09 July 2012
Okonkwo's Chi
Throughout the book the author talks about one's "chi" or personal god. The people of the clan believed that if you had a bad "chi" then you lived a bad life, full of misfortune. When Okonkwo's life continued in a downward spiral, he blamed his "chi". If Okonkwo knew that his "chi" was bad, then he knew that this misfortune would follow him to his downfall. Why did he try to prevent his father's footsteps if he already knew he had an ill fate?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
He tries to prevent following his fathers footsteps because that's what he has done his whole life. Just as humans don't quit living just because we know we will die eventually, Okonkwo doesn't stop fighting because even if he knows he has a bad 'chi' he wanted to continue fighting anyway.
Also, if he just decided to give up, he would never have achieved the big compound and barn that he wanted. If he gave up because he knew he had a bad chi, then he would be exactly like his father, and wouldn't do anything for fear of failure. Instead, he channels his fear into something more productive.
Very interesting point, but there is something I would also like to question. Did him getting exiled from the clan cause the village to become weak? If he had been there for those seven years do you think that the white men would have gained so much power or would it have happened either way? It is thought provoking to wonder what that exiled did to the clan, not just Okonkwo's family.
I thought about the same thing, Seth. I think that because Okonkwo was seen as such a powerful man and many looked up to him, his exile may have had something to do with the village's downfall. However, when he returned after 7 years, there was nothing he could do to change what the village had turned into. This also makes me think that nothing and nobody could have changed what happened.
honestly, when i think about how he blamed his bad chi for everything that went wrong, i think of the placebo effect. since he always blamed things on his chi and believed that it would cause his downfall, it did cause his eventual downfall. if he had had a better outlook on things and believed that his chi was looking out for him, i think he would have done better.
The acknowledgement of Okonkwo's chi is what brought about his demise. He knew that even after all of his hard work he would always suffer another setback such as being kicked out of his village, and the misfortune of Nwoye converting away from the ancestral religion of his father. Okonkwo realizes when he kills the one of the "white men" that even when he acts as others in his tribe should be acting, he will still be looked down on and questioned for his actions, and that is what drives him to commit suicide.
Post a Comment