08 July 2006

Part 2 Answers

  1. Okonkwo takes his family to his motherland after committing a “female” ochu because he is now exiled for seven years, he went to his motherland because not only is it right outside of Umuofia, but he has family there who could help him out. Okonkwo is in despair because he was so close to becoming a lord of his clan, which is one of his life goals. Uchendu says that it is normal to despair in his motherland because the mother is when a child always goes when something is wrong.
  2. The Abame clan is no longer in existence. Uchendu thought it was unwise of the Abame to kill a man who says nothing, Okonkwo thinks it was unwise that they did not arm themselves to kill the intruders once they were warned they were coming. Uchendu’s reaction seems wiser it is not only the write and just thing to do but it is also important because the man could be there to help them or to hurt them but without knowing what he was saying they couldn’t know which one it was. When Uchendu says that there is no story that is not true he means that to some extent all stories are true.
  3. Obierika visits Okonkwo in exile for the first time to bring him money from the harvest of his fields. The second time Obierika comes is to tell Okonkwo that he saw Nwoye with the Chrisitans. Nwoye decided to join the Christians because what they said and their songs seemed to speak to his soul and answer his questions. The African’s reaction towards the Christian missionaries and their evangelical efforts at first was amused the Africans thought these people were strange and even weird, and most of them didn’t take them seriously. Their next stage was confusion, this is because they Christians’ were building in the Evil Forest and were not dieing. Confusion then turned to hatred when more Africans started joining the church, the Africans decided not to let them into town anymore or to let them fetch water from the lakes. One source of misunderstanding is their cultures the way the Christians think is different than the Africans and so they can be rather confusing, another source of misunderstanding is their language since they can’t translate perfectly the Africans do not fully understand them so there can never truly be any full understanding between both groups. Outcasts are attracted to the new religion because in this new religion they are actually accepted and cared for like anyone else would be, or maybe even more since they need god more. Nwoye converts to Christianity because he thinks it will help answers his questions, such as why do the Africans kill twins. Okonkwo disowns Nwoye after he converts to Christianity.
  4. The crises the church in Mbanta had in its early life was that some converts had gone into the village to talk badly about the African gods; they were then beaten until they streamed with blood. Another early crises was a convert going back to his old ways after Mr. Kiaga accepted outcasts into the Christian religion. The people of Mbanta are content with the Christian religion remaining in their midst because when Okoli died after killing the sacred python they realized that the gods were still able to fight their own battles. Some differences between the Mbanta religion and the Christian is that the Mbanta have outcasts the Christians accept outcasts, the Mbanta people kill twins the Christians accept them, also the Christians believe in one god while the Mbanta believe in many gods.
  5. An Elder has seen changes in the recent generations of their people, these changes are that the younger generation consider themselves wiser than their sires, they do not understand how strong the bond of kinship is, and men now turn on their fathers curse the gods of their ancestors. These changes scare the elders because now an abominable religion has settled in and it causes men to go mad. By the tribe weakening with less bondage and more hate and resentment it will be easier for the white men to come in and ultimately take over rule in Africa.

Posted by Sharon_Lizotte @ 11:02 AM