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.