Does anyone actually control their own fate? In the story, Things Fall Apart, Ikemefuna is a boy from Mbaino whose life was changed. He moves into Okonkwo’s house as a sign of peace between Umuofia and Mbaino when a man from Mbaino murders a girl from Umuofia. At first Ikemefuna is terribly afraid, but over time he becomes more comfortable with his new family. Ikemefuna contributes significantly to the story by developing the theme of “fate vs free will” by his thoughts, his actions, and the beliefs of the Ibo culture. Ikemefuna’s thoughts are an important factor in having a better understanding him as a character. When Ikemefuna is running through the forest with Okonkwo and the other men of Umuofia before he got killed, he is thinking …show more content…
Okonkwo had a close relationship and was very fond of Ikemefuna. This had an effect on Okonkwo when he killed him. After Ikemefuna was hit with one blow by the machete of one man, he ran over to Okonkwo and cried out, “‘My father they have killed me!...Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down,’” (61). Okonkwo for the next couple of days was a changed man. By killing someone that he is close to and views as a son, it affects his short term fate. The last memory that Okonkwo has of Ikemefuna is Ikemefuna running towards him for help. Another person that Ikemefuna affected was Nwoye. When Okonkwo got back to the obi after killing Ikemefuna, Nwoye knew what happened. The book says, “Nwoye knew that Ikemefuna had been killed, and something seemed to give way inside him, like the snapping of a tightened bow. He did not cry. He just hung limp,” (61). Nwoye and Ikemefuna over time had become great friends and close brothers. It was almost as if when Ikemefuna was killed by Okonkwo, a piece of Nwoye had also died. This however also affected Nwoye relationship with Okonkwo. Later in the story their broken relationship is really shown when Nwoye leaves and joins the Christian missionaries. Ikemefuna’s fate is not just based on the free will of the people around him, Ibo culture was also an important …show more content…
When Ikemefuna is first introduced into the story, it is almost as if he never had a chance from the start. At the end of the first chapter it says, “And that was how he came to look after the doomed lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their neighbors to avoid war and bloodshed. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna,” (8). From the beginning, Ikemefuna’s name is associated with negative ideas. His fate is foreshadowed as to be bad for him. It shows that Ikemefuna is not in control of his own fate. The elders of Umuofia are the ones that decided how to bring justice to the crime committed by the man of Mbaino. It says, “As for the boy, he belonged to the clan as a whole, and there was no hurry to decide his fate,” (12). The fates of the two children from Mbaino are decided for them without their consent or question. Their destinies and lives were changed forever because of a crime that a tribesman committed. The free will of Ikemefuna was absent from the beginning. His fate was based off of what the elders believed was
I chose to write from Ikemefuna’s perspective because I thought it would be interesting to see his thoughts before he got murdered. Ikemefuna, is one of two of Okonkwo’s sons, and Nwoye’s brother, he does not have a biological relationship with Okonkwo or Nwoye. Ikemefuna was an offering by the people of Mbaino to Umofia for the killing of Ogbuefi Udo’s wife. The elders did not know what to do with Ikemefuna, so they gave him in the meantime to Okonkwo. I chose to re-write this specific scene because I thought it would be interesting to show what’s going through Ikemefuna’s head before he is murdered by his own father.
Okonkwo has a very harsh personality where things need to be done the way he likes it. Okonkwos’s temper has been shown in the novel to get the better of him sometimes and it ends up getting him into trouble. Also Okonkwo has a masculinity complex that makes him feel the need to do anything that doesn’t make him seem feminine, even if that may be to kill somebody like Ikemefuna. The last lines of Ikemefuna in the novel were “My Father, they have killed me!”(Achebe 61) before Okonkwo drew his machete and took Ikemefuna’s life. Okonkwo said that he did this because he didn’t want to seem weak and feminine. Okonkwo was also warned by Ogbuefi Ezeudu not to take part in Ikemefuna’s death but he does it anyway. Okonkwo was also exiled because of an accidental murder of Ogbuefi Ezeudu’s daughter because Okonkwo’s gun went off without him actually shooting it. He had to leave Umofia for seven years and according to Okonkwo, when he left the clan became weak and eventually fell to the Christian...
“They will take him outside Umofia, as is the custom, and kill him there. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. He calls you his father. (57)” This quote explains that Ogbuefi expresses concern for Okonkwo, because the Oracle explains how it would be wrongful of Okonkwo to kill Ikemefuna. “Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak. (61)” This quote portrays that Okonkwo completely disregarded what Ogbuefi and the Oracle cautioned him about, because he was too concerned about his status of what others thought of him. “At last the man was named and people sighed “E-u-u, Ezeudu is dead.” A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo’s back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him. (121)” At this point in the story, it appears that Okonkwo is starting to realize his wrongdoings, primarily because he takes religion and his spiritual life very seriously, in regards towards the Oracle. Okonkwo begins to lose trust within his family, especially with Nwoye. (As mentioned in the previous paragraph.) In the beginning of the book, Okonkwo relied on Ikemefuna to help Nwoye become more masculine and tough. After Ogbuefi warns Okonkwo about taking part in the murder, Okonkwo thinks about what could happen to him once the gods find out. Once again, Okonkwo lets his emotions
In addition to this as the sacrifice included Ikemefuna and a little girl as they walked to the village of Umuofia Ikemefuna was trying to calm her down because she had been crying about never seeing her family again even though Ikemefuna would never see his family ever again because he was put in to a new tribe.
This quote shows that Okonkwo is really sympathetic and how he has a liking ness to some children for different reasons. This also shows how Okonkwo is not a heartless man and actually cares for his children. “He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy.” (Achebe Ch 4) This shows that Okonkwo even shows sympathy to those that are not related to him. Ikemefuna came in as a prisoner but later ended up becoming apart of Okonkwo's family.
Okonkwo’s desire for respect motivates his quest to preserve the practices of Ibo culture, while Obierika preserves the practices of the Ibo culture with a more humanistic perspective. Achebe uses the differing approaches of Okonkwo and Obierika in maintaining the cultural doctrines of the Ibo people to reveal his sympathy for Obierika over Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s motives for maintaining the customs of the Ibo originate with fear. Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna while “dazed with fear,” drawing “his machete [to] cut him down” because, “he was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 61). Though Okonkwo attempts to appear strong to the people of Umuofia, his fearful motivation speaks to a hidden internal weakness. Okonkwo’s focus on eradicating the taint of “his father’s weakness and failure” and his yearning for respect drive him to kill Ikemefuna instead of the more proper motive of simply effectuating what the Ibo conside...
They decide to take him on a walk and kill him there. As Achebe describes it, “He heard Ikemefuna cry, ‘My father, they have killed m...
In the historical fiction, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe illustrates a scene in third person omniscient where Ikemefuna, a son of a murderer, gets executed by Okonkwo; however, the focus of the passage would be different if it were written using the first person point of view. To start off, Okonkwo attacks Ikemefuna with his machete, but he only does this because he does not want to be weak to the other men around him. Achebe depicts, “Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought of as weak” (Achebe 61). When Okonkwo said he was afraid of being weak, Okonkwo clarified that he had a positive emotional connection with Ikemefuna and never wanted to kill him.
Is there someone or something that always controls our decisions or do we have the power to choose our own destiny? For many ages, there have been debates by philosophers, scientists, and neuroscientists on the complicated issue of fate and freewill. I believe that fate and freewill coexist with each other and that every person is destined to succeed, but it is their freewill that either makes them succeed or unsuccessful. Fate is an unseen power that does control the major decisions of one’s life reminding one that everything in life happens for the better.
Perspective is used in Things Fall Apart to give high contrast to issues within the community, which brings out its inner complexity. When differences of opinion are highlighted, these differences show that internal pressure are causing the tribe to break down from within. Ikemefuna’s death is a point of stark disagreement among the Umuofians. Ezeudu tells Okonkwo, “I want you to have nothing to do with [Ikemefuna’s death]. He calls you his father” (57). Although Ezeudu warns Okonkwo about participating in the death of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo decides to kill Ikemefuna himself. Ezeudu’s oppinion that Okonkwo should not be involved with the boy’s death shows the reader a shade of the community that would not have been seen without highligh...
Ikemefuna was Okonkwo’s “adopted” son. Ikemefuna and a little girl were taken away from their families in a neighboring village after a man from his village killed a man in Umuofia’s wife. Ikemefuna was given to Okonkwo as a peace offering and he fit in quite well with his new family. Okonkwo’s other sons were greatly influenced by Ikemefuna, and Ikemefuna’s relationship with Okonkwo was closer than that with his biological father. After three years of living with Okonkwo, Ikemefuna was told that he was going home. In reality, the oracle had told Okonkwo that Ikemefuna was to be killed. As Ikemefuna was on his journey “home” his innermost thoughts give his opinion
Ikemefuna – Even though Ikemefuna is seen as the perfect son and clansman, he is still sentenced to death by the Oracle. He is a hard-working, caring character.
Fear of failure and weakness dominates Okonkwo throughout his life. At first this fear motivates him to rise to success by working diligently and doing everything his father did not do. However, even when Okonkwo establishes an honorable reputation, fear of failure continues to overwhelm him and drives him to perform acts that lead to his suffering. One example of this is when the men of Umuofia decide that Ikemefuna must be killed and Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna even though he is told not to partake in the killing of Ikemefuna. Okonkwo panics when Ikemefuna turns to him and cries for help, and without thinking, Okonkwo slays Ikemefuna with his machete. Okonkwo does this because in the split second where Ikemefuna runs to Okonkwo for protection, Okonkwo is overpowered with fear of being seen as weak and kills Ikemefuna. This is an unwise act on behalf of Okonkwo, and as a result, he suffers emotionally in the next few days. He enters a stage of depression and cannot eat or sleep as all he can think about is what he has done to Ikemefuna. It is at this point that things start t...
Umuofia's government is very messed up. They call themselves the Oracle and when they pronounce something, it happens. In chapter seven of the book, they kill ikemefuna and Ogbuefi Ezeudu comes to Okonkwo’s hut to warn him of what they oracle said. He stated, “ Yes, Umuofia has decided to kill him” ( Achebe, 1959, pg. 57). Everyone must follow what the oracle says so, Okonkwo and many other men had to take Ikemefuna to the
Nwoye grows tired of his father and is called by the Christian faith and converts. Nwoye’s internal struggle with himself between change and tradition ultimately led him to convert against his father’s wishes. Okonkwo is extremely resistant to change, so he does everything in his power to prevent his family from converting; “‘If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck’” (Achebe 105). Okonkwo uses fear to keep his other children from the Igbo culture.