What happens in Things Fall Apart Chapter 15?
Things Fall Apart Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis. In the second year of Okonkwo's exile, Obierika comes to visit him, bringing two heavy bags of cowries. Okonkwo and his family are very happy to see Obierika, and Okonkwo presents him to Uchendu, who speaks of Obierika's father and the old days when people would visit distant clans.
Why was Okonkwo exiled in Things Fall Apart?
In Things Fall Apart, the main character Okonkwo is exiled from his tribe. Even though he is a successful man in accruing wealth from his yam farm, Okonkwo has trouble balancing his emotions and he is violent and angry most of the time. When he accidentally shoots and kills an elder's son during a funeral,...
What happened in Chapter 20 of Okonkwo?
Summary: Chapter 20. Okonkwo has planned since his first year in exile to rebuild his compound on a larger scale. He also wants to take two more wives and get titles for his sons. He has managed to get over Nwoye’s disgraceful departure, but he still regrets that Ezinma is a girl.
How does Okonkwo express his thanks to his motherland's relatives?
He expresses his thanks to his motherland's relatives with an extravagant celebration. Okonkwo's rigid, impulsive behavior hasn't changed during his seven years in Mbanta, and he is eager to return to Umuofia to make up for lost time. He reveres Umuofia because of its strong and masculine community, unlike Mbanta, which he labels a womanly clan.
When did Okonkwo get exiled?
During the large funeral, Okonkwo's gun goes off, and Ezeudu's sixteen-year-old son is killed accidentally. Because the accidental killing of a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, Okonkwo and his family must be exiled from Umuofia for seven years.
What happened in chapter 16 of Things Fall Apart?
Lesson Summary Chapter sixteen of Things Fall Apart shares that Nwoye has left his family and turned away from Okonkwo. Obierika travels to see Okonkwo, who will not speak about it, but Nwoye's mother shares the story of the Christian missionaries who came to Mbanta to speak.
What happened in chapter 12 of Things Fall Apart?
In Chapter 12 of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo and his family recover from a sleepless night after Okonwko and Ekwefi's daughter Ezinma was taken to the oracle in the caves by the priestess. Exhausted, they prepare for a marriage between Obierika's daughter Akueke and her husband-to-be Ibe.
What was Okonkwo punishment in Chapter 13?
Killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, so Okonkwo must atone by taking his family into exile for seven years.
What happened in chapter 17 of Things Fall Apart?
Chapter 17 continues the story of how Nwoye becomes a Christian. The missionaries sleep in the Mbanta marketplace for several nights and preach the Christian gospel each morning. After several days, they ask the leaders of the clan for land on which to build a church.
What happened in chapter 15 of Things Fall Apart?
Summary: Chapter 15 The village elders consulted their oracle, which prophesied that the white man would be followed by others, who would bring destruction to Abame. The villagers killed the white man and tied his bicycle to their sacred tree to prevent it from getting away and telling the white man's friends.
What happens in chapter 14 of Things Fall Apart?
In this chapter, Achebe presents a paradox about the manly and womanly aspects of Okonkwo's circumstances. Okonkwo begins his exile deeply discouraged and unmotivated. While striving for even greater manliness, he committed a female murder — that is, he accidentally killed a boy during the funeral ceremony.
What happens in chapter 11 of Things Fall Apart?
Summary: Chapter 11 Ekwefi tells Ezinma a story about a greedy, cunning tortoise. All of the birds have been invited to a feast in the sky and Tortoise persuades the birds to lend him feathers to make wings so that he can attend the feast as well.
What happened in Chapter 10 things fall apart?
Chapter 10 is devoted to a detailed description of a village public trial. At a gathering on the large village commons, the elders sit waiting on their stools while the other men crowd behind them. The women stand around the edges, looking on.
Who dies in Chapter 13 of Things Fall Apart?
Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter 13. In the dead of night, the sound of a drum and a cannon announce the death of Ezeudu, an important man in the village.
How long was Okonkwo exiled?
for seven yearsBecause killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, Okonkwo must take his family into exile for seven years in order to atone. He gathers his most valuable belongings and takes his family to his mother's natal village, Mbanta.
What happens at the end of Chapter 13 things fall apart?
During the final salute, when the drums sound loudly and guns and cannons are fired, an accident occurs. Ezedu's sixteen-year-old son falls dead from a gunshot through the heart. He and his brothers had been performing a final dance to honor their father. The offending gun is Okonkwo's.
What chapter does Okonkwo disown son?
Chapter Seventeen To the villagers' surprise, nothing happens with the white man, and the church is built within a few weeks. More and more villagers have been converted, including Nwoye. Once Okonkwo finds it out, he disowns and evicts his son from the village.
What is Okonkwo afraid will happen to his male children after he dies?
What is Okonkwo afraid will happen to his male children after he dies? They will forget the lessons Okonkwo taught them.
Why is Ezinma waiting to get married?
Why has Ezinma not married yet? She waited to marry a boy she was in love with before the exile. She can't marry until Nwoye marries. Okonkwo made her wait until their return from exile.
What happened in chapter 18 of Things Fall Apart?
Chapter eighteen of Chinua Achebe's novel ''Things Fall Apart'' follows the growth of Mr. Kiaga's Christian Church in the village of Mbanta. The church continues to convert villagers as the leaders of Mbanta debate whether or not to drive the church and its members out of the town.
Who comes to visit Okonkwo?
In the second year of Okonkwo's exile, Obierika comes to visit him, bringing two heavy bags of cowries. Okonkwo and his family are very happy to see Obierika, and Okonkwo presents him to Uchendu, who speaks of Obierika's father and the old days when people would visit distant clans. As he's talking, Uchendu mentions the clan of Abame, ...
Who brings the wine to Okonkwo?
Okonkwo's first wife cooks dinner and Nwoye brings the wine. After dinner, Obierika mentions that the money in the bags is for Okonkwo's yams. Obierika says that he will continue to sell them in Umuofia every year until Okonkwo's return. Okonkwo thanks him.
Why does Uchendu use a folktale?
Uchendu uses a folktale to illustrate the importance of language —he depicts silence as ominous. And it is true—the white men arrive quietly, and the clan allows them to stay, but they soon take over. Okonkwo agrees that the Abame were foolish, but only because they did not arm themselves to fight the white men.
What is the most traditional meal in Okonkwo?
Yams are the most traditional meal and a measure of wealth, providing Okonkwo with currency to use. Obierika offers Okonkwo true friendship.
What did Obierika tell the Abame?
Obierika tells of how a white man visited Abame during the last planting season. Their Oracle said that the strange man would destroy their clan, so the Abame killed the white man and tied his iron horse, or bicycle, to a tree. Then one day, three other white men came by, saw the bicycle, and went away again.
What is the first real story of the white man among the Igbo?
It is also worth noting that the first real story of the white man among the Igbo is one of conflict, violence, and destruction. Active Themes. Uchendu bursts out that they should not have killed the first white man in Abame. “Never kill a man who says nothing,” he says.
Why did the Abame kill the white man?
The Abame kill the white man because their Oracle said he would destroy their clan. But in killing the white man the tribe set in motion the events that really do destroy the clan. In killing the white man were they fulfilling or fighting fate? It is also worth noting that the first real story of the white man among the Igbo is one of conflict, violence, and destruction.
Why is Okonkwo banished?
Okonkwo is banished to learn how to become a balanced man who understands the supremacy of his mother's feminine qualities. Approved by eNotes Editorial Team.
What is the main character's name in Things Fall Apart?
In Things Fall Apart, the main character Okonkwo is exiled from his tribe. Even though he is a successful man in accruing wealth from his yam farm, Okonkwo has trouble balancing his emotions and he is violent and angry most of the time.
Why did Okonkwo's gun explode?
During the funeral rite for the elder Ezeudu, Okonkwo’s gun accidentally explodes, killing Ezeudu’s son. Because Okonkwo has a list of crimes, the Earth Goddess Ani banishes Okonkwo for seven years. He has to go and live in his mother's village.
Why was Okonwko exiled?
Okonwko was exiled because his gun exploded at a funeral ceremony, killing the sixteen-year old son of Ezeudu (the man whose funeral occasioned the ritual.) Even though the young man's death was clearly an accident, it is still a crime, and a very serious one, because the deceased was a clansman. Because the weapon in question belonged to Okonwko, he is deemed responsible. So Okonwko is forced to leave the village for seven years. As an additional ritual punishment, several men destroy his houses and kill his animals. Okonkwo and his family proceed to Mbanta, a village not that far away. When he finally returns, he discovers that much has changed in the village.
Why is Ani angry at Okonkwo?
Ani is already angry at Okonkwo because he is violent with his family. Also, he has killed Ikemefuna who was his adopted son. Even though Okonkwo is warned not to take part in the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo is afraid of appearing weak so he murders Ikemefuna.
How long did Ani banishe Okonkwo?
His irrational actions are destroying the moral fabric of traditional life. Therefore, Ani banishes Okonkwo to Mbanta, his mother’s village, for seven years.
What happened to Okonkwo in Umuofia?
The ceremony comes to an abrupt end as confusion rapidly spreads throughout the village. Okonkwo has committed a crime against the earth goddess and is forced to flee Umuofia. Ironically, Okonkwo's crime is also considered a female offense, and he is exiled for seven years. During his exile, Okonkwo and his family reside in his mother's homeland of Mbanta.
What is Okonkwo's plan for Chapter 20?
Summary: Chapter 20. Okonkwo has planned since his first year in exile to rebuild his compound on a larger scale. He also wants to take two more wives and get titles for his sons. He has managed to get over Nwoye’s disgraceful departure, but he still regrets that Ezinma is a girl. He asked that she wait to marry in Umuofia, after his exile, ...
How many years does Okonkwo wait to initiate his sons?
The ozo initiation ceremony occurs only once in three years, meaning that he must wait two years to initiate his sons. He deeply regrets the changes in his once warlike people.
Who is Okonkwo's leader?
Already having dealt with the missionaries in Mbanta, Okonkwo is now forced to deal with them in his own village. However, Mr. Brown, their leader, is far more enlightened than the average white colonist. Although he doesn’t really understand Igbo beliefs, he is capable of respecting them, and he does not want his flock to antagonize the clan. In a rare occurrence of cross-cultural understanding, he seems to share the clan’s value of peaceful, harmonious relations, and he debates religion with Akunna without insults or violence. His influence is largely benevolent, and Achebe uses Mr. Brown as a foil for the missionary who eventually takes his place, the more radical Reverend Smith.
Is Okonkwo crazy?
His increasing loss of power and prestige brings him great anxiety. Any remaining doubt that Okonkwo is slightly crazy is quelled when we learn that he has been fantasizing about, and seriously planning for, his triumphant return to his village since his departure. Okonkwo has great expectations for himself—in Chapter 20 we are told that, “he saw himself taking the highest title of the land.”
What chapter does Okonkwo go into exile?
Part 2: Chapter 19. Although Okonkwo has achieved status in his motherland, he feels that his seven years in exile have been wasted. He could have risen to the peak of Umuofian society if he had not been forced into exile. At the beginning of his last year in Mbanta, Okonkwo sends money to Obierika in Umuofia to rebuild two huts on the site ...
Why does Okonkwo prepare a feast for his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta?
As the time approaches for his family's return to Umuofia, Okonkwo instructs his wives and children to prepare a huge feast for his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta in a gesture to show his gratitude for kindness over the years of exile.
Why does Achebe revere Umuofia?
He reveres Umuofia because of its strong and masculine community, unlike Mban ta, which he labels a womanly clan. Achebe ends the chapter and Part Two with a foreshadowing of what is to follow: An elder member of the clan tells the young people, "I fear for you; I fear for the clan.". Glossary.
Can I live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle?
I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle. One must act according to one's fortune and circumstances; spittle is one's spit.
How does Okonkwo isolate himself?
Instead, he isolates himself by exhibiting anger through violent, stubborn, irrational behavior. Okonkwo demands that his family work long hours despite their age or limited physical stamina, and he nags and beats his wives and son, Nwoye, who Okonkwo believes is womanly like his father, Unoka.
What is Okonkwo's flaw?
Okonkwo's tragic flaw is his fear of weakness and failure. In his thirties, Okonkwo is a leader of the Igbo community of Umuofia. Achebe describes him as "tall and huge" with "bushy eyebrows and [a] wide nose [that gives] him a very severe look.".
Why is Okonkwo ashamed of his father?
He is quick to anger, especially when dealing with men who are weak, lazy debtors like his father. However, Okonkwo overcompensates for his father's womanly (weak) ways, of which he is ashamed, because he does not tolerate idleness or gentleness.
What is the tragic flaw in Things Fall Apart?
A tragic hero holds a position of power and prestige, chooses his course of action, possesses a tragic flaw, and gains awareness of circumstances that lead to his fall. Okonkwo's tragic flaw is his fear of weakness and failure.
What happens when Okonkwa kills a messenger?
When Okonkwa rashly kills a messenger from the British district office, his clansmen back away in fear; he realizes that none of them support him and that he can't save his village from the British colonists. Okonkwo is defeated. He commits suicide, a shameful and disgraceful death like his father's.
Why does Okonkwo kill Ikefemuna?
Okonkwo is advised not to participate in the murder of Ikefemuna, but he actually kills Ikefemuna because he is "afraid of being thought weak. ". When the white man brings Christianity to Umuofia, Okonkwo is opposed to the new ways.
How many wives does Okonkwo have?
Okonkwo is renowned as a wrestler, a fierce warrior, and a successful farmer of yams (a "manly" crop). He has three wives and many children who live in huts on his compound.