Oracle would do then?” (Achebe 67) This quote shows that he was more afraid of the oracle rather than his son dying. Since he was afraid of weakness, he chose to kill his son to show that he is strong. That means not getting punished and following the oracle was more important to him than saving his son.
3. Ogbanje is a wicked child who tries to enter their mother’s womb to reborn again after their death. Ogbanje is seen as a very negative thing in this village. One of Okonkwo’s wives had already given birth to 10 children but only Ekwefi had survived, so a guy told her that her child was an ogbanje. “This man told him that the child was an ogbanje..” (Achebe 77)
4. They see white man as a strange creature. “…They say, are white like this piece of chalk” (Achebe 74). This quote is racist but they didn’t say to insult them. They were amazed by them and purely thought that they were strange and different. “And these white men, they say, have no toes.” (Achebe 74) This quote also shows that for them white man were mysterious creatures who did not have any toes (they were wearing shoes).
5. All the traditions in Umoufia are basically archaic. They all believed in mythical and supernatural things. Among all the traditions, one of them that I thought was strange was the tradition that they believe in ogbanje. Since this story takes place long time ago in a rural place, I guess children’s died a lot because of disease or lack of nutrition. But, people here thought those children were wicked. “let her not sleep in her hut. Let her go and stay with her people. In that way she will elude her wicked tormentor and break its evil cycle of birth and death.” (Achebe 77) They believed the evil cycle and treated as a really big problem.
1. In the beginning of chapter eight, there are a lot of stuff talking about Okonkwo, after Ikemefuna’s death. “He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikmefuna, but the more he tried the more he thought about him” (Achebe 63). This sentence shows us the love that he had for Ikemefuna and the regret that he is feeling now. He loved him, and really regret about what he had done.
ReplyDelete2. “She should have been a boy” (Achebe 64). This shows that he had all those feeling and regretting because he lost a “boy” who could help and carry his future on. It also shows that he is not really sad and upset because he lost “Ikemefuna” but because he lost a “boy”.
3. The definition of an obganje means a child who is born and then dies only to re-born its mother's womb over and over again. “She had borne ten children and nine of them had died in infancy, usually before the age of three.” Ekwefi, Koknkwo’s second wife had suffered a lot because of this and the medicine man said that to get rid of this ogbanje is just mutilate the dead child and bury them in the Evil Forest.
4. “It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk” (Achebe 74). This tells that Okonkwo and people around him have no respect for white men and they think that the white men are weird, unnatural, and not strong enough to fight with them.
5. There are a lot of archaic societies in Umuofia’s beliefs. They have a lot of gaps in respecting and thinking about their wives (females), they don’t tread them right, men in Umuofia think is that they fight and be a household, and use the women in a harsh way. “No, that is a job” (Achebe 44). This is what Okonkwo said to his daughter when she tried to get a chair for her father.
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