1. Okonkwo is a physically strong man , however he is rather weak minded, short tempered and extremely threatening, although he has a soft side inside of him. He works to achieve greatness by fighting and farming, and following his beliefs, trying to earn a title. He differs from western heroes greatly because most western heroes have a somewhat kind and peaceful outer being, instead of being so threatening.
2. Unoka was a lazy man who was indebted to almost everyone in the village. For this reason, Okonkwo greatly dislikes his father. Okonkwo wants to be a better man than his father and he does not want his children to be lazy like Unoka was. By showing Unoka's failure and Okonkwo's success the book shows that those in the Igbo society can differ greatly and can learn from the mistakes of earlier generations. One would succeed in this culture by farming and the taking of titles. The taking of titles is like a rite of passage and a trophy of recognition, so to speak. However, Unoka seems to be excluded from opportunities to gain success in this way.
3. The narrator in this book, in my opinion, is very informative, however a bit plain. It seems like he trails off into too much detail. For instance, when he has a few paragraphs of how to farm yams, which is not the most important thing in this book. This "voice" really has no point of view. It favors none and just tells the story how it is.
4. The setting is obviously in Africa, perhaps some time in the 1950's-60's. Social life is organized in this manner: the gods are probably the most important thing, as one must have the favor of the gods to survive; men are more important than women, seeing as men may have three wives. Probably the most important celebration is peace week, a time where "a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor." The reasons for war may vary, while war between tribes is not always wanted, but needed, while religion was probably the most important thing, and the arts were for both entertainment and rituals. The relation of the individual to the community is that one person may mess everything up for the entire community. In comparison to my culture, although gods are one of the most important things to many people in my culture, for most there is only one god. The lifestyle is in many ways the same as mine, although with less farming (at least for the moment) there is much work involved. Their customs have much to do with respect to the elderly, as with my culture; however, many people disrespect that.
5. The people in this book are really afraid of the night, as the creatures become even more cunning at night. The people hide themselves inside and even call a snake a "string" for fear it will know what they are saying. They also fear evil spirits during the night.
6. An accidental gun explosion causes the death of a clansman, who was also the son of the village's deceased priest. The user of the gun, Okonkwo, is sent away for seven years before he may come back, even though it was an accident.
7. Yams are the most important crops of them all. It is a "man's crop." Sharecropping is when one man provides the seeds and the other farms them, and they split the profit (whether it be money of the actual food). The "woman's crops" are maize, melons and beans (basically anything but yams). The relation of women to agriculture is that the Earth Goddess is a woman; therefore, if someone does something bad to a woman the Earth Goddess will be angered and not let a man's crops grow.
8. Okonkwo's relationship to his children is based on his command. If he wants them to do something they do it and usually do it right as he threatens them (although he knows in his heart they are mainly too young). In this culture a woman cooks, cleans, decorates, and takes care of children, while men fight, farm, do other more tasking work, and are the leaders of the family. Okonkwos attitude toward women is mostly that he will use them as he wishes, like anything else, yet in his heart he does not want anything bad to happen to them.
9. Okonkwos crime that causes him to be reprimanded and that ruptures the flow of peace week is the act of beating his wife for not feeding him when he is ready for his meal. It tells me much about their religion and how highly they regard it. They do not want to anger the gods in any way. According to Ezeani, however, wife beating is unacceptable even when not in peace week because it angers the Earth Goddess greatly.
10. I feel that they have rather strange and sometimes cruel punishments, and abnormal ways of living in my culture (for instance, multiple wives). I believe I am responding to their ways of living in this way because I live in such a different culture compared to theirs. The thing that probably seems most familiar to me is the belief that women should stay at home and take care of the home and the children, etc. (although personally I do not believe that way).
2. Unoka was a lazy man who was indebted to almost everyone in the village. For this reason, Okonkwo greatly dislikes his father. Okonkwo wants to be a better man than his father and he does not want his children to be lazy like Unoka was. By showing Unoka's failure and Okonkwo's success the book shows that those in the Igbo society can differ greatly and can learn from the mistakes of earlier generations. One would succeed in this culture by farming and the taking of titles. The taking of titles is like a rite of passage and a trophy of recognition, so to speak. However, Unoka seems to be excluded from opportunities to gain success in this way.
3. The narrator in this book, in my opinion, is very informative, however a bit plain. It seems like he trails off into too much detail. For instance, when he has a few paragraphs of how to farm yams, which is not the most important thing in this book. This "voice" really has no point of view. It favors none and just tells the story how it is.
4. The setting is obviously in Africa, perhaps some time in the 1950's-60's. Social life is organized in this manner: the gods are probably the most important thing, as one must have the favor of the gods to survive; men are more important than women, seeing as men may have three wives. Probably the most important celebration is peace week, a time where "a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor." The reasons for war may vary, while war between tribes is not always wanted, but needed, while religion was probably the most important thing, and the arts were for both entertainment and rituals. The relation of the individual to the community is that one person may mess everything up for the entire community. In comparison to my culture, although gods are one of the most important things to many people in my culture, for most there is only one god. The lifestyle is in many ways the same as mine, although with less farming (at least for the moment) there is much work involved. Their customs have much to do with respect to the elderly, as with my culture; however, many people disrespect that.
5. The people in this book are really afraid of the night, as the creatures become even more cunning at night. The people hide themselves inside and even call a snake a "string" for fear it will know what they are saying. They also fear evil spirits during the night.
6. An accidental gun explosion causes the death of a clansman, who was also the son of the village's deceased priest. The user of the gun, Okonkwo, is sent away for seven years before he may come back, even though it was an accident.
7. Yams are the most important crops of them all. It is a "man's crop." Sharecropping is when one man provides the seeds and the other farms them, and they split the profit (whether it be money of the actual food). The "woman's crops" are maize, melons and beans (basically anything but yams). The relation of women to agriculture is that the Earth Goddess is a woman; therefore, if someone does something bad to a woman the Earth Goddess will be angered and not let a man's crops grow.
8. Okonkwo's relationship to his children is based on his command. If he wants them to do something they do it and usually do it right as he threatens them (although he knows in his heart they are mainly too young). In this culture a woman cooks, cleans, decorates, and takes care of children, while men fight, farm, do other more tasking work, and are the leaders of the family. Okonkwos attitude toward women is mostly that he will use them as he wishes, like anything else, yet in his heart he does not want anything bad to happen to them.
9. Okonkwos crime that causes him to be reprimanded and that ruptures the flow of peace week is the act of beating his wife for not feeding him when he is ready for his meal. It tells me much about their religion and how highly they regard it. They do not want to anger the gods in any way. According to Ezeani, however, wife beating is unacceptable even when not in peace week because it angers the Earth Goddess greatly.
10. I feel that they have rather strange and sometimes cruel punishments, and abnormal ways of living in my culture (for instance, multiple wives). I believe I am responding to their ways of living in this way because I live in such a different culture compared to theirs. The thing that probably seems most familiar to me is the belief that women should stay at home and take care of the home and the children, etc. (although personally I do not believe that way).
posted by Will Satcher at 2:27 PM
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