Ikemefuna was given to Okonkwo as a sacrifice because one of his wives was killed. After that Ikemefuna had a strong bond with Okonkwo for the three years they had spent together. He would follow him till his death but he was killed by Okonkwo before the Catholics came. Ikemefuna would follow Okonkwo to war and hang himself by his side. If he was alive he would not have given into the new religion unless he did. Ikemefuna was given to Okonkwo as a sacrifice along with a new wife. “If anyone was so foolhardy as to pass by the shrine after dusk he was sure to see the old woman hopping about” (Achebe 11). They took murderers who were in the village to a great extent. A sacrifice was a different story because the whole village needed a sacrifice and was usually a volunteer. Murder was against their will and punishable by harsh things. Ikemefuna had stayed with Okonkwo for three years before he had to kill him. They had grown very close in that short amount of time. The village want to kill Ikemefuna, Despite all their efforts the only one who could and did kill him was Okonkwo. “Okonkwo drew his machete and cut …show more content…
Nwoye had to stay in the village with his family while Ikemefuna left. Nwoye embraced the catholic culture. He even changed his name to Isaac. Once Nwoye changed his belief to something that contradicts Okonkwo’s and Ikemefuna’s he would have followed Nwoye less and Okonkwo more. When you 're away from someone for such a long time like seven years you draw away from them. When Ikemefuna was with Okonkwo in his mother’s land they would have been closer than ever. Okonkwo thought that everyone has changed and given up on their old ways. If the village had agreed with Okonkwo they all would go to war. The women would tend to the men who would go out and fight the other men. Ikemefuna is small, he would be right behind Okonkwo the whole time. The village knew the stakes of going to war, and they all knew to decide against
Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness, the only thing worth demonstrating was strength. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else--with a heavy hand. But there was no doubt he liked the boy. Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son, carrying his stool and his goatskin bag.
He showed his sympathy by providing for his family and Ikemefuna. Okonkwo showed that he was unsympathetic by having no patience and beating his wives and
Next, Okonkwo is warned that he will be told to kill Ikemefuna, a boy who has become like a son to him. When the time comes, Okonkwo, Ikemefuna, and a few other men set out on their journey. When the men move to kill Ikemefuna, Okonkwo trails behind them so he will not have to be a part of
He killed him because he didn’t want to be seen as weak or as a female. Another example is “Okonkwo didn’t taste any food for two days after Ikemefuna's death. ”(page 63) This detail is important because this shows the after feeling Okonkwo had after killing Ikemefuna. To wrap up, these pieces of evidence supports how the author critiques the dominant narrative about Okonkwo by showing him
As seen in Okonkwo’s participation in Ikemefuna’s death, we see a demonstration of his rash thinking. Okonkwo’s irrational decision - making, as well as his fear of being perceived as weak like his father drove him to kill Ikemefuna. If Ikemefuna has not been killed, then this would have prevented Nwoye from converting to Christianity. As seen “after the missionaries finished singing, Nwoye pondered about what he just heard, the hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul the question of Ikemefuna who died” (Achebe 128). Okonkwo’s participation in Ikemefuna’s murder ultimately pushed Nwoye to Christianity and this caused Okonkwo to lose respect in himself for not raising a better son.
Ikemefuna and Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, were really close as Nwoye looked up to Ikemefuna as a role model and older brother. After the clan decided that they had to kill Ikemefuna the elders told Okonkwo not to get involved since they had a really close relationship. Even though they said that Okonkwo still got involved in the murder and killed him with a matchet. This quote shows us that even though they had a very close relationship Okonkwo took up a matchet and killed Ikemefuna just to show his manliness. Okonkwo’s decision of killing Ikemefuna was a bad decision because after this many horrible events soon
Okonkwo’s aggressive ways caused Nwoye to rely on Ikemefuna, A boy given to Okonkwo by a neighboring village, as an older brother who teaches him a more gentle form of masculinity. The bond between Nwoye and Ikemefuna was stronger than the bond between Nwoye and Okonkwo ever was because of Okonkwo’s refusal to demonstrate affection towards his son as it could make him appear weak. However, because of the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye fears having to return to the harsh values of his father. Okonkwo’s stubborn ideas of masculinity ruined his relationship with his son beyond repair. Okonkwo’s refusal to show emotion towards his family pushed them apart which shows that Okonkwo is not willing to give up his stern values and reputation to be emotionally committed to his family.
When Ikemefuna runs towards him, “Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna because he is afraid someone will believe he is weak and similar to his unsuccessful father. He lets this fear of compassion and failing control his life and his decisions. When he is faced with a difficult choice he completes the action that will portray him as a man and not as an agbala, a woman.
After Okonkwo murders Ikemefuna he has a bulk of feelings and becomes emotional which isn’t like him. The text says “ Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. .. 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). Okonkwo grown very fond of him, so his death made Okonkwo very dismal about his actions.
The hatred that he had for his father he carried with him throughout his whole life. That hatred turned into him killing Ikemefuna and the messenger. Ikemefuna was thought of as a son and he killed him in fear of being considered weak in front of his clan members. That weakness was thought of his weakness which was considered a failure. At the end of the story Okonkwo ends up being just like his father which is ironic because he strived to be nothing like him.
Throughout Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, the authors' claim of "balance" within the Igbo tribe is invalid. Although one may view that women and men existing in this society as balanced due to the fact that both the men and women have a particular part in the general public; The men hunt for dinner, while the ladies prepare the meals and care after the kids. However, through close reading, the society is actually imbalance. While the women are living oppressed, the men are holding positions of high power. The women in the tribe not only being socially oppressed by men of high authority, but also physically and emotionally abused by men in their home who likewise holds power.
When Okonkwo first returns back from his exile and hears the news of the white man in Umuofia, his anger increases that no one is trying to fight them. Even after his friend Obierika tells him about how the village Abame was destroyed by similar white missionaries Okonkwo simply thinks “Abame people were weak and foolish. Why did they not fight back... We would be cowards to compare ourselves to the men of Abame” (175). Okonkwo 's aggression blinds him to the dangers of rebelling against the white man, that he is willing to risk the destruction of his whole village just to satisfy his ideology of respecting his religion.
They did not believe in women 's roles. Okonkwo verbally shut down the importance of woman in the society along with the other men and Ibo. When Okonkwo was upset with his wives or any other woman in his life he would abuse them to show who has a seniority. Letting the village exile him was disappointing because it showed that he no longer had power. Through committing suicide he held all the power in his life.
Reading the book I would have figured that Ezinma would have been the one that sway from tradition but we see that Nwoye is actually the one that completely goes away from tradition and basically everything that Okonkwo was
Despite the fact that his status in the Umuofia tribe was high-ranked, his masculinity seems to bulldoze over the qualities that humanize him. In a section of Psychology & Behavioral Health Vol.2 about fear, the author states, “Fear is an unpleasant emotion that occurs in response to an immediate and identifiable threat, usually of an external nature ” (Moglia). While faced with conflict Okonkwo detects a threat and reacts. In several instances these reactions have caused him immense losses such as the death of his adopted son. Okonkwo's temper always manages to shine through, Things Fall Apart depicts this perfectly by stating, “It is not only Ikemefuna who feels fear… every nerve in Okonkwo tells him this is wrong, but when the moment comes, he kills his adopted son.”