The boy's name is Ikemefuna , and the narrator reveals that Ikemefuna 's sad story will continue to be told in Umuofia For the next three years, Ikemefuna lives in Okonkwo's household. When Ikemefuna joins Okonkwo's household, Okonkwo hands him over to his most senior wife, who asks if Chapter 4. The virgin is given to Udo as a wife, and Ikemefuna is placed in Okonkwo's care until the clan can decide what to do with him, Ikemefuna becomes popular in the household, and he grows very close with Nwoye in particular.
Ikemefuna came to the household only a few days before the Week of Peace, during which After the Week of Peace, Okonkwo begins preparing his seed-yams for planting. Nwoye and Ikemefuna help by counting, and occasionally Okonkwo allows them to prepare a few yams each.
Ikemefuna feels like a member of the family, telling his own folktales from the Mbaino. Chapter 5. His wives and children, however, are excited with the preparations, cleaning and decorating, and Ikemefuna in particular is excited to experience the feast.
Ikemefuna and the first wife's children file in with dinner pots, but Nwoye's sister comes empty-handed Chapter 7. Ikemefuna has spent three years in Okonkwo's household, becoming a part of his new family. Ezeudu arrives to speak with Okonkwo, informing him that the clan has decided to kill Ikemefuna. Ezeudu advises him not to participate in the killing, since Ikemefuna calls him father. A group of elders arrive at Okonkwo's house early the next morning to discuss Ikemefuna 's fate. After they leave, Okonkwo calls Ikemefuna to tell him that he'll be taken home The next day, the party sets out with Ikemefuna and Okonkwo, who disregards Ezeudu's advice.
Ikemefuna is reassured by Okonkwo's presence, feeling that Okonkwo When Okonkwo walks into the house at night, Nwoye knows that Ikemefuna has been killed, and he feels something give way inside him—the same way he felt Chapter 8. He calls himself a woman for his reaction to killing Ikemefuna and decides to visit his friend Obierika. From the very beginning, Ikemefuna is the ultimate victim; his fate is completely out of his control since he is taken away by his family so early in life for a crime which he had no part in, nor any knowledge of.
In his new life, Ikemefuna is subject to the whims of his new father and the Umuofia elders, in whose hands his fate ultimately lies. He joins in killing Ikemefuna because he is afraid of being weak, yet he is haunted by his decision and it also permanently emotionally distances him from Nwoye. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By Chinua Achebe.
In his family compound, Okonkwo lives in a hut of his own, and each of his three wives lives in a hut of her own with her children. The prosperous compound also includes an enclosure with stacks of yams, sheds for goats and hens, and a medicine house, where Okonkwo keeps the symbols of his personal god and ancestral spirits and where he offers prayers for himself and his family.
He works long hours on his farms and expects others to do the same. Although the members of his family do not possess his strength, they work without complaint. In Chapter 2, the reader begins to see beliefs and practices of the Igbo tradition that are particularly significant in the story — for example, the wide division between masculine and feminine actions and responsibilities. Respect and success are based on only manly activities and accomplishments; taking care of children and hens, on the other hand, are womanly activities.
In Okonkwo's determination to be a perfect example of manhood, he begins to reveal the consequences of his fear of weakness — his tragic flaw. Okonkwo hates not only idleness but also gentleness; he demands that his family works as long as he does without regarding their lesser physical stamina , and he nags and beats his oldest son, Nwoye.
Achebe continues weaving traditional elements of Igbo society into Chapter 2. The marketplace gathering illustrates the Igbo society's reverence for what is "manly" — for example, the male villagers' loyalty to each other when they refer to the woman murdered by another village as "a daughter of Umuofia. In addition, the reader learns that Umuofian religious traditions include the worship of wooden objects representing not only one's personal god but also the ancestral spirits to whom one prays and makes sacrifices.
Achebe continues to use the art of traditional storytelling and references to legends and sayings of the time to illustrate what people believe and respect.
For example:. Okonkwo remembers from childhood when his father was called a woman. The proverb, "When the moon is shining, the cripple becomes hungry for a walk," represents a belief in the protective quality of moonlight in contrast with the fear of the darkness.
The legend of the old woman with one leg explains, in part, why the other clans fear Umuofia. Ogbuefi a person with a high title, as in Ogbuefi Ezeugo the orator and Ogbuefi Udo the man whose wife was killed in Mbaino.
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