Top 3 Plot Points:
1. Okonkwo's suicide
2. Missionaries Arrival
3. The beating of Okonkwo's wife during Peace Week
Explanations:
1. Okonkwo's suicide ends it all. He states earlier that he believes suicide is a cowards way out of life. Saying this foreshadows the fact that suicide will be significant in the book but also brings up the fact that one of Okonkwo's values us bravery. Okonkwo hates cowardice and giving up. The tribe also views suicide as an action against their beliefs. After his death they request the Christians help in removing the body. This is not only insight into the tribes beliefs on suicide contrasting their respect for the man himself, but the way that they are willing to ask the Christians help with the situation instead of waiting for the people who they requested take the body down. Okonkwo's death marks the acceptance of Christianity within the tribe. His death is not only the end of everything within the book (as it was a story of Okonkwo's life) but also the end of untainted culture.
2. The arrival of the missionaries marks a turning point in the book. With the first encounter, there is some foreshadowing of what was to come. The white man is ogled at and once realization of what was happening mixed with the fear of the unknown hit the tribe, death was around the corner. Its foreshadowing the arrival of death coming hand in hand with the arrival of missionaries. It is also central to the plot. If the first missionary hadn't arrived at the village, the rest of the story wouldn't have taken place the way it did. It cannot be said what may have happened but without the introduction of Christianity, the following events crucial in the main conflicts would not have occurred.
3. Okonkwo's choice to beat his wife during Peace week provides a lot of insight into both the character of the main character but also the attitude of the tribe itself. The tribe didn't care that Okonkwo beat his wife, other than the fact that he did it during a sacred time. This provides exposition into what the tribe is all about; the values, gender roles, objectification (as women are bought in this culture and once something is bought, it is the owners choice to do with it as they want), and such that isn't clearly stated to the reader. It forces the reader to think about it as almost a forced realization of who these people are. It also gives details into the character of Okonkwo. He beat his wife for doing basically nothing. His reaction was severe and a complete overreaction. Having done it so quickly for such a small inconvenience shows that Okonkwo is a rash decision maker and almost a tyrannical figure in his family. He says on multiple occasions that kindness is weakness and this action shows how serious he is about his personal values. Also the choice, not exactly choice but almost lack there of, in beating his wife during a week of peace reveals that he doesn't think about his decisions in anger, acting quickly and with no thought for the consequences to come of his actions. This attitude and presentation of it so early on in the book foreshadows such types of decisions that will lead himself to cut off the head of a messenger and subsequently take his own life.
1. Okonkwo's suicide
2. Missionaries Arrival
3. The beating of Okonkwo's wife during Peace Week
Explanations:
1. Okonkwo's suicide ends it all. He states earlier that he believes suicide is a cowards way out of life. Saying this foreshadows the fact that suicide will be significant in the book but also brings up the fact that one of Okonkwo's values us bravery. Okonkwo hates cowardice and giving up. The tribe also views suicide as an action against their beliefs. After his death they request the Christians help in removing the body. This is not only insight into the tribes beliefs on suicide contrasting their respect for the man himself, but the way that they are willing to ask the Christians help with the situation instead of waiting for the people who they requested take the body down. Okonkwo's death marks the acceptance of Christianity within the tribe. His death is not only the end of everything within the book (as it was a story of Okonkwo's life) but also the end of untainted culture.
2. The arrival of the missionaries marks a turning point in the book. With the first encounter, there is some foreshadowing of what was to come. The white man is ogled at and once realization of what was happening mixed with the fear of the unknown hit the tribe, death was around the corner. Its foreshadowing the arrival of death coming hand in hand with the arrival of missionaries. It is also central to the plot. If the first missionary hadn't arrived at the village, the rest of the story wouldn't have taken place the way it did. It cannot be said what may have happened but without the introduction of Christianity, the following events crucial in the main conflicts would not have occurred.
3. Okonkwo's choice to beat his wife during Peace week provides a lot of insight into both the character of the main character but also the attitude of the tribe itself. The tribe didn't care that Okonkwo beat his wife, other than the fact that he did it during a sacred time. This provides exposition into what the tribe is all about; the values, gender roles, objectification (as women are bought in this culture and once something is bought, it is the owners choice to do with it as they want), and such that isn't clearly stated to the reader. It forces the reader to think about it as almost a forced realization of who these people are. It also gives details into the character of Okonkwo. He beat his wife for doing basically nothing. His reaction was severe and a complete overreaction. Having done it so quickly for such a small inconvenience shows that Okonkwo is a rash decision maker and almost a tyrannical figure in his family. He says on multiple occasions that kindness is weakness and this action shows how serious he is about his personal values. Also the choice, not exactly choice but almost lack there of, in beating his wife during a week of peace reveals that he doesn't think about his decisions in anger, acting quickly and with no thought for the consequences to come of his actions. This attitude and presentation of it so early on in the book foreshadows such types of decisions that will lead himself to cut off the head of a messenger and subsequently take his own life.
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