TFA_MOJournal3

Chapter 7-8 Journal entry

The oracle of the village informed then to kill Ikemefuna, so people decided to kill him. As well s the previous chapters, I realized that family was an issue to the story plot as well as the Ibo culture. By the end of chapter 8, it mentioned again about the power of men and women. In the obi, the men of the village were talking about a death in another village ad how strange the death was. Also, they discussed about children of men and women should belong to the womens’ family in another village. However, in Umoufia, women on op of men in a social status cannot be seen or admitted by the males. Going back to the death of Ikemefuna, and the death of oldest person of the Ire village, death and the reason of death is an issue to the villlagers. Some die for sacrifices and from the oracle’s saying, and some die strangly that no one know’s the reason for it. From observing the deaths of Ikemefuna and Ogbuefi Ndulue who died in the Ire village, nobody seemed to view it as a big deal, no one took it emotionally, and almost no one expressed sorrow for them.

“Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm-wine from morning till night, and his eyes were red and __fierce__ like the eyes of a rat hen it was caught by the tail and __dashed__ against the floor. He called his son, Nwoye, to sit with him in his obi. But the boy was afraid of him and __slipped__ out of the hut as soon as he notices him dozing.” (Beginning of chapter 8)

This paragraph __indicates__ the feeling of Okonkwo that may not be inferred unless we read the book. If I was one of the characters near Okonkwo, I think I wouldn’t be able to figure out the true mentality.

From reading the thoughts of Okonkwo, it made me more curious of Okonkwo’s true thoughts: Did he really think Ikemefuna as his son? Did he need to force himself out of the fact that he was depressed by Ikemefuna’s death? Did he not want to admit the fact that himself as a “women” that is scared of everything?