Things Fall Apart Chapter 8-13
In the last chapter, Ikemefuna was killed
by the men of Umuofia. Okonkwo was devastated and in a way he was showing again
signs of weakness.
For some days he did not eat or rest well,
but one day he decided to visit his best friend, Obierika, and have a talk with
him. They talked and his friend told him that it wasn´t good that he had
participated on Ikemefuna´s sacrifice. Then he told Okonkwo that his daughter
was going to get married and he wanted him to be in the bride-price business.
At the middle of the night, Ekwefi, his wife, went into Okonkwo´s obi and told
him that their daughter, Ezinma, was dying. She just had fever and was better the
next day. But everybody thought that she was going to die because Ekwefi have
had 10 children and 9 of them have died, just Ezinma was still alive.
The system of justice in the community was shown, one man beats very
hard and very often his wife, the brothers of the wife rescued her and beat the
husband. They called the spirits so
they judge them and have a final solution to their problem. The solution was
that if the husband beats one more time his wife, his testicles were going to
be cut. It was at night again and Ezinma and her mother were telling stories
and tales, but Chielo, the priestess suddenly appeared and asked for
Ezinma, she told that the goddess needed to talk with her. Okonkwo and Ekwefi
didn´t want her to go but Chielo just went with her to the Oracle. Ezinma
followed them and she noticed that Okonkwo also was following them, that was
another sign of care and that he does feel emotions for his family. The next
morning was the wedding of the daughter of Obierika, and as Chielo promised,
Ezinma indeed was there in the hands of Ekwefi the next day. Then they notified
the whole village that Ezeudu has died the next day, he was a great man and
required a great funeral where everybody showed signs of respect, animals were
killed and in one occasion some men grab guns and shoot them to the air. But
Okonkwo, by accident shoot to the son of Ezeudu and that was a big mistake.
People of Umuofia burned his farm, his seeds and his harvesting. He and his
family were expelled from the village to another one called Mbanta for seven years.
For Okonkwo things were already falling apart, now the title of the book is
making sense. Okonkwo had built his family, his farm, his titles, his
recognition and respect among others, everything was going well for him, until
Ikemefuna was killed, he was already like a son for Okonkwo and then everything
he had built was already in ruins and he need to begin again his life, things
are falling apart from Okonkwo.
Shamir Troconis
Book from: Chinua Achebe
