Last class, we discussed whether the narrator speaks with a bias towards Okonkwo or against him. In my personal opinion, the (all-knowing/omniscient) narrator is at a neutral standpoint. Okonkwo is almost revered and certainly obeyed within the villages. There is an evident hierarchy within the society. It is obvisouly a male-dominant society and very hard for a modern-day westerner to understand.
Religion (gods and spirits) play a big part in the chapters we have read, thus far. Every person, thing and occurance is somehow tied to a certain supernatural force. The Oracle serves as the prophecy in almost all situations.
Within each individual family, there is a hierarchy. The male, in our specific case, Okonkwo, absolutely dominates. Whatever Okonkwo says must be obeyed and is very rarely challenged. There are many instances in Things Fall Apart when Okonkwo threatens to beat or harm a family member as a result of just a simple misdemeanor. Specifically on page 31, Okonkwo scolds his eldest son, Nwoye, for cutting up yams either too big or too small. He then alludes to how much better of a tapper he was when he was Nwoye's age.
Achebe (author) states, "Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. He would stamp out any disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him."
This is an underlying theme throughout the whole novel. In the very beginning, it is understood that Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was an unsuccessful man. He not only failed in keeping control of society completely, but he was weak and afraid of bloodshed. In consequence, Okonkwo turned out to be the opposite. He wanted order in society and he gained much respect from the people of the villages.
As we've mentioned today in class, there is somewhat of a balance between male and female jobs -- the male dominates and takes precedence at home and with the physical labor / farming, and the women cook, tend to the needs of the children, and basically are used as wives to reproduce (as unethical as it may seem to a modern reader.)
There are similar relationships as that of Okonkwo and Nwoye as well as different. A man and his son, a suitor, come to ask Obierika for his daughter's (Akueke's) hand in marriage. The two men have a seemingly more relaxed relationship than that of Okonkwo and Nwoye's.
As for Ikemefuna: Okonkwo had developed an attachment to him, but having to sustain his dominant status, he kills Ikemefuna when it is deemed he must die.
Ezinma is the only child of Okonkwo’s second wife, Ekwefi. She is the only one of Ekwefi’s ten children to survive past infancy and means everything to her. Ezinma calls her mother 'Ekwefi' and is treated by her as an equal. She is beautiful as her mother (the village beauty) is, and is favored by Okonkwo. He does not normally display any affection (fear of seeming too weak), although cares a lot for Ezinma. He often wishes and says that Ezinma was a boy, as he admires her personality, which is very clear when she becomes ill. He shows that he will do anything in his power to save her life.
Overall, parents are obeyed in this patriarchal society and it is the job of the parents to pass on skills and characteristic to the subsequent generation.
Preach brutha
ReplyDelete