Midterm
#5 ~ S to W (alphabetized by
author's last name)
Student
Midterm Discussion Papers
Student Writing, Hum 211, Winter
2002
Short Cuts to
Student Midterms on this webpage:
Brenda Sanchez,
"A Comparison of the Paths of Life Chosen
by Okonkwo and
Unoka: A Question of Happiness"
Julie Swearingen, "Mr. Brown vs. Mr.
Smith: Good and
Bad Missionaries in Things Fall Apart"
Caroline Tillia, Evaluation of I is a long memoried woman
Justi Tipton, "To Be the Best" [Character
Analysis of Okonkwo]
Jimmy Tohet, "Things Fall Apart" [Character
Analysis of Okonkwo]
Laura Wolf Mawdsley, "You Attract More Bees
with Honey than with Vinegar"
[Comparison of Mr. Brown vs. Mr. Smith]
Check Hum
211 Discussion #4 Forum - Some of you have Responses!
Go back to Student
Midterms ~ Table of Contents & Discussion #4 Response Directions
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/students/index.htm
When you are ready,
webpost your Responses
to Hum 211 Discussion #4
Forum:
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/discussions/disc4_frm.htm
Cora
will add more student Midterms as they are received.
Webtip:
This and other HUM 211 webpages are
being updated regularly; so
to ensure that you see viewing the latest version in your internet browser,
click "Refresh" (Explorer) or "Reload" (Netscape) at
the top of your browser screen.
Brenda Sanchez
Midterm Discussion Paper
Hum 211 African Literature
27 February 2002
A Comparison of the Paths of Life Chosen
by Okonkwo and
Unoka: A Question of Happiness
In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe the central character
Okonkwo and his Father Unoka are divided by Okonwo's decision that the life
chosen and led by his father is an unworthy and picayune existence. I feel as
the reader of this novel and by comparing the lives laid out within these
pages that Okonkwo, who was blinded by position and power, led a dolorous
existence. I believe that it is Unoka, even within the boundaries of Igbo
culture, led the better life and was a happy man. I also believe that it is
the paths of life that both these men made that took them to their fate. The
fate of Okonkwo as told in the story, is more suited to the choices he made,
“It is an abomination for a man to take his own life. It is an offense
against the Earth and a man that commits it will not be buried by his
clansmen. His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it”(Pg 147, Part 2,
Chap.25). Whereas Unoka was un-worthy of the “evil fortune [that] followed
him to his grave, or rather to his death, for he had no grave…He was carried
to the Evil Forest and left there to die ”(Pg 13, Part 1,Chap.3).
Although the book does not tell the whole story of Unoka, the
reader can still get a good ideal of the kind of man Unoka was by the way
Okonkwo considered his father.
As written by Achebe, “He (Okonkwo)
had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his
father” (Pg 3, Part 1, Chap.1). I believe that in the eyes of Okonkwo and in
the eyes of the Igbo that Unoka was not a successful person. Although I
believe that success comes in many forms and that a major success to one’s
life is happiness. As the narrator goes on, “In his day (Unoka) he was lazy
and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow. If any
money came his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of
palm-wine, called round his neighbors and made merry”(Pg 3, Part 1, Chap.
1). Unoka was my kind of guy! Money, prestige and titles did not motivate this
man. Although lazy can be a flaw, it is the whole picture that should be
looked at, something Okonkwo never did with his father’s life. I have always
been against the acquisition of money and power as a way to prove that one’s
life is fortunate. Money has never motivated me and therefore I believe that
Unoka saw this too. I believe that Unoka could see that titles and power were
a fool’s game. Like he said in a proverb he was known to speak, “That
whenever he saw a dead man’s mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one
had in one’s lifetime”(Pg 4, Part 1, Chap.1). It is this proverb that
reminds me of a modern proverb that I live with “When you die you can’t
take it with you”.
I find it unfortunate that Okonkwo could not see the happiness that
Unoka had in his life and that this is where the true reason, at least for me,
for living comes in. Unoka found much happiness in his music and this is
another reason I find Unoka truly happy. This is because music and the gift to
produce it is a blessing. Like Unoka I could never give my music up, “When
they carried him (Unoka) away (to the Evil Forest to die) he took with him his
flute” (PG 13, Part 1, Chap.3). To Unoka life could not have carried the
glory for him had he not had his music. Achebe writes this about Unoka:
“He wore a haggard and
mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on his flute. He was very
good on his flute, and his happiest moments were the two or three moons after
the harvest when the village musicians brought down their instruments, hung
above the fireplace. Unoka would play with them his face beaming with
blessedness and peace… Unoka loved the good fare and the good fellowship,
and he loved this season of the year, when the rains had stopped and the sun
rose every morning with dazzling beauty…. Unoka loved it all, and he loved
the first kites that returned with the dry season and the children who sang
the songs of welcome to them. He would remember his own childhood, how he had
often wandered around looking for a kite sailing leisurely against the blue
sky. As soon as he found one he would sing with his whole being.”(Pg 4, Part
1, Chap.1)
What an awesome man Unoka must
have been! One never once sees the word love written in association with
Okonkwo. Maybe it is my girlish heart but a man that can find immense
happiness in the simple things in life, like the sun and the mornings
“dazzling beauty”, truly in the long run will live the better life.
As in all people, faults are there and it
appears that Unoka’s desire to stay young and enjoy life took away from his
fatherly duties of working and providing; as Achebe writes, “Unoka the
grown-up was a failure. He was poor and his wife and children had barely
enough to eat. People laughed at him” (Pg 4, Part 1, Chap.1). I am sure that
Unoka had to have had a sense of this flaw in his character, but none-the less
Unoka spawned what appeared to be in the eyes of his village a successful
child and yet was not even honored for this by his son or village. Another
point I would like to say is it appears that Unoka only had one wife, whether
this is do to finances we will never know, but I bet that with the kind of man
Unoka was that his heart was filled with love for his only wife and thus did
not need to find another. Whereas Okonkwo showed no love, just anger (maybe
desire) for his wives “And when
she (Ojiugo) returned he (Okonkwo) beat her very heavily” (Pg 21, Part 1,
Chap. 4).
As the narrator goes on to say about Unoka, “When Unoka
died he had taken no title at all and was heavily in debt. Any wonder then
that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him? Fortunately, among these people a man
was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his
father” (Pg 6, Part 1, Chap.1). This is where in the book I had trouble
identifying. Although this story is of a culture long ago, it reminds me of my
very own culture that covets material wealth and stature. Okonkwo was shallow
and undeserving of a good life simply because he could not love his father for
who he was. How could a son like Okonkwo come from this loving man unless
money, power and title were the only reason that made one’s life important?
I need to criticize that this way of life is not noble or a true path to
happiness. It is unfortunate that these types of philosophies existed not only
in the Igbo culture but still continues in today’s culture. I was quite
surprised at this for I thought that the need for power and fortune was a
European ideal not of an earthly culture found in Africa.
Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart is a story of many
presentations. The story provides and African view to the real life of early
African culture but it also is a book with many messages of consequence that
pertain to the choices that humans make. It is a story filled with life
lessons. Although the narrator performs the task of presenting the Igbo
cultural beliefs of wealth and titles to be very important and the only real
way to judge the substance of a mans life, but I believe that within the story
of Unoka and Okonkwo that Achebe is trying to point out that this is not the
way to proceed through life. It is these very same ideals of wealth and power
that were the fuel that drove colonialism. This same ideal is what empowered
Europeans to try and dominate the
world. It is the need for more land, more material items, and the need for
more power over people that it is why in the end things fell apart.
© Brenda Sanchez, 2002
Brenda: Check Hum
211 Discussion #4 Forum - You've got at least one Response!
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/discussions/disc4_frm.htm
Julie Swearingen
African Literature
Midterm Discussion Paper
2/20/02
Mr.
Brown vs. Mr. Smith:
Good and Bad Missionaries in Things Fall
Apart
Before talking about either Mr. Brown or Mr. Smith, I think it is only
fair to say that these characters, for we will think of them as real people,
are neither purposely bad nor good. They
are simply misguided in their attempts to “civilize” the people of Africa.
They themselves have been taught that the black man is bad, evil, and a
heathen and when they tell that to the villagers, they only perpetuate the
cycle. Neither Mr. Brown nor Mr.
Smith wishes to see any of the people of Umuofia killed, they simply want to
convert them to a religion that they think is superior; to a lifestyle that
they believe is better. They are following a long cycle of human nature, to
control or change that which you do not understand.
With that said, we must focus on the way the missionaries interact and
treat the villagers of Umuofia. Mr.
Brown is a sensitive, caring person. He
wants to know the way of these people; even if it is so he can win them over.
He understands that they are set in their ways and traditions, just as
he is. Even his name implies that
he is close to them, Brown. Not
white, not black, but a mixture, brown. “And
so Mr. Brown came to be respected even by the clan, because he trod softly on
its faith. He made friends with some of the great men of the clan and on
one of his frequent visits to the neighbouring villages he had been presented
with a carved elephant tusk, which was a sign of dignity and rank.” (Pt. 3,
ch.21, p.126) Mr. Brown befriends
a man named Akunna and spends many hours talking with him about religion and
though “neither of them succeeded in converting the other…they learnt more
about their different beliefs.” (Pt.3, ch.21, p. 126)
By listening to the people and learning their ways he is able to have a
more profound affect on them. Although
sneaky he builds a school and a hospital.
He begs to have families send their children to his school and tells
the families that their children will have to be educated in order to maintain
Umuofia in the future. By first
teaching them to read and write Mr. Brown made the villagers more receptive to
his teachings of Christianity.
Mr. Smith, on the other hand, “was a different kind of man.” (Pt.3,
ch.22, p.130) He doesn’t agree
with Mr. Brown’s “policy of compromise and accommodation.” (Pt.3, ch.22,
p.130) He sees a division between his culture and the culture of Umuofia and
it is based on skin color. “He
saw things as black and white. And
black was evil. He saw the world
as a battlefield in which the children of light were locked in mortal conflict
with the sons of darkness.” (Pt.3, ch.22, p.130) He doesn’t think that the
converts are worthy of the church. They are ignorant in basic church
philosophies. He suspends a woman
from the church because she allowed her husband to mutilate her dead child,
which they believed was an ogbanje,
dying and reentering the womb to be born again.
Mr. Smith does not accept or even try to understand the ways of the
villagers but simply tells them that stories, such as the ogbanje,
are stories of the Devil. He
allows the over-zealous members of the church rum rampant, whereas Mr. Brown
wanted them to be more restrained. These
over-zealous members cause continual conflict with the other clan members.
One of the major conflicts arises when Enoch, one of the more excessive
members of the church, unmasks an egwugwu
during a ceremony for the earth deity. Mr.
Smith allows him to seek refuge in the parsonage, even against the advice of
his interpreter, Okeke. “Okeke
had gone as far as to say that Enoch should not be hidden in the parsonage,
because he would only draw the wrath of the clan on the pastor.” (Pt. 3,
ch.22, p.133) And he does incur
the wrath of the scorned egwugwu,
who destroy the church. The clan
tries to warn Mr. Smith that he has gone too far by sheltering Enoch.
“Tell him to go back to his house and leave us alone. We liked his brother (Mr. Brown) who was with us before.
He was foolish, but we liked him and for his sake we shall not harm his
brother. But this shrine which he
built must be destroyed. We shall
no longer allow it in our midst. It has bred untold abominations and we have come to put an
end to it.” (Pt. 3, ch.22,
p.134) But instead of walking
away he tells them to leave, that they are on God’s ground.
When they destroy the church he seeks justice from the District
Commissioner. With the help of
the District Commissioner, the group of egwugwu
are arrested, including Okonkwo. Though
Mr. Smith does not attend to this personally, he is responsible for the
cruelty that the group endures while arrested.
This treatment is the breaking point for the clansmen and their
response leads to violence and the death of a court messenger and the suicide
of Okonkwo.
The main differences between Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith are the way they regard
the villagers. Mr. Brown sees them as people, people who need his help,
his wisdom, and his religion. Although egotistical, he is trying to
better the villagers because he thinks they will benefit from his
involvement. Mr. Smith treats them like a burden, another group of
uneducated heathens that will only learn if they are pummeled with his
truths. He does not show them any kindness, any compassion, or
respect. His attitude is the same as the District Commissioner's when he
says that there are things one should "never attend to such...as cutting
down a dead man from the tree. Such attention would give the natives a
poor opinion of him" (Pt. 3, ch. 25, p. 147).
© Julie Swearingen, 2002
Caroline Tillia
HUM 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Midterm Discussion Paper
Winter 2002
Evaluation of I is a long memoried woman
I have seen many movies about African slavery, like Amistad,
and their theme was mainly the same: suffering and hope for freedom, and the
main character usually was a male slave. The film I is a long memoried woman
was quite different from the most movies and stories that we have heard about
African slavery. The film I is along memoried woman, which it was based
on the Grace Nichols poems and directed by Frances-Anne Solomon, went beyond
the male slave figure and the causes of their suffering. I is along
memoried woman is more than a story about a black slave woman. The film is
also about human strength, and the main character was a female slave. The main
focus was not what caused the suffering, but how the character found all the
strength to deal with all her pains.
Most of the movies that we have watched about slaves gave
us the feeling that we should feel sorry for their existence, but this film I is a long memoried woman
gave us the feeling that we should celebrate their existence. Many of the
concepts we have about the slaves were probably constructed from didactic
books we read in school and from Hollywood type of movies that we have
watched. Most of us have a main idea about what the slaves went trough, being
brutally taken away from their families and society, the awful conditions that
they lived in, the constant physical punishment and humiliation, and so on.
Along with those sad images comes the feeling of being sorry for those people.
But what do we gain by being sorry for them today?
Nothing. In the film the main character, Adjoa Andoh, represents most
of slave woman. The film shows more than her daily life. It showed the
audience how it was to be a slave and how was possible to survive under all
that inhuman environment. The poem, which the characters in the film recite,
does not only describes the woman slave life.
It mainly describes the personal thoughts of a black woman, that
despite being a slave still have emotions like any other woman. In fact most
of the scenes, during the first part: "The Beginning," occurred at
night. It is obviously noticed by the darkness in the scenario, and the
nightly sounds that are played in the scenes. It was like the black woman's
life was powered by the night. It seemed that the most peacefully time for a
slaves were during the nights. And that's when the character shows us that,
besides not having any "external powers" and being inside of an
abused body, there was still a human that had feelings and still had strength
to fight for survival. That is when I realized the main character was not
asking the audience to be sorry for her, but rather to be proud of her and
celebrate for each day that she was alive.
In fact what kept them alive was their admirable strength. Indeed the
film was all about strength.
The movie left pretty clear that the theme here was not
suffering like other movies, the theme here is strength. By the manner in
which the film was produced and directed it is noticeable that the film was a
pure symbol of strength, and it is doubtfully the director did not intended
that. There were few objects of strength in the film I is a long memoried woman:
the tone in which the poem was performed, the physique of the characters, the
choreography presented, and the intensity of the instruments were played in
the film. The older female character and the young character used a very
strong tone when reciting and performing the poem, and it was more visible
when it was contrasted with the way that Grace Nichols reads some parts of the
poem. The way they performed the poem, the tone and their facial expression,
was somewhat intimidating. Not
because I was scared but because they seemed to be stronger than most of us.
Also lets not to forget that the actors chosen to perform in the film were
very muscular people. I believe it was done intentionally by the producer and
the director, in order to send a message to the audience that the slave people
were indeed very strong people emotionally and possibly physically. The
choreography had intense moves, and it could be described not so much like
peaceful dance steps, it was more like fight moves coordinated by the intense
drum beats. It was like they were preparing for a battle. This conclusion
might not been far from being true, since the end of the movie was marked by
the slaves revolt. Because they were such strong people they were able to set
themselves free.
It might seem obvious that they were very strong people,
however the question left is where did they found their strength? The movie
made clear that although the slaves in general had no "external
powers" they are humans with feelings that could still fight for their
survival. Imagine living in an environment with absolutely no entertainment,
no right to speech, very few pleasures in life, and not knowing what the next
day will bring.. It is hard to believe that one could survive and not wish
death under those circumstances. However, I a long memoried woman not
only proves us wrong, but it also it shows us how the slave people did it.
According to the author of the poem, Grace Nichols, they had no external
powers. They had to turn to their inner sources. For example, the thoughts or
day dreams of the "Mother land," of sugar cane (the male slave),
ancestors, and freedom seem to give a joyful look to Adjoa Andoh, the main
character. Music also brought them joyful moments. According to Grace Nichols,
singing was one of the few forms of expression allowed by the white people.
Probably the happiest scene in the film is when all the characters were
singing and dancing together. The film showed that after they had no control
over their they prayed for their ancestors and Mother land in hope to find
peace and help because that was the only thing that they could turn to. The
film showed that the slaves made the best of their inner sources and, and that
is probably what kept them alive.
Overall I thought that I is long memoried woman
was a very different film about slaves. The film puts the focus on very strong
humans, specially women, that despite living in possibly the most inhuman and
miserable conditions, that feeling and emotions just like any other human
being . The film is far from being a Hollywood movie and far from being a
documentary. The film I is a long memoried woman is a historic lesson
with a moral lesson: One can find more meaning in life in our inner worlds
than in the external world. We should not be sorry for the African slaves but
rather be proud for the ones that fought for survival and set themselves free
regardless of the most awful times and inhuman conditions that they lived in.
© Caroline Tillia, 2002
Justi Tipton
2/26/02
Hum 211
To
Be the Best
From the very beginning, Okonkwo faced many challenges. He wanted
nothing more than to be the opposite of his father, Unoka. Unoka was
"...lazy and improvident" (Part 1, Chapter 1, Page 3). He was
also in debt to his neighbors...all of them. He owed some only a few
cowries and others a large sum! Being like his father was his ultimate
fear, so he lived his life opposite of how his father lived his.
Okonkwo focused on being better, which in turn led to worse. He went
too far and became obsessed with being the best. He began a new lifestyle for
himself while his father was still alive. "…he threw himself into it
like one possessed. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father's
contemptible life and shameful death" (Part 1, Chapter 3, Page 13). He
tried to hard to be the most successful, the strongest, and the most
respected. He was too hard on himself.
The biggest fear that Okonkwo had was that of showing weakness.
"His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of
weakness" (part 1, Chapter 2, Page 9). Okonkwo viewed affection as a sign
of weakness. He hated everything that his father loved, "One of those
things was gentleness" (Part 1, Chapter 2, Page 10). He had a bad temper.
His wives lived in fear of it, as well as his children. He was not necessarily
a vicious man, but he did not show weakness to anyone. In one instance,
Okonkwo's second wife cut some leaves off of the banana tree to wrap some food
and he went crazy. "Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her with
her only daughter weeping" (Part 1, Chapter 5, Page 27). His anger could
be sparked from the smallest thing such as a leaf or two.
Okonkwo worked hard throughout his life. He did not have the same start
the others did. He did not inherit a barn, or a title, or a young wife. He had
to start from scratch. When it cam time to plant, Okonkwo went to work for
Nwakibie, the wealthiest man in the village. This is haw he earned his first
seed yams. He told Nwakibie,
"I
have come for your help….I have cleared a farm but have no yams to sow. I
know what it is to ask a man to trust another with his yams, especially
these days when young men are afraid of hard work. I am not afraid of
work….I will not fail you" (Part 1, Chapter 3, Page 15).
This was true. He was not afraid of working hard. It
pleased Nwakibie to hear this and he agreed. In return he would give Okonkwo
"…twice four hundred yams" to prepare his farm (Part 1, Chapter 3,
Page 16). Okonkwo did everything in his power to be successful in life. He had
three wives, each having their own hut. He was a well known throughout the
nine villages and beyond for his wrestling and other personal achievements.
More problems arose when Ezeudu died. He was a great man, so all of the
clan was at his funeral. The ceremony was full of gunfire, cannons, shouting
and the beat of drums. "Guns fired the last salute and the cannon rent
the sky. And then from the centre of the delirious fury came a cry of agony
and shouts of horror….In the center of the crowd a boy lay in a pool of
blood" (Part 1, Chapter 13, Page 87). The boy was the son of Ezeudu.
Apparently, Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a piece of
iron pierced the boy's heart. Okonkwo and his family were banished from
the village for seven years for killing a clan member.
When he returned to the village after seven years, many things had
changed. The society that he had left no longer existed. A new way of life had
taken over the village he once knew. Missionaries had come into the village
and built churches. They were there to convert the people of the village. It
seemed as though things had fallen apart while he was away. Also, he was no
longer a part of the clan. He was not accepted or respected like he was
before…much like his father! "A man's place was not always there,
waiting for him" (Part 3, Chapter 20, Page 121). It was described as a
lizards tail…if it is cut off, a new one grows in its place.
All of these events led to Okonkwo's suicide. He struggled throughout
his life to be the best. He wanted nothing more than to be successful and it
killed him to fail. The final thread was when he killed the messenger. He
could not live his life anymore and he felt that suicide was his only way out.
He did not know this place any more. He knew that things would not return to
the old way because THINGS FALL APART!
© Justi Tipton, 2002
Jimmy
Tohet
HUM-211
MID TERM
27 February 2002
“THINGS
FALL APART”
The topic that I have chosen for my mid term
paper is “Things Fall Apart”. The reason that I have
decided to write on this paper
is that, when I was growing up I was also exposed to a different religion
than what some of the other
children were exposed to. At an early age when I was a teenager, I was
baptized and was called one of
those other Indians. So this seemed like a good choice to talk about.
Okonkwo is the main character in this story as it
unfolds. He is a man that had a hard life as he was
growing up. His father was
described as a man who could possibly get out of doing work and not be the
least bit bothered by such an
action as this. But as we are told, ”he can play his instrument very
well”.
Unoka as he was called seemed
to borrow quite a bit as it states in the first chapter. He even told in the
first chapter how he was very
sly about getting around having to pay when someone came to collect
on a loan. He tells of Okoye
paying Unoka a visit on behalf of a loan that he was trying to collect on.
Unoka shared kola with Okoye
after he had rolled out his goatskin to sit and visit with him. Okoye
had Unoka break it for them
while he seemed to prepare himself to ask for his two hundred cowries,
that were lent to Unoka. Upon
learning this he just started laughing out loud and long and instructed
Okoye to look at the wall of
his hut. There it was that Unoka had a lot of lines drawn on his wall with
each line representing one hundred cowries. So in boldness he
states that “look there, I owe that man
a thousand cowries, but he has
not come to wake me up early in the morning to collect; I will pay you
but not today”. Usually when
the men had visitors they would talk about various things such as war
or planting or just about
almost anything that could carry a conversation.
As it states farther on in the book; in
chapter three, when Unoka went to consult with Agbala. The
priestess who at this time was known as Chika. Unoka had gone
to see her about the problems that were
givivg him trouble at this
particular time, concerning his crops. He states that he sacrifices a cock
before
he starts to plant but it
seems to no avail. So this is the reason that he came to see her. She
instructs him
that the will of the gods are
not offended but rather the fact that he is lazy because he will not clear new
land as other men have done to plant. She tells him to go and
do this if he wants to get good crops for
his toil. So as we can surmise that Unoka did a little work
from time to time. But when he died he left
a number of debts and had no
title as it states at the end of chapter one.
Okonkwo was driven to do better than
what his father was remembered as. He had not inherited a
barn, a title or even a wife
when his father died. So this prompted him to start at an early age to make
a name for himself, with
planning a prosperous future, as to not end up as his father. This is related
to us
on page thirteen. Okonkwo went
to Nwakibie to ask for help in getting started with four hundred yams
so that he may start his own
farm. Nwakibie not only agreed to help but in turn gave him twice the four
hundred yams, all this while
sitting on their goat skin rugs that they each carried when going to visit
another person. Also included
were kola and wine which they drank before any business was discussed.
This from chapter three when
Okonkwo asked for help.
Okonkwo was well known for his wrestling as
well, after he had beaten Amalinze the Cat. Before
this Amalinze was undefeated
for seven years. As they wrestled each was trying to get the upper hand
by trying various maneuvers
until Okonkwo had thrown the Cat in the end. This was talked about for
quite a long time as the best
match far a long time. This is from the beginning of chapter one.
From here we see that he has attained four
wives during his tenure at his father land. H e rules his
family with a strong hand and
suppresses his feeling inside for fear of showing that he does have a
heart. By doing this I feel
that he is still angry at his father for the way he was, which we have seen
in the paragraph preceding.
This behavior is what ultimately gets him into some hot water with his
fellow tribesmen. One incident
being beating one of his wives during the week of peace, which is
against one of the unwritten
laws of his people. The wife’s name was Ojiugo and the reason that she
was beat was that she had not
prepared him his lunch and he was annoyed with this. Ezeani who was
the priest of the earth
goddess, Ani, called on Okonkwo the next day to find out what had happened.
Okonkwo tried to have kola
with him but he declined saying” that he shall not eat in the house of a man
who has no respect for our
gods and ancestors”. After this Ezeani explained that their forefathers had
designated this week of peace
to honor the great goddess of the earth to bless the land to provide good
blessings so that their crops
would grow very well. This from pages twenty-one and twenty-two.
The next taboo was committed was when he
accompanied the killing of Ikemufuna , the boy that
was placed in his care from
another village. He was here because someone in his own village had
killed Udo’s wife. Okonkwo
was delegated to go to this village to partake in taking Ikemufuna and
a virgin in exchange for the
killing of Udo’s wife, in which she would take her place. Before they went
to kill Ikemufuna, Ogbuefi
Ezeudu came and told Okonkwo not to have a hand in the boy’s death
because he called him father.
This is told to us on page forty.
The next taboo occurred at the funeral of
Ezeudu a well respected elder of the clan. As they were
dancing around and shooting
their guns, in the last salute to this man. Okonkwo whose gun had done
the damage was beside him. An
accident as it was but Okonkwo knew that it be best that he flee
and go to his mother land for
seven years.
The next day a number of men gathered at
Okonkwo’s compound to burn it to the ground to cleanse
the earth for the travesty
that had occurred in an inadvertent accident, thus Okonkwo was not to be to
harshly punished for it.
Okonkwo and his family were on their way to his motherland Mbanta.
After they had reached Mbanta and were here
for a while, word come that Abame, another village
that is located in his
motherland had been demolished almost completely by a vengeful mob of whites
for the death of an innocent
pastor. So then colonialism has made it’s way to them.
Nwoye who is Okonkwo’s eldest son joined
them. Thus prompted the confrontation between
they and Nwoye left to go to
Umuofia to get an education. By doing this Okonkwo started to
have very harsh feeling toward
the missionaries for converting his son from his father’s religion.
All of this while in exile,
one can only imagine what or how Okonkwo was feeling.
After his seven years were up.Okonkwo
bid farewell to his motherland after a large feast
and journeyed back to his
fatherland. Upon his arrival he discovered that the missionaries had
set up there also. He tried to
incite a riot to rid the place of them but failed. Even though they had
burned the church down. The
missionaries had to wait on the District Commissioner to return so
that they may decide how to
handle the matter that had transpired.
Then the District Commissioner returned and
he sent his smooth talking interrupter to bring the
leaders to meet in his
headquarters. There were six men and they were tricked into thinking of a
quite
resolve. But to their dismay
they were put under arrest instead. Then the District Commissioner
informed them how they handle
these situations. But in the end he wanted two hundred bags of cowries.
While in captivity they all
got their heads shaved, were taunted, and ate nothing for two days. On the
third
day they finally started to
converse with each other.
After this the messengers were sent out to
the people to tell of the price that was being asked, but
added an extra fifty bags for
themselves. Thus the amount was raised without much hesitation so that the
leaders would be set free.
That night the town crier was about telling of the meeting the next day
Okonkwo could hardly sleep that night
because of how he was treated and of Egonwanne a coward in
his eyes that had a way with
words to calm almost any circumstance. This is what Okonkwo was afraid
of and they would not take up
arms against the missionaries.
Okika while speaking was talking of the old days
but talked that all the clansmen were not present
because they had been split by
the missionaries. He went on to say how the ones in attendance were
following the ways of their forefathers. Thus they were in
turmoil about the prospect of maybe
even fighting their own
brothers that had joined the missionaries. While he was talking the people
could see the five court
messengers approaching so Okonkwo was at the edge of the crowd and asked-
them what was their business
to be here? The hate that had built up in him surfaced and he killed the
head messenger. He also knew
that they would not go to war because the crowd had let the other four
leave without trying to stop
them. He had heard “why did he do that”.
So in the end he felt that his way of life
and his identity were a thing of the past and so he hung
himself rather than go to
trial again. All of the past occurrences had lead up to how “he was
feeling”,
at this time. This is how I
have seen things changing in each of our lifetimes, the conversion or joint
beliefs that one has grown to
stand by. I hope that I will not offend anyone.
© Jimmy Tohet, 2002
Laura
Wolf Mawdsley
Hum 211, Prof. C. Agatucci
Midterm Discussion Paper
27 February 2002
YOU
ATTRACT MORE BEES WITH HONEY THAN VINEGAR
Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith were different types of Christian missionaries
with
the same
purpose and goal.
They were both in Africa to convert the Igbo people to
Christianity.
In Things
Fall Apart, Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith are only mentioned on ten pages, but
their
presence causes
such change in the village that it
will never be the same again. They
approached
their purpose
very differently and subsequently
acquired different goals.
Mr. Brown was the first of the two missionaries to arrive.
He was
willing
to let conversion
evolve over time.
He was against upsetting the Igbo people and "...was very
firm
in restraining
his flock from provoking the wrath of
the clan" (Part III, ch. 21, p.
126).
Mr.
Brown was willing
to work with the clan towards a slow conversion, because of this he was more
accepting
of Igbo
customs and ways.
He "came to be respected... by the clan, [and]...made
friends
with some of the
great men" (Part III, ch. 21,
p. 126).
In Mr. Brown's mind, and the minds of all missionaries, there was only
one
path towards God
and he was living it.
Because of this, he didn't whole-heartedly accept the
Igbo
people; after-all
he was there to convert them.
His approach to conversion was to earn the
trust
and respect of the
Igbo, which was deceiving because he
still wanted to change them. His
closed-minded
thinking is
revealed during his discussion on God
with Akunna. "You say that
there is
one
supreme God
who made heaven and earth, said Akunna
on one of Mr. Brown's visits. We
also
believe
in Him
and call Him Chukwu.
He made all the world and the other gods.
There are no
other
gods, said
Mr. Brown. ... [Akunna responds] But
he made them for His messengers so that
we
could
approach Him through them" (Part
III, ch. 21, pp. 126-127). Mr.
Brown isn't
willing
to accept
that they may be worshipping the same
God but expressing it differently. The
Igbo
custom of
approaching Chukwu through minor gods
is similar to Catholics praying to
Saints,
or asking
Saints to pray for them: both
religions are using the same principle but
expressing
it differently.
Mr.
Brown can't see any similarities between his faith and the Igbo faith.
Later
in the
conversation Mr. Brown says "You said one interesting thing, ... You are
afraid
of Chukwu. In
my religion Chukwu is a loving Father and need not be feared by those who do
His
will. But we
must fear Him when we are not doing His will, said Akunna.
And who is to
tell
His will? It is too
great to be known" (Part III, ch. 21, pp. 127-128).
This passage should have
indicated
to Mr.
Brown that the Igbo and Christian are
worshipping the same God. Mr.
Brown is
unwilling
to
accept the Igbo already know and love
God.
"...Mr. Brown learnt
a good deal about the religion of the clan and
he
came to the
conclusion that a frontal attack on
it would not succeed" (Part III, ch. 21,
p.
128). Mr. Brown
may have learned some of the Igbo customs and ways but doesn't see any value
in
them. He
continues to change the village and builds a school and
hospital. He tried
to
be understanding
and gentle with the Igbo people but
never really saw them for who they were.
He
grew to love
the Igbo people and the progress
they were making towards his goals. For
Mr.
Brown it was
enough to get converts started on the
path of Christanity. To his
credit he
converted
large
numbers of people and was more
accepting of the Igbo than Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith was not pleased with Mr. Brown's work.
"He condemned openly
Mr.
Brown's
policy of compromise and accommodation" ( Part III, ch.
22, p.130). Mr.
Smith
was a racist and
didn't have any tolerance for the Igbo
people. "He saw things as black and
white. And black was
evil" (Part III, ch. 22, p. 130). He
saw the Igbo as uncivilized heathens
that
needed to be
converted to save their souls.
Mr. Smith didn't even pretend to learn about
the
Igbo.
Mr. Smith was upset the converted didn't know the basics of the
religion. He blamed Mr. Brown for this, assuming Mr. Brown was only
interested in numbers.
"Mr.
Smith was greatly
distressed by the ignorance which many of his flock showed
even in such
things
as the Trinity and
the Sacraments.
It only showed that they were seeds sown on a rocky soil.
Mr.
Brown had
thought of nothing but numbers" (Part III, ch.22,
p. 130). Mr. Smith wanted
the
converted to
really understand their faith and
transform their lives. He wanted
a
complete
and instant life-
change, not realizing all they were
being asked to give up. The ways
of the
Igbo
were embedded
into their daily life and their
culture was embedded in their spirituality.
Mr.
Smith doesn't want to
accept the "way of the Igbo" or try to understand them so he can
convert, he
just
wants them to
change now and this is evident in his
first incident of "objanje." "Mr
Smith
was
filled with
wrath...he disbelieved the story...he
replied that such stories were spread
in
the world by the Devil
to lead men astray.
Those who believed such stories were unworthy of the
Lord's
table" (Part III,
ch. 22, pp. 130-131). Unworthy
of the Lord's table, no forgiveness, no
understanding,
no
compassion, if you believe such things
you are unwelcome at my church, the
thought
of such acts
was unthinkable.
Mr. Smith didn't use these "unthinkable acts" as a tool for
conversion,
he simply
dismissed the Igbo as heathens.
He gave full reign to ambitious converts,
"the
over-zealous
converts who had smarted under Mr.
Brown's restraining hand now flourished in
full
favor" (Part
III, ch. 22, p. 131).
Enoch was the most-zealous of the converts. Enoch's zest for
Christianity,
at the expense of his village, was favored by Mr. Smith until he got scared.
During "the
annual
worship of the
earth goddess...Enoch ...killed an
ancestral spirit. [That evening] the
leader
of the Christians had
met together at Mr. Smith's
parsonage... As they deliberated they could hear
the
Mother of Spirits
wailing for her son.
The chilling sound affected Mr. Smith, and for the
first
time he seemed to be
afraid" (Part III, ch. 22,
pp. 131-132). Because of this incident "they
decided
that Enoch should
be hidden in the parsonage for a day
or two. Enoch...had hoped that a
holy
war
was
imminent...wisdom prevailed...and many
lives were thus saved" (Part III, ch.
22,
p. 133). In the
end, the church was destroyed because of Mr. Smith's refusal to understand
the
Igbo ways. "We
say he is foolish because he does not know our ways, and perhaps he says we
are
foolish because
we do not know his.
Let him go away" (Part III, ch. 22, pp. 134-135).
Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith
had the same purpose but chose very different
ways
of
approaching conversion. In
order to convert the Igbo the missionaries
should
have embraced the
Igbo culture, learned about their
spirituality and incorporated Christianity
into
it. Mr. Brown and
Mr. Smith could have used Igbo celebrations and made them more Christian.
Mr.
Brown came
close to this ideal by learning about Igbo customs and entering into
relationships.
Mr. Smith
didn't have any tolerance for traditional customs of the Igbo, his way was
the only
"correct" way.
© Laura Wolf Mawdsley, 2002
TOP
of this page
Student
Midterm Discussion Papers
Table of Contents & Response Directions:
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/students/index.htm
HUM 211 
Open
Campus Course Information
- Winter 2002
HUM 211 Home
Page Syllabus
Course Plan
Online
Course
Pack
Assignments
Printing
Announcement
You are
here: Midterm
#5 ~ S to W
URL of this page:
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/students/midterm5.htm
Last Updated: 31 July 2005
This webpage is maintained by Cora
Agatucci, Professor of English,
Humanities Department, Central
Oregon Community College
I welcome comments: cagatucci@cocc.edu
© Cora Agatucci, 1997-2002
Cora's Home Page | Current
Schedule | Cora's Classes | Copyright
| Site Map
