Jacqueline Schrader

Summary: A young man mamed Okonkwo is carrying on his ordinary life in Nigeria. He’s part of the clan, or leaders, of Umoufia. He’s got his crops, his family, and everything’s the way it has been for thousands of years. But one day, Okonkwo accidently commits manslaughter and is forced into exile. He must spend seven years with his mother’s kinsmen. But during that time, things started to change. White people begin to arrive, preaching their strange ways, and set up a church, which teaches that there is one god. However, the people in Umoufia are polytheistic. When Okonkwo goes back to Umoufia, things are not at all the way they’re supposed to be. The white men are drawing people to believe their ways, and are imprisoning people. Soon, there is a conflict, monotheism vs. polytheism, and the white men’s church gets burned down. The white people start taking over. Okonkwo can’t stand it anymore, so it results in a sad ending, but I’m not telling you what it is!

Setting: This book does not clearly state the time. It takes place in Nigeria in about the 1700s. I’m guessing this time because it mentions the slave trade. The weather reminds me very much of Texas. When it gets wet, it gets wet. When it is dry, it’s dry.

Main Character: The main character in this story is Okonkwo, a spirited young man who refuses to be like his lazy father. He is tough on his wives and children, although he loves them very much. He is a farmer of yams and has a fiery spirit.

Moral: The moral of this story is that sometimes when we try to “civilize” we do more harm than good. This happened when the European customs and the African customs collided.

R ating: I give this book five stars because it is a good book and it kept me interested.

Topá

Back to Jacqueline’s Home Page

Review by Michael Schrader

Most books about Western empire-building in Africa are written from the Western point-of-view. This view presents the African continent as a savage and uncivilized place prior to Western contact, that only became part of the civilized world because of the gracious magnanimity of the Germans, French, Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Belgians, with their Christianity and Western ways. Achebe, a native Nigerian, reverses the points-of-view, and presents a vivid tapestry of a vibrant culture permanently and irrevocably destroyed by Western arrogance. This book is a great reminded that what is civilized and moral depends on one’s point of view, and what one group deems to be superior may not necessarily be. I first read the book in 1985—it was timely then, and it is timely now. Prepare to open your mind!

Topá

Back to Jacqueline’s Dad’s Home Page