White mans views

The white men really manipulated the Ibo people. When they first arrived, the British captured the attention of the villagers by showing them their religion and speaking in a different language. As the Ibo people started to understand, people started converting and joining the white mens religion and beliefs. Most of the white men were ignorant of the Ibo peoples beliefs and customs because all they want to do is colonize and spread religion. I think that the only reason that the British built schools and hospitals is to make the Ibo people accept what they are doing and to kind of bribe them into joining. Since there is this great ignorance of the beliefs, the white mens attitude towards the natives is not very friendly. They thought their way of life was stupid and should not be. The british also thought that the Ibo traditions and customs were weird and pointless, worshiping rocks and trees seemed so stupid to them. They thought the africans were savages because they were so uneducated and didn't have a modern society. The africans were just doing what they knew, and so what if it was different? The British weren't the judge of that.

Oknokwo in Mbanta

Okonkwo is so obsessed with being a manly man after his father was not. He had completely turned himself into this harsh, uncaring creature, and now in Mbanta, he is told to accept "female" virtues into his life such as kindness and caring. Okonkwo is very ignorant and doesn't listen to people when they try to tell him these things. Because Okonkwo only lets himself acknowledge the masculine side of his person, he runs into some problems with not caring. When Okonkwo is exiled to Mbanta, I think that it would help him a lot if he was more comfortable with feeling this other side of him and that he would have been able to adapt to the society a lot better. Okonkwo's ignorance is proof of this fear, almost, to accepting his emotions and letting himself be free.

Okonkwo-chapters 1-4

I think that Okonkwo is genuinely a good guy. Despite him beating his wife and children, I think that he actually cares about them. Beating his family was a way to discipline and teach in that culture, not a bad thing like it is in our culture. Okonkwo hated his father's lifestyle. His father, Unoka, was very lazy and he had trouble taking care of his wife and feeding his children. I believe that Okonkwo's hate for that life and the way he was raised (with scarce food and his father having no title) is why he took such extreme measures when he was older. Okonkwo proved that no matter what background you come from, you can change and become an honorable man. Okonkwo became a tough fighter, the opposite from what his soft, affectionate father had done. Unoka hated war, so Okonkwa loved it. I think that since Okonkwa wanted to be the opposite of what his father was, that this is why he is so harsh and doesn't seem to care. I think that inside, Okonkwa cares because of the way that he was sorry for beating his wife on the Week of Peace. Yet, since Okonkwa is supposed to be so hard and manly, he won't let anyone know how caring he is on the inside. I think that this will become more evident as we read on into the story, as well.