One thing I like so far about, “Things fall apart” is emphasis on stability and the natural order of things (that we can put an hand in to manipulate), as well as their use of ancient proverbs that tend to build their virtues. These proverbs and principles not only define what makes a person decent, but also teaches what does not. For instance, they’re not allowed to fight a war out of vengeance or just for the sake of it, because battle without heart or reason would be fruitless.
There are two things I picked up on that I think would definitely come back in the story later and become either an issue or a “blessing” of sorts.
1. Okonkwo has fought desperately to be everything that his father was not— gentle, kind, “soft”— and to hate everything his father loved. He’s taken this to extremely toxic level and has become this brute of a man, husband, and father. The only emotion he allows himself to show is anger and he treats his family abusively in many meanings of the word.
2. There’s a heavy emphasis on “seed time and harvest time”. The seeds you sow— whether the weather, timing, or quantity be right— will come back on you. When okonkwo is sewing seeds the author makes it clear that the thing he feared most was fear itself, the fear of who he was deep inside. He dwells in a year when the harvest time was dreadful, he would plant a seed and the nonstop rain would put a nasty end to his labour. He later wondered how he endured that kind of suffering and despair.
I’m not entirely sure how the metaphorical harvest plays into the plot yet, but I can’t wait to find out.
There are two things I picked up on that I think would definitely come back in the story later and become either an issue or a “blessing” of sorts.
1. Okonkwo has fought desperately to be everything that his father was not— gentle, kind, “soft”— and to hate everything his father loved. He’s taken this to extremely toxic level and has become this brute of a man, husband, and father. The only emotion he allows himself to show is anger and he treats his family abusively in many meanings of the word.
2. There’s a heavy emphasis on “seed time and harvest time”. The seeds you sow— whether the weather, timing, or quantity be right— will come back on you. When okonkwo is sewing seeds the author makes it clear that the thing he feared most was fear itself, the fear of who he was deep inside. He dwells in a year when the harvest time was dreadful, he would plant a seed and the nonstop rain would put a nasty end to his labour. He later wondered how he endured that kind of suffering and despair.
I’m not entirely sure how the metaphorical harvest plays into the plot yet, but I can’t wait to find out.
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