In the "Things Fall Apart" you are introduced to Okonkwo who is a renowned wrestler throughout all the nine villages. The book starts out by saying how he was able to beat the unbeaten Amalinze the cat. By starting off with one of Okonkwo's accomplishments the book than transitions into a story about his father: Unoka. "Unoka the grown-up was a failure."(pg 5)They than say how his father was the opposite of Okonkwo and how he owed money to just about everyone in the village and how he has had no real accomplishments in his life. Also Unoka died with no title to his name and heavily in debt.
"Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father." (pg 8) That one sentence shows that although Okonkwo is a son of a failure, the people of the village do not see him that way, but they instead see him for his accomplishments. Some of which include: being a wealthy farmer, taking two titles, and having three wives. Overall you can tell that Okonkwo is an important person in his village and that he will most likely play a big part in the village's future.
I liked your recognition of the judgement of Okonkwo to the village. That's all that Okonkwo cares about it;his own reputation over his shameful fathers'. But wealth plays a big part in the judgement of people in these villages like the amount of yams one person has.
ReplyDeleteYour post highlighted a positive of the community and the culture in the book. Since the society described in the novel contrasts greatly to our society, it is easy for us to judge them for their beliefs and practices. However, your recognition of the fact that the villiagers see Okonkwo for his own accomplishments and not for his father's failures shows that in some ways, their culture is more forgiving than ours.
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