# data[].attributes.body
by Sandy
The drawing portrays the plot in chapter 8. In the drawing, the man on the right is Amadi and the two men at the bottom left are Okonkwo and Obierika. As Obierika points our Amadi, “a man with no toe”, it is the first shadow of white man appearing in the village. This foreshadows that the white men will become important characters in later chapters, so I drew him bigger in size. A woman and two children at the upper left corner depicts the hierarchy of the other villages, in which women held a better right. Thus, I quoted, "A man's children belong to his wife and her family." Okonkwo believes it is nonsense and unbelievable.

# data[].attributes.body
by Juliet
Thatch: a roof covering of straw, palm leaves, reeds
Tap: an action committed to collect sap
Jest: joke
Coiffure: hairstyle
Egwugwu: elders who act as respected judges in various masks which represent ancestral gods.
Stampede: rush widely in sudden panic
Pandemonium: wild, noisy disorder, confusion; uproar

# data[].attributes.body
by Harry

1. When you were reading through these chapters, how did you feel about the supernatural events that occured?

2. What is the role of women and men in the village?

3. Do you think there is a difference between the stories they tell compared to fairy tales?

# data[].attributes.body
by Amy
1. What you have done will not please the Earth. It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families.
2. If I fall down for you and you fall down for me; it is play. Marriage should be a play and not a fight.
3. There was something in it like the relationship of equals, which was strengthened by such little conspiracies as eating eggs in the bedroom.
4. "The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger," Okonkwo said. "A child's fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm"
5. "Uzowulu's body, I salute you," he said. Spirits always addressed humans as "bodies."
6. The law of Umuofia is that if a woman runs away from her husband her bride-price is returned.
7. She stood for a while, and then, all of a sudden made up her mind. She hurried through Okonkwo's hut and went outside. "Where are you going?" he asked. "I am following Chielo," she replied and disappeared in the darkness.

# data[].attributes.body
by Judy
{ Mother-Daughter Relationship }
Background: Ezinma, in the last couple chapters of this part, displays the strong bond between her and her mother Ekwefi, Okonkwo's second wife. Due to Ekwefi's nine other children's death in infancy, Ezinma's survival seems like not only a miracle, but also a bliss to her. The relationship between them isn't described as the typical mother-daughter relationship, but resembles the ones which best friends would have.
Connection: Starting from a personal level, their bond reminds me of my mother and I. Despite the friend-like mode of communicating, we both share the acknowledgement of how precious/important each other is to ourselves after encountering some hardship together. By applying my worldview to the plot, I would say that the Igbo society contains both the Western (loose, close) and Eastern (distanced relationship with parents) cultural traditions.
{ Women's Relationship }
Background: Okonkwo's position is certainly respected by all his wives, yet none of them attempts to overpower each other to gain privileges. For example,
Connection: The structure of patriarchy is extremely common in the East, even though some of the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan implement matriarchy. Therefore,

# data[].attributes.body
by Harry

1. Are there any similarities between their marriage and ours?

2. Why do you think chickens are so important in their culture?

3. What are you opinions on the quote: “ there is something ominous behind the silence” pg 140, line 18

4. If you were one of the villager in the Mbanta, and you were suddenly introduced to a different religion (christianity) would you believe it?

# data[].attributes.body
1. I fear for the younger generation, for you people... But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. You do not know what it is to speak with one voice...A man can now leave his father and his brothers. He can curse gods of his fathers and his ancestors... I fear for you; I fear for you the clan. (167)
2. Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan for his return... (171)
3. You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will have a son who is a man... (172)
4. The young ailing girl who had caused her mother so much heartache had been transformed, almost overnight, into a healthy, buoyant maiden (173).
5. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brother, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has a put knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart. (176)
6. He appoints the smaller gods to help Him because His work is too great for one person (180).
7. Okonkwo was deeply grieved... He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women (183).
8. c
9. An Umuofia man does not refuse to call... He may refuse to do what he is asked; he does not refuse to be asked (193)
10. If any man ill-treats you we shall come to your rescue. But we will not allow you to ill-treat others. (District Commissioner 194).
11. The six men ate nothing throughout that day and the next. They were not even given any water to drink, and they could not go out to urinate or go into the bush when they were pressed. At night the messengers came in to taunt them and to knock their shaven heads together. (195).
12. Umuofia was like a startled animal with ears erect, sniffling the silent, ominous air and not knowing which way to turn (196).
13. They did not know that fifty bags would go to the court messenger, who had increased the fine for that purpose. (197).
14. Okonkwo slept very little that night. The bitterness in his heart was now mixed with a kind of childlike excitement. (199)
15. Afraid? I do not care what he does to you. I despise him and those who listen to him. I shall fight alone if I choose. (201)
16. We who are here this morning have remained true to our fathers, but our brothers have deserted us and joined a stranger to soil their fatherland. If we fight the stranger we shall hit out brother and perhaps shed the blood of a clansman... We must bale this water now that it is only ankle-deep. (203)
17. In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete... Okonkwo's machete descended twice and the man's head lay beside his uniformed body. The waiting backcloth jumped into tumultuous life and the meeting was stopped. Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape. He discerned fright in that tumult. He head voices asking "Why did he do it?" (204)
18 "Perhaps your men can help is bring him down and bury him" said Obierika... The District Commissioner changed instantaneously. The resolute administrator in him gave way to the student of primitive customs. (207)
19. It is an abomination for a man to take his own life. It is an offense against the Earth, and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen. His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it. That is why we ask your people to bring him down, because you are strangers. (207)
20. Obierika who had been gazing steadily at his friend's dangling body, turned suddenly yo the District Commissioner and said ferociously: "That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog..." He could not say any more. His voice trembled and choked his words. (208)
21. The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make an interesting read. One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate. (209_
22. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. (209)

# data[].attributes.body
by Meng Yu
In Chapter 8, it is shown that Ikemefuna's death had an immediate impact on Okonkwo's mental health.  Okonkwo was unable to have a good night sleep and barely ate. On the third day, Okonkwo's situation was more stable and he began to eat again. He packed his goatskin bag and went to his friend Obierika to help Obierika with his daughter's bride price(and also to get his mind off Ikemefuna). When Okonkwo arrives, he is greeted by Obierika and his son, Maduka. Okonkwo then goes on saying that his sons are not like him and wished that Ezinma was born a boy.

# data[].attributes.body
by Harry

1. Do you think the spreading of christianity was good or bad for the villagers?

2. Do you think it was Okonkwo’s tragic flaw that led to his death or was it because of the changes that happened around him?

3. Why do you think Achebe, the author, decides to end the story by describing what the Commissioner is going to write about  in his book, and what do you think the book title “The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger” implies?