Okonkwo is a wealthy and respected warrior of the Umuofia clan. When he was younger he brought honor to his village by beating Amalinze the Cat in a wrestling contest. Until his match with Okonkwo, the Cat had been undefeated for seven years. Okonkwo is the opposite of his father, Unoka, who feared the sight of blood and was always borrowing and losing money, which meant that his wife and children often went hungry. Unoka was a skilled flute player and had a gift and love of language.
One night, the town crier rings gong, and requests that all of the clansmen gather in the market in the morning. At the gathering, Ogbuefi Ezeugo announces that someone from the village of Mbaino murdered the wife of an Umuofia tribesman while she was in their market. The crowd expresses anger and Okonkwo travels to Mbaino to deliver the message that they must hand over a virgin and a young man or go to war. Umuofia has a fierce reputation for its skill in war and magic. Okonkwo is chosen to represent his clan because he is its fiercest warrior. Mbaino agrees to Umuofia’s terms. The elders give the virgin to Ogbuefi Udo as his wife but are not sure what to do with the fifteen-year-old boy, Ikemefuna. The elders decide to turn him over to Okonkwo for safekeeping and instruction. Okonkwo instructs his first wife to care for Ikemefuna.
Okonkwo is quite wealthy. He supports three wives and eight children, and each wife has her own hut. Okonkwo also has a barn full of yams, a shrine for his ancestors, and his own hut. Okonkwo fears weakness. Due to the fact that he dreads weakness, Okonkwo is extremely demanding of his family. He thinks his twelve-year-old son, Nwoye, is lazy, so he beats and nags the boy constantly.
Dani: I hope this works:
ReplyDeleteComparing Ancient Greek Society to the Umuofia Culture in Things Fall Apart
Based on what I have read, the first thing that came to mind about the Umuofia culture is that it is a very close resemblance of the ancient Greek society. With further research, the Umuofia culture both mirrors and contrasts from the ancient Greeks. Here are a few examples of how both cultures are alike or different.
1: Both the Greeks and the Umuofians are, or were, polytheistic. As we know there were many gods for many things in Ancient Greece, as well as oracles. The Umuofians also have multiple gods, as well as oracles and chi, a personal god.
2: It is possible that the nine villages of Umuofians are possibly other tribes that are in “allegiance” with the village of story. The Greeks had a similar governmental structure called city-states, with each city-state having its own government.
3: The women of both cultures were under the thumbs of the men. Women in Greece, varying on which city-state, had little or no rights, and there were, supposedly, monogamous. The women of the Umuofinans have it even worse.
4: The Greeks, although with its many different city states, were more-or-less governmental and agricultural then militaristic. The Umuofinans appear to be a mixture of both.
So, here are a few examples that I think may help describe why the Umuofinans culture is the way it is.
Sources:
Greek Clulture.html. Crystallinks.com. Web. 10/3/11
Ancient chix. Angelfire.com. Web. 10/3/11