TFA+(12-14)+Youjin+(Jenny)+J.

One of the most interesting traits of Things Fall Apart, so far, is that everything seems expectable, but in most cases prove to be the contrary.

The narrator's queer writing style strikes me yet again; this time, not his expressions or descriptions, but more of his plot scheme. Truth be told, despite my sympathy towards Okonkwo, I'd believed that Okonkwo would be condemned and hated by the tribe soon after his murder of Ikemefuna. However, the author kept on going with his descriptions of Ibo culture, and seemed to stray off from the main story, only mentioning Okonkwo as a side character in his demonstration of most festivals/events. Though I am sure that the author is doing this for a specific reason, and that these side details will later prove to be helpful to the understanding of consequent events, it surprises me that the story flows by so slowly.

The condemnation Oknokwo receives (finally!) in the last chapter of Part One is far less severe than what I had imagined. Not only was the accident inadvertent, but it is also indicated that the tribesmen feel no animosity towards Okonkwo for this event. In most movies of dramatic novels, the writer would quickly lead the story with major events hitting the readers, one after another. (Some examples would be J.K. Rowling's //Harry Potter// series and Shakespeare's //Macbeth//, both stories in which the protagonists are confronted with a series of dramatic rising events.) However, Achebe writes in his usual relaxed, slowly paced style and - amazingly - still holds our attention as strong as, or even stronger than, the aforementioned novels.

If I were to pick out one thing that grabbed my attention the most among these chapters, it would be the implication of Okonkwo's love towards his wives and children. In chapter 12, the narrator secretly hints ("It was only on his fourth trip that he had found Ekwefi, and by then he had become gravely worried." p.112) the readers that Okonkwo had gone to the temple four different times to check upon his family's safety; how subtle and beautiful is this love! Perhaps it is natural that women idealize romantic love such as this (but, in actuality, favor more realistic ones, haha).

This warm aspect of Okonkwo reminds me of my own father. I find certain similarities between the two; they both seem to be awkward in expressing their love towards their family (though my dad is not quite as gruff or aggressive as Okonkwo). My father never insists openly, but in his actions and occasional text messages he sends us, it is easy to see that he cares about us a lot. I may be generalizing, but I have a feeling that men tend to be more shut off and shy in terms of expressing their affection towards their children. People of older generations may be more so; my teachers have often told me that their fathers were always reserved and strict, but they of course knew deep inside that he did all that out of love.

But I digress. Going back to the plot li ne. In the following chapters, Okonkwo will most likely be faced with more sorrowful events that may seem "unfair" to him. He may also show more intense signs of depression, since he seems to have picked up his father's "daziness" (this is not a typo- I am not referring to Unoka's laziness). I doubt that his uncle's words of consolation would help, since Okonkwo is a naturally stubborn man.

I also expect some type of foreign intrusion, not only because I had a chance to glimpse over the synopsis while doing class-time research, but also because the story seems to need some "impact" to boost the events up to the level of the climax.

Question: Is it truly "unfair" that Okonkwo received the punishment? Were his previous actions justifiable?