So the messengers come for Okonkwo. They were taken to him by his friends, and to everyone's surprise, he has hung himself. I was totally shocked at this. I remembered that in ancient Greece and Rome and other places that it is courageous to kill yourself, but then I read the next sentence and it said that it is totally against tribal customs. I think Okonkwo knew what his fate would be. He didn't want to run from it, but he didn't want the messengers to get the satisfaction of killing him so he did it himself. Obierika even says to the messengers that they made him do this, which is basically right. If he wouldn't have chopped off that guy's head he probably wouldn't have done it though. I don't know. I really didn't like Okonkwo, but it was a sad way for him to go.
Also at the end it said that this took place in Lower Niger.
I thought the ending was kind of weird with the way that Achebe said the messenger was going to write a story about this, and about how Okonkwo's story would be about a paragraph. At first I thought maybe it was him and then I thought no. Maybe he did this to show how little the people knew about the lives they were destroying.
My overall thought of this book is that it just wasn't my kind of reading. I mean I learned a lot, and I totally understand why we read it and everything, but it just wasn't something that interested me all that much. I guess I am glad that I read it because of how much I learned. I know that if it weren't for this class, I never would have thought about reading it.
3 comments:
i didn't think this book was very interesting at all. I mean it was ok i guess but I didn't like the overall outcome either.
You wrote: "I don't know. I really didn't like Okonkwo, but it was a sad way for him to go."
I agree. Achebe made Okonkwo take the coward's way out. I kept expecting him to go into a rage and kill as many whites as he could. I figured he'd go out in a blaze of glory, but Achebe had other plans.
I don't like the ending for this reason. I don't think Okonkwo's character would opt for suicide. It is a form of weakness that doesn't fit with the character. Achebe could maybe have had him fled to another village, further into the continent, maybe to fight another day?
Yes, I think I told the class this on the first day of handing out the books. Lower Niger would be what Nigeria I believe.
Being written by an African mind, the book would seem alien to your average teenager. I'm glad you learned from the book, as that was the assignment's original intent. You also helped others learn about the book when you made the blog comments, answering where I could not.
Think of it as a kid growing up who 's Mom forces them to eat their vegetables. Blah! says the kid. Sometimes we don't always have to like what we eat, but it's for our own well being and makes us grow up to be healthy and strong.
Reading books that one might not normally choose otherwise is part of the educational growth process.
Glad you learned from it.
Mr. Farrell
ok i see your point Mr. Farrell. I dont agree with you but i understand u. the ending of this book was just pathetic. what type of story ends like that.
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