Ch. 4-5

This chapters are very intense. Okonkwo now has to take care of a boy named Ikemefuna. I don't know if afraid would be the right word to describe Okonkwo, but he didn't show his emotions. I wondered why it was so bad for a man to show his emotions. Did he think that he would lose authority? Or was it that he didn't want to be known as weak? Well, he never really says if he grew to love Ikemefuna. But we do have some violence coming from Okonkwo, when he beats his second wife heavily--forgetting that it was the Week of Peace. Everyone was supposed to to be silent and calmed during this sacred week. This is because they believed in many gods, and, according to their tradition, if someone broke the rules they would be cursed by the gods. This is something that I found very interesting because it really shows me the history of African American people. It is true that they depended heavily and truly believed that they were in their respective lives because fate and their gods wanted it that way.
Everyone knew each other around the village and they would sometimes get together to watch some wrestling. This was an event where every family member would assist to. I think that this was a way to get their minds off their daily lives and where they could have fun. The women played a big role in the story. They were supposed to be submmisive wives and had to take care of the food for their husband and children. Okonkwo had three wives and so they each had to prepared him a meal because if not he would certainly get mad at them. They had to take care of their children and make sure that they grew up to be responsible and hardworking people. Also, whenever the sound of the drums were mentioned and described, it really gave the story some flavor and authenticity. This is because the reader can imagined how the sounds were being played and he or she can transport their minds to that specific time mentioned in the story.