Part 3 Questions

1. I think that Achebe brought in the European colonists during the last part of the novel because it ties in why things actually fell apart. For instance, Nwoye left his family to join the Christians, but he would have never done that as a child so it would be logical of Achebe to wait until Nwoye was old enough to disobey his father.
2. Umuofia has changed because during those seven years that Okonkwo had been gone the church had expanded and many left their forefathers beliefs and joined the Christians. Many of these converts were not only lower class people, but men of titles, such as Ogbuefi Ugonna who had two titles and had cut the anklet that showed that he was a man of rank. The white man had also brought a government where the District Commissioner judged cases. The District Commissioner sent court messengers to retrieve men that were to be put on trial for him. These men were from Umuru, where the white men had first came, therefore the court messengers were all believing in the white mans ways. So these men were greatly hated in Umuofia because they were so haughty. They also received the name kotma because of their ash colored shorts and were called Ashy-Buttocks.

3. The kotma are assigned to do many acts in the new society, but all are for the white man. One duty that they have is to guard the prison, which consisted of men who had somehow disobeyed the white man’s law. The white man’s system of justice is much more abusive and controlling than that of the Umuofia society’s ways. The white men have jails in which the prisoners are treated horribly for acts that are traditional in their own society, such as throwing away twins. The white man convicts the people concerning their own laws, not those of the people.
4. Obierika states that it is too late for their people to fight the white men and drive them out because so many of their people had converted to the white man’s beliefs that they would have no chance to win. Obierika says that the white man is very clever because he came in peace and all the people were amused by his strange and foolish ways that they had let him stay. Now the white man has converted many of their people and the people of Umuofia are no longer one. Obierika might be the transitional figure of the old and new Igbo societies because he is upset about the white man coming in and taking over their people and land but knows well enough that they can’t do anything about it. Unlike Okonkwo who thinks like the old Igbo society would.
5. Mr. Brown is a highly respected man of the Igbo society because he does not pressure the people into believing his religion and respects their beliefs, somewhat. Mr. Smith on the other hand was different; he saw things as all or nothing and did not respect the clan at all. From reading Akunna and Mr. Brown’s we learn that both religions are somewhat the same. They both have one supreme God, but the beliefs of the clan have many lower gods. An event that had set off a confrontation between the church and clan was that Enoch had boasted that none of the egwugwu would not dare touch a Christian, and with that said one of the egwugwu hit Enoch with a cane and Enoch retorted back by ripping away the mask that the egwugwu was wearing. This led to a mass confusion in Umuofia and the masked egwugwu from all over the neighboring villages came together and burned down Enoch’s home, then the church. These conflicts occur I think because the white man cannot understand the native people’s language and customs and just assume that their way is the best. There will never be a truce between the two cultures until they both understand to except each others customs and to try and not change their beliefs.
6. Many people feel differently than Okonkwo about the new laws because the white men had built a trading store and an abundance of money came into Umuofia. I think that since the white man is teaching the people how to read and write that they are gaining the trust of the Igbo people. Therefore, the more trust that the white man gains the stronger he becomes.
7. The District Commissioner tricked the six leaders into jail by asking them to explain how Enoch had murdered an egwugwu and had twelve men come in and handcuff them. Okonkwo is very angry that the men are imprisoned and are treated so badly, he holds the grudge that they should have killed the District Commissioner when they had the chance. I think that Okonkwo kills the messenger because he is so fed up with everything around him. The white men coming and converting the village, and most importantly his eldest son, the fact that they went to jail, and what had triggered the murder was that the messenger had wanted the meeting to stop. The meetings that they have are traditional and to have someone who is ordering you to do what you don’t want to do is just over the top for Okonkwo. I think that Okonkwo committed suicide because he would rather be dead than to spend the rest of his life in a white man’s jail and I think he couldn’t take the changing ways of Umuofia anymore. Okonkwo is isolated because he committed suicide and that is an offense against the Earth. I consider Okonkwo a tragic hero because he tried so hard throughout his like to achieve his dreams and tried to support his family the best that he could, but unfortunately he did not achieve some of his dreams.
8. I think that the District Commissioner would write Okonkwo’s story totally wrong, Okonkwo would be made out to be a bad man instead of a respectable one. The District Commissioner does not care that Okonkwo had worked hard to where he was and that it was the white man’s fault that such a great man had taken his own life. I believe that Achebe has made Okonkwo’s story into a whole novel because Achebe has an understanding of the Igbo culture and the District Commissioner sees the Igbo people as ignorant and won’t give them the respect that they deserve.
9. Things fell apart because the white man had discovered Africa and the people who lived there and conquered them. I think that as humans we are generally curious of new things and this is why the white man had the upper hand, they drew in many of the African people and turned them against their own kind. The messages that were shown in the book were that you need to stay strong and defend what you believe in and to
10. The effects of the combination of African and Western literary is that the people who read the book get to learn more about their own culture and another’s. I think it shows the fact that even though the characters in the book and everyone that you know are from so many different cultures that we do share some of the same beliefs, traditions, and routines that you do on a daily basis. It makes you feel closer to a culture in which you might have known nothing about and gained a newfound respect for.