Thursday, February 7, 2008
Things Fall Apart: Chapter 25
Chapter 25 starts out with the commissioner visiting Okonkwo's hut most likely to punish him for what he did to the messenger. When the commissioner arrived there was six men sitting out side of Okonkwo's hut and tells him that he is not home at the moment. The man that tells the commissioner this is Obierika. After the commissioner asked a second time and with threats of imprisoning them, Obierika agrees to take them to Okonkwo if they promised to help them. Obierika lead the men to the back of Okonkwo's hut where they find him hanging from a tree. Okonkwo has hanged himself, I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. I always thought that Okonkwo was just so stable. He never showed any signs of committing suicide. The reason that they needed the commissioners help was so they could get Okonkwo down from the tree. Obierika also starts to yell at the commissioner saying that it was his fault for Okonkwo's death. Obierika must of been pretty mad because I believe that this was the first time he has expressed his anger in a negative way. So the commissioners men take Okonkwo down and bury him. Obierika could not because his body was considered evil after committing suicide. So this is how the book ends, I could not believe it. It made me so made, I was hoping for a full out war but no there was not. Well there was a couple of things not explained in the last chapter which are: how is Okonkwo's family doing after his death, and will there be a war or not in the future. Overall, I really did not like the book all that well. Even though the book was full of African culture, there just really was not that much action, in my opinion.
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2 comments:
This is probably the worst ending I've ever read. Committing suicide is like the girliest thing you can do and Okonkwo has this big manly image to uphold. I hate him.
YOU WROTE:
"...where they find him hanging from a tree. Okonkwo has hanged himself, I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. I always thought that Okonkwo was just so stable. He never showed any signs of committing suicide."
I totally agree with you Kurt. Achebe goofed here IMHO. It's not in his nature to kill himself. 1st, he hates weakness, and suicide is a failure's way out. 2) Okonkwo is a warrior, and would want to go out on his feet and not by the noose. 3)It's a stupid ending to an unlikable man's life.
Like you, I expected an all out war, but this never happens. Okonkwo's temper is his own demise. He was an Anti-Hero, somebody you couldn't cheer for anyway, so I don't see his loss as too great.
The title "Things Fall Apart" pertains to the tribe. The tribe by the end of the book has been broken by the whites. Their culture has fallen apart. Achebe tells 2 stories here. So I think we both got so caught up in the story of this one deranged man, that we forgot what the story was actually about. The village.
As for not being that much action, keep in mind that today's movies and TV have conditioned your brain to "expect" it at timed intervals in the plot. This book was written several decades ago, by a non western author, so there's going to be a disconnect with your expectations.
Just pointing that out. Nice Blog entries, you did a fine job. I'll post your score on Edline.
Mr. Farrell
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