As we see in Part I of Things Fall Apart, the Ibo culture was centuries-old and well functioning before the coming of the Europeans. Point out 3 or more aspects of the culture that we can admire.
What do you think of Okonkwo?
PART I:
Before the Europeans came and colonized Africa, the Ibo culture had their own religion, food, and political system. Their religion was more spiritual than religious in that it focused on the chi, or personal god, honoring the god and ancestral spirits, and supersticious and mystical myths. The basis of them believing that there are good and evil spirits is significant because it emphasized the importance that they placed on honoring the ancestoral spirits and partaking in supertiscious practices in order to avoid being consumed by evil.
The food they produced was a huge part of their culture because it symbolized abundance and prosperity that was given to them as a gift from the gods, along with them cultivating the crops. They were so dependent on these crops for their basic survival, that maintaining them portrayed that they were doing well in life and that the rain gods or nature were on their side. In other words, if a man had enough food, (foo-foo, yams, palm-wine, locusts, soup), to feed his family and ancestors with regular sacrifices then he was viewed as more dominant in that he was able to provide the food that his wives would cook for their children.
Their political system did not have a direct system of government, however there were certain implications for during the wrong thing. If the Ibo people were unloyal to religious customs then they would be punished, but it all depended on what the Oracle of the Hills and caves ruled. The Oracle was an important aspect of their political system in that it highlighted the obvious things that were if not illegal, at least highly fround upon.
I think that Okonkwo is foolish because he worries too much about proving that he is a masculine and prosperous man, which makes him loose his sense of self and instead replaces his inner-worth with his cultures worth. This consumes him and makes him act out impulsively out of fear and anger. Okonkwo is so self-conscious, bitter, selfish, and unhappy that he worries more about prospects and breaking away from his past, that he actually manifests his past through the way he treats others. His life is like a viscious cycle that he cannot get away from because he is so judgemental and resistant to the knowledge and advise of others.
