Part Three Chps. 20-25

A1. Chinua Achebe chose not to bring the European colonial presence in until the last third of the novel so he could show us what a difference they made and how they tried to change the ways of the Igbo after setting up the Igbo life and society in the other two parts.

A2. While Okonkwo was in exile for those seven long years, Umuofia changed from a place of warriors to a place run over with womanish men, a new religion, and brothers who had turned their backs on their family and joined this new religion. Low born men and outcasts were not the only ones who joined this new religion, but also men of higher class who held titles. The white man brought in a new religion, a new government, a school, a hospital, and a trading store which brought money flowing through and into Umuofia. The white man changed and disregarded the ways of the Igbo.

A3. The kotma, or court messengers, brought men to the District Commissioner for trial and they guarded the prison. The white man’s law and system of justice compared to that of the traditional Umuofia society was very different. The District Commissioner judged in ignorance, according to what he thought was right and what was wrong or who was right and who was wrong. The traditional Umuofia way of judging was to go before the nine egwugwu, who were really men from the village who represented one of the nine villages in Umuofia, who would decide the fate of the person and administer justice. The whole village would show up but the women would stay on the outskirts of the crowd since it really was for the men, but once the egwugwu showed up they would take off.

A4. It was already too late to drive the white man out because they had already given power to some of the new converts and if they did drive the white men out, which would be easy to do considering there were only two of them, then the men that were given power would go to Umura and bring soldiers back and it would be another Abame all over again. The white man has been very clever in turning brothers against brothers; converting people who then leave their families and turned their backs on them. Those who have stayed true to the ways of the old life cannot do anything about this new religion. If they were to go against the new religion and start a fight, they would be going up against their own brothers and relatives, killing them. Killing clans men on purpose still had sever consequences and therefore they could not fight. I think Obierika might be considering a transitional figure between the old and the new Igbo societies, in which it would be made just if you killed a clansman in war if they had gone against the ways of his father.

A5. Mr. Brown was a nice gentle man whom the clan could befriend but not be totally converted by. He was firm in his belief and was firm in not wanting his flock to provoke the wrath of the clan. Mr. Smith, who took over the church when Mr. Brown became ill, was hasher than Mr. Brown, he saw things in black and white, black as being evil, he taught more, it seems, from the Bible, he wasn’t as patient as Mr. Brown was, he didn’t care if his flock provoked the clan which ended up causing a lot of trouble, he was somewhat stubborn, was very ignorant, and didn’t have the same friendly relationship with the clan as Mr. Brown did. From Mr. Brown’s and Akunna’s discussion, we learn that both the religions are really not that different. The only real difference is in how and who represents the different things and the Igbo do not know God’s, or Chukwu’s, will because it is to great to be known, so they fear Chukwu unlike the white missionaries and the new religion because they claim to know God’s will. Enoch, who was an over zealous member of the Christian faith, set off the great conflict between the church and the clan after Mr. Brown left and Mr. Smith had taken his place. Enoch had started boasting that an egwugwu wouldn’t dare touch a Christian. The egwugwu, who were retiring, heard this comment and came back and hit him with his cane. Enoch fell on the egwugwu and tore off his mask which was one of the greatest crimes a man could commit. Enoch had killed an egwugwu, an ancestral spirit. A lot of the misunderstandings that arise between the Europeans and the Africans are mainly because the Europeans don’t understand the African’s religion, society, or language. They come from two totally different worlds and neither understands the other. So it’s hard not to come across problems.

A6. Many people in Umuofia didn’t feel as strongly as Okonkwo did about these new people because they did bring benefits to Umuofia and its people. They brought a trading store so money was flowing into Umuofia; they brought a school for learning, and a hospital. Religion and education go hand in hand because if you have an education then you can read and if you can read then you can read the bible or what ever scriptures that you have and you can form an opinion and join what ever religion you want. Mr. Brown set up a school and told the people that they should send their children because if no one in Umuofia had an education people from other places would come and take over. This school produced court messengers, court clerks, and sometimes teachers. From going to the school, they gained knowledge, jobs, and they could join this new religion if they wanted to and be able to understand it better. In this way you can see that religion and education go hand in hand and proved true from what Mr. Brown said would happen and produced quick results for educated people.

A7. The District Commissioner tricked the six leaders into jail by inviting them over to his quarters and asked them to tell the story of what happened while he was gone. He had other men come in so that they could hear the story too. As one of the men started telling them about how Enoch killed an egwugwu, all of a sudden the other men sprang on the six leaders and hand cuffed them. Okonkwo was furious. The District Commissioner said they would not ill treat them, but they did. Okonkwo was ready for war. Okonkwo killed the messenger because of all the hate and anger and long suffering that he had already endured was bottled up and when that messenger came to tell them to break up the meeting, he just exploded. Okonkwo commits suicide because he knows Umuofia will not go to war now. Umuofia will become over run completely with these white men and their religion. Everything will change and Umuofia will never be as it once was. Okonkwo is isolated in the end because his body was considered evil because he took his own life which is an offense against the earth. I would consider Okonkwo a tragic hero because to his people, he was a hero. He was a mighty warrior. He did have his flaws but so does everyone else. I would consider him a tragic hero.

A8. I think the District Commissioner would write Okonkwo’s story really badly. He would probably make him out to be an uncivilized savage warrior of an uncivilized savage village who could not take the changes that were happening so he hung himself. The District Commissioner would make Okonkwo sound really bad but might give him a few good traits. Okonkwo’s story was made the subject of the whole novel so that we could see how life was in an Igbo society. Because Okonkwo was a man of rank and title and had many things that went on in his life time, he had many things to share on different points in his society. And because of Okonkwo’s character you saw more than what he saw. Okonkwo was not the nicest person all the time and sometimes you would back up the person he was going against and you would learn more form it. Sometimes you learned more about Okonkwo and other times about the society.

A9. Things fell apart in the end when the white man came and broke up families, traditions, and the way of life for the Igbo. He did this with his Christian faith that he brought with him which turned the new converts against their old beliefs, their brothers, and their families. I would say that some major themes in Things Fall Apart would be religion, tradition, heritage, and change. Some good messages that I get out of this book are stand up for your beliefs, don’t wait for problems to become major and damaging before you take care of them, and don’t let bad past experiences determine your future or who you will become. That’s just a few of them.

A10. The cross cultural combination of western literary forms and Igbo/African creative expression produces interesting reading. It gives us western English people a peek at how life is for Igbo/Africans but it is put in a more understandable way for us. We see the “savageness” of the Igbo/Africans but then we see the presence of some great, worth will qualities. Even though this book is not among my favorites, it is still a really good book that shows culture and the ways of life for some people.

If this offended anyone in anyway I am truly sorry. That was not my purpose.