Arrow Of God
ARROW OF GOD
(CHINUA ACHEBE)
PLOT
Arrow of God is set in rural Nigeria during the 1920s in a southern part of the country where the Igbo people reside. The novel begins with a war between two neighboring regions of rural Igbo land: Umuaro and Okperi. Though we don't know the boundaries of Okperi, we do know that Umuaro is made up of six villages. These six villages are linked by their worship of a common god.
The people of Umuaro start a war with Okperi over land they want to claim, they are encouraged to start the war by a wealthy man named Nwaka, who challenges Ulu the common god. This war is launched against the advice of Ulu's chief priest, Ezeulu. The colonial administration steps in to stop the war and rules in favor of Okperi after discussing the matter with Ezeulu, the one man in Umuaro who tells the truth. Captain Winterbottom, a British colonial official who commands the local station, breaks and burns all the guns in Umuaro, becoming a legend. Meanwhile, the people of Umuaro become angry with Ezeulu because he didn't take their side.
Five years later, life in Umuaro has somehow returned to normal. Christian missionaries have made major inroads into society, establishing converts and trying to show that the old gods are ineffective. Ezeulu is sending his son Oduche to church, to be his eyes and ears, and to learn the ways of the white man. Animosity between Ezeulu and Nwaka and their respective villages has grown to the point called “kill and take the head”. In other words, things have gotten to the point where men in the two villages try to kill each other using poison. Nwaka is fortified and strengthened by his relationship with Ezidemili the high priest of the god Idemili. Though Idemili is a lesser god in comparison to Ulu, the competition between the two priests is dividing Umuaro.
However the competition isn't limited to within the Igbo religion, the missionaries call the Christian Igbo, including Oduche, to kill the sacred python. Oduche
(CHINUA ACHEBE)
PLOT
Arrow of God is set in rural Nigeria during the 1920s in a southern part of the country where the Igbo people reside. The novel begins with a war between two neighboring regions of rural Igbo land: Umuaro and Okperi. Though we don't know the boundaries of Okperi, we do know that Umuaro is made up of six villages. These six villages are linked by their worship of a common god.
The people of Umuaro start a war with Okperi over land they want to claim, they are encouraged to start the war by a wealthy man named Nwaka, who challenges Ulu the common god. This war is launched against the advice of Ulu's chief priest, Ezeulu. The colonial administration steps in to stop the war and rules in favor of Okperi after discussing the matter with Ezeulu, the one man in Umuaro who tells the truth. Captain Winterbottom, a British colonial official who commands the local station, breaks and burns all the guns in Umuaro, becoming a legend. Meanwhile, the people of Umuaro become angry with Ezeulu because he didn't take their side.
Five years later, life in Umuaro has somehow returned to normal. Christian missionaries have made major inroads into society, establishing converts and trying to show that the old gods are ineffective. Ezeulu is sending his son Oduche to church, to be his eyes and ears, and to learn the ways of the white man. Animosity between Ezeulu and Nwaka and their respective villages has grown to the point called “kill and take the head”. In other words, things have gotten to the point where men in the two villages try to kill each other using poison. Nwaka is fortified and strengthened by his relationship with Ezidemili the high priest of the god Idemili. Though Idemili is a lesser god in comparison to Ulu, the competition between the two priests is dividing Umuaro.
However the competition isn't limited to within the Igbo religion, the missionaries call the Christian Igbo, including Oduche, to kill the sacred python. Oduche