Katherine Wang 3/11/12 Period 5 Socratic Seminar Questions 1.

Okonkwo does not heed Ezeudus advice and follows Ikemefuna on his way toward his death because Okonkwo wants to prove to the Umuofia clansmen that he is not womanly. He goes with Ikemefuna (who was an adopted son Okonkwo was particularly fond of) knowing that he was to be killed in order to prove that he is brave and strong, not dazed by the fact that Ikemefuna trusts Okonkwo as his father. Towards the end of the journey, Achebe writes, Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut [Ikemefuna] down. He was afraid of being thought weak (52). In order to present himself as a proud, tough man, when Ikemefuna runs to him during the journey toward his execution, Okonkwo cuts him down in order to show the group that he is not weakminded by giving into his emotions and feelings by saving Ikemefuna. Okonkwos thought of his fathers weakness and failure troubled himhis mind went to his latest show of manliness (Achebe 56-57). This show was his murder of Ikemefuna. Okonkwo states himself that his killing of his son was a show of his pride and bravery. He shows off his act as being righteous for abiding the oracles decision and being one of the few strongminded men to not be afraid of blood and kill the boy (Achebe 57). Okonkwo flaunts his bravery in his act in order to not be seen as having any kind of womanly weakness by masking it in his boasts. 2. Uchendu tells Okonkwo that the Mother is Supreme. He states, When a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mothers hut.when there is sorrow and bitterness, he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect youand that is why we say the mother is supreme (Achebe 111). Uchendu explains that while your father is dominant, your mother is your comforter and your kind-hearted consolation to soothe you. The mother is then supreme because she is the one where you find comfort and harmony in your emotions and the child feels at peace around her. Naturally, the child would also grow to love the mother more than the father, and so, the mother would be supreme. 4. Nwoye grew up in his fathers household underappreciated by Okonkwo. When Nwoye heard that his best friend, Ikemefuna, was to be taken back to his homeland (actually, he was to be killed), he burst into tears and Okonkwo beat him heavily (Achebe 49). This shows how abused Nwoye felt when he lived with Okonkwo, especially since he was punished for having feelings because of Okonkwos dislike of cowardice. Okonkwo states himself that, I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man, but there is too much of his mother in him. Obierika thinks to himself, Too much of his grandfather., and the same thought also came to Okonkwos mind (Achebe 56). Okonkwo is ashamed to be such a strong man, yet having such a weak, womanly son who reminds Okonkwo too much of his failure of a father. Nwoyes environment of being looked down upon led to his isolation from Umuofia and led him to question the culture and society of his tribe. When the Christian missionaries first come to Mbanta, Nwoye is described to be captivated by it. Achebe writes: It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killedThe words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth. Nwoyes callow mind was greatly puzzled (122 - 123). The difference and shift of culture that Christianity presented contrasted the Ibo culture that Nwoye lived by, righting all the wrongs of their customs such as his fathers beatings, the murder of twins, and the killing of Ikemefuna. The idea of a new religion that would be different from the unfair norm of his Ibo background would serve as his consolation from the years of suffering in his old society. Nwoye converted to Christianity to free himself from the ideals of his father and Umuofia. 5. When Okonkwo returns to his homeland, he sees the changes the white missionaries are making to the tribe. Achebe writes: He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women (150). Okonkwo states that his greatest hate of womanly weakness has been presented in his homeland, where bravery and aggressiveness is highly prized. Okonkwo is losing his respect of his clan, and the same Umuofia that had existed seven years ago was gone, along with his titles and respects that he used to hold. His whole status had already been lost. During his return, the messengers shave off the hair of Okonkwo and the other five leaders of Umuofia when they are captured and handcuffed as hostages by the District Commissioner. The District Commissioner then asks the people of Umuofia to pay 250 bags of cowries as ransom for their leaders (Achebe 160-161). While captured, the leaders argue over how they should have killed the white men earlier and a messenger enters with a stick which he beats them with. Achebe then writes, Okonkwo was choked with hate (161).The act humiliates Umuofia, her people, and especially Okonkwo. His status as a strong, respectful clansman in Umuofia is tainted even more from this humiliation.

After his release, during a tribe meeting, the white messengers ask for the meeting to stop. Okonkwo drew his machete [which] descended twice and the mans head lay beside his uniformed body (168). Because the other messengers had ran away, it was obvious that they would tell the District Commissioner of what Okonkwo did and he would punish and humiliate Okonkwo, tarnishing Okonkwos reputation even more. Therefore, I would not be sure if he was justified in committing suicide, but it would make sense. Okonkwo has already lost his chances of gaining all the titles and achievements in Umuofia due to his banishment and his reputation as a murderer. He has also lost much of his respect from his people due to his history and his insignificant return to the clan. Okonkwo himself has lost respect of Umuofia, which has been altered so much by the white missionaries that Okonkwo feels like the white men are dominating and taking control of the once powerful village. Okonkwos life is not going so well, and it will only get worse if he stays alive for the District Commissioner to maim him more for the murder of the messenger. 6. I agree with the statement. Throughout the novel, the major events of the plot are all centered on conflict such as internal conflict, character conflict, character and society conflict, and even culture conflict. One of the most prominent conflicts during the novel is the idea of the white man coming into the Ibo tribe and establishing his Christian ideals. White missionaries preach to the clansmen, convincing a substantial percentage to convert to Christianity as a contrasting response to their old Ibo ideals, while others simply waved the silly concepts away. The conflict of the two different cultures began there. When the converts had built up to a significant amount, the church begins establishing their own separate society and culture by building Christian churches, courts, schools, and hospitals to sculpt the African village into the white mans European home (Achebe 148-149). One day, one of the converts, Enoch, decided to humiliate the Ibo religion by removing the masks of one of the egwugwu (153), which provoked the clansmen of Umuofia to retaliate by burning down a Christian church (157). The District Commissioner enters during this point of the plot and captures Okonkwo and five other leaders of Umuofia, shaving their heads and humiliating them entirely (160-161). It is during this time in the plot where the conflict between the church and clan is greatly heightened, and the colonizers begin acting as a dominant figure over Umuofia (168). Okonkwo stands up to the colonizers by killing one of the messengers and committing suicide in order to protect against the District Commissioners wrath (170). In the end of the novel, the white men overtake the tribe. 7. In Things Fall Apart, I believe there are no definitive heroes and villains. Each character has good and bad qualities and traits, but the many conflicts that occur simultaneously create no distinct struggle between a group of heroes and a group of villains. However, the closest representation of the heroes and villains in the novel are the Ibo people and the white colonizers. The Ibo people are standardized as the heroes because of the established culture that Achebe introduces in the beginning of the novel which provokes the reader into thinking that the righteous ones are the Ibo people. The white colonizers are introduced as the villains because they invade the harmony and peace of the Ibo, provoking the reader into thinking they are disturbing the regularity of Umuofia for their selfish, Christian beliefs. One of the villains in the novel is the District Commissioner. As soon as his character enters the plot, he ruthlessly invites the six leaders of Umuofia to a meeting, only to hold them hostage as revenge for the comparably petty crime of burning down a church. He justifies his actions by saying that the destruction of the church tarnished the symbol of pride of the Queens church. The man then demands the Umuofia people to pay 250 bags of cowries as ransom for their captured leaders, or they will be hanged (Achebe 159-160). The villain threatens to murder the leaders of Umuofia for payment, and his messengers even brutally abuse the leaders. The District Commissioner even calls for conspiracy meetings to stop, flaunting that he holds dominant rule over the Umuofia people (168). When Okonkwo kills one of his messengers and commits suicide, the District Commissioner waves it off as an extra scenario to act as an addition to his novel of colonization which insults the Umuofia people as primitive and insolent (169-170). Not only is the District Commissioner ruthless and arrogant, he contradicts the Ibo people, who somewhat act as the heroes of Things Fall Apart. 8. The village begins changing as soon as the white men enter Umuofia. The missionaries preach to the Umuofia clansmen to ask them to convert to Christianity. They use words and songs to try to convince them, such as the ones from page 122, The interpreter explained each verse to the audience, some of whom now stood enthralled. It was a story of brothers who lived in darkness and in fear, ignorant of the love of God. It told of one sheep out on the hills, away from the gates of God and from the tender shepherds care (Achebe). The changes begin as soon as some of the clansmen convert to Christianity and the Christian church begins gaining power due to the number of converts they are gathering. Soon, the church begins establishing their own separate society and culture by building Christian churches, courts, schools, and hospitals to sculpt the African village into the white mans European home (148-149). The whole materialistic setting of the story is changed and the white men are gaining dominance over the African tribe.

The environment also becomes bitterer and less joyful. When the village learns that their leaders are being held hostage, Achebe writes: It was the time of the full moon. But that night the voice of children was not heard. The village ilo where they always fathered for a moon-play was empty. The women of Iguedo did not meet in their secret enclosure to learn a new dance to be displayed later to the village. Young men who were always abroad in the moonlight kept their huts that night. Their manly voices were not heard on the village paths as they went to visit their friends and lovers (161). There was tension in the air because of the ominous conflict and menacing colonizers. The author describes the feeling by writing, Umuofia was like a startled animal with ears erect, sniffing the silent, ominous air and not knowing which way to run (161). The atmosphere was tense compared to before, where the village people were joyful and continuously celebrating until the colonizers invaded. The Umuofia clans culture differentiates with the white colonizers culture. Both of them have their own religion: Ibo and Christianity. Both religions worship gods, but the Ibo religion focuses on many gods while Christianity concentrates on just one. The clans language is also Ibo, which contrasts the white mens English language. The traditional ideals of the Ibo also include the abandoning of twins and abiding oracle decisions. Their spiritual beliefs are different compared to Christianity, which looks more toward optimism as their god is an all-loving being. However, both cultures aim for peace and harmony. Overall, the two value religion a lot. 9. The neglected villagers that had suffered from the Ibo religions several unfair customs led to a substantial amount of converts that could escape the cruelty they had suffered in the clan. The many Christian religious ideas that contrasted the Ibo ones and proved them wrong presented a different take on the world that interested the villagers. When the missionaries were given a plot of land in the Evil Forest so the spirits could kill them, the men avoided death and this atypical happening puzzled yet intrigued the villagers, causing them to convert (126).Women who had a history of producing twins which they had to dispose of fled to the safety of the religion which didnt have such ideals (126). For example, When the Christian missionaries first come to Mbanta, Nwoye is described to be captivated by it. Achebe writes: It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killedThe words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth. Nwoyes callow mind was greatly puzzled (122 - 123). The difference and shift of culture that Christianity presented contrasted the Ibo culture that Nwoye lived by, righting all the wrongs of their customs such as his fathers beatings, the murder of twins, and the killing of Ikemefuna. The idea of a new religion that would be different from the unfair norm of his Ibo background would serve as his consolation from the years of suffering in his old society. Nwoye converted to Christianity to free himself from the ideals of his father and Umuofia. 10. The change from stability to confusion is shown by Okonkwo when he mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women (Achebe 150). The sudden shift and the inability for Okonkwo and his values to keep up with the change show the logic behind the title and the conflict that the main character, Okonkwo, and his tribe are facing. Things Fall Apart represents how the regularity of the Ibo culture in Umuofia is disturbed by the entrance of white colonizers who rearrange all the villagers presumed ideals. Obierika expresses his confusion with Okonkwo when he says: How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart (144-145). Obierika points out that the white missionaries came and disassembled the web of Igbo culture and tradition and that their world and ideals on religion, and now they are confused. The idea of building up a stable society in the beginning of the book which is only to fall apart toward the end when the colonizers come shows the themes of change and cultural difference that the book is based upon, leaving the title of the novel, Things Fall Apart, to be highly reasonable.