Wealth and Standing in Ibo Clan.
If a man owns over four-hundred pounds of gold, but his farm is very small and his only title is Walmart Manager. He is still considered to be very rich. Even though he is a poor farmer he does have a lot of gold. In America, one gains social standing and wealth by having more gold or silver than someone else. However, in the Ibo culture in Nigeria social standing and wealth is greatly determined by which titles a man holds, how successful he is in farming, and what livestock they have, along with the quality of the livestock.
In the culture of the Ibo, social ranking is determined differently than the rest of the world. Social standing is mainly identified by titles. It is said in the book "Things Fall Apart" "There are only four titles in the clan, and only one or two men in any generation ever achieved the fourth and highest. And when they did, they became the lords of the land." (Achebe 123). The titles are Okeosisi-The great one, Ugonabo: Total greatness, Akwa Akwuru: Title for a fellow who cannot be moved by anybody, and Eze: Title for king. Titles are achieved or granted after the holder has purchased said title. As the quote from "Things Fall Apart" suggests the highest
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(Poirier) In Ibo culture there are two main distinctions between crops "male crops" and "female crops". The reasoning behind these names is that crops whose cultivation requires more strenuous and tiresome are considered "male crops", like yams. In the Ibo culture “Yam is King”.(Korieh) Similarly, crops that don't require a large amount of strenuous and time consuming work as the male crops are called female crops, like coco-yams, beans, and cassava. (Achebe 22) Quantity is also used to rank a man's social standing. For example, if, a man only has a barn full of yams he would be seen as less powerful than a man with four barns of
In every epoch of history we find a gradation of social rank. As early as ancient
Titles played a major part in this society. There was a hierarchy of ascending titles that were to be taken in order, accompanied by an ascending scale of payments. The system acted as a simple form of social security, in that those who acquired titles paid a particular fee, and then were entitled to share in the payments of those who later acquired titles. A series of intense rituals were to be undertaken before acquiring a title, which was considered a symbol of character as well as of success. A titled man’s life was dominated by numerous religious restrictions, and it was expected that these would be strictly adhered to. A few Igbo states, such as Aboh and Onitsha, which had a tradition of origin from elsewhere, were ruled by kings, which were regarded as sacred and lived in ritual seclusion. However, the decisions taken by these kings were by no means final, they were often challenged and overruled by other titled men with whom they were required to consult. In general, however, kingship was an unfamiliar concept to the majority of Igbos.
In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Mr. Brown, the first missionary in Umuofia, was a kind and respectful man. Not to say that Reverend James Smith was not, but his degree of kindness and respect were present in a whole different level. They both wanted to convert the lost, all those in Umuofia that were not in the church. Mr. Brown made friends with the clan and “trod softly on his faith,” (pg.178) while Mr. Smith told them how things were in a harsh voice and tried to force his religion on the people of Umuofia. The impacts the two had on the people and the church were exact opposites.
In “Chapter 24” of Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe adopts a spiteful and grevious tone, and utilizes diction, symbolism, and figurative language to capture the pinnacle of the extirpation of the Igbo tribe. Achebe uses intense diction throughout the chapter when construing Okonkwo’s feelings about his fellow clansmen and the Europeans. Since his tone is meant to provoke emotion, he laces his sentences with temerit words like “vengeance,” (Achebe 199) and “tumult,” (Achebe 203). The use of his diction emphasizes the agonizing feelings of the clan, especially those of Okonkwo. Alternatively, Achebe utilizes a surfeit of Igbo words such as “nno,” (Achebe 199) meaning “welcome,”and “Umuofia Kwenu,” (Achebe 202) a phrase used to show the tribe members were paying attention during
Do people really change based on their past? We should believe they do. Chinua Achebe, wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart. This novel takes place in an African tribe with a village called Umuofia.The main character, Okonkwo, has a hard childhood. Later in his life he becomes very wealthy and has a big family. Okonkwo makes some big mistakes, but we can believe he learned from them. In the end of the book, Okonkwo kills himself after he kills a Christian missionary. Okonkwo killed the Christian missionary because he was trying to convert the people in his clan, to Christians. Okonkwo was so furious he had to get justice for his clan, so, he decided to kill the Christian missionary. On one hand, we can say Okonkwo was not learning from his mistakes. On the other hand, one can say Okonkwo was learning from his mistakes. We can think Okonkwo did learn from his mistakes because now he cares
The social structure of village life changed as the the economy became more complex because it allowed for classes to form. Some people had better jobs than others, and higher authority, which allowed them to make more money and therefore live a wealthier life.
At the beginning of the novel Okonkwo was a fairly wealthy and well-respected member of the Igbo society, but it had not always been that way for him. Okonkwo?s father, Unoka, had been a lazy man who would rather play his flute than take care of his crops. Unoka was said to be a charming man, and was able to borrow large amounts of money from his friends, but was never able to pay it back. As a result, Okonkwo has grown up very poor and ashamed of his lazy father. At one point in the book, Okonkwo remembers hearing one of his playmates calling his father an ?agbala,? which was the word for woman, but all described a man who had taken not titles (13). Okonkwo never forgets this, and actually develops a deep-seated fear that people will think that he is weak like his father. As I mentioned, Okonkwo became very well known, and his wealth and prestige rested solely on his own personal achievements. Okonkwo had received no inheritance from his poor father, no land and no money. As a young man, Okonkwo had been very successful wrestler, and as he grew older he became a well-known warrior. He was said to have brought home five human heads, which was a great achievement even for men who were much older that he was. At the beginning of the story, Okonkwo had obtained two titles, and had the respect of every man from all nine villages of Umuofia. Symbols of his wealth and prestige were his family and his compound. As I mentioned earlier, Okonwo had received no inheritance, and at the time of this story Okonkwo is still fairly young, and the fact that he had three wives, several children, and a very productive piece of land showed that Okonkwo was a very diligent worker. ?Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially...
Nations people. In the Ibo society, men are considered the rulers and leaders of the
The contrast of the cultures and the thoughts, the differences between the various ways of the living, the conflict of the moral of the past and the moral of the present is very popular theme to the generations of writers all over the world. And it is hard to deny, that this topic will never be outdated. Due to the continual development of society, changes in the culture and the consciousness of the community, the differences based on national, regional, ethnic, religious, institutional ground are internal in our world. To further discuss, the novel Things Fall Apart, could be described as a work that actually presents the colliding cultures and the perpetual conflict between the new world philosophies and old traditions. It is not the story
The Colonization in Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe’s African novel called Things Fall Apart, explores the colonization of an African tribe. The story takes place in Umuofia an Ibo village located in Nigeria where Okonkwo lives including his family, friends, and other members of the tribe. Okonkwo had started out rough in life because of his father, but became a wealthy and successful farmer who just never wanted his children to turn out like the lazy man his father was. Although Okonkwo didn’t always show his feelings towards most things he really did care and in the end this just wasn’t enough to save his clan or himself from the power that the white men had over the clan. As a consequence of the natives actions things really did fall
Things Fall Apart, Thematic Essay: Humans’ natural instincts are to deny a new aspect and stick to older ones. Nevertheless, old and new aspects are intertwined. Traditions and change are ever present in society, without them society would not prosper. Traditions are the foundations of society. However, just like any other foundation, sooner or later it must be altered or changed, even in the most miniscule way.
For an abundance of authors, the driving force that aids them in creation of a novel is the theme or number of themes implemented throughout the novel. Often times the author doesn’t consciously identify the theme they’re trying to present. Usually a theme is a concept, principle or belief that is significant to an author. Not only does the theme create the backbone of the story, but it also guides the author by controlling the events that happen in a story, what emotions are dispersed, what are the actions of characters, and what emotions are presented within each environment to engage the readers in many
The world has been conquered by the white man who considers himself the savior. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a strong character named Okonkwo is introduced who is a respected man in his village. In order to keep his title there are many troubles he must undergo, both internal and external. The final challenge is to fight against the missionaries who have used the weaknesses in the Ibo culture in their favor. Post Colonization is the genre the text conforms to with the language that is used, the events presented and the way characters are changed, as the novel demonstrates the disintegration of Nigeria’s villages.
Q1. Describe Okonkwo, the protagonist of Things Fall Apart. Consider him as an Igbo hero character: How does he achieve greatness and defined by his culture? How does he differ from Western heroes you are familiar with? What are Okwonko’s strengths and weaknesses?
Manliness in the TFA has many aspects to it. To be considered manly in the societies in TFA one had to be physically and mentally strong, rich, and wise. The individuals in TFA had an extreme disdain for those who they considered to be inferior and often compared weak men to women referring to them as efulefu or agbala. The efulefu and agbala had no titles in the society and were often shunned whenever they were around. One of the repeating themes in TFA is the possession of yams. All through the book there is repeated mention of the size of someone’s barn full of yams or of how many yams someone had planted and reaped. This idea that the size of a man’s barn is considered respectable is noted when Achebe states, “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams” (8). These yams represented an individual’s ability to farm and to provide their family with food. Along with this idea, yams were also considered the manly food to cultivate which Achebe points out when he states, “Yam, the king of crops, was a man’s crop” (Achebe 23). Therefore, it was considered manly to have as many yams as one could harbor. Not only was it noteworthy to have great wealth, but it was also noteworthy to have many wives and children. It was considered manly to have many wives and children primarily because it carried a man’s name on longer and further; however, it was noteworthy because it showed that a man was rich enough to provide for many people and not just himself. In order for a man to claim a title in their village they had to have achievement by having many crops, they had to have wives, and they had to have made a name for themselves. The primary method of making a name for oneself was through battle. The revered people in the society of TFA were those who readily went into battle for their village. Even more so revered were those individuals who were