Things Fall Apart Ikemefuna Analysis

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Ikemefuna was given to Okonkwo as a sacrifice because one of his wives was killed. After that Ikemefuna had a strong bond with Okonkwo for the three years they had spent together. He would follow him till his death but he was killed by Okonkwo before the Catholics came. Ikemefuna would follow Okonkwo to war and hang himself by his side. If he was alive he would not have given into the new religion unless he did. Ikemefuna was given to Okonkwo as a sacrifice along with a new wife. “If anyone was so foolhardy as to pass by the shrine after dusk he was sure to see the old woman hopping about” (Achebe 11). They took murderers who were in the village to a great extent. A sacrifice was a different story because the whole village needed a sacrifice and was usually a volunteer. Murder was against their will and punishable by harsh things. Ikemefuna had stayed with Okonkwo for three years before he had to kill him. They had grown very close in that short amount of time. The village want to kill Ikemefuna, Despite all their efforts the only one who could and did kill him was Okonkwo. “Okonkwo drew his machete and cut …show more content…

Nwoye had to stay in the village with his family while Ikemefuna left. Nwoye embraced the catholic culture. He even changed his name to Isaac. Once Nwoye changed his belief to something that contradicts Okonkwo’s and Ikemefuna’s he would have followed Nwoye less and Okonkwo more. When you 're away from someone for such a long time like seven years you draw away from them. When Ikemefuna was with Okonkwo in his mother’s land they would have been closer than ever. Okonkwo thought that everyone has changed and given up on their old ways. If the village had agreed with Okonkwo they all would go to war. The women would tend to the men who would go out and fight the other men. Ikemefuna is small, he would be right behind Okonkwo the whole time. The village knew the stakes of going to war, and they all knew to decide against