Chapter 11-16 (Post #3)

In these chapters, Achebe really delves into the cultural aspect of African tribes in the late 1800's. It seems as if the people of the tribe are taking the words of the "prophets" and "Gods" too seriously. Ikemefuna was sacrificed just because a prophecy said so, Ezinma was taken far from her home to a cave in the middle of the night to see a God, and daughters are being sold to men they don't want to marry.

The chaos all of this is causing reminds me of the Salem witch trials, which is shown in the image above. Just like anybody and anything will be sacrificed if a prophet says so in Things Fall Apart, anybody who was accused of being a witch amidst the chaos in Salem was thrown in jail and executed. I predict this is foreshadowing a conflict where people want to leave the religion/tribe later in the novel.
As for Okonkwo's behavior, little has changed. He is still so caught up in his reputation and masculinity that he puts everyone around him in danger. When his gun explodes and he accidentally kills a young boy of 16 and his family is sent to his motherland, he becomes very depressed. There is more foreshadowing going on here, from the context of the novel, it seems that Okonkwo is going through some serious internal conflicts, and is beginning to struggle to move on. He had to start a new far and his family is beginning to fall apart. He has this revelation when Uchendu comes to his house and insults him, saying things like "you are a child" (pages 134-135) and "I have no more to say to you." (page 135).