TFA+Journal+-+MJK+2

**March 31, 2010**

Journal #2 (Chapter 3-6)

1. Text to Self : As I read through the assigned chapters of Things Fall Apart, I can clearly see the resemblance between me and Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna, the lad given up by other village as a compensation of killing the woman from Umuofia, had harsh time adapting into new society- Okonkwo’s home. He had frequently asked Okonkwo’s first wife, who was asked to take care of him, about his return to hometown. Furthermore, the fierce man, protagonist of the book, Okonkwo, physically and mentally terrorized the young boy: when Ikemefuna refused eating his meal, Okonkwo stuck up the food into his mouth without resistance. The young innocent child had seriously ailed for several weeks. Yet, “he was by nature a very lively boy and he gradually became popular in Okonkwo’s household” (28), meaning he eventually mingled with new paraphernalia. Also, He became close with Okonkwo’s eldest son. Similar to Ikemefuna’s circumstance, I was forced to move my homelike school to other foreign school. As he felt pain in the beginning of living in Okonkwo’s house, my life was miserable for the very first week in the school. Indeed, I must abide the rule of speaking english for entire school day, which stressed me more - it is exactly alike to situation where he was forced to eat yams. Still, my natural instinct of being talkative and companionable, helped me to abandon fear toward new classmates as well as teacher. Thus, I had gradually adjusted safely at new harbor; as Ikemefuna made a close friend in unfamiliar environment, I also befriend with good girls. By seeing such commonality between the lad in the text and myself in the reality, I realized of the fact that uncharted surroundings mostly grant people a stress, tiring, pain, at the very beginning.

Culture: By seeing the Umuofians’ prejudiced viewpoint on female, which has been frequently appeared on their lifestyle, I truly get the strong sexism as one of the prominent aspects of their culture. The tangible examples are planting of Yams. Since they truly believed that “Yam stood for manliness(33).” They appeared to allow only man to harvest it since In other side, the female villagers solely do petty works, like cooking, planting some crops, not yams. Indeed, Okonkwo banned her daughter from carrying a chair for his father owing to the fact that it is boys’ work, not girls’. Thus, I apparently see strong discrimination toward woman in the Umuofian’s culture.

Question: Why was Okonkwo generous on his daughters’ mistake on breaking the pot, but strict regarding his son’s inefficient skills on “cutting up yams” (32)? What is the point of having a wrestling combat in New Yam Festival? What does the fowl imply in this quote, cited by Obiako: “Ask my dead father if he ever had a fowl when he was alive.’”(21)?