As the years passed by, the world that the Ibo tribe knew began to drastically change. It all started with the arrival of white men; Christian missionaries. The culture and tradition of the Ibo tribe was put in danger of being taken or lost. Those who had always believed in the traditions of the tribe were presented with doubts. The tribe was once united, working together for a common goal with a common belief, but was now being divided due to the actions of those who chose to convert to the new Christian church. There were people in the tribe who felt they should remain loyal to their traditions and culture, and the tension between the two sides of the clan caused things to start falling apart. Okonkwo saw this divide and realized that the great clan he once led and knew was crumbling before him. When Okonkwo killed a missionary messenger at a meeting and no one joined him in violence, he realized that the Umuofia he had led in his youth was gone forever.
Obierika
After Okonkwo was banished from the tribe for seven years after accidentally killing a boy, Obierika greatly questioned the ways of the tribe. He wondered why his friend, Okonkwo, was punished so harshly for an accidental crime. He thought of the twins he had to throw away, and wondered what crime they had committed, other than being offensive to the Earth. Okonkwo’s banishment planted seeds of doubt in the heart of Obierika, seeds that were planted, but never grew. Even though Obierika thought these things in his mind, his heart still believed in the tribe and its mentality.
Obierika
After Okonkwo was banished from the tribe for seven years after accidentally killing a boy, Obierika greatly questioned the ways of the tribe. He wondered why his friend, Okonkwo, was punished so harshly for an accidental crime. He thought of the twins he had to throw away, and wondered what crime they had committed, other than being offensive to the Earth. Okonkwo’s banishment planted seeds of doubt in the heart of Obierika, seeds that were planted, but never grew. Even though Obierika thought these things in his mind, his heart still believed in the tribe and its mentality.
Ekwefi and Ezinma
Ekwefi, Okonkwo’s second wife, turns out to be his most important in the most unexpected of ways. Once a beauty in her own right, she wished to marry the tribe’s strongman, but he was too poor at the time. She had to marry another, but Okonkwo eventually had enough for her bride price. She quickly ran away to him. However, things would not be as smooth as she had once expected. Ekwefi, under the constant pressure women felt to bear many healthy children for their husbands, found she could not. Child after dead child bittered her to the point that she resented her own chi. Yet, when she carried her tenth child, her luck changed. As she watched this daughter, Ezinma, grow past six years, her heart filled with a mother’s love once more. Ezinma became not only her mother’s only child, but her best friend, calling Ekwefi by her first name. According to Ekwefi’s nine prior children dying early, Ezinma was classified as an ogbanje. Ezinma felt pressure from her mother to prove that she was no longer a demon and would live. She was also her father's favorite, he himself stating how “she should have been a boy.” Because she was a girl, she could not stand by his side or carry his chair to gatherings, a great sign of status meant only for the eldest or favored sons. She strived to make her father proud but felt restrained from her full potential due to her gender. |
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The Missionaries
In the 1880’s many traveled from England during the reign of Queen Victoria to parts of India and Africa to form trading routes and discover new goods as well as scientific studies of the plants and animals. Missionaries of large Christian based denominations followed, aiming to christen the african peoples, often without the ability to understand the traditions they already had. In trying to convert the african people, the missionaries unknowingly destroyed the culture and history of these people by not only coercion but also replacing their culture, religion and government with one of the european model. While Mr. Brown wishes in part to learn about the people and their culture. However, his replacement, Mr. Smith, sees the conversion of the african people as a battle between good and bad. “He saw things as black and white. And black was evil." Smith has no desire to learn about the people or their culture because hs sees them as savages and their beliefs backward. He is ignorant and cruel which leads the people to question this new faith. But by the time they realize it, it is too late and they have become too divided to fight back.
Nwoye
Nwoye suffered two breaking points within his life when he felt as if he couldn’t move on; the time when he realized Ikemefuna was dead, and the time he found out what was done to twins born into the tribe. These events, mixed with the hatred he felt for his father’s cruel ways, caused Nwoye to greatly question the ideals of the tribe. Okonkwo’s powerful hatred of weakness caused him beat his family and make Nwoye feel like he would never amount to anything. Because of this, Nwoye hated his father and everything he stood for. When Nwoye met the missionaries, who taught of love and compassion, he was immediately drawn to their religion. Eventually, Nwoye turned away from his father on joined the Christian church.
With the rise of the Christian religion in the Ibo tribe, the people became more divided. Families were split, century long traditions were broken, and chaos ensued. As Okonkwo realized, Umuofia quickly changed from a tribe that wasn’t afraid to fight anyone, to a tribe that was submissive and afraid. Although the white men came to establish peace and justice, the only thing they ensued was the death of a way of life. No longer would be the Ibo tribe ever be the way it once was. Okonkwo symbolically showed this fact in his last action as a living man, hanging himself. Normally within the Ibo tribe, it was a horrible deed to commit suicide and only the lowest of the low did so. However, when Okonkwo realized the tribe he once loved would never be the same, he committed this crime, showing that he too had moved on from the old ways. Okonkwo truly believed that things had fallen apart.
In the 1880’s many traveled from England during the reign of Queen Victoria to parts of India and Africa to form trading routes and discover new goods as well as scientific studies of the plants and animals. Missionaries of large Christian based denominations followed, aiming to christen the african peoples, often without the ability to understand the traditions they already had. In trying to convert the african people, the missionaries unknowingly destroyed the culture and history of these people by not only coercion but also replacing their culture, religion and government with one of the european model. While Mr. Brown wishes in part to learn about the people and their culture. However, his replacement, Mr. Smith, sees the conversion of the african people as a battle between good and bad. “He saw things as black and white. And black was evil." Smith has no desire to learn about the people or their culture because hs sees them as savages and their beliefs backward. He is ignorant and cruel which leads the people to question this new faith. But by the time they realize it, it is too late and they have become too divided to fight back.
Nwoye
Nwoye suffered two breaking points within his life when he felt as if he couldn’t move on; the time when he realized Ikemefuna was dead, and the time he found out what was done to twins born into the tribe. These events, mixed with the hatred he felt for his father’s cruel ways, caused Nwoye to greatly question the ideals of the tribe. Okonkwo’s powerful hatred of weakness caused him beat his family and make Nwoye feel like he would never amount to anything. Because of this, Nwoye hated his father and everything he stood for. When Nwoye met the missionaries, who taught of love and compassion, he was immediately drawn to their religion. Eventually, Nwoye turned away from his father on joined the Christian church.
With the rise of the Christian religion in the Ibo tribe, the people became more divided. Families were split, century long traditions were broken, and chaos ensued. As Okonkwo realized, Umuofia quickly changed from a tribe that wasn’t afraid to fight anyone, to a tribe that was submissive and afraid. Although the white men came to establish peace and justice, the only thing they ensued was the death of a way of life. No longer would be the Ibo tribe ever be the way it once was. Okonkwo symbolically showed this fact in his last action as a living man, hanging himself. Normally within the Ibo tribe, it was a horrible deed to commit suicide and only the lowest of the low did so. However, when Okonkwo realized the tribe he once loved would never be the same, he committed this crime, showing that he too had moved on from the old ways. Okonkwo truly believed that things had fallen apart.