Table of Contents
How is Okonkwo exiled?
Okonkwo’s gun accidentally goes off and kills Ezeudu’s sixteen-year-old son. Killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, so Okonkwo must atone by taking his family into exile for seven years.
How does Okonkwo feel when he is exiled?
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. Making things worse (in his mind), he has been exiled to the woman’s side of his family.
How does Okonkwo view his years exile?
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.
Why is Okonkwo exile from his land?
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. The family moves to Okonkwo’s mother’s native village, Mbanta.
Why does Okonkwo regret his exile?
Okonkwo regrets his exile even though he prospers in his motherland because he feels he would have prospered even more in Umuofia.
Why is Okonkwo’s exile ironic in Things Fall Apart?
In the seven years that Okonkwo was exiled, things began falling apart in his village. In only seven years, Okonkwo does not recognize his village. The irony is in the fact that Okonkwo cannot get his village leaders to go to war. To have a been such a strong leader, now Okonkwo has lost his authority.
What does Okonkwo’s exile symbolize?
Okonkwo’s exile forces him into his motherland. He doesn’t deal well with his misfortune because he is so intent on being as successful and influential as his father was poor and powerless. His initial lack of gratitude toward his mother’s kinsmen is a transgression of Igbo cultural values.
How did Okonkwo’s exile affect him?
What does Okonkwo decide to do at the end of exile?
Summary: Chapter 20 He asked that she wait to marry in Umuofia, after his exile, to which she consented. She even persuaded her sister, Obiageli, to do the same. Okonkwo hopes to attract interest when he returns with two beautiful, marriageable daughters. However, Umuofia is much changed after seven years.
Why is Okonkwo exile important in Things Fall Apart?
What led to Okonkwo’s suicide?
Okonkwo hangs himself because he is unable to adapt to the new society. He knows he will be imprisoned, (and probably executed) for killing the messenger. He is also a proud man, so prefers to take action into his own hands. By killing himself, he controls his own destiny instead of letting the Europeans control him.
What did Okonkwo say about defecating on the floor?
“Let us not reason like cowards,” said Okonkwo. “If a man comes into my hut and defecates on the floor, what do I do? Do I shut my eyes? No! I take a stick and break his head. That is what a man does.”
Why did Okonkwo cut down the man with the machete?
As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, “My father, they have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.
How does Okonkwo feel about the prospect of being annihilated?
Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible prospect, like the prospect of annihilation. He saw himself and his fathers crowding round their ancestral shrine waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice and finding nothing but ashes of bygone days, and his children the while praying to the white man’s god.
What does Okonkwo say about idleness in Chapter 5?
This passage in Chapter 5 reaffirms Okonkwo’s aversion to idleness and how he never wants to appear weak or ineffectual. As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow.