What does the story of ezinma tell us about the customs and beliefs of this society?

What do you learn about Okonkwo’s character and achievement in this chapter?

"Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. But Unoka was such a man that he always succeeded in borrowing more, and piling up his depts."

"When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavenly in debt. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him? Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father."

Some of the things that we learn about Okonkwo’s character and achievement in this chapter are that he wants to be tough and strong however he has all of the wrong ideas of being these things. He believes that loving his family is a weakness while killing someone is strength because it shows his superiority and power towards another person. This chapter also talks about the relationships between Okonkwo and his father, Unoka. Okonkwo dislikes his father because he hasn’t taken the responsibility of keeping the family stable. His father shows love to the family which is considered as a weakness to Okonkwo. Okonkwo seems like a tragic hero and although he has his angry side where he may be very superior with anger and violence which would probably bring him to his own destruction and damage. It was stated in the book that earlier in Okonkwo’s childhood; a man called his father, Unoka an agbala which is someone who has no title. So far, it is shown that even though Okonkwo is ashamed of his father, he works hard and fights well to gain a reputation of high status and give influence to his people.

We learn on page 12 that Okonkwo’s whole life was dominated by fear. What is he afraid of?

"Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw. Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of him, lest he should be found to resemble his father. Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness ..."

" ... and so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved."

Okonkwo’s whole life was dominated of the fear of himself. He was afraid of being showed as a weak person. He also feared of failure. He is terrified to look weak like his father and will do anything to show that he is different than him. Even though he disliked his father because of his weakness and low-status to the rest of the people, he is fighting and working so hard to show his reputation and influence to the rest of his clan.

What do you learn about Okonkwo’s early years as a farmer?

Okonkwo has always been a farmer and although we think that he wasn’t great as a farmer in the past. He kept trying but always failed; this shows his characteristics of trying hard instead of giving up. He has now earned his title and respect towards the people by winning the strongest Wrestler player who hasn’t been beat for a couple of years.

What do you think of Okonkwo’s action in chapter 7?

Okonkwo’s action in Chapter 7 was quite normal because Okonkwo’s action in Chapter 7 while killing his son, Ikemefuna is normal because in his position he doesn’t want to lose or be weak. Because Okonkwo is tough and strong, he doesn’t want to feel sympathy for himself and for the closest people around him. He wants to be influential and doesn’t want to show all of the weaknesses that he may have.

What warning does Ezeudu give to Okonkwo on page 50?

Ezeudu, a great village elder goes to Okonkwo and informs him that the time has come for Ikemefuna’s death. He also tells Okonkwo not to be a part of his execution.