Things Fall Apart Textual Analysis
When I originally read about the traditions and rituals in the book, I thought that it was crazy. I believed that there was nothing in our society that compared to the sacredness of the kola nut. Even though I found the kola nut to be an incredibly interesting symbol, I found it very hard to relate to because our society has lost a sense of our traditions and rituals. For example, we have taken for granted the special relationship of marriage. This was a traditions that was never broken many years ago. However, divorce rates have gone up in the last thirty years. As the country has evolved, we have lost the sense of our old traditions. That is why I found it very hard to believe that we had something as sacred as a kola nut in our society.
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Okonkwo was considered one of the most powerful men in the entire society. He was a big, strong man who believed that he was the best thing that ever happened to the world. One night, he had a very wealthy man and his family over. “He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie… He presented a kola nut and an alligator pepper, which were passed round for all to see and then returned to him. He broke the nut saying: We shall all live. We pray for life, children, a good harvest, and happiness” (19). This simple part of life brings the entire culture together. The kola nut shows a sign of respect and also is considered a holy object to pray with. Whenever a person welcomes another into their house, one of the things they can expect is a kola nut as a sign of respect. The tone of this quote is very relaxed because Okonkwo is trying to welcome his guests into his home. However, the prayer is very powerful because the people in the community believe that when Okonkwo says a prayer, it will come true because he is so well respected. Even though this was very powerful, the literary feature of irony is in this quote too. In the next couple pages, Okonkwo breaks the Week of Peace by punching one of his wives. The irony is that Okonkwo had everyone pray for life and happiness, something he went against when breaking another
Okonkwo was considered one of the most powerful men in the entire society. He was a big, strong man who believed that he was the best thing that ever happened to the world. One night, he had a very wealthy man and his family over. “He took a pot of palm-wine and a cock to Nwakibie… He presented a kola nut and an alligator pepper, which were passed round for all to see and then returned to him. He broke the nut saying: We shall all live. We pray for life, children, a good harvest, and happiness” (19). This simple part of life brings the entire culture together. The kola nut shows a sign of respect and also is considered a holy object to pray with. Whenever a person welcomes another into their house, one of the things they can expect is a kola nut as a sign of respect. The tone of this quote is very relaxed because Okonkwo is trying to welcome his guests into his home. However, the prayer is very powerful because the people in the community believe that when Okonkwo says a prayer, it will come true because he is so well respected. Even though this was very powerful, the literary feature of irony is in this quote too. In the next couple pages, Okonkwo breaks the Week of Peace by punching one of his wives. The irony is that Okonkwo had everyone pray for life and happiness, something he went against when breaking another