Questions: Part I

1. Okonkwo is young, but he is considered a great man in his clan. He has achieved so much at such a young age because he is not lazy. He remembers his father's laziness and lack of a title to motivate him to be great. He is different from the average Western hero in various ways. Unlike them, Okonkwo does not show sympathy or any emotion at all. He is not much of a social person, and he is not an accepting person. However, he does have many strengths. Okonkwo is a very determined and intelligent man. He is a wealthy, hard-working man. He also has a weakness. He gets ill-tempered quickly, and he is not understanding. He is afraid to show his true feelings.

2. Unoka was a very lazy and laidback man. He borrowed money and never paid people back. Okonkwo was ashamed of his father because Unoka did not hold any titles. Unoka's laziness motivated Okonkwo to work hard. Okonkwo decided to learn good working skills so he wouldn't turn out like his father, without a title. Okonkwo's success at such an early age along with his father's failure shows that a man can prove himself worthy and not carry his father's name. A man is considered to be successful when he has a few barns, many wives, multiple children, and enough food to continuously sacrifice to the gods and ancestors. Therefore, if you are not a farmer, you are excluded from the success or titles that a man can receive.

3. The narrator of this story is straight forward and understanding. It describes each character or scene with honesty and a sense of ease. The narrator seems to believe strongly in the everyday traditions of the culture. He looks down on laziness and an easy life. However, he praises those who are knowlegdable and people who came out on top of a tough time. The narrator also is a strong believer in punishment but to an extent.

4. Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890's in Umuofia, Nigeria. The culture is of the Igbo people. The social lives are organized by who you reside by, your wealth, and your relatives. The important celebrations are for mainly the gods or ancestors and the end of harvest season. The purpose of war is justification mostly. These people's lives revolve around religion. Sacrificing and praying are every day necessities. They believe that gods control their lives, luck, and crops. Each individual in the community is expected to take a part in the celebrations and make themselves into someone important. The Igbo traditions are much different than my traditions. In our culture, we celebrate holidays for historical events, not harvesting. We also do not sacrifice living beings to gods, but we make personal sacrifices for God.

5. The people do not go out at night unless the moon is bright. They think that dangerous animals become more unpredictable. The children and adults were all quiet at night because they were afraid of evil spirits. They call snakes "strings" at night because they think the snakes can hear them.

6. A young clansmen is killed by Okonkwo's gun by accident. Accident or not, Okonkwo must leave his village with his family and not return for seven years. The following morning Okonkwo's hut, barn, and livestock is completely destroyed. However, Okonkwo is not hated. Him and his family are fleeing to a village just outside Mbaino.

7. The most important crop is yams. There is the dry season, rainy season, and harvest season. Sharecropping is farming and sharing the production of a crop or crops with someone else. The men are known to farm yams while the women farm coco-yams. Women are expected to mainly cook and tend to the children because they are not believed to be strong enough to farm yams.

8. Okonkwo seems to especially like his second wife's daughter, Ezinma. Throughout the story, Okonkwo secretly praises Ezinma and wishes she could have been a boy. He sees a lot of his father in his eldest son Nwoye. At times Nwoye can be very lazy, therefore Okonkwo pushes his a little too much. Although Okonkwo gets angry with Ekwefi, I feel he greatly cares for her. He was there to support her the night Chielo took Ezinma. He shows more respect to those three women than to anyone else in his family. Men farm all day long and make names for themselves. However, the women cook, bear children and take care their of children. Outwardly, Okonkwo shows no affection towards women becomes he does not want to be looked at as weak. But, he shows that he cares deeply about the women in his life when Ezinma became ill and when she was taken to the cave by Chielo.

9. Okonkwo was punished for breaking the Peace of Ani. He beat his youngest wife Ojiugo during the Week of Peace which is forbidden. That shows that the Igbo people are very serious about their cultures traditions. No one will slide for wrong doing. Ezeani thought beating your wife was wrong because you are insulting the gods and ancestors. It is considered as committing great evil.

10. The culture of the Igbo people is much different than my culture. However, I understand the events that are taking place. I have learned a lot about the culture of these people, and it's interesting to see the compare this culture to others known. The most foreign thing to me would have to be the digging up the stone of the Obanje children. The most familiar event to me is the get together before a wedding.