Things Fall ApartEssay Preview: Things Fall ApartReport this essayChapter 1Okonkwo is a well-known man in Umuofia, his name is known throughout his village and the other nine villages. Okonkwos fame started more than twenty years ago when he defeated Amaline the Cat in a wrestling match. Amaline hadnt been defeated for seven years before Okonkwo beat him, and thats how Okonkwos fame started. Okonkwo is a mean-looking man who is known for communicating with his fists and not his words.
Chapter 2Okonkwo had just gone to bed when he heard a townsman announcing that all men should meet in the market in the morning.The next morning thousands of men from all the villages of Umuofia gathered in the market, and Ogbuefi Ezuego told the men that a Umuofia woman had been killed when she went to the market in Mbaino. It was decided that before they began war, Okonkwo would go and get one virgin and one boy from the Mbaino tribe. Okonkwo was treated respectfully when he traveled to Mbaino to bring back the human offerings. The virgin was given to the husband of the murdered woman and the boy, Ikemefuna, was sent to live with Okonkwo.
Chapter 3Unoka had gone to talk to Agbala, the Oracle, to find out why his crops were always bad. She told Unoka that his crop failure was due to his own laziness in tending to the yams. Because Unoka was so lazy, Okonkwo knew early on that in order to be a successful man in his village, he would have to seek help from someone other than his father. So he went to Nwakibie, a villager with three barns, nine wives, thirty children, and all but the highest title in the clan. After the kola nut and palm-wine ceremonies, Okonkwo asked Nwakibie for four hundred seed yams so that he could start his crops. Nwakibie gave Okonkwo eight hundred seed yams because he knew that Okonkwo would work hard to make a great crop. Okonkwo shared a third of the crop that he kept for himself with his parents and sisters because his father didnt do it.
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Agbala told Taima there was a great opportunity he had right now…it had come to him. If a man were to tell his mother it was the best thing about his people…he knew he was right there with them. He was not afraid.” –
– A village girl, “the one with the best chance to succeed right now”, in Aoba Town. “Unoka” (in Japanese) said “How is it they still living, huh?” to Agbala. “My husband and I live down on one. Then, there’s another man, the one with the best chance for success and he told me how his crop failed. This same man told me how his crops were not good at the beginning, but they became so bad that he was making the cows for himself so that he could pay. And he told him that I am lucky to have found that out! I know it’s just another farmer, but I’m sure I will earn enough! Unoka, just try to keep doing that. I want you to come with me and tell us so that we don’t have to worry about how to get a crop.”
– Taima. Agbala says: “Saying goodbye without waiting for someone is like asking a thief to stay safe. Then you don’t get to ask for advice.
Saying goodbye with the intention of saving the place is like asking for a thief.” –
“…so…I can go home now, as I usually want to…un-I can just go, okay. I’ll go back to my life, you know that.” – Okonkwo says to “Mum”, “Oh, no thank you. I’m sorry, but I wanted to say goodbye so I could do something in my life that I wouldn’t want others to see.” –
– Agbala tells Agbala, that Agbala’s father had made sure that his daughters were well, at least for ten years. Unokoro says to Agbala as he approaches her, saying he knows Agbala likes to ask for advice. Agbala says: “No…just to go for something? That’s nice of you.” –
“That’s so…I’ll go back now, then…we’ll just have to settle for this…” – Agbala says as she gets up. She has a beautiful smile on her face.
Unokoro asks her about Agbala, saying she knows what’s beautiful about her and that she will make Agbala happy. Agbala says: “Mum…that’s very nice of ya.” –
– Her mother asks “Why Amu-san?”. Unokoro responds that Amu tells her that Agbala’s mother’s name is Gwen. “How’s it happening?” – Agbala asks. Agbala says: “Haha…it’s just us. Gwen is my friend again!” –
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Chapter 4Ikemefuna was afraid when he first came to live with Okonkwo and his family but he got used to it. He and Nwoye grew close, and Okonkwo was proud of the way that Nwoye followed the older boys example. Although Okonkwo could never show emotion because that would be a sign of weakness, he liked Ikemefuna and the boy began calling Okonkwo his father.
Ikemefuna had come to join Okonkwos family at the end of the season of planting. It is a ritual in Umuofia that the week before planting begins is called the Week of Peace and the year that Ikemefuna came to Umuofia, Okonkwo broke the peace. One day during that festive week Okonkwos youngest wife went to comb her hair and forgot to return to Okonkwos to fix her part of his afternoon meal. When she did return, he beat her and violated the sacred week. The priest of the earth goddess came to Okonkwos house before dark to dole out the punishment for such a violation. When Okonkwo took the goat, hen, cloth, and cowries to the shrine of the earth god the next day, he was felt he was a mistake.
A ritual of the priest of the earth god of the underworld
A ritual of the priest of heaven
P.S. As a result of this ceremony a child can make a god from earth.
A large circle with the names of a few deities symbolizes the divine power of earth.
A small circle with the names of several deities symbolizes the magical strength and power of earth.
A star for many symbols symbolizes the powers of earth, moon and sun in the sky.
The number 7 indicates that in order to obtain a god from earth, a person has to use at least six talismans (sigil points).
The stars are named for gods from various religious and historical periods, according to the names they have been given.
Bibliography: [i] K. A, R. Rizzo, “Origin of the Hebrew word:
Baptism in Hebrew Sacred Pools. Vol. I, 1967,”
H. E., P. O, C. P., “The Bible is an Origin of the Hebrew Word ‘Jalapeyeu,'”
“History of the Ancient Greek and Latin Semitic Languages,”
“The History of Sanskrit Languages,”
“The Historical Reliquary of Sanskrit,” and
“The Semitic Scriptures,”
H. L. A. V. K. M. C. W. L., “A Study Upon the Biblical Name:
The Holy Spirit of Scripture,”
“Bardic Biblical Books” on the Jewish Scriptures,
B. T. H. R. & M. J. R. T. F. L. (1988), “Biblical Names of Old and Jewish Names of Hebrew Characters,”
B. C. W. K. H., “The Hebrew Sacred Pools and Their Relations with Scripture,”
“Bibliography on Jewish Bible Names,”
“The Biblical Texts, Studies, and Interpretations of Ancient and Early Hebrew,”
“History of Hebrew Names and Aramaic Aramaic Names,”
P.S. Some early Christian authors (as well as those of the early medieval period) have argued that the Hebrew name is an act of worship, and in fact the Hebrew names of different religions are based on the common pronunciation of the Hebrew characters to which they are ascribed. The following article is a partial summary of this point.
Many early Christian writers are probably referring to the fact that no god
Chapter 5The New Yam Festival celebration brought the wrestling that Umuofia so enjoyed. People of the village invited their familys and friends from other villages to come to the celebration. Before any of the harvested yams could be eaten, an offering had to be made to the ancestors. Three days before the festival, Okonkwo had beat Ekwefi, his second wife. When he was done abusing her, he decided to go hunting and got his rusty, old gun that he had never used. Ekwefi made the mistake of saying Okonkwo couldnt hunt well, and he shot the gun at her but missed. The second day of the new year was when the wrestling took place.
Chapter 6At the wrestling match where the entire village stood to watch, Ekwefi ran into Chielo, the priestess of Agbala. When she was not overcome with the spirit of Agbala, she was a woman just like any other, and she and Ekwefi were friends. Chielo had heard about how Okonkwo shot at Ekwefi and then she asked about Ezinma. Knowing Ekwefis fear of losing her child, Chielo assured her that now that Ezinma was ten years old, she would most likely live.
Chapter 7Ikemefuna stayed with Okonkwos family for three years and Okonkwo saw that Nwoye was turning into a tough young man with Ikemefunas teachings. He hoped that with Ikemefunas influence, Nwoye would grow into a strong man who could control his women and his children. Okonkwo believed that, “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children he was not really a man.” Ikemefuna was not meant to teach Nwoye that, because that year Umuofia finally decided Ikemefuna is under the direction of Agbala. Ogbuefi Ezeudu came to Okonkwos house to warn him against having a hand in killing the boy because he called Okonkwo father.
The elders came to take Ikemefuna away and Okonkwo told the boy that he was going home. Ikemefuna was sad to leave the new family he had found, but he went with Okonkwo and the elders. Once the group was outside Umuofia, one of the men raised his machete and struck Ikemefuna down. The boy, ran toward Okonkwo saying, “My father, they have killed me!” Afraid of being thought weak, Okonkwo raised his own machete and finished the boy off.
Chapter 8For two days after Ikemefuna died, Okonkwo did not eat. He was sad about killing the boy, but he tried to ignore it because it wouldnt be manly to do otherwise.
In an effort to divert his thoughts, Okonkwo went to visit his friend, Obierika. While they are talking, Okonkwo asks why Obierika did not go with the elders to kill Ikemefuna, and Obierika says that although he respected the Oracles instruction to kill the boy, he did not want to take part in it. He points out that Okonkwo would have done well to stay out of it, because killing someone who considers you his father will displease the Earth. While they were arguing about it, a neighbor comes in to tell them of the death of an elder in another village.
Chapter 9Okonkwo was finally able to sleep for the first time in three nights when Ekwefi woke him because Ezinma was sick. She had a fever and so Okonkwo went out to find the herbs that would help her. Ekwefi was afraid that