Being Black in America

Colorism or discrimination based on skin color is a form of prejudice where people are being treated differently based on the color of their skin. I thought most colorism in America occurred among black African Americans, but as I learned in an episode of “Oprah´s lifeclass”, light-skinned black women also face prejudices every day. They don´t however just experience prejudices from white people, but also in their own communities.

Iyana Vanzant was on an episode of “Oprah´s Lifeclass” where she talked about the issue of colorism. Many understand colorism as prejudices that black people face, but as two of the women in the audience proved, light-skinned black women experience it too. The light-skinned black women are in fact facing prejudices both from the “black” community, where they are among other things called “lite-brite” or “high yellow”, as well as in the “white” community, where they are called the same things as darker black people. As a light-skinned black woman said: “You´re alienated from your own people. You´re never black enough.” But in America, she is still black.

In the movie “Crash” we saw an example where a police officer treated a light-skinned black woman disrespectfully. The devious policeman punished her to take revenge on another black woman that had upset him. He wanted to make the black race pay. It would, of course, not be okay if she was black either, but it is interesting to see that the police officer actually follows the “one drop rule”. He saw that she had a drop of “black blood” in her, and it was enough for him.

Now and then I stumble over a video clip or a news article about police brutality in America. Often there are black African Americans or light-skinned African Americans, whom the police thinks are up to something illegal and accordingly they abuse or even kill them. Reading articles concerning this provokes me and I keep asking why people like that even get to be cops. It is sad to think about, but the reality is that colorism occurs every day. Even in the police. When I was younger I looked up to the police and thought that they always would be fair and civil, but unfortunately it is not the case everywhere.

 

Demonstrators march in New York, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, during the Justice for All rally and march. In the past three weeks, grand juries have decided not to indict officers in the chokehold death of Eric Garner in New York and the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. The decisions have unleashed demonstrations and questions about police conduct and whether local prosecutors are the best choice for investigating police. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Sources: 

Colorism: Light-Skinned African-American Women Explain The Discrimination They Face (Video) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/13/colorism-discrimination-iyanla-vanzant_n_4588825.html

Discrimination Based On Skin Color  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_based_on_skin_color#United_States

 

 

Crash

Today we started watching the movie Crash. The movie was written and directed by Paul Haggis in 2004. The film is highlighting racial contrasts in today’s Los Angeles. Today we watched the first half hour of the movie. During that time there were two situations where the same white woman expressed her prejudices against blacks/colored people.

The first scenario was when she walked down a street with her husband in the evening. She noticed two black men walking towards them and she immediately expressed her fear by tightly holding on to her husband. This offended the two young men and consequently they stole her and her husband´s car. In this scenario, her prejudice turned out to be correct, they were actually criminals. They did have guns. Even though i think that they might not have stolen her car if she hadn´t provoked them. This is however not always the case. Often prejudices are very wrong.

That same night she hired a man to change their locks, she was scared after the car robbery. But when she noticed that the man changing the locks was a black man, she loudly complained to her husband and demanded that they should change locks again the next day. This time her prejudices were completely wrong. The young man who changed the locks went home to his daughter, and showed us what to me seemed like a masterclass in parenting. He turned out to be a great, caring father, not a gang member like the judging woman had expected. 

I think what we can learn from this is that we should be careful with our prejudices. If we do have any, which I think many of us do, we should keep them to ourselves. Many times, people will get hurt. We can even provoke people to live up to our prejudices.

 

Themes

Undoubtedly, the main theme of the novel Things Fall Apart is the struggle between change and tradition. The novel considers how different characters are affected by change and how they deal with it. Okonkwo for example, resists the new changes because it questions his personal status. In the first part of the book, Okonkwo clearly has a high status because of the titles he has taken and because he is a great warrior, but when the Christians come and welcome every outcast of the clan, saying that all men are equal, Okonkwo´s status is in jeopardy. In general, the villagers are caught between resisting and embracing the new religion. Many of them, including Okonkwo´s son, are excited by the new opportunities and techniques. But the most important reason why Okonkwo´s son converted to the new religion is to seek answers.

Another significant theme in the novel is the varying interpretations of masculinity. To the main character, Okonkwo, masculinity is associated with aggression and during the whole novel, most of the feelings he expresses are anger. He gets this from the hatred he has for his dead father, a man Okonkwo despised and did everything in this power not to be like. For the most part, the clan´s idea of manliness is not the same as for Okonkwo. While Okonkwo is in exile, he is supposed to get more in touch with his feminine side, but he only reinforces his idea that men are stronger than women.

The clash of cultures is also an important theme in the novel. Like I mentioned, the change occurs on an individual level, but also at social levels. The cultural misunderstandings lead to conflicts where several people were killed.

Achebe gives us a detailed picture of the Ibo life and society before the white man came and changed the picture. The book is almost a history book. Everything is explained to us. We get to know a strange and foreign culture. And most important of all, we learn that the tribesmen are human beings just like us, only with different believes and rituals. We learn about the Ibo culture from the inside.

Original caption: Okporo, Nigeria: Return To Normal Dancing is children’s spontaneous way of expressing well being and general enthusiasm at a near return to normal family and community living following the Nigerian civil war. August 17, 1970 Okporo, Nigeria

Characters – Strengths and Weaknesses

Here is an overview I made of the main characters in the novel Things Fall Apart. I have focused on strengths and weaknesses because it is clear in the novel that several of the characters are flawed, I though this would be interesting to write about.

Okonkwo (main character):

Strengths: He is masculine, a hard worker, very respected, a warrior and a provider for his family, a wealthy farmer.

Weaknesses: He fears femininity and shows no emotions (except anger), but has an internal fear. He is a slave to his culture/traditions. His biggest flaw in my eyes are that he is a murderer, although this is described as a strength as a warrior earlier in the novel.

The nature of Okonkwo is on one hand a lack of consideration before he acts, on the other hand he often has second thoughts. He does never tell anybody that he has been wrong, e.g. after he broke the Week of Peace in Chapter 4. He is too proud to admit his mistakes. Neither does he tell his family nor his friend, Obierika, about his sorrow after Ikemenfuna´s death. As readers we know his thoughts, and we know that his feelings fight with his obligations, and the obligations are always win. We also know that he cares about his daughter, Ezinma, and her mother Ekwefi, and they have a close relationship. His son, Nwoye, does not meet the standards of a man as Okonkwo sees it, and again, his cultural obligations makes him ashamed of his son, and is in the way for his love. Okonkwo is sort of a slave of the old, traditional, Ibo way of life, and he has adapted the faults of the system. Ironically, the only time feelings fight his obligations, is when he, in hopelessness and desperation, commits suicide.

Unoka (father):

Strengths: He is relaxed, a clever musician who finds much joy in playing his flute.

Weaknesses: He is weak, irresponsible, lazy and cannot provide for his family. He does not have the traditional respect from the clan.

Unoka is the quite opposite of his son, Okonkwo. With the character Unoka we know that the Ibos are not only warlike people, but a nation with interests in art and music and a more peaceful side of life.

Nwoye (son)

Strengths: He is liked by everyone (except his own father), is sensitive, has a nontraditional lifestyle, studies to become a teacher.

Weaknesses: He is a little naive, lacks courage (timid), feelings come first (which is both a strength and a weakness ;-)).

In the same way as his grandfather, Nwoye shows us the gentle side of the Ibo life.

Obierika (best friend)

Strengths: Loyal, wise, a moralist, a thinker and well respected in the Umuofia clan.

Weaknesses: Does not have influence in the same way as Obierika.

Obierika is the counterpart of Okonkwo, but he is not at all weak and he is not a coward. “ I am not afraid of blood,” he says in Chapter 8. He reflects before he acts. He will obey the law, but not blindly. Like Unoka and Nwove, Obierika shows other aspects of the Ibo people: The thoughtful and perspective aspects. Through Obierika we learn how one has to adjust to modern life and new ways of living.

Ikemefuna (lives with Okonkwo ´s family, Okonkwo ends up killing Ikemefuna)

Strengths: He is able to integrate/assimilate into the new culture and becomes close to Okonkwo´s family.

Weaknesses: Has to follow what is decided for him. He has no influence on his own life.

The murder of Ikemefuna shows us the brutal action-without-thinking side of Okonkwo, but in his sorrow this incident, we also, for the first time, realize that Okonkwo has human emotions. He is distressed, upset and in deep sorrow.

Ekwefi (second wife)

Strengths: She is a strong woman, will do everything for her beloved ones. She shows this in particular when Ezinma is taken by the priestess.

Weaknesses: She has a painful past, and her life is full of sadness.

Through Ekwefi, we learn that women in the Ibo culture can be strong and wise.

Ezinma (child of Ekwefi and Okonkwo)

Strengths: She is a loved child. She has a close relationship to her mother, and is her father´s favourite child. Besides, she is beautiful.

Weaknesses: Her destiny as a woman in Umuofia is decided.

Through Okonkwo´s relationship to Ezinma (and Ekwefi), we learn that Okonkwo also has a gentler side, with human emotions and affections.

 

Summary (and Analysis): Ch 20-25

PART 3

Okonkwo has returned to Umuofia. The new faith has spread and gathered strength, and after seven years in exile, Okonkwo has lost the opportunity of leading his people in resistance. He does however manage to re-establish his fortunes and takes two new wives. In spite of losing Nwoye, he has five other sons and his daughter Ezinma has turned into a beautiful young woman. Umuofia has changes during the last seven years, a church has been built and many have converted to the new religion. Okonkwo cannot understand why the people doesn´t resist with force, but as Obierika pointed out: it is useless since their society is being undermined from the inside.

Although Okonkwo cannot see it, the whites have in fact brought increasing prosperity to Umuofia. The mission is being strengthened by the missionary Mr. Brown. He discovers a way to rapidly spread his influences: he starts building a school and a hospital. After Nwoye has been baptized and has left to become a teacher, Okonkwo feels like his return to Umuofia has been spoilt. He doesn´t longer see Umuofia as a land of warriors, but as a whole new land with new interests that doesn’t respect the old values.

The missionary Mr. Brown has become ill and is replaced by Mr. Smith. The new missionary is very narrow-minded and doesn´t try at all to understand the Ibo ways. This causes more conflicts. Mr. Smith causes the greatest conflict when he unmasks an egwugwu. Consequently, the villagers destroy his compound and burn the church to the ground. Mr. Smith is told that if he wants to live among them, he has to learn and understand their ways.

At last, Okonkwo has persuaded the clan to act. He takes five other leaders of the clan with him to the court-house, but they are tricked, arrested and put in handcuffs. They are charged for destroying property and have to pay a fine. They are maltreated and their heads are shaved. The villagers are shocked when they experience the white man´s law.

After returning to the village, Okonkwo calls in all tribesmen to a meeting. Okonkwo is humiliated and swears he will take revenge. When two court messengers appear with orders to stop the meeting, Okonkwo is furious and cuts off the messenger´s head with his machete. The other messengers run away, and Okonkwo is now convinced that his people will not fight.

When the District Commissioner and his soldiers arrive to Okonkwo´s compound they find Obierika and some other of Okonkwo´s friends. The Commissioner asks them to take him to Okonkwo, but they is too late. Okonkwo has hanged himself from a tree. In the Ibo culture, suicide is an abomination and the tribesmen can therefore not cut him down, not even touch him. He who once was a great warrior, will now be buried like a dog.

Analysis:

Through Mr Brown and Mr Smith we learn the smart and the stupid way to be a missionary. The first missonary, Mr Brown, is sensitive to the nature of the Ibo people, and he does not disrupt their social order. With the new insensitive missionary, Mr. Smith, troubles come along, and one tragical incident leads to the next, and it all ends fatefully with Okonkwo´s suicide. He dies, but we as readers of the story we are not with Okonkwo in his final hour. He dies alone, and in the most shameful way considered in the Ibo tradition. In the first chapter of the novel, Okonkwo was a famous and respected warrior, a contrast to the man we see in the last few chapters. He used to be a pride to the tribe, but ended up as a shame to the whole village.

Language and Symbolism

There is something interesting about the way Things Fall Apart is written. Achebe writes simple, directly to the point, and focuses on nature. The simple language suggests that the Ibo people live in a more simple society, their language is also simpler than twenty-first century English. There is as well as English used words and phrases from the Ibo language. Although it can be challenging for the readers, I find it absolutely necessary and unavoidable seeing as there are no English words for e.g. “Chi” (an individual personal god, whose merit is determined by the individual´s good fortune or lack of).

The simple life of the Ibo people is also expressed in the weather symbolism. Because the Ibo people live in a simple society without advanced technology, the weather, particularly rain, is essential to their livelihood. Without rain, men can´t feed their families. Drought is a symbol of spiritual and emotional emptiness. The weather description is a common characteristic throughout the novel. Not only is the weather descriptions essential because the people depend so much on it, but also a fascinating description and interesting symbolism.

The locusts are used as a symbol for the arrival of the white settlers. Like the locusts, the white settlers feast on and exploit the resources of the Ibo people. The language Achebe uses to describe the locusts indicates their symbolic status. E.g. the locusts broke tree branches like the white settlers damaged the Ibo culture and their traditions. Achebe also repeats the words “settled” when he talks about the locusts. But the most explicit clue that the locusts symbolize the colonists is in chapter 15, when the settlers already have arrived. Achebe writes: “They were locusts (…)”

Lastly, I wanted to tell you about something I found very amusing! The villagers call snow “the nuts of the water of heaven” and when I started snowing, all the children ran around allowing it to melt in their mouths. By the way the people reacted, it didn´t exactly seem like snow is a common thing there.

Summary and Analysis: Ch 14-19

PART 2

Okonkwo´s exile forces him to his motherland, Mbanta. The last time he visited was at his mother´s burial. His new kinsmen gave him yams and land so that he could try to rebuild his fortune, but Okonkwo is held down by a great sorrow. His only wish in life was to become one of the lords of clan, which he had achieved before it was taken away from him and he was sent away. Now he felt like he had nothing, and that his chi, his personal god, was against him. Some time later, during the ceremony completing one of his cousins´ marriage, Okonkwo´s uncle, the oldest kinsman stood up to talk to Okonkwo. He told him that the reason why Okonkwo was sent back to his motherland was to be comforted, like a child is comforted by its mother. He then told Okonkwo to stop despairing, he should rather bend his efforts to provide for his wives and children.

After Okonkwo had lived in Mbanta for two years, his friend Obierika came to visit. He brought money for Okonkwo from the yams he had sold. Obierika, Okonkwo and Uchendu (Okonkwo´s uncle) sat down that night to talk and drink palm wine. Uchendu expressed his discontent because none of the kinsmen of the different clans knew each other any longer, and he started bragging about all the men he knew from different clans. But when he started talking about the Abame clan, Obierika interrupted him. He told Okonkwo and Uchendu that the Abame clan was gone. They were all killed by white men riding metal horses. Okonkwo had heard stories about white men capturing people and selling them as slaves on the other side of the world, but he was not sure whether the stories were true.

Another two years passed until Obierika went to visit Okonkwo again. By that time the missionaries had come to Umuofia and among them Obierika had noticed Nwoye. Nwoye had told Obierika that he no longer was Okonkwo´s son. This is why Obierika went to Mbanta to visit Okonkwo. He wanted to know why Okonkwo had broken all bonds with his son. Okonkwo told Obierika about the day a white missionary and his African evangelists came to Mbanta. Most of the villagers had scoffed at their religious stories about one God who had created all things and about the Holy Trinity. But a few had been attracted by the stories. Nwoye was one of them. He felt like this new religion offered hope of better things.

The missionaries asked for land to build a church. The elders had granted them a plot in the evil forest. They knew that whoever stayed in the evil forest died after a few days because of the sinister spirits that lived there. But to the villagers` surprise, days passed and nothing happened. Thus more and more of the villagers converted to the new religion. Nwoye, Okonkwo´s son was one of them. This made Okonkwo furious. He asked himself how he, the “flaming fire”, could have gotten such a weak son? He came to the conclusion that his wife must have cheated him, but then he remembered how much Nwoye looked like his grandfather, Unoka.

The gradually increasing strength of the mission led to violence between the two sides. The Christians preached that all men are equal and were accordingly welcoming the outcasts of the tribe to join their faith, something the villagers despised. The indignation boiled over when a convert killed the sacred python. Okonkwo was all for using violence, but the elders decided that they were going to exclude the converts instead, and take away their privileges. But when the man who killed the python died the next day, the villagers saw this like the gods had proven that they were still powerful.

Okonkwo´s time of exile in Mbanta was soon to end. Although he was thankful to the kinsmen of Mbanta, he was also bitter because he knew he could have done better in Umuofia during the last seven years. To express his gratitude, he arranged a giant feast with food for the whole village.

Analysis:

When Okonkwo returns to his motherland he is sad and feels like his chi is against him. His exile forces him to spend time in a more feminine place, where he has come to be comforted by the spirit of his dead mother. At least this is what the kinsmen think. But Okonkwo is unwilling to admit to the feminine side of his personality.

When the missionaries came to Mbanta, they were not met with violence like in the Abame clan where a war broke out and ended up killing every one in the clan. The villagers do not seem threatened by the Christians. Not even when the Christians claim that their gods are false. Okonkwo on the other hand is all for violent action and thinks that the Abame clan should have armed themselves so they could have killed all the whites. Okonkwo´s violent nature seems to clash with the Ibo values. From the beginning of the novel it is stated that in the Ibo culture, they try to find a peaceful solution before a violent solution. Uchendo expresses this social value by saying that the Abame clan should never have killed the first white man in the first place, before they even knew the man´s intentions.

After ikemefuna´s death, Nwoye had felt lost for a long time, but because he was a man and had Okonkwo as a father, he never had the opportunity to express his feelings. When the new religion comes along, Nwoye starts to hope for a better future and this brings him into enlightenment. Christianity gave him the answers the Ibo religion never provided for him.

Nwoye´s content with the new religion is not the same for his father, Okonkwo. After losing Ikemefuna, then losing his home and leadership in the old clans, Okonkwo feels like his whole world is crumbling around him. He also hates the new faith for destructing the traditional Ibo society. I also think Okonkwo views Christianity as a threat because it undermines the cultural values of his accomplishments. In contrast to the Ibo religion, all men are equal in Christianity.

I think it is ironic how Okonkwo wants to act violently to preserve their cultural values when their cultural values are to act peacefully.

As a I wrote in an earlier post, Achebe is himself the son of Nigerian Christians so it is impossible not to think about his own situation. He does however not describe neither the Christians nor the Ibo people as “good” or “evil”.

Summary and Analysis: Ch 10-13

In the village Ilo, large crowds had gathered for what seemed like a significant ceremony. By looking at the audience, the ceremony was mainly for men, but the women were allowed to stand in the back row. A loud gong gonged and nine egwugwus came out of the egwugwu house. The egwugwus represent the nine spirits of the ancestors of the nine villages that form the Umuofia clan. The nine form the highest tribunal in the land. During the ceremony, a married couple of the clan came forward and presented their dilemma to the masked figures. The Umuofia clan have great respect for the egwugwus and always follow their advice.

One dark night when Ekwefi and her only daughter Ezinma exchanged stories about how they thought the tortoise had gotten its patterned shell, Chileo, the priestess of the Oracle, stopped by. Chielo claimed that the Oracle wished to see Ezinma. She promised to bring her back the next morning, but Ekwefi loved her only child too much, and her love and worry overcame her fear for the darkness. She followed them on their long roundabout route to the cave. By sunrise she was all worn out, but now certain that her daughter was safe. In her exhaustion, she started thinking about the old days, when she and Okonkwo were happily in love. Outside the cave she discovered that Okonkwo too had followed.

The following day was the day of the wedding feast for Obierika´s daughter. Obierika is a friend of Okonkwo. The whole village was in a festive mood and Obierika´s wife had started to cook early in the morning, she was after all cooking for a whole village. While the other wives in the village helped her, the men were discussing how much palm-wine they thought the new in-laws would bring. They were pleased to see that when the in-laws arrived, they had brought no less than 50 pots of palm-wine. And then the festivities began. The feast involved singing, dancing and telling of tales.

Before the first cock had crowed the next morning, the ekwe signalled to the nine villages of Umuofia that a man had died. It was a man of Iguedo, in Okonkwo´s village. When Okonkwo heard that the man was the well respected Ezeudo who had warned him to have no part in the slaughter of Ikemefuna , shivers went down his back. He remembered the last thing the old man had told him: “That boy calls you father, bear no hand in his death.” Because Ezeudo had taken three titles and was one of the oldest men in the village, his funeral was performed with great dignity. Particularly, it was marked by the firing of guns. However, there was a dreadful accident. Okonkwo´s old gun had exploded and hit Ezeudo´s son! Okonkwo knew he had only one thing to do. It was the only thing a man could do if he had killed a fellow clanman. He had to flee. He packed his most valuable objects and by the next morning he and his family were gone. In a ritual to cleanse and purify Okonkwo´s sin, his compound and possessions were destroyed by his fellow tribesmen.

 

Analysis:

During the ceremony we hear how justice is carried out in Umuofia. The case was presented to the highest tribunal, made up of nine egwugwu. The actors in the trial were mainly men. However, the parts in the conflict were both a man and a woman. Women do have legal rights. I think the ceremony with the nine egwugwus is described in a sarcastic tone. For example, one of the egwugwus had some of Okonkwo´s characteristics, and several people notice that Okonkwo is not present, but they keep it to themselves. I therefore think that the ceremony is mainly performed as a tradition, not because they so much believe that the nine, covered up characters are the spirits of the ancestors. The people of Umuofia do however believe that evil spirits exist and they do believe in gods.

When Ekwefi decides to follow the priestess without permission, she disobeys the gods. She chooses her daughter over the religious authority. In doing so, forcing herself to walk in the darkness that she fears, she also disproves Okonkwo´s belief that women are weak. Disobeying the gods would have great consequences if she were caught. Fortunately, the priestess never realized that Ekwefi had followed her. It is also revealed in the story that it is not only Ekwefi that followed Chielo and Ezinma. Okonkwo had also brought his machete and had gone out to look for them. FOUR times he did! I think that my prejudices about Okonkwo being a heartless man might have been wrong. In this part of the book he does show that he actually cares. This night forced Okonkwo to show his real emotions.

Noticeable, the wedding feast is a social event, not a religious ceremony.

Now that Okonkwo and his family had to flee the village, I am excited to see where the story is going!

Summary and Analysis: Ch 7-9

Okonkwo´s family is living in harmony. Okonkwo´s biological son Nwoye and his “adopted” son Ikemefuna are getting along well and Okonkwo teaches them how to behave and live like real men. The locusts arrive at the village in this chapter. The locusts are very rare and have not come for many years so the villagers are ecstatic when the locusts settle in Umuofia. However, this also marks the end of harmony in the Okonkwo´s family. The destiny of Ikemefuna has been decided; they are going to murder him because of the sins of his father. To calm down his family, Okonkwo says that Ikemefuna is going back home, but they realize that this is a lie. The wise man Ezeudo strongly advises Okonkwo from bearing a hand in Ikemefuna´s death, but Okonkwo does not listen. The men of Iguedo, including Okonkwo, walk a long way before they stop, and when they do, a tall man draws his machete. In fear, Ikemefuna runs to his father, but Okonkwo is afraid of looking weak so he draws his own machete and cuts Ikemefuna down.

Locusts

For the next two days, Okonkwo cannot eat or sleep. He is completely shattered after Ikemefuna´s death. To take his mind off his bad conscience, Okonkwo decides to visit his friend Obierika. While he is there, Ofoeudu comes to visit and announces that Ogbuefi, a man in their village, has died. Okonkwo and Obierika are surprised that the ekwe (a hollowed instrument) has not gonged, which it always does when a man of the Umuofia clan dies. The reason is that his wife has died too, so they had to bury her before they could announce the man´s death. Wrapped up in the story, Okonkwo forgets that he should have left to tap his palm-trees. He suddenly remembers and leaves to do so. When he is done, he walks back to Obierika, he still can´t stop thinking about Ikemefuna. When he gets there, seven other men have arrived. They are discussing the bride price of Obierika´s daughter. While they discuss and drink palm-wine, they start to talk about the customs of other villages. For example, that in some villages the mother gets custody of the children, not the father. This is absurd to them.

On the third night after Ikemefuna´s death, Okonkwo managed to go to sleep. He was however awakened at night by his first wife Ekwefi. She brought the news that their only child, Ezinma, was very sick. Okonkwo rushed to her hut to save her. Ezinma´s mother, Ekwefi, had suffered a lot during the years. Of the ten times she had born a child, only once did the child survive. A story told was that her first baby was an Ogbanje, a child that after death, crawls back in the mother´s womb and is born again. An Ogbanje was believed to be an evil spirit that would bring misfortune. Ezinma was considered an Ogbanje because she was the first of ten children born that did not die in infancy. A year ago, Ezinma had performed a ritual that would break the curse. Everyone hoped that she would survive, as opposed to the other nine of Ekwefi ‘s children who had died. Back in their hut, Okonkwo had now made a boiling pot of medicine, of which Ezinma was to keep her head over. After a while she fell asleep.

Analysis:

When Okonkwo hears that Ikemefuna is going to be murdered, he decides to come along to not seem weak. He does this even though a wise and respected man of the clan had advised him not to. He also ends up killing Ikemefuna. This is described as something he thinks he must do to seem manly and tough. His friend Obierika on the other hand, refuses to accompany the men in the killing of Ikemefuna. What is interesting is that Obierika´s manliness never is questioned. It made me think that maybe Okonkwo´s fear of looking weak is not only because of the norms of the clan, but also because of his own expectations of how a man should behave. Okonkwo´s father was lazy and irresponsible, something Okonkwo had hated about him. He therefore tries to be the exact opposite, but my opinion is that he has failed miserably. The fact that he is a father figure to his sons and a man of the house is valuable, but his constant fear of weakness and affection completely destroys his relationships.

Ikemefuna´s death must have been shocking and a deep sorrow for Okonkwo´s children. Ikemefuna´s gentleness and sympathy had affected them to a great extent. For example, Ikemefuna convinced them once not to tell on their sister when she accidentally broke a pot. The siblings had started to become a team because of him! Ikemefuna´s qualities, and how they affect the people around him are something I had hoped to see a lot more of in the book, so him dying made me really disappointed. Hopefully, Okonkwo will find another way to learn to be gentler.

He shows however a more affectionate side of himself when he cares for his daughter when she is sick. The relationship between them is something that Okonkwo values, he has several times thought to himself that Ezinma is his favorite child. To read that his favorite child is a girl and not a boy is surprising to me because he always describes women as weak.

Segregation – Assimilation – Integration

Today I want to talk about integration, assimilation and segregation. As I mentioned, in the beginning of the novel Things Fall Apart, a young man named Ikemefuna was forced to move from his village to the household of Okonkwo in Iguedo. It is not only interesting to see the differences between Ikemefuna and the people of Iguedo, but also how, slowly, Ikemefuna is integrated into the community.

Lets start by defining what integration and segregation is. Integration is when immigrants adapt to the main culture of the place they migrate to. But while learning new values, norms, language etc., the immigrants still keep their cultural heritage. Segregation is kind of like the opposite. It is separation between people of different races or religions. We have seen many examples of this throughout history, the extreme cases in South Africa during the Apartheid regime, until the beginning of the 1990´s and in the US, southern states, until the 1960´s. Segregation is when certain groups of people do not have access to civil rights, schools, professions and practically any public places.

Assimilation is a third alternative for a multicultural society. People from the minority culture will adapt to the majority culture. The majority culture will on the other hand also adapt certain elements from the minority culture. The assimilation was also seen in the US until the 1960´s. Immigrants were welcome, but they were expected to adapt the American way of life. However, most often their original culture became part of the common culture. A melting pot is a common metaphor for the assimilation.

I have to admit that when Ikemefuna moved in with Okonkwo, I expected Ikemefuna to have troubles in the integration process since I find the culture of Iguedo to be extremely conservative. It didn´t seem to me like they would accept a foreigner with a different culture. But after a while, Ikemefuna slowly started to integrate. For example, there is a tradition in Umuofia that the son of the farmer hits the trees with a stick to get better harvest. After some time, Ikemefuna was allowed to join Okonkwo´s biological son in this ritual. There are also many other examples in the novel of Ikemefuna learning about Iguedo´s traditions, norms and food culture.

However, I think it would have been interesting to see Okonkwo learning about Ikemefuna´s culture too, but like I said, Iguedo´s culture is very conservative. And even though I think it is good that they hold on to their old rituals and traditions, my opinion is that it keeps their culture from developing and makes it harder for immigrants to feel welcome and have respect for the new culture. In a conservative culture, both assimilation and integration are difficult.