Chapter 14
What does Okonkwo learn about family in his transition to life in Mbanta?
Okonkwo learns that family is important in how they help each other in times of need. Uchendu’s sons give Okonkwo seed-yams in order to begin his farm.
What does Okonkwo find discouraging about his chi?
Okonkwo is discouraged by the idea that once he accepted the Ibo belief that, “when a man says yes his chi says yes also.” He believes that he has said “yes,” but his chi has failed him.
Cite several literary devices that Achebe uses when describing nature after the first rains and analyze the effect Achebe creates with their use.
Some examples are:
• “…the sun had been gathering strength till it seemed to breathe a breath of fire on the earth.”-
personification
• “…and the sands felt like live coals to the feet.” – simile
• “Evergreen trees wore a dusty coat of brown.” – personification
What does Uchendu try to teach Okonkwo about the role of women?
Uchendu tries to impress on Okonkwo the fact that women are the nurturers and protectors.
He tries to encourage Okonkwo to accept the “feminine” comfort of the motherland because that is its purpose: to provide healing.
How does Okonkwo compare beginning life as an older person to beginning life as a young man?
Working does not hold the same enthusiasm as it once did. It is harder than it once was, and it does not fulfill the same purpose
What might Uchendu’s lecture portend for Okonkwo and foreshadow for the plot?
As Uchendu lists everything he has lost in his life, he concludes, “I did not hang myself, and I am still alive.” This probably foreshadows greater losses for Okonkwo, and possibly even his death—by hanging.
Why is Okonkwo unable to deal with his punishment? How does he seem to be behaving by sitting in “a silent half-sleep”?
Okonkwo is having a difficult time dealing with his punishment because the only thing that he wants in his life is to be one of the lords of the clan.
He realizes that his exile has made that achievement nearly impossible. Okonkwo seems to be depressed, which is ironic because he would attribute depression to being a female. He would never admit that he is depressed
Explain the significance of being “cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach, panting.”
In Chapter One, Okonkwo was described as “slippery as a fish in water.” He was just beginning to build his reputation as a powerful man and rising in prominence in his clan.
Now he is older, has lost his prominence, has lost his connection to his clan, and is compared to a “fish out of water.” He has been removed from the surroundings he needs in order to survive.