Thursday, July 19, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Journal Entry
July 8, 2007
#5
Page 49 Paragraph 5
If all the people that wanted to wrestle from the nine villages came and then all the people came to watch from all the villages, then there must have been a lot of people there because if you took the regular village size and multiplied it by 9 there would be like a huge mass of people. If the old people came too, they must have been very tired to have walked all the way, unless they took like a cart drawn by a cow or horse. Hopefully they were wrestling on sand it would hurt so bad to be wrestling on hard, dry dirt. It must take a while to find the best of the best out of all the wrestlers in the nine villages, but it is an all day thing so it's okay.
July 8, 2007
#5
Page 49 Paragraph 5
If all the people that wanted to wrestle from the nine villages came and then all the people came to watch from all the villages, then there must have been a lot of people there because if you took the regular village size and multiplied it by 9 there would be like a huge mass of people. If the old people came too, they must have been very tired to have walked all the way, unless they took like a cart drawn by a cow or horse. Hopefully they were wrestling on sand it would hurt so bad to be wrestling on hard, dry dirt. It must take a while to find the best of the best out of all the wrestlers in the nine villages, but it is an all day thing so it's okay.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Journal Entry
July 7, 2007
#4
Page 46 Paragraph 1
The wrestling is one of the events that everyone loves to see in Okonkwo's village, it's almost like the Romans all loved to go watch gladiators fight and it's also like how we all love to go see movies or watch TV, it's our entertainment. The villagers lives must have been very repedative so they all must have loved to go watch people fight each other, something new to watch, something fun to do, and if nothing else it gave you time to relax and have fun. Elder people like to watch it because their lives must be pretty dull just sitting around watching things grow and die and seasons change and talking to the same old people. Kids love action and think it's really cool to fight. Middle aged men love to think back and remember when they were young and able to do what the wrestlers are doing. Middle aged women love to remember when their husbands were that young, and for some of them that was the reason they married them. So there is reason for all the villagers to come out and watch the wrestling.
July 7, 2007
#4
Page 46 Paragraph 1
The wrestling is one of the events that everyone loves to see in Okonkwo's village, it's almost like the Romans all loved to go watch gladiators fight and it's also like how we all love to go see movies or watch TV, it's our entertainment. The villagers lives must have been very repedative so they all must have loved to go watch people fight each other, something new to watch, something fun to do, and if nothing else it gave you time to relax and have fun. Elder people like to watch it because their lives must be pretty dull just sitting around watching things grow and die and seasons change and talking to the same old people. Kids love action and think it's really cool to fight. Middle aged men love to think back and remember when they were young and able to do what the wrestlers are doing. Middle aged women love to remember when their husbands were that young, and for some of them that was the reason they married them. So there is reason for all the villagers to come out and watch the wrestling.
July 21, 2007
Part 3 Questions ch. 20-25
1. Why does Achebe choose to bring in the European colonial presence only in the last third of the novel?
Achebe chose to bring in the European colonial presence only in the last of the novel because it is the last part of the book, it is supposed to have all the good stuff happening, something that makes you want to keep reading the story. It is the biggest thing out of the three things that happen, and that is how you are supposed to write a story, have the biggest bang at the end. It has the biggest conflict with everthing.
2. How has Umuofia changed over the seven years while Okonkwo has been in exile?
Umuofia changed over the seven years while Okonkwo has been in exile. It changed because all the people are no longer banding together as a tribe because the missionaries have come, and some people were converted, and others weren't. The people just don't trust each other anymore because for all they know they could be plotting against them with the missionaries. So when Okonkwo comes back he sees a village that has fallen apart, and that has forgotten the importance about being a village, it's like a big family, and they are not that.
3. What function do the kotma, or court messengers, serve in the new society? Contrast the white man’s law and system of justice with that of traditional Umuofia society.
The kotma serve as helpers of the missionaries, they go out to places that the missionaries can't go to when things get too hectic. The white mans law is that if you try to kill a missionary, then you are punished and put in jail till they say you can get out, and they can torture you, but if they white men kill one of the villagers, nothing happens to them, so that is why the villagers would try to kill the white people. The laws of traditional Umuofia society is pretty much servival of the fittest, but if you kill one of the villagers, then you have to leave for seven years, but once seven years is done you can come back. I can see how the villagers must feel about having to follow the white mans laws, I mean the villagers have been living there forever, then the white men just come in and take over and say that everyone must follow them, when really they have no right to do that.
4. Okonkwo says that they should fight the white men and "‘drive them from the land.’" Obierika responds sadly, "‘It is already too late’" (ch. 20; p. 124)--why? How has the white man been "‘very clever,’" according to Obierika? In what ways might Obierika be considered a transitional figure between the old and the new Igbo societies?
Obrierika responds sadly, "It is already too late," because the white men are already on it and they can do nothing to get them off becuase they have already tried. The white men, also have better weapons, which make them stronger when fighting against people who just have spears and arrows. To Obierika the white men have been "very clever" because they came with their religion, and they came peacefully, so the people wouldn't suspect them to be mean or try to do anything bad to them. The people didn't take them seriously because they looked funny, and they took the gift of "haunted land from the villagers, which nobody in their right mind would do. Obierika might be considered a translational figure between the old and the new Igbo societies because he's old enough that he remembers the way that life in the village used to be like, and he is in the here and now of the Igbo society.
5. Compare the missionaries Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith. What do we learn from Akunna and Mr. Brown’s discussion of religion (ch. 21, pp. 126-128)? How does Enoch set off "the great conflict between church and clan" (ch. 22, p. 131), the consequences of which lead to Okonkwo’s death? What sources of misunderstanding seem to make the conflicts between the Europeans and the Africans inevitable?
Comparing the missionaries Mr. Brown is nice, respecful to each clan, so in return he get respect from each of the clans. Mr. Smith is strick, and stiff with what he believes in and will not allow people to believe anything else. From Akunna and Mr. Brown's disscution about religion, we learn that both religions pretty much believe in the same thing when you get right down to it. I mean they both believe in one alpowerful god, and then the Christians have missionaries and priest and stuff that help him guiding his people, and the villagers have smaller gods that help the big god keep the people in line. Enoch set off "the great conflict between church and clan" when he goes and kills one of the ancestrial spirits, which you don't want to do because it makes the villagers mad, and then you might get killed. The misunderstanding of religion seems to be the sources that seem to make the conflicts between the Europeans and the Africans inevitable because they seem to always be doing something agaist the other persons religion, that gets them all riled up, like when the villagers make the twins die in the forest, the Christians have to come, save the twins, and tell the villagers they are doing everthing all wrong.
6. Why do many in Umuofia feel differently from Okonkwo about the white man’s "new dispensation" (Ch. 21, p. 126)? In what ways do "religion and education" go "hand in hand" (p. 128) in strengthening the "white man’s medicine"?
Many in Umuofia feel differently from Okonkwo about the white man's "new dispensation" because they also brought with them trade, which helped the people make money, and helped them get things that they couldn't find where they were at, or the things they needed. Religion and education go hand in hand in strengthening the white man's medicine because you teach people in church, and that is what education is, and if you educate them, then they can be educated about medicine to help their families, and if you educate the children, the people might warm up to you and your beliefs.
7. How does the District Commissioner trick the six leaders of Umuofia into jail? What is Okonkwo’s reaction? Why does Okonkwo kill the messenger? Why does Okonkwo afterwards commit suicide, "an offence against the Earth" (Ch. 25, p. 147)? Why is Okonkwo isolated in the end? Do you consider Okonkwo a tragic hero?
The District Commissioner tricks the six leaders of Umuofia into jail by saying that he wants a meeting with them, which is not out of the ordinary, because he usually has regular meetings with them. Okonkwo's reaction to getting put into jail is anger because he told every one they should have killed the white men when they had the chance, but they didn't so now he was stuck in jail. Okonkwo kills the messenger because he doesn't like the way the messenger had treated him while he was in jail and he wants to see if he can lead his people into war against the white man. Okonkwo afterwards commits suicide, "an offence against the Earth" because he realizes that the villagers won't go into war with him, and he can't live and go down the road the village is traveling, so he decides to kill himself, and end all his suffering. Okonkwo is isolated in the end because he knows that he can't live with the way everything is going, and he needs time to think out what he is going to do and figure out his thoughts. I consider Okonkwo a tragic hero because he tried to help his people to realize, that everything was not turning out right, but they just didn't listen and wouldn't understand, so he knew he was no use to the world of the living anymore.
8. The District Commissioner decides that "The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading," if not for a whole chapter, at least for "a reasonable paragraph" (p. 148). How do you think the District Commissioner would write Okonkwo’s story in this paragraph? In contrast, Achebe has made Okonkwo’s story the subject of a whole novel: why?
I think that the District Commissioner would write Okonkwo's stroy in the paragraph, just like and outline, of what he had herd about this man, about highlights of his life, not the whole story. Achebe has made Okonkwo's story the subject of a whole novel because you don't really feel like you know that the person was feeling or thinking when you just read a paragraph about someone. When someone writes a book, you get a better understanding about the person, and what they were really like.
9. Now that you've finished reading Things Fall Apart . . .How and why did things fall apart?Identify what you interpret to be major theme(s) and/or messages of Things Fall Apart.
Things fell apart in the book because change came to Umuofia, which some people were ready to accept, and others weren't. Things fell apart when the white man came to the nine villages. They introduced Christianity which really didn't go with the villagers religion, and they started making laws, which didn't go with what the villagers had always done. I think the major message in Things Fall Apart is that sometimes there just are things that you can't do anything about, change happens, and when it comes, you have to bend and go with the flow, or else you break and die.
10. Achebe has integrated traditional Igbo/African elements in his novel—e.g., proverbs, parables, and stories from Igbo oral tradition and culture--and, as noted earlier, created a kind of "African English." What effect(s) does this cross-cultural combination of Western literary forms and Igbo/African creative expression produce?
The cross-cultural combination of Western literary forms and Igbo/African creative expression produce the effect for us to get the feel of the Igbo/African culture, like when they write how the people would say the words, not how they should properly be spoken. It helps you get a better feel of being there with them. It makes you feel more part of the book, and that the author actually knows what he is writing about.
1. Why does Achebe choose to bring in the European colonial presence only in the last third of the novel?
Achebe chose to bring in the European colonial presence only in the last of the novel because it is the last part of the book, it is supposed to have all the good stuff happening, something that makes you want to keep reading the story. It is the biggest thing out of the three things that happen, and that is how you are supposed to write a story, have the biggest bang at the end. It has the biggest conflict with everthing.
2. How has Umuofia changed over the seven years while Okonkwo has been in exile?
Umuofia changed over the seven years while Okonkwo has been in exile. It changed because all the people are no longer banding together as a tribe because the missionaries have come, and some people were converted, and others weren't. The people just don't trust each other anymore because for all they know they could be plotting against them with the missionaries. So when Okonkwo comes back he sees a village that has fallen apart, and that has forgotten the importance about being a village, it's like a big family, and they are not that.
3. What function do the kotma, or court messengers, serve in the new society? Contrast the white man’s law and system of justice with that of traditional Umuofia society.
The kotma serve as helpers of the missionaries, they go out to places that the missionaries can't go to when things get too hectic. The white mans law is that if you try to kill a missionary, then you are punished and put in jail till they say you can get out, and they can torture you, but if they white men kill one of the villagers, nothing happens to them, so that is why the villagers would try to kill the white people. The laws of traditional Umuofia society is pretty much servival of the fittest, but if you kill one of the villagers, then you have to leave for seven years, but once seven years is done you can come back. I can see how the villagers must feel about having to follow the white mans laws, I mean the villagers have been living there forever, then the white men just come in and take over and say that everyone must follow them, when really they have no right to do that.
4. Okonkwo says that they should fight the white men and "‘drive them from the land.’" Obierika responds sadly, "‘It is already too late’" (ch. 20; p. 124)--why? How has the white man been "‘very clever,’" according to Obierika? In what ways might Obierika be considered a transitional figure between the old and the new Igbo societies?
Obrierika responds sadly, "It is already too late," because the white men are already on it and they can do nothing to get them off becuase they have already tried. The white men, also have better weapons, which make them stronger when fighting against people who just have spears and arrows. To Obierika the white men have been "very clever" because they came with their religion, and they came peacefully, so the people wouldn't suspect them to be mean or try to do anything bad to them. The people didn't take them seriously because they looked funny, and they took the gift of "haunted land from the villagers, which nobody in their right mind would do. Obierika might be considered a translational figure between the old and the new Igbo societies because he's old enough that he remembers the way that life in the village used to be like, and he is in the here and now of the Igbo society.
5. Compare the missionaries Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith. What do we learn from Akunna and Mr. Brown’s discussion of religion (ch. 21, pp. 126-128)? How does Enoch set off "the great conflict between church and clan" (ch. 22, p. 131), the consequences of which lead to Okonkwo’s death? What sources of misunderstanding seem to make the conflicts between the Europeans and the Africans inevitable?
Comparing the missionaries Mr. Brown is nice, respecful to each clan, so in return he get respect from each of the clans. Mr. Smith is strick, and stiff with what he believes in and will not allow people to believe anything else. From Akunna and Mr. Brown's disscution about religion, we learn that both religions pretty much believe in the same thing when you get right down to it. I mean they both believe in one alpowerful god, and then the Christians have missionaries and priest and stuff that help him guiding his people, and the villagers have smaller gods that help the big god keep the people in line. Enoch set off "the great conflict between church and clan" when he goes and kills one of the ancestrial spirits, which you don't want to do because it makes the villagers mad, and then you might get killed. The misunderstanding of religion seems to be the sources that seem to make the conflicts between the Europeans and the Africans inevitable because they seem to always be doing something agaist the other persons religion, that gets them all riled up, like when the villagers make the twins die in the forest, the Christians have to come, save the twins, and tell the villagers they are doing everthing all wrong.
6. Why do many in Umuofia feel differently from Okonkwo about the white man’s "new dispensation" (Ch. 21, p. 126)? In what ways do "religion and education" go "hand in hand" (p. 128) in strengthening the "white man’s medicine"?
Many in Umuofia feel differently from Okonkwo about the white man's "new dispensation" because they also brought with them trade, which helped the people make money, and helped them get things that they couldn't find where they were at, or the things they needed. Religion and education go hand in hand in strengthening the white man's medicine because you teach people in church, and that is what education is, and if you educate them, then they can be educated about medicine to help their families, and if you educate the children, the people might warm up to you and your beliefs.
7. How does the District Commissioner trick the six leaders of Umuofia into jail? What is Okonkwo’s reaction? Why does Okonkwo kill the messenger? Why does Okonkwo afterwards commit suicide, "an offence against the Earth" (Ch. 25, p. 147)? Why is Okonkwo isolated in the end? Do you consider Okonkwo a tragic hero?
The District Commissioner tricks the six leaders of Umuofia into jail by saying that he wants a meeting with them, which is not out of the ordinary, because he usually has regular meetings with them. Okonkwo's reaction to getting put into jail is anger because he told every one they should have killed the white men when they had the chance, but they didn't so now he was stuck in jail. Okonkwo kills the messenger because he doesn't like the way the messenger had treated him while he was in jail and he wants to see if he can lead his people into war against the white man. Okonkwo afterwards commits suicide, "an offence against the Earth" because he realizes that the villagers won't go into war with him, and he can't live and go down the road the village is traveling, so he decides to kill himself, and end all his suffering. Okonkwo is isolated in the end because he knows that he can't live with the way everything is going, and he needs time to think out what he is going to do and figure out his thoughts. I consider Okonkwo a tragic hero because he tried to help his people to realize, that everything was not turning out right, but they just didn't listen and wouldn't understand, so he knew he was no use to the world of the living anymore.
8. The District Commissioner decides that "The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading," if not for a whole chapter, at least for "a reasonable paragraph" (p. 148). How do you think the District Commissioner would write Okonkwo’s story in this paragraph? In contrast, Achebe has made Okonkwo’s story the subject of a whole novel: why?
I think that the District Commissioner would write Okonkwo's stroy in the paragraph, just like and outline, of what he had herd about this man, about highlights of his life, not the whole story. Achebe has made Okonkwo's story the subject of a whole novel because you don't really feel like you know that the person was feeling or thinking when you just read a paragraph about someone. When someone writes a book, you get a better understanding about the person, and what they were really like.
9. Now that you've finished reading Things Fall Apart . . .How and why did things fall apart?Identify what you interpret to be major theme(s) and/or messages of Things Fall Apart.
Things fell apart in the book because change came to Umuofia, which some people were ready to accept, and others weren't. Things fell apart when the white man came to the nine villages. They introduced Christianity which really didn't go with the villagers religion, and they started making laws, which didn't go with what the villagers had always done. I think the major message in Things Fall Apart is that sometimes there just are things that you can't do anything about, change happens, and when it comes, you have to bend and go with the flow, or else you break and die.
10. Achebe has integrated traditional Igbo/African elements in his novel—e.g., proverbs, parables, and stories from Igbo oral tradition and culture--and, as noted earlier, created a kind of "African English." What effect(s) does this cross-cultural combination of Western literary forms and Igbo/African creative expression produce?
The cross-cultural combination of Western literary forms and Igbo/African creative expression produce the effect for us to get the feel of the Igbo/African culture, like when they write how the people would say the words, not how they should properly be spoken. It helps you get a better feel of being there with them. It makes you feel more part of the book, and that the author actually knows what he is writing about.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Friday, July 6,2007
Part 2, Ch. 14-19
1.At the beginning of Part II, Okonkwo has fled his "fatherland" Umuofia for committing a "female" ochu, and he has taken his family to his "motherland" Mbanta. Why? And why does Okonkwo despair? How does his mother’s brother Uchendu respond to Okonkwo in his despair?
Okonkwo fled his "fatherland" Umuofia for committing a "female" ochy, and he takes his family to his "motherland" Mbanta because he has killed someone of his own tribe and once you do that, you have to leave your village for 7 years so they can cleanse the land that he had lived on. Okonkwo despairs because he feels like he has had a huge loss and he is the only one who has to deal with it, he is feeling sorry for himself. Okonkwo's mother's brother Uchendy responds to Okonkwo in his despair by telling him that he is not the only one who has had a great loss. Uchendy says that he used to have 6 wives and now he has none, and that he has had lots of children, but they have all had to be burried. He says that Okonkwo has no reason to kill himself because Umuofia is still alive with all the sorrow that has happened to him.
2. What has happened to the Abame clan? How do Uchendu and Okonkwo account differently for the "foolishness" of the Abame? Whose reaction seems wiser in responding to new challenges to old ways of living? What does Uchendu mean when he says, "‘There is no story that is not true’"? (ch. 15, p. 99)
The Abame clan has been killed and wiped out because they killed a white man and the other white men came back and killed all of them for what they had done. Uchendu and Okonkwo accound differently for the "foolishness" of the Abame because Okonkwo thinks that they had it coming to them because the orical had told them that something bad would happen, but they didn't listen, but Uchendu thinks that they were foolish to kill the white man because you aren't supposed to kill something that doesn't speak because it is like a story they used to be told about a kite. Uchendu's reaction seems wiser because there is reason to why he feels they were foolish. When Uchendu says "There is no story that is not true" he means that all the stories that are told happen in one way or another, so they are told for a reason so they must be true.
3. Why does his friend Obierika visit Okonkwo in exile the first time? And the second time? What are Nwoye’s motives for converting to Christianity? Trace the stages in the Africans’ reactions to the Christian missionaries coming to Umuofia and Mbanta, and to the missionaries’ evangelical efforts to convert the Africans. What are the sources of misunderstanding between the Igbo and the missionaries? What kinds of Africans are attracted to the new religion and why? Why does Nwoye convert to Christianity? How does Okonkwo react to Nwoye’s conversion?
Obrierika visits Okonkwo in exile the first time because he was bringing over Okonkwo's money that he had collected by selling his yams, he said he didn't know when Okonkwo would need them so he decided to bring it over. Obrieka visits Okonkwo the second time because he sees Nwoye and finds out that he is no longer part of his father's family and has converted to a Christian. Nwoye's motives for converting to Christianity was that the hymne they sang captivated him, it answered his questions of all the bad things that had happened to know of. The missunderstanding between the Igbo and the missionaries is that the missionaries think that the Igbo gave the land for them to build on out of the kindness of their hearts, but really they gave it to them becasue they gave it to the missionaries because to them it was useless and evil, to them it was the worst thing they could give them, and they don't know each other's language well enough to comunicate properly. The Africans that are attracted to the new religion are the outcasts and baby twins that are left to die, because they aren't accepted in the village and they are accepted in the mission. Nwoye converts to Christianity because his father is mean to him, and doesn't really show him respect, but the Christians to at the missionary. Okonkwo's reaction to Nwoye's conversation is to get mad at him and ask him were he was, Okonkwo's horrible tempertantrums show through his calmness.
4. "The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its life" (ch. 18; p. 110). What are these crises? Why are the people of Mbanta largely content to allow the Christians to remain in their midst at this point--the end of Part II? What are the differences between the religion of the Mbanta people and that of the Christian missionaries?
"The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its ife" and the crises were that a convert decided that you couldn't get in a higher station tha he was going to go back to the village, and Okoli died, and the villagers wouldn't let the women converts get any water, red dirt, or chalk. The people of Mbanta were largely content to allow the Christians to remain in their midst at this point because they had too much going on to worry the village people about converting. The difference between the religion of the Mbanta people and that of the Christian missionaries was that the christians believed in one God that cared for them and made them equal, and the Mbanta people believed in many gods that could make bad things happen to you if you didn't give them a sacrafice.
5. Uchendu and a speech by an elder of the umunna (ch. 19; p. 118) give us insight into the changes that they have seen in recent generations of their people. What are these changes and why do they cause the elders to fear for the younger generation and the future of the clan? How might these changes prepare the way for the white man’s success in imposing his rule in Africa?
The changes that Uchendu and a speech by an elder of the Umunna give us insight into the changes that they have seen in the recent generations of their people are that the younger generation gives smaller feasts because they don't want to have to use all their food on someone els who already has food and doesn't need it. The elders fear for the younger generation because they seem to be more into doing things for themselves rather than doing things for others, and they pray for the wrong things like more money rather than more kins men. These changes might prepare the way for the white man's success in imposing his rule in Africa, because they won't be fighting together, they will most likely be fighting on their own, so the white man has more of a chance to pick them off one by one.
1.At the beginning of Part II, Okonkwo has fled his "fatherland" Umuofia for committing a "female" ochu, and he has taken his family to his "motherland" Mbanta. Why? And why does Okonkwo despair? How does his mother’s brother Uchendu respond to Okonkwo in his despair?
Okonkwo fled his "fatherland" Umuofia for committing a "female" ochy, and he takes his family to his "motherland" Mbanta because he has killed someone of his own tribe and once you do that, you have to leave your village for 7 years so they can cleanse the land that he had lived on. Okonkwo despairs because he feels like he has had a huge loss and he is the only one who has to deal with it, he is feeling sorry for himself. Okonkwo's mother's brother Uchendy responds to Okonkwo in his despair by telling him that he is not the only one who has had a great loss. Uchendy says that he used to have 6 wives and now he has none, and that he has had lots of children, but they have all had to be burried. He says that Okonkwo has no reason to kill himself because Umuofia is still alive with all the sorrow that has happened to him.
2. What has happened to the Abame clan? How do Uchendu and Okonkwo account differently for the "foolishness" of the Abame? Whose reaction seems wiser in responding to new challenges to old ways of living? What does Uchendu mean when he says, "‘There is no story that is not true’"? (ch. 15, p. 99)
The Abame clan has been killed and wiped out because they killed a white man and the other white men came back and killed all of them for what they had done. Uchendu and Okonkwo accound differently for the "foolishness" of the Abame because Okonkwo thinks that they had it coming to them because the orical had told them that something bad would happen, but they didn't listen, but Uchendu thinks that they were foolish to kill the white man because you aren't supposed to kill something that doesn't speak because it is like a story they used to be told about a kite. Uchendu's reaction seems wiser because there is reason to why he feels they were foolish. When Uchendu says "There is no story that is not true" he means that all the stories that are told happen in one way or another, so they are told for a reason so they must be true.
3. Why does his friend Obierika visit Okonkwo in exile the first time? And the second time? What are Nwoye’s motives for converting to Christianity? Trace the stages in the Africans’ reactions to the Christian missionaries coming to Umuofia and Mbanta, and to the missionaries’ evangelical efforts to convert the Africans. What are the sources of misunderstanding between the Igbo and the missionaries? What kinds of Africans are attracted to the new religion and why? Why does Nwoye convert to Christianity? How does Okonkwo react to Nwoye’s conversion?
Obrierika visits Okonkwo in exile the first time because he was bringing over Okonkwo's money that he had collected by selling his yams, he said he didn't know when Okonkwo would need them so he decided to bring it over. Obrieka visits Okonkwo the second time because he sees Nwoye and finds out that he is no longer part of his father's family and has converted to a Christian. Nwoye's motives for converting to Christianity was that the hymne they sang captivated him, it answered his questions of all the bad things that had happened to know of. The missunderstanding between the Igbo and the missionaries is that the missionaries think that the Igbo gave the land for them to build on out of the kindness of their hearts, but really they gave it to them becasue they gave it to the missionaries because to them it was useless and evil, to them it was the worst thing they could give them, and they don't know each other's language well enough to comunicate properly. The Africans that are attracted to the new religion are the outcasts and baby twins that are left to die, because they aren't accepted in the village and they are accepted in the mission. Nwoye converts to Christianity because his father is mean to him, and doesn't really show him respect, but the Christians to at the missionary. Okonkwo's reaction to Nwoye's conversation is to get mad at him and ask him were he was, Okonkwo's horrible tempertantrums show through his calmness.
4. "The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its life" (ch. 18; p. 110). What are these crises? Why are the people of Mbanta largely content to allow the Christians to remain in their midst at this point--the end of Part II? What are the differences between the religion of the Mbanta people and that of the Christian missionaries?
"The young church in Mbanta had a few crises early in its ife" and the crises were that a convert decided that you couldn't get in a higher station tha he was going to go back to the village, and Okoli died, and the villagers wouldn't let the women converts get any water, red dirt, or chalk. The people of Mbanta were largely content to allow the Christians to remain in their midst at this point because they had too much going on to worry the village people about converting. The difference between the religion of the Mbanta people and that of the Christian missionaries was that the christians believed in one God that cared for them and made them equal, and the Mbanta people believed in many gods that could make bad things happen to you if you didn't give them a sacrafice.
5. Uchendu and a speech by an elder of the umunna (ch. 19; p. 118) give us insight into the changes that they have seen in recent generations of their people. What are these changes and why do they cause the elders to fear for the younger generation and the future of the clan? How might these changes prepare the way for the white man’s success in imposing his rule in Africa?
The changes that Uchendu and a speech by an elder of the Umunna give us insight into the changes that they have seen in the recent generations of their people are that the younger generation gives smaller feasts because they don't want to have to use all their food on someone els who already has food and doesn't need it. The elders fear for the younger generation because they seem to be more into doing things for themselves rather than doing things for others, and they pray for the wrong things like more money rather than more kins men. These changes might prepare the way for the white man's success in imposing his rule in Africa, because they won't be fighting together, they will most likely be fighting on their own, so the white man has more of a chance to pick them off one by one.
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