Ch 23-25 Things Fall Apart.

After the spirits burned the church down, the white men were very mad. They decided to speak with the leaders of the village, Okonkwo being one of them, and arrested them. However, these white men were abusing their powers because they went as far as to shave the heads of the leaders. This part of the story really made me mad because there was no reason for them to do this. The villagers were not going to convert into their customs and have them lead their tribe, and the white did not like this at all. They wanted to have power, own their land, and convert each and every one of the men. For me, this was the point where they crossed the line of respect. Okonkwo wanted revenge. He wanted their man to fight like they did before the missionaries invaded their land. He wanted the warriors that had once fought for their people. The villagers decided to meet like they always did, but this time they were talking about killing the white men. However, some of the white men heard what they were saying because they showed up to the meeting--no one knew they were there. This is when Okwonkwo killed one of the men. " In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwo's machete descended twice and the man's head lay beside his uniformed body" (204). Okonkwo knew that this did not mean war because the villagers let the other messenger leave. They had "broken in tumult instead of action" (205). The white men came looking for Okonkwo and Obierika, his friend, took them to where he was. He had killed himself. I was not expecting this whatsoever. I was surprised because I always thought that he was going to do something else--not killed himself. This was sad because everything Okonkwo ever wanted was to have his village back. He wanted to be like they were before: strong, united, and warriors. The invasion of the missionaries separated their village. He killed himself because he felt like there was nothing else to do in the village. The missionaries were in charge and it would never be the same--he was never going to be the leader he wanted to be. =( ..I must say that it was a really good book with a twist in the end because, like i said, I never expected that ending. Things fell apart in the life of Okonkwo and also in the Umuofia. =(