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Things Fall Apart Chapter 2

In Chapter 2 of 'Things Fall Apart', Okonkwo is called to a meeting regarding a conflict with the Mbaino tribe after a woman from Umuofia is killed. He is tasked with negotiating a settlement, resulting in the exchange of a virgin and a boy, Ikemefuna, who comes to live with Okonkwo. Okonkwo's harsh treatment of his family stems from his fear of failure, reflecting his troubled relationship with his father and leading to sadness for both his son Nwoye and Ikemefuna.

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1K views1 page

Things Fall Apart Chapter 2

In Chapter 2 of 'Things Fall Apart', Okonkwo is called to a meeting regarding a conflict with the Mbaino tribe after a woman from Umuofia is killed. He is tasked with negotiating a settlement, resulting in the exchange of a virgin and a boy, Ikemefuna, who comes to live with Okonkwo. Okonkwo's harsh treatment of his family stems from his fear of failure, reflecting his troubled relationship with his father and leading to sadness for both his son Nwoye and Ikemefuna.

Uploaded by

S Kannigadu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Things Fall Apart

Chapter 2
Okonkwo had just gone to bed when he heard the town crier announcing that all
men should meet in the market in the morning. Okonkwo was sure that the men
were being called because some sort of conflict with an enemy clan had arisen, but
he was unafraid of war. He'd already collected five human heads from his forays in
battle, and on special occasions, he drank wine from the first head he'd brought back
from war.
The following morning ten thousand men from all the villages of Umuofia gathered in
the market, and Ogbuefi Ezuego, a great orator of the tribe, told the men that a
Umuofia woman had been killed when she went to the market in Mbaino. It was
decided that before they declared war on the tribe, Okonkwo would go and attempt
a settlement -- the exchange of one virgin and one boy from the Mbaino tribe --
before the feared Umuofia released its vengeance on the enemy tribe. Umuofia was
revered by its enemies because of its prowess in warfare and magic, and so Okonkwo
was treated respectfully when he traveled to Mbaino to arrange the settlement and
bring back the human offerings. The virgin was given to the husband of the murdered
woman and Ikemefuna, the boy, was sent to live with Okonkwo until the elders
decided what to do with him.
Okonkwo was not only feared and respected among the neighboring villages, but
also in his home as well. His wives and children all feared him, and Okonkwo himself
was driven by the fear of being a failure as his father was. As a child, Okonkwo had
had been crushed when he learned from a playmate that his father was referred to
as an "agbala" Part 1: Chapter 2, Pg. 11. This word in Ibo means woman, but is also
the term for a man without a title. The shame of this pushed Okonkwo to hate
everything that his father had loved, gentleness was one of those things and idleness
was another. Because of this, Okonkwo treated his family roughly and pushed them
to work as hard as he did. His oldest son, Nwoye, who was twelve when Okonkwo
brought Ikemefuno from Mbaino, had often seen the back of his father's hand for his
laziness and was growing into a sorrowful young man because of it. Ikemefuna was
also sad and afraid because he had no idea what was going to happen to him. He'd
been in his hut with his family and then suddenly a man talked with his father and
then took him away as his mother wept. He didn't know where he was and he had no
idea that his father had been partly responsible for the death of the Umuofian
woman, and so Ikemefuna was left in the dark.

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