things fall apart journal 1

1. chapter 1 pgs. 3-6

Okonkwo was well known throughout many villages and beyond. He was known for his personal achievements. He brought honor to his village because he defeated Amalinze the cat about 20 years before. He is a very big man. His fathers name is Unoka. He died 10 years before. Unoka had no patience for his father. His father was a lazy man and quite improvident. He is said to be a failure as a grown-up and Okonkwo does not want to end up like him.

2. chapter 2 pgs. 9-15

Okonkwo ruled his house hold with a heavy hand. He had three wives. Okonkwo was not a cruel manman but his whole life was dominated by the fear of failure and weakness which mostly came from his dad. He tried to hate everything his father loved. During planting season Okonkwo worked hard on his farm. He was a very strong man. He had 8 children and hr would get very fed up with them because they were weak and so they suffered. This chapter also talks about how Umuofias daughter gets killed at the market. After Umuofias daughter was killed Ikemefuna cam into Okonkwos household. He was terrebly afraid and confused.

3. chapter 3

Okonkwo started out with a rough life. He had to work very hard for everything that he had. He talks about how he had a lot of trouble trying to grow yams and how he had a very bad start. The weather had messed up all the yams and a lot of peoples lives. None of the farmers in the village could grow anything. This brought death and other bad things to the village. Thats what made Okokwo stronger and he told himself if he could survive that he could survive anything after that year.

4. chapter 4

Okonkwo took Ikemfuna in his care. Ikenefuna was very scared but his clan made the decision for him to go there. But soon enough he got used to being there and was not so afraid. They treated him as if he was their son. Ikenefuna never really knew what Okonkwo was feeling or thinking through because he never showed any emotion unless it was anger. To the men at this time to show affection was to show weakness and Okonkwo was a strong man.

5. chapter 4 pg. 29

A lot of people were soon dissapointed in Okonkwo becauase he was caught beating his wife during the week of peace. During the week of peace you're not supposed to show any type of anger. There is also supposed to be no working. Just a peaceful relaxed week. Okonkwo got out of his punishment very well. He wasnt punished as people used to be.

6. chapter 5 pg. 36

The feast of the New Yam was an occasion for giving thanks to Ani, the earth goddess, and the source of all fertility. The feast of the yams was very important to most of the people in the village but Okonkwo was not that fond of it. This feawst was the beginning of a new harvest. They got rid of all the pots and completely started over. It was a tradition everyone loved.

7. chapter 6 pg. 46

The whole village turned dout on the ilo. They were getting ready to watch the wrestlers as another tradition. It starts off with the teenage boys wrestling to get the show started. After that the older men fight. The main excietment of this is to see men throw their opponents which determines the winner of the fight. This years winner was Okafo.

8. chapter 7

This chapter is based on Ikemefuna . They talk about how much he has grown and other stuff. Then one day they tell him that they are going back to his family. Ikemefuna had not quite remembered much about them but was excited to see them on their long journey there something was planned as they were walking one of the men had shot Ikemefuna. They lied to him so they could kill him.

9. chapter 8

Okonkwo is still a little bit shooken up about Ikemefuna. He didnt eat well or sleep well for about 3 days. But he is very fond of his daughter Ezinma. Even though he thinks she should've been a boy. Okonkwo could not stop thinking about Ikemefuna. He was having a hard time getting over his death.

10. chapter 9

Okonkwo was having a bad night thinking about Ikemefuna when he gets a bang on the door from Ekwefi. She came to tell him that Ezinma was dying. Ekwefi was very devistated. Enzinma was her whole life. That is what kept her living her life day to day. She always knew she would have her there by her side and in just a moment everything was changing. She needed to try everything she could to keep her. She would give anything to keep her. They remembered about her sacred pebble that would always bring her luck. Enzinma had burried it out in the dirt. So they went a dug it up. After they found it Enzinma had started to slowly get better.

11. Chapter 10

There was a big ceremony. It had to do with the spirits in the air. They were the spirits of their ancestors. They were having a trial about Odukwe Uzowulu and Mgbafo. It was about a beating that went on and how one killed a baby beore it was born and how Mgbafo tried to kill her. To resolve thi s all they're doing is is just to ask for forgiveness. It is so different from how trials are solved now. They have to get deep into detail and solve it but getting the bad people in trouble or put in jail so they dont try and do it again and no one gets hurt.

12. Chapter 11 pgs 95-100

Seasons were changing when the moon had been rising later and later every night. They would sit in their huts and eat their yam foo foo in dead silence, as did their neighbors. sometimes they would sit around and tell stories that have been passed down for many generations. In this chapter it tells a story about a tortoise and birds. It took place right before the Great Day.

13. Chapter 11 pgs 100-104

Ezinma began another story when she stopped because she heard a high pitched voice that broke the outter silence of the night. It was Chielo, the preiestess of Agbala, prophesying. but that was normal of him to do that. So then all the families stopped with their folk stories and listened to him. Chielo had went and told Okonkwo that Agbala wanted to see her daughter Ezinma. But he wouldn't allow it. Chielo was getting angry. But the ended up taking her to see Agbala.

14. Chapter 11 pgs 105-109

Ekwefi was very upset. She was following them but lost them. She was threatened that if she doesn't leave then Agbala will do her harm. They are taking Ezinma to a far village and Ekwefi doesn't like it so she still follows even though something might happen to her she did not want to leave her daughter. Just when she thought she was going to die Okonkwo came up behind her to help.

15. Chapter 12 pg. 110

The next morning there was a festival because Okokwos friend Obierika was celebrating his daughters Uri. Everybody had been invited but it wass mostly a womans party. They had made food for the entire village. Ekwefi was exhausted from the night before because it was not long after she returned that the festival started. Chielo had brought Ezinma back to her bed peacefully. Ezinma and Ekwefi were both a little late fopr the festival the next morning but the people knew why.

16. Chapter 12 pg. 112

Okonkwo was also very tired the next morning also. Not many people knew he had gone to help Ezinma also. So he just kept it to himself so people wouldn't ask questions. There was lots of food made the next day by the woman. There was lots of yams and cassava and much more. They had a huge feast that everyone enjoyed. They talk about the market and how you need to be very careful when you go through it because it is very easy to get your stuff stolen there if your not careful.

17. Chapter 12 pg. 116

Okonkwos inlaws are coming over. Ezinma is getting married off. Okonkwo is hoping that the family will bring lots of wine. By bringing lots of wine shows that the family is very wealthy and that they are a good family. So it was basically just a family gathering so they families can get to know each other before the children are married. Okonkwo is very pleased with the family and is glad Ezinma is being married into that family.

18. Chapter 13 pg. 120

Ezeudu was a great man in their clan. So when he died the whole clan was at his funeral. There was drums of death beat, guns and cannon were fired, and men dashed about in frenzy, cutting down every tree or animal they saw, jumping over walls and dancing on the roof. They would also say that ancestral spirits would appear sometimes.

19. Chapter 13 pg. 122

They talk about how sometimes evil spirits came. There was just some old ancestors that were really mean. But most were quite harmless. The people in the town were really fascinated by the older people because they were closer to their ancestors, so they respected them. Overall it was a great funeral. Ezeudu had taken three titles in his life. It was a rare achievement for someone to accomplish that. There were four titles in a clan and onoly one or two men in any generationn ever achieved the fourth and highest.

20. Chapter 14 pg 129

Okonkwo was bringing his mom home not to be buried but so his family can refuge in his motherland. Okonkwo tells a story about how he was given land and built houses for his wives and such. He also had to grow yams and keep up with them. The earth quickly came to life and the birds in the forests fluttered and around and chirped merrily becasuse the weather became very nice.

21. Chapter 14 pg 131

Okonkwo and his family worked very hard to plant a new farm. But it was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth, like learning to write left-handed as an adult. Work no longer had the pleasure for him that it used to. But he pushed through it and it all turned out good for him.

22. Chapter 14 pg 134

The kids question Okonkwo because he says that he knows everything but the kids find a way to prove him wrong. They question him about women and motherland. They ask about the way woman are buried and about the names they give their children. They don't understand why kids are named "motherland" if men are more superior then woman. Okonkwo can't answer their questions and leaves them be.

23. Chapter 15 pg. 136

It was the second year of Okonkwos exile that his friend, Obierika, came to visit him. He brought two young men with him and they had heavy bags on their heads. Okonkwo helped the boys put down their bags. Okonkwo knew there was cowries in the bags. So Okonkwo was excited to receive them from his friend. His family was excited too.

24. Chapter 15 pg. 137

Okonkwo asked Obierika who the young boys were and he had told him that they are his sons. He presented kola nut to him, he brokeit and they ate. So okonkwo and Obierika sat and disscussed the things that had been going on. They talk about stuff in the clan.

25. Chapter 16 pg. 143

About two years later Obierika paid another visit to his friend in exile when the circumstances were less happy. The missionaries had come to Umofia. They built a church and hot a handful of converts. The men in the clan believed it wouldn't last long. But they weren't sure of anything.

26. Chapter 16 pg 144

The arrival of the missionaires had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta. There was six of them and one was a white guy. Most people go to listen to the white guy. The harvest was over and thats when people came to listen to him. The people in the town found him quite interesting and funny how he would say that they were all the sons of god and just by the way he used words. But they enjoyed listening to him and some even converted.

27. Chapter 17 pg. 148

The missionaries spent their first four nights in the marketplace and in the mornings they would go and preach in the village. They were looking for the men who were head of the village. They finally found them and asked if they could have land for them to build a church on. Every clan and village had an evili forrest where they buried all the people that died of diseases and such. So they decided to give them a piece of that. The missionaries took it happily and started building their church.

28. Chapter 17 page 150

So the missionaries built a church and they were telling everybody to come every seventh day of the week. Okonkwos son wants to go to the church but Okonkwo would never allow it. So he would just pass by the church to see what was going on. One day Okonkwos cousin, Amikwu, was passing by the church when he seen Okonkwos son Nwoye outside the church. Amikwu went to Okonkwo right after that and told him what he had seen. Okonkwo got very mad when he found out and yelled at Nwoye. But he soon got over it.

29. Chapter 18 pg. 154

The new church had a few crises early in its life. But the church was becoming stronger and more people were converting. The people in the village thought it wouldn't last long but they were wrong. So they were trying to stop it. Like when the women froom the church would go to get water from the river to clean the church the people at the river would scare them away so they couldn't get any water. The people in the village were trying to find a way to stop the church from becoming any stronger then it was already.

30. Chapter 19 pg. 162

The last rains of the year were falling and it was time where they would use the dirt to built walls for their huts and buildings. It was going to be Okonkwos last harvest in Mbanta. Okonkwo regretted everyday of his exile. He was happy it was his last year, he sent money to Obierika so they ould build more huts so he could be more recognized when he returned. They also had a big feast for everyone in the village.

31. Chapter 20 pg. 171

Okonkwo knew since he had been gone for 7 years that his place in the clan had been filled and he knew it would be hard to get back. So he was thinking of what he would do when he got back to help him get his spot back as one of the leaders of the clan. He decided to make his house and barn bigger and send his boy to the ozo society to show his wealth because only really great men sent their sons there.

32. Capter 21 pg. 176

There were many people in Umofia who did not feel as strongly as Okonkwo did about the new dispensation. The missionaries try and tell the people in the village that their gods made of wood are not real that its just a piece of wood. But they dont really understand because that is what they've been taught since they were born. So its hard for them to believe that what the missionaries say is true.

33. Chapter 22 pg. 184

Mr. Browns successor was the Rev. James Smith. Mr. Brown saw things differently then the other men. He saw things in black and white and black was evil. He believed in many different things like slaying the prophets. Mr. smith was greatly disstressed by the ignorance which many of his flock showed.

34. Chapter 23 pg. 192

For the first time in many years Okonkwo had a feeling that was akin to happiness. Okonkwo felt superior again when he went to the market and yelled at some men what to do and they did what he demanded. This made Okonkwo happy agtain. The District Commissioner met with the leaders of Umofia. Okonkwo being one of them. They want to make a deal with them. They say if they pay them the amout they want they'll let them go and if they dont they will help them kill people. So its not a fair trade.

35. Chapter 24

They let them go once the fine was paid and they set back home. When they returned home a meeting was called for everyone in the village. At the meeting they talk about fighting and war. During the meeting some white man comes and demands that the meeting must stop. Okonkwo doesnt like this so he takes out his gun and kills the man in front of the whole village.

36. Chapter 25 pg. 206

After Okonkwo killed that man the meeting was basically over and everyone went home. Okonkwo knew that people would be out looking for him after he killed that man. So a little bit later people finally showed up at Okonkwos hut looking for him. Okonkwo is not there but his daughter is and she tells the men that she knows where hes at and she can take them to him. So they start following her into a forrest and they stop in front of this tree. From the tree hung Okonkwo. He killed himself for his people because he knew he had done wrong.