Journal Pages

Date: Friday, June 20, 2008

Page: 57

Quote: "That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death."

This quote was a warning. I felt it was foreshadowing of what was to come. Every word indicated that something was bound to happen. There are many occasions where things may become horrendous, and they do. Okonkwo bore a hand in his "son's" death and couldn't eat for days. The thoughts of his killing his "kin" weighed him down through the days, because he was idle and not at work. If he had been working at the time he would not have felt so guilty. He did not follow his friend's advice although his friend was old and wise. Eventually his heart hardened and he thought of his wrong only on occasion.

Date: Friday, June 20, 2008

Page: 61

Quote: "My father, they have killed me!"

Okonkwo killed his "son" Ikemefuna in the Evil forest, because Ikemefuna was a peace treaty for a murder. Okonkwo was warned that he should not bear one hand in his "son's" death. As machetes flew at Ikemefuna he cried "My father, they have killed me," and to not look like a woman Okonkwo killed him. It was a dismal time for Okonkwo to remember his ruthlessness in fear of being inferior. He acted on instinct, and on anxiety. If he could we would most likely not have gone that night, and he would not have bore one hand in Ikemefuna's death. Ikemefuna had so much to live for. He was intelligent, he was skillful, and he was becoming a man. The elders of the clan had ended his life, just because his father had murdered a person's wife. He even knew in the pit of his stomach what was to come, for he feared the long journey and the ominous people surrounding him.