The main characters in this story were Okonkwo, his wives, and children, and a very good friend to Okonkwo, Obierika. Okonkwo was a husband to three, a father of many, a wealthy farmer, and a wrestler who was well known through out the nine villages of Umuofia. Growing up, Okonkwo's father Unoka was a failure, he was poor and he was hardly able to feed his family, he was a loafer and he never paid off his debts in fact, he when he died he still owed money. Okonkwo was not pleased with his father, and he was the opposite of him when he grew up.

In the Ibo tribe, conversation means a lot, and "proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten" (Pg. 7). They were also feared by many neighbors, they were powerful in war, magic, medicine man, and it's priests. There most pote

Nwoye, Okonkow's son was attracted to the new faith from the first day but he kept it a secret for fear of his father (pg. 149). Whenever they preached, he was there. Okonkwo's cousin was passing by the church and saw Nwoye he was very surprised to see him there and when he returned home, he told Okonkow what he had seen (pg. 151). When Nwoye returned home, he saluted his father as usual and his father grabbed him by the neck and asked him where he has been, when Nwoye refused to answer him Okonkow took a stick and hit him with it two times. Okonkwo's uncle from outside told him to leave the boy alone, he let go of Nwoye who left and never returned (pg. 152).

The court messengers guarded the prisons that were full of men who went against the white men law like throwing away their twins or some who molested the Christians. The men were beaten every night by the kotma and they had to work every morning by clearing out the government compound and fetching wood for the commissioner. Some of the prisoners were men of title (pg. 175).

Eventually the six men were arrested and were not given any water to drink or were not allowed to urinate in the bushes. They were kept locked up until they decided to talk and give in. After about the third day, they could not talk the insults and hunger and they talked about giving in. While locked up, the messengers went back to their villages to tell their people that unless they pay a fine of two hundred and fifty bags of cowries, then there leaders will be hung. The men of Umuofia me in the market place and collected the two hundred and fifty bags of cowries to pay the white man.

After about the second year of Okonkwo's exile, his good friend Obierika came to visit him. He told him how white men wiped out the village Abame. Okonkwo's and his uncle both said that the Abame's were foolish for not listening to their Oracle when they were warned that danger was ahead. Okonkwo believed that they should have been prepared with guns and machetes even when they went into the market.

Okonkwo laid in his bed that night with his heart filled with bitterness, he knew that if Umuofia decided on war that all will be well but, if they chose to be cowards then he would avenge himself (pg. 199). The villagers had a meeting the next day in the market place and as said in the book if you threw a grain of sand it would not find it's way back to earth (pg. 201).

There was an Oracle, Agbala woman, or men who had no title, who the people consulted, they came when they had disputes with neighbors, to discover what the future had in store, and to speak with spirit of their departed fathers. Each person in the village had a chi or a personal god, which I think is suppose to be like a conscience.

Okonkwo had to start all over again in the new village Mbanta, his mother's youngest brother Uchendu who was the eldest surviving of the family was the one who received him. He was given a plot of ground and three pieces of land to start a farm. Uchendu's five sons donated three hundred yam seeds for him to start his farming.

The role of the women in the tribe was to take care of the husband and the children. Each wife had to prepare her own dish for the husband to eat and the first wife was usually the head wife. Before the female can marry, the suitors' family had to pay a bride price, after that had been settled the bride goes off to spend time with her suitors' family. The wife does not sleep in her husband's obi therefore, she has her own hut which her and her children sleep in.

Fortunately Ezinma was the only one that lived to be the age of 10 but when she became ill with iba her mother was certain that she was going to die. When Ezinma reached the age of nine a medicine man named Okagbue came to believe that she buri

Some common words found in the essay are:
District Commissioners, Oracle Agbala, Week Peace, Abame Okonkwo's, Nwoye Okonkow's, Evil Forest, Growing Okonkwo's, Okonkwo Obierika, Ezinma Okonkwo, Fortunately Ezinma, court messengers, earth goddess, ibo tribe, fifty bags cowries, bags cowries, okonkwo flee, told village, fifty bags, white told, hundred fifty bags, okonkwo obierika, villagers meeting,
Approximate Word count = 2550
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)