Things Fall Apart Chapter 8-13

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