Adrian+HW+10-29-09

Adrian Grech Honors English HW  1)   Okonkwo takes his family to his motherland because the “motherland” is there to protect the child when he or she is in distress. It is believed that a child belongs to their father but when they are in distress they seek the comfort of their mother. Therefore, Okonkwo lives in his fatherland and flees to his motherland when in distress. Perhaps Okonkwo despairs because he feels nostalgic towards his fatherland.His uncle, Uchendu, responded to Okonkwo’s despair by having his family all be good to him and starting him off with a small farm. 3) The Abame clan was annihilated by the missionary soldiers. Uchendu and Okonkwo believe that the Abame were foolish but have different opinions on their reasoning. Uchendu believes that they should never have killed a man who never spoke to them, as he believes that it is the quiet one who is the worst. Okonkwo believed that the Abame should have seen the invasion coming and armed themselves. Okonkwo believes the missionaries should be kicked out immediately and Uchendu believed that they should be cast in the Evil Forest. Neither way is better, as both have their benefits and flaws. When Uchendu says that no story is untrue he means that every rumor, myth, stereotype, legend, etc…has an origin due to events and therefore has some truth to it, no matter what. 4) Obierika visits Okonkwo the first time to give Okonkwo the money from the yams he had been planting and selling for him. The second time is not only to visit his friend but to alert him about the missionaries. This shows rapid change in the village in just a period of a year. The Igbo people and the Missionaries have huge misunderstandings because they believe in different gods and have different beliefs which they celebrate. For example, the Igbo destroy twins while the Church takes them in and sees no difference in who is a member of its society. The Igbo only let people who follow their customs to remain a part of their clan. Another source of misunderstanding stems from the fact the Igbo religion is thousands of years old while the missionaries’ religion is only several hundred. It’s hard to convert a people from a religion they have held onto for thousands of years. Another source of their misunderstanding is the church’s actions towards Igbo people. It tries to convert as many of them as it can and tries to rule them, which it has no right to. Those attracted to the religion are outcasts or those who have conflicts with the customs of their people, such as the mothers of twins. Nwoye is attracted to the new religion because he questions Ikemefuna’s death and wants him to be there with him, like how the missionary’s songs talk about brothers staying by each other’s sides. Also, when his father beats him and nearly kills him for even being near the missionaries, Nwoye’s anger and hatred for his father pushes him into conversion. 5) The young church had a few crises’ in its early life. These crises’ include the death of several missionaries when they had gone overboard and just walked into the village and shouted that all the Igbo gods were dead and they were going to defy them by burning their shrines. Another crisis was when their converts were banned from the clan’s activities and life. This also meant that they could not use the clan’s natural resources such as water from a stream. The Igbo are content with leaving the church and its converts in the evil forest because since they did not die, the Igbo figured that it is still the place where they belong, since they cast away twins and other people into the forest when they’re children. So technically by living in the forest, they have never left it and they are still where they were originally cast away. The differences between the two religions are differences in gods and beliefs about acceptance, where the Igbo has strict rules and will cast away unfit to fit in society, as the Christians accept anyone because they believe that they are equal in god’s eyes. 6) The elder’s society was more tightly knit and everyone stuck together and understood the importance of kinsmen. Whereas, the younger generations are not as closely knit and do not understand its importance. They fear that without each other’s support, the missionaries will prevail in their quest of conversion.