Anais Garza September 21‚ 2013 Egwugwu mask The Egwugwu were a significant part of not only Umuofia‚ but the Ibo culture as a whole. They represented the spiritual ancestors of Umuofia. They were similar to the “justice system” of today. The Egwugwu were seen as wise and ultimately the most respectable members of the clan. They would review a case of the people and agree on a ruling they felt was “just”. For example‚ Achebe writes about the Egwugwu judging the case of Uzowulu and his constantly
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the village‚ the people believe that all the clan will be punished and their leaders said "if one finger brought oil it soiled the others" . More so‚ the people of Umuofia don’t desecrate their gods. Their egwugwu who gives justice is feared by the women and their children. Whenever the egwugwu is approaching‚ the women and children always shout and run away . They also don’t
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Apart Achebe dares to break this stigma by depicting the civilized society of the Igbo people; The Igbo society can be seen as civilized in the laws established by the egwugwu‚ the morals ingrained by the tribe‚ and the cultural customs rooted in the clan. The Igbo community obtain a civilized society in the laws ingrained by the egwugwu. Laced throughout the text lays multiple representations of the
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One of the converts named Enoch went to a sacred Ibo ceremony and “fell on him(an egwugwu) and tore off his mask.”(pg.186) Unmasking an egwugwu is said to be “one of the greatest crimes a man could commit”(pg.186) Yet again the missionaries show a lack of empathy through imprisoning the Ibo clan leaders. During the “night the messengers came to taunt them and to
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The first attack between the Christians and Igbo was when Enoch‚ a christian priest‚ unmasked an egwugwu in public. “One of the greatest crimes a man could commit was to unmask a egwugwu in public. And this was what Enoch did.”. Okonkwo suggested they seek revenge‚ so the Igbo retaliated when a group of vengeful egwugwu went and burned down a church.“The band of egwugwu moved like a furious whirlwind too Enoch’s compound and with machete and fire reduced it to a desolate heap.” pg
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of the egwugwu court in a very creative and interesting way. “The wave struck the women and children and there was a backward stampede”. This is potraying a picture in the reader’s mind of a tsunami coming to shore and as the women and children see it they turn on their heels and run like a “backward stampede”. So even though the women in the tribe knew that the egwugwu court were their menfolk‚ they were still afraid of them and their powers. This is because once the men put on their egwugwu masks
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Similarities between Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness.Much literary criticism find similarities between two books‚ merely because they have similar settings or address superficially similar issues. Such is the case with Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.Although these two books do have much incommon‚ and focus on similar topics‚ they still have fundamentally different purposes. ThingsFall Apart tries to show that Africanculture was valuable‚ not primitive‚ while Heart
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In Things Fall Apart‚ by Chinua Achebe‚ the beliefs of an afterlife and spirit world were strong factors in the daily events of an Ibo person’s life. These beliefs controlled their actions and thoughts all the time. The Ibo believed in not only personal spirits‚ but also in a supreme deity‚ the Creator of the world and the Ibo‚ as well as the minor gods and entities of the spirit world. To the Ibo‚ it was customary for one to approach a great and powerful man through his servants. Sacrifices were
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Stephan Attilus English 2 Honors Ms. Gaddis Character Analysis Essay In past times‚ many African tribes and regions have been colonized by European countries. England‚ France‚ Portugal‚ and Spain were all looking to spread their influences and find good to trade. At first the Africans were curious when they saw these white men because the only white person they had seen was Albinos. There were many different reactions to these foreigners. Some African welcomed them into their villages while
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advanced and more developed country ends up imposing itself. In Things Fall Apart‚ religion is the main reason the Ibo and the European missionaries have such hate for each other. This is evident in Things Fall Apart when Enoch unmasks an egwugwu. Unmasking an egwugwu is equivalent to killing a spirit in the Ibo religion. Because of this‚ the clansmen burn Enoch’s compound and go burn the church to cleanse the village of Enoch’s horrible sin.
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