In what ways does Okonkwo embody the values and principles of Ibo culture? What are the strengths of his character?
In Ibo culture strength and hard work are extremely important. Without these characteristics, according to the Ibo people, one cannot succeed in life or live a respectable life. It is crucial to rise to a certain level of power in order to be a person of high reverence.
One way of demonstrating ones courage and vitality is through wrestling. Okonkwo proves this needed tenacity when he beats Amalinze the Cat in a wrestling match. This competition represents one’s willingness to stand up for his people and to bring honor to his tribe. Not only does Okonkwo succeed in taking out the long-time champion, he demonstrates the importance of displays of power in Ibo culture. There is no doubt that Okonkwo is a fierce tribesman, but sometimes his desire to always appear to be strong to those around him leads him to act rashly and in the end causes him to crack. The pressure to be seen at the strong one all the time was too much for him to handle and it ultimately lead to his tragic suicide.
Okonkwo does not only embody the value of strength in Ibo culture but also the value of hard work. Okonkwo was not born into a prestigious family and as Achebe points out, “with a father like Unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had. He neither inherited a barn nor a title, nor even a young wife” (18). Okonkwo’s father was a lazy man who rather play the flute than do the typical labor in the fields. Doing something other than fieldwork was not normally acceptable for men in Ibo culture and because his father was more interested in his flute and languages than doing “real” work, he was looked down upon in the village. Okonkwo, unlike his father, did do the acceptable work despite the fact that it was not easy or even rewarding at first. He had nothing to begin with so he borrowed yams from other laborers to get his harvest going. After much persistent hard work, Okonkwo was able to pay back those who had helped him, even giving them more than they had given him in the beginning. Okonkwo even built his own hut or obi. He worked hard every day and it paid off in the end. He was able to achieve his goals of living a life with respect to the principles of Ibo culture and of being a respectable man unlike his father, who died a shameful death and left many of his debts unpaid.
Okonkwo’s hard work was definitely one of his strongest characteristics and it is a characteristic that plays an important role in Ibo culture, but it is the social traditions that are an even larger aspect of Ibo culture. In Ibo culture it is important to always come bearing gifts particularly when the person has come to ask or request something and before the request can be made, the group must openly share the gifts and enjoy them. Okonkwo does this when he went to see Nwakibie, a wealthy man with a surplus of pretty much everything, to ask for seed-yams to start his own farm. Rather than just asking him for the seed-yams right away, Okonkwo takes out the palm wine, the kola nut, and the alligator pepper he brought with him to share with Nwakibie. He also gives him a rooster in exchange for the seeds. With these items at hand Okonkwo says to the clansman, “As our people say, a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness” (19). In this proverb, Okonkwo expresses the simple Ibo value of respecting those who help others and that if you do respect these great men you are essentially creating your own greatness. Okonkwo does a great job embodying many of the Ibo’s values and principles and the characteristics he has that follow the essence of these values are in fact his strongest characteristics.
(687)
Monday, November 19, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Ibo Culture as Seen in "Things Fall Apart"
In Ibo Culture, a sense of tradition was highly significant. The Ibo people would carry out the various traditions that had been passed down from their ancestors centuries ago in their everyday lives. These traditions or customs that came in the form of funeral ceremonies, one’s manners, rites of passage, and more were the backbone of the Ibo culture. They brought the tribe closer by allowing the people to come together and take part in activities as a group.
One of the most notable Ibo traditions is the rite of passage for young girls and boys maturing into adulthood. This rite of passage is not a sudden acceptance into adulthood but rather a series of rites they must go through over time before they become a true adult. Only eight days after birth, a child goes through the rite of circumcision. Every boy and girl must be circumcised in order to be part of the Ibo culture. Boys and girls must also complete the rite of wearing cloths. This entails going from wearing nothing to being completely covered in clothes, signifying social status as well as individual improvement or transformation. The next rite of passage is Iru-mgede (fattening a girl before marriage). This custom is done to promote healthy offspring as well as a healthy marriage. Itu Anya is the fourth rite of passage, lasting for eight days, where one becomes a Diviner. During this time, the child has time to think, reflect, and even communicate with spirits in order to gain the power, knowledge, and courage that is needed to become a Diviner. The last rite of passage for a child in Ibo culture is Igba-Mgba or wrestling. In this activity one shows his true strength and courage and with success he becomes a real warrior and in turn, a man.
The Week of Peace is a sacred time for the Ido people. Before any one is allowed to plant their crops they must live in peace with their neighbors for a week to honor Ani, the great goddess of the earth. It is ordained that if this peace is broken than they will not receive a blessing from Ani and their crops will not grow. Achebe demonstrates how important this week is to the Ibos through Okonkwo’s beating of his wife, Ojiugo. “The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan,” says the priest of the earth goddess, Ezeani (Achebe 30). It was a shocking moment for Ibo people when they heard of Okonkwo’s actions because “it was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace (31).
Another similar tradition in honoring the gods is the New Yam Festival. At this time of the year, before the harvest began, the Ibo people celebrated the joy of a new harvest year. At night they would throw away the yams of the old year and all of the cooking pots and pans were thoroughly washed. This was also a time to honor the earth goddess again and the ancestral spirits of the clan.
Aside from ceremonial traditions the traditions of telling stories was one of great importance in Ibo culture. It was not only fun but also educational because through these folk tales, myths, riddles, and proverbs the young Ibo children could learn about their ancestors and allow them to understand the importance of various customs. Nwoye could still remember the stories his mother used to tell him. He felt as ease when he reminisced about the many stories she told (53). They are a huge part of his life and serve an integral part in Ibo culture.
(605)
Websites:
http://members.tripod.com/ih8_tuxedos/index1.html
http://www.monge.net/thingsfallapart/Igbo%20Background.html
http://nths.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/muir/africa_project/p7/WomensRights/Tribal%20roles.htm
http://www.kwenu.com/igbo/igbowebpages/Igbo.dir/Culture/culture_and_socialization.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_people
One of the most notable Ibo traditions is the rite of passage for young girls and boys maturing into adulthood. This rite of passage is not a sudden acceptance into adulthood but rather a series of rites they must go through over time before they become a true adult. Only eight days after birth, a child goes through the rite of circumcision. Every boy and girl must be circumcised in order to be part of the Ibo culture. Boys and girls must also complete the rite of wearing cloths. This entails going from wearing nothing to being completely covered in clothes, signifying social status as well as individual improvement or transformation. The next rite of passage is Iru-mgede (fattening a girl before marriage). This custom is done to promote healthy offspring as well as a healthy marriage. Itu Anya is the fourth rite of passage, lasting for eight days, where one becomes a Diviner. During this time, the child has time to think, reflect, and even communicate with spirits in order to gain the power, knowledge, and courage that is needed to become a Diviner. The last rite of passage for a child in Ibo culture is Igba-Mgba or wrestling. In this activity one shows his true strength and courage and with success he becomes a real warrior and in turn, a man.
The Week of Peace is a sacred time for the Ido people. Before any one is allowed to plant their crops they must live in peace with their neighbors for a week to honor Ani, the great goddess of the earth. It is ordained that if this peace is broken than they will not receive a blessing from Ani and their crops will not grow. Achebe demonstrates how important this week is to the Ibos through Okonkwo’s beating of his wife, Ojiugo. “The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan,” says the priest of the earth goddess, Ezeani (Achebe 30). It was a shocking moment for Ibo people when they heard of Okonkwo’s actions because “it was the first time for many years that a man had broken the sacred peace (31).
Another similar tradition in honoring the gods is the New Yam Festival. At this time of the year, before the harvest began, the Ibo people celebrated the joy of a new harvest year. At night they would throw away the yams of the old year and all of the cooking pots and pans were thoroughly washed. This was also a time to honor the earth goddess again and the ancestral spirits of the clan.
Aside from ceremonial traditions the traditions of telling stories was one of great importance in Ibo culture. It was not only fun but also educational because through these folk tales, myths, riddles, and proverbs the young Ibo children could learn about their ancestors and allow them to understand the importance of various customs. Nwoye could still remember the stories his mother used to tell him. He felt as ease when he reminisced about the many stories she told (53). They are a huge part of his life and serve an integral part in Ibo culture.
(605)
Websites:
http://members.tripod.com/ih8_tuxedos/index1.html
http://www.monge.net/thingsfallapart/Igbo%20Background.html
http://nths.newtrier.k12.il.us/academics/faculty/muir/africa_project/p7/WomensRights/Tribal%20roles.htm
http://www.kwenu.com/igbo/igbowebpages/Igbo.dir/Culture/culture_and_socialization.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_people
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Metamorphosis
“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect (67).” Immediately, we readers are engaged in a surprising story of a man who has morphed into some kind of unwanted creature. In this instant we crave for more information about this poor man. A moment later we are informed that his transformation was not a dream. Instantaneously, there is uncertainty as to why someone would have such a drastic transformation. Could it be a magical spell put on him or maybe a strange disease he contracted? Well, it happens to be that Gregor Samsa has not been infected with any unknown mysteries but rather his unconscious self has taken over his outward appearance as an attempt to satisfy his repressed desires. Gregor’s continual repression of his true feelings about his job and his family leads to his uncontrolled and unstoppable metamorphosis.
Gregor had a lot on his shoulders. He, unlike his father, was the bread-winner of the family. He was the one that had to go out and earn a living sufficient enough to satisfy the needs of his mother, his sister, his father, and of course, himself. Without Gregor’s persistent work they would not have had enough money for every day matters, despite the small amount of funds left over after his father’s business collapse, which Gregor did not know about until after he became an insect. Their dependence on him was a constant pressure that eventually caused Gregor’s unconscious self to take over his physical self.
The only part of Gregor that stayed the same was his conscious mind. Surprisingly, instead of questioning his new state, Gregor focused on the one thing that may have caused it—his work. The moment he awakes from his somber sleep, he forcefully tries to get out of bed but is not able to at first because of the constrictions his new body has created and because he is still unaccustomed and unfamiliar to them. Gregor could not stop thinking about what would happen if he could not get out of bed and get to work that day. There would be so many new troubles presented to his family and it worried him. At the same time Gregor thought about how terrible his job was and how much he disliked it. Kafka shows us these feelings when he remarks, “Oh God, he thought, what an exhausting job I’ve picked on (68)!” Although Gregor hated his job he continued to ignore these unacceptable feelings when he thought about them because in his conscious mind he felt as though he would be letting his family down were he to quit his job. In order to suppress these thoughts, Gregor assures himself, “Well, there’s still hope; once I’ve saved enough money to pay back my parents’ debts to him—that should take another five or six years—I’ll do it without fail. I’ll cut myself completely loose from them then (69).” By falsely reassuring himself that if he continues to work for six more years he will be able to fulfill his own life, Gregor is further repressing his desires and in turn, allowing a build-up of repressed desires that have no way out other than through a full-body transformation from human to insect. An insect cannot work. It cannot carry out simple human tasks and because of these restrictions, being an insect is the perfect escape for Gregor from the many burdens placed on him and it is the perfect way for him to realize what he really wants—to be loved and to be accepted.
(601)
Gregor had a lot on his shoulders. He, unlike his father, was the bread-winner of the family. He was the one that had to go out and earn a living sufficient enough to satisfy the needs of his mother, his sister, his father, and of course, himself. Without Gregor’s persistent work they would not have had enough money for every day matters, despite the small amount of funds left over after his father’s business collapse, which Gregor did not know about until after he became an insect. Their dependence on him was a constant pressure that eventually caused Gregor’s unconscious self to take over his physical self.
The only part of Gregor that stayed the same was his conscious mind. Surprisingly, instead of questioning his new state, Gregor focused on the one thing that may have caused it—his work. The moment he awakes from his somber sleep, he forcefully tries to get out of bed but is not able to at first because of the constrictions his new body has created and because he is still unaccustomed and unfamiliar to them. Gregor could not stop thinking about what would happen if he could not get out of bed and get to work that day. There would be so many new troubles presented to his family and it worried him. At the same time Gregor thought about how terrible his job was and how much he disliked it. Kafka shows us these feelings when he remarks, “Oh God, he thought, what an exhausting job I’ve picked on (68)!” Although Gregor hated his job he continued to ignore these unacceptable feelings when he thought about them because in his conscious mind he felt as though he would be letting his family down were he to quit his job. In order to suppress these thoughts, Gregor assures himself, “Well, there’s still hope; once I’ve saved enough money to pay back my parents’ debts to him—that should take another five or six years—I’ll do it without fail. I’ll cut myself completely loose from them then (69).” By falsely reassuring himself that if he continues to work for six more years he will be able to fulfill his own life, Gregor is further repressing his desires and in turn, allowing a build-up of repressed desires that have no way out other than through a full-body transformation from human to insect. An insect cannot work. It cannot carry out simple human tasks and because of these restrictions, being an insect is the perfect escape for Gregor from the many burdens placed on him and it is the perfect way for him to realize what he really wants—to be loved and to be accepted.
(601)
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