Just before the harvest, the village holds the Feast of the New Yam to give thanks to the earth goddess, Ani. Okonkwo doesn’t really care for feasts because he considers them times of idleness.
How does Okonkwo feel about feasts?
Okonkwo does not even enjoy the leisurely ceremonial feast as others do. His impatience with the festivities is so great that he erupts. He falsely accuses one of his wives, beats her, and then makes an apparent attempt to shoot her.
How does Okonkwo feel about starting a New Yam farm?
Uchendu’s five sons each give him three hundred seed-yams to start his farm. Okonkwo and his family must work hard to develop a new farm, and the work gives him no pleasure because he has lost the vigor and motivation of his younger days. He knows he is merely “marking time” while he is in Mbanta.
Why did Okonkwo beat his second wife during the New Yam Festival?
He beats and then nearly shoots his wife Ekwefi because of his own insecurity and anxiousness about not working during the Feast of the New Yam, during which the earth goddess is celebrated for a bountiful harvest.
What was the purpose of the feast of the New Yam?
The New Yam Festival, in the Ogidi community, is an important way of marking the beginning and end of the farming season. It is a celebration of life, accomplishments in the community, culture and well-being.
What keeps Okonkwo from enjoying the New Yam festival?
Okonkwo doesn’t enjoy festivals because he feels uncomfortable sitting around for days waiting for a feast or getting over it, he rather work on his farm.
Why doesn’t Okonkwo enjoy feasts what does this show us about him?
Okonkwo never became enthusiastic over the feasts as most people because he was always uncomfortable sitting around for days waiting for a feast. He would be happier on his farm. This shows that he cannot relax.
Why is Okonkwo so hard on his sons about preparing yams?
Okonkwo gives his eldest son Nwoye and Ikemefuna yams to prepare to plant. He is angry at their efforts because the yam represents manliness, and he wants his sons to be manly. Even though he knows the two boys are too inexperienced to cut the yams correctly, he is still angry with them.
What do yams symbolize to Okonkwo?
”Yam, the king of crops, was a man’s crop. ” This quote explains how they considered yams a man’s crop in Okonkwo’s community; only men are allowed to plant and grow yams, not women. A man’s ability to produce a successful yam harvest is symbolic of his ability to provide for his family.
What is the significance of the yam in things fall apart?
Seen as a masculine crop, the yams are an indication of the patriarchal society and separation between the genders. It creates a village where women are dependent on the yam farming men to provide for them. Second, yams symbolise sustenance and a way of life.
Which wife did Okonkwo love the most?
Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel Things Fall Apart follows an Igbo leader, Okonkwo, through his tumultuous life in colonial Nigeria. His second wife Ekwefi is perhaps his favorite of all of his wives, and her daughter is by far his favorite child.
What was the consequence of Okonkwo beating his wife?
During this time, however, Okonkwo breaks the peace. He beats his third wife, Ojiugo, for not arriving home in time to cook his midday meal. By beating his wife, he breaks the law of the Week of Peace. Ezeani, the priest of the earth goddess, comes to punish him.
Which of the cultural celebration does Okonkwo violate by beating his wife?
Because his third wife has gone off to plait her hair and doesn’t have the afternoon meal ready, Okonkwo forgets it is the sacred Week of Peace and beats her. The village is shocked, and the priest commands him to make amends with offerings to the earth goddess, in hopes she will not punish the village.
What unacceptable thing does Okonkwo do just before the feast of the New Yam?
What unacceptable thing did Okonkwo do just before the Feast of the New Yam? He beat his second wife, Ekwefi, then fired his gun at her. Who was Chielo, and why was she important? She was the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves.
What was Okonkwo’s greatest fear?
What were Okonkwo’s greatest fear and greatest passion? He was afraid that he would resemble his father. His greatest passion was to hate everything his father loved.
Who was Okonkwo’s Favourite child?
Ekwefi – She’s the second wife to Okonkwo and the mother to his daughter Ezinma. Ezinma – She’s the only child out of ten to survive past infancy from Ekwefi so she’s well protected by her mom. She is also Okonkwo’s favorite child.
How does Okonkwo react to the new culture?
Okonkwo hates the new missionaries and religion that is forced onto his clan since it gives more power the weak and gives him less credibility a man of title of the clan. He also feels disappointed in his clan since they appear to be doing nothing to stop the whites influence from growing.
What was Okonkwo’s response to the new culture?
Before encountering Western influence, Okonkwo was a strong but insecure man who cared a lot about gaining titles and respect. He immediately rejected the new culture and wanted to maintain their tribes’ original belief system, but unwillingness to change led him to end his own life.
How did Okonkwo try to save his yams?
During the drought, Okonkwo tries to protect the yam seedlings from the sun by putting rings of sisal around them. He also prays for rain. Why is the poor harvest like a sad funeral for the Igbo people? The livelihood of the Igbo people is dependent upon the yam.
Why is Okonkwo throwing a feast?
As the time approaches for his family’s return to Umuofia, Okonkwo instructs his wives and children to prepare a huge feast for his mother’s kinsmen in Mbanta in a gesture to show his gratitude for kindness over the years of exile.
What does Okonkwo serve at the feast?
How is okonkwo going to thank his mother’s people for helping him during his seven years in exile? Huge feast with cassava.