SUMMARY CHAPTERS 6-13

THINGS FALL APART by Chinua Achebe

CHAPTERS 6-13

That time of the year finally arrived to the village of Umuofia, the day of the wrestling match is here!

Everyone is excited, specially Ekwefi because when she was young Okonkwo wins her heart when he won against the Amalize Cat, but also she always enjoys to watch 

Today´s match it was between two men Ikezue and Okafo, but before theres going to be a fight between boys of fifteen and sixteen years old. Maduka, the son of Okonkwo’s friend Obierika, wins the match proudly.

However, while the match continues Ekwefi was talking with Chielo ( the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves) but as a normal women, she began to question the health of Ezinma and the happiness that she " would stay" because she has the age of ten and has survived.

 Otherwise, Ekwefi has suffered a lot in her life, because she became mother of ten children in different time of her life, and nine died as very young, unless Ezinma. Okonkwo visited a lot of medicine man, the first one  told him that an ogbanje was tormenting them. An "ogbanje" is a wicked boy that always enter to the mother and died all over again. The second one told him that it was the place Ekwefi was having her child so she went to live with her mother in another village and gave birth to Ezinma. But now maybe the destiny has curse Ekwefi because Ezinma is dying. Okonkwo search for medicine plants with the hope that Ezinma will survived.

One night, Chielo as he priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves arrived to the household of Ekwefi with the purpose of taking Ezinma with her. But Eswefi and Okonkwo tried to stop her in which Chielo began to curse them. 

When Chielo left the house with Ezinma on her back, Eswefi decided of going after them. Chielo went to all nine villages and finally arrived to the caves and entered, Eswefi stayed outside waiting for her daughter, when she saw Okonkwo that he also was going to wait. The next day, Chielo went to the household of Ekwefi and left Ezinma resting.

-------

Ikemefula has live in the household of Oknkwo for three years, at first he didn´t adapt at all, but when the time passed the children loved him, also Nwoye. Ikemefula was adapting to the village and forgetting his past, he began to speak to Okonkwo as " father". His influence was reflected on Nwoye and Okonkwo was very happy to see his son trying to be a hardworker and to listen to his stories instead of being with his mother.

Until one day a surprise came to the village, the locusts arrived to town. The locusts were little animals that travel down to earth from the top of the mountains once in a generation. Between all this excitment Ogbuefi Ezeudu vist Okonkwo with the news that the Oracle has demand to kill Ikemefula but Okonkwo cant participate because the boy tells him "father".

When the day was arriving to its end, some men entered to the household in serch of Ikemefula. They told him that he was going home, Ikemefula was nervous and somewhere in his mind he knew that it was a lie.

When they were walking in the road, Okonkwo arrived and saw when a man tried to kill Ikemefula with a machete, and the boy saw Okonkwo and he tried to run towards him imploring for help but Okonkwo kills him.

Since that day Okonkwo cant sleep and didnt eat for two days, and Nwoye felt that something was wrong and he took a distance from his father.

--------

The day has come, the justice arrived to the village. 

The clan of ancestral spirits, known as egwugwu had emerged form a place in which the women arent allowed.

They are men dressed as spirits and is the law and the ones that decides the most important decisions such as the one is going to be presented.

A trail have made between a man named Uzowulu and a women named Mgbafo. The problem was that were married, but the man beats the women. So the brothers of Mgbafo went to rescue her and bring her to there home so she can be saved. The thing was that Uzowulu wants her back.

The Evil Forest listened to the case and each opinion of both sides and decided that Uzowulu will bring to the family of his wife palm-wife and will beg Mgbafo that she comes back to him. But if he beats her again, Uzowulu´s genitals will be cut.

The wedding of Obierka´s daughter was finally here, Okonkwo´s family help to prepare the ceremony and the bride, and the village contribute with food. Obierka bought a huge goat to be as a present to the family in law.

But the huge goat escaped and the cow owner had to pay a fine to all the farms the cow has passed.

Otherwise this problem, the ceremony was a success and beautiful.

------------

The village of the Igbo culture received a terrible notice " Ogbuefi Ezeudu died" . Since this man was very loved and a great wrestler with three titles out of four, a lot of people went to his funeral.

When the men began to play the drums and play some music to show respect to Ezeudu achieves, life and now as a spirit, Okonkwo´s gun accidentally shouts and kills Ezeudu’s son ( 16 years old).

All the village began to get crazy and mad because " killing clansman is against of the earth goddess", so Okonkwo and his family were exile for seven years. Okonkwo took his family to the house of his mother in the village of Mbanta. But as tradition, the men burn Okonkwo´s household, animals and crops.

The friend of Okonkwo, Obierka began to question the accidental murdered and the punishment it has been settle.

By: Sandra Castañeda Mota

REFERENCE:
Chebe,C.(1994).THINGS FALL APART. New York, Anchor-Books

Things Fall Apart Summary Chapters 1-6

Things Fall Apart

By Chinua Achebe

“ He was still Young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine village.”

The story begins with the description of the most famous wrestler in the nine villages of Igbo culture, his name is Okonkwo.

His fame started since he was a young man; when he had bought honour by beating the Amalizne Cat in wresting contest. Since that moment his fame started to spread.

In the story, Okonkwo shows hia hate against his father, so he turns contrary of him, Unoka; his father was a man who feared blood, wrestling and he was all the time asking for money but never pay it back.

So in a way, the author wanted to explain that Okonkwo was a tough-cold man because he was afraid of weakness in which really meant to be like his father.

“Okonkwo remembers from childhood when his father was called a woman.”

The story continues, and more information is given about the Igbo culture, such as the wide division between the women and the men, the New Yam Festival and the Week of Peace.

Okonkwo´s determination is starting to get notice he starting to demand his three wife’s and eight children to work.

For example, his twelve-year old son, Nowye is lazy, so his father beats him all the time, also the way Okonkwo treats his three wives and eight children.

In the story, a descriptions starts within the folktales and languages of the different clans. With this, Achebe show us that the story isn’t about Africa, is about a specific culture found in Africa.

Through the chapters of 1-6, Chinua Achebe gives information about a specific culture and the most famous cold-rough wrestler man lived in Africa, in which his only inability is to shoot property.

By: Sandra Castañeda Mota

REFERENCE:

Chebe,C.(1994).THINGS FALL APART. New York, Anchor-Books

African Literature

African Literature

African Literature consist of a work in different languages and genres, in which you can found oral and written material in colonial languages (French, English, Portuguese or Spanish)

The beginnings of African literature started with ancient Egyptians with their knowledge about creating “ papyrus” and written text. But the period of colonization was the most important, because Europeans started to use Christian ethic to teach African people there culture and they started to destroy the Africa´s culture. However, the African people tried to never forget their culture. The African communities that were closer to Europe, they have the possibility to be educated on writing and reading techniques.

In 1789, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Oluadah Equiano was the first slave narrative to be published. This autobiography was written by an Ibo man that suffers from kidnapping in Nigeria and his entire journey in Great Britain.

  

Oral literature consist in proverbs, stories, legends, traditions, their ancestors heroic events, myths, songs or histories, In Africa they’re mostly taught to educate their children and in that form never loose their old roots.

To African society it is essential oral literature, so the folktale tellers use call-response techniques using music in their narratives.

The written literature took place in inspirations with themes like slavery, legends, racism, old traditions and slave trade. One of the fist work ever written was associated with Christian missionary activity. The first work that began to get known in the West part of the world where the novels, stories or publications where written about the horrors already mention.

When African authors began to write their work in their language, they began to criticise the colonial repression.

Since the early 19-century, writers from western Africa began to use the newspapers as a way to criticise and to show their feelings against their nation government. When the Négritude Movement started, a lot of french-african writers began to use poetry, such as Léon Damas and Aimé Césaire.

After the World War II, Africa began to fight for their Independence and the writers start to make plays, essays, histories, novels and stories about the hope of a new bright future and the pride to be African.

Otherwise, Africa culture began to develop there literature and get known, for example, In 1986, Wole Soyinka became the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature.

However, the African writers focus more on writing about African past during the colonialism, for instance Chinua Achebe`s work has been inspired on the tribe he was born “Igo” within there conflicts, such as slavery. Although, Africa has develop the possibility to have Universities specialized on African Literature, and also in schools and Universities all around the world.

The period called Post-Achebe African Literature was a time that African writers has the possibility to get known worldwide matters. Also in this period the women started to write and to give the female knowledge against the racist, slavery and colonialism period. Chinua Achebe has his importance because it was his best time as a writer and he began to support other writers.

In conclusion, Africa is a country that is in way of developing and continue looking forward to the future, but it will always have their culture present.

BY: Sandra Castañeda Mota

REFERENCES:

UNC ( 2007) Unc.edu (Online) Availabe at:

http://www.unc.edu/~hhalpin/ThingsFallApart/literature.html

[ Accessed on: January 22, 2013]

Indiana Univerity ( 2009) Muse Proyect ( Online) Available at:

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/ral/

[ Accessed on: January 22, 2013]

Chinua Achebe Biography

“The only thing we have learnt from experience is that we learn nothing from experience.” – Chinua Achebe

Albert Chinualumogo Achebe known as Chinua Achebe is widely known as an African writer. Born in November 15, 1930, with Christian parents and raised in Ogidi, Nigeria.

He got his education in English, but also with Irgo traditions; he assisted to the University of Ibadan where he studied medicine and literature. After graduated he began teaching and he joined the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos.

He became fascinated with African culture, and began writing stories.  In 1950, Achebe gained the world attention with his book “ Things Fall Apart”; he expressed all his books, novels, poems and publications with honesty and in a way criticizing, for instance in 1975,  his lecture " An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad´s " Heart of Darkness", in this lecture Achebe expressed and criticized all the racism that suffer the African people, in which caused a lot of worldwide controversy.

In 1967, the region of Biafra was independent from Nigeria, Achebe became one of their supporters of Independence and become there Embassador. The war of violence and starvation took power in the new nation, so Achebe ask Europe and the America for aid, but no one answer.

In 1970 , the Nigerian government retook the region and Achebe sooner or later got frustrated because of all the corruption that was going on, in which no one helped him.

Achebe began to travel a lot and started to write novels focus in his old roots, the Igbo society and the influences of the Christianity, also their traditions, proverbs and beliefs.

He was known as the “ Voice of Nigeria and African writers series” and called “ the Father of Modern African writing”. All of his achievements has been awarded in 1982, the American Academy of Arts and Letter, 2002 in the American Academy of Arts and Science, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, and the Man Booker International Prize in 2007.

His recent work has been in 2012 with his publication called “ There was a country”, in which cause a commotion and discussion about the Nigerian Civil War.

Now at days, Chinua Achebe has 83 years old and he is still a very influential man. The world needs people like him, people that they are not afraid of being different, of being leader, of telling the truth not matter what and the most important thing of all is to make the difference.
Written by: Sandra Castañeda Mota

Reference: Grade Saver ( 2003) Grade Saver.com ( online) Available at:
 http://www.gradesaver.com/author/chinua-achebe/
[ Accessed on January 21, 2012]