Chapter Six

This Chapter was about the wrestling match that takes place during the Feast of the New Yams. It is a big deal in Okonkwo's culture to attend this event. Like I've said before, this book goes into a lot of detail about the culture, because this chapter only mentions one thing about Okonkwo, and that is when he stands up, along with the others who are sitting, when a young wrestler defeats the other very swiftly in one move. That is it, thank God because I am kind of getting annoyed by Okonkwo's anger and self-centered, but in a way it is good, it gives the novel action.


The chapter was mostly about the wrestling tradition. Each team of wrestlers line up on opposite sides and then one will dance towards a wrestler on the other side, which is his opponent. They go back to the center and begin wrestling. I would like to know if Okonkwo is going to be called upon to fight the winner, since he was considered the best at one point. If he does get called upon I think he would fight, because otherwise, he would feel like if he didn't his reputation would be lowered, and thus making him look lazy in his own eyes. Again it would go back to being his self-centered self and making him look good.

Chapter Five

This chapter talks mostly about the Feast of the New Yam. It is a festival that takes place before the harvesting of the crops, to give thanks to Ani for their crops. It also explains some of the legend behind it and talks about the events that take place during the feast time.

Again, in this chapter, Okonkwo lost his temper, real shocker. It seems like every chapter, he loses his temper. While every one is upbeat and joyous, talking about relations that were coming, Okonkwo, found an outlet for his anger, a few leaves were missing off the banana tree and was used for wrapping food. He found out that it was his second wife, Ekwefi. He went off in a storm got his shotgun and said he was going hunting, and he actually shot at Ekwefi, luckily he missed.

We also met Ekwefi and her daughter, Ezinma. We learned a little about Ekwefi's background, where she's from, that she left her first husband and came to live with Okonkwo. Also, we learned that each wife makes a dish for Okonkwo at each meal time, while a child from each wife takes it to him.

I think it was very wrong for Okonkwo to shot at his wife like that. Not only did it scare her but also every one else in the family. I just wonder what his punishment would have been if he did shoot her.

Chapter Four

This chapter is about Ikemefuna at first. After the clan decides that he will be living with Okonkwo for a while. Later, he became ill for about three weeks, healing a few days before the Week of Peace, an African tradition. Every one seems to start and like Ikemefuna, and Ikemefuna even starts calling Okonkwo his father.
The Week of Peace is to have a week where no cruelty shown towards others. This is to ensure a good growing season and is the week before the planting of the crops. Well, one day in the week, Okonkwo broke the peace by beating his wife, Ojiugo. He beat her because it was her turn to cook dinner, and she was not home so he becomes angry. After committing this during the sacred week, he was punished by the priest, he had to give a "she-goat" (female goat), a hen, a length of cloth and a hundred cowries to the shrine of Ani, their god.
After this week, every one proceeded in preparing their crops. During this, Okonkwo lets Ikemefuna and Nwoye help prepare yams, but they screw up and get yelled at. Okonkwo knew that they were too young to know what they were doing, but as we all have learned, he is obsessed with success and feels it is never to early to learn.

This novel seems to be a lot about success and failure. Okonkwo hates unsuccessful and lazy people. I also feel he is being very self-centered. He seems to be afraid that people in his family might fail, letting his reputation fall, and then that be a stain on him when he goes into society. So far, with this obsession, bad things keep happening to him, so I am thinking that something is going to happen to him and he'll be lowered in his society.

Chapter Three

Aaron was right, because this book is really jumpy, it goes from Okonkwo being older with three wives, and then young. It is also about random things, the first two chapters were about his father and chapter two is about his life with three wives and the possibility of war between his village and another. Now it's about his life when he is getting established, and starting his own farm, borrowing yams from other villagers, and every one having a bad growing season first from drought and then violent rains that made the yams rot.

There seems to be about a lot of culture so far. It is written like a biography, explaining all of his struggles through out his life, but also how his life is affected by his culture; for example, in chapter three he talks about sacrifices that take place before the growing season and the planting of the crops. These sacrifices were made for Ani, their god, to help their crops grow.

Chapter One and Two

So okay, the first chapter was kind of slow and annoying to me. Who is the book about, his father, Okoye or him, Okonkwo? It's obviously about him, but I was not completely sure until I started chapter two. I thought it was a dumb way to start a book, when they didn't talk about Okonkwo, only that he won a wrestling match against Amalinze the Cat and at the end when the author wrote one paragraph on Okonkwo's position in society, and wrote about four pages on Okonkwo's dad and his position in society and that he's pretty much a bum and love to play music, when it doesn't seem to have any importance, because it is basically comparing the two's status quos and tells that his dad died with no title and great debts.

It is getting more interesting. Then the second chapter he finds out that he must go to another village and make peace between the two so that war does not break out. This is all because the other village has killed one of Okonkwo's villager's wife. It ends up that there will not be war, but he is sent home with a young "ill-fated lad" named Ikemefuna and a virgin to replace the villager's wife. It is decided that until the destination of Ikemfuna, he will stay with Okonkwo. One thing that I don't like about it so far is all the foreign words that are put in while only a few are being explained. Also I now understand the importance of the first chapter, and it was setting up to better explain Okonkwo's role as a grown man. This novel as does show a lot about the different cultures, for example it tells about some traditions and myths/legends and beliefs. Just to give a few specific, they don't call a snake by its name after dark for fear it might come after them, and a tradition would be keeping the head of the human that a person killed at war. If you think about that, many different cultures us to do that, not so much now, that is just wrong, but it was done a long time ago.