Things Fall Apart: Chapter 8-10

Chapters 8-10

Alyse Holt

Eshandae Thomas

Jordyn Cannon

Carly Carey

Chapter 10 Summary

Chapter 8 Summary

The town has a ceremony to manage justice. During the ceremony, egwugwu(the ancestor spirits of the clan) come out of a unknown home where women aren't allowed to go into. The egwugwu disguise themselves as men with masks. Everyone is guessing that Okonkwo is in that group. Disagreements arose during this time involving the egwugwu. One of them was a husband's wife and children had been taken by the wife's three brothers after the husband was beaten by the brothers. Also, they wouldn't return her for a bride-price. The wife's brothers said that the husband looked beast like and was abusing her so bad that one time she had a miscarriage. The husband has to plead for his wife to come back. If she wants to come back, then the brothers threaten the husband to never beat her again or they will slash off his genitals. The ancestor spirits decide that they are on the wife's side.

Chapter 8, starts off right after Ikemefuna's death, Okonawo has been drinking constantly, and he could not eat or sleep. There were times where he tried not to think about he but it did not work. Sometimes he would even try to get up and walk around and that would only make him feel heavy. Later he asked for his wife, Ekwefi, to make him food. When the daughter brought it to him, she sat with him to make sure he ate all of it. He starts to wish this young girl had been a boy, but then begans to talk to himself stating that he had become a woman because he is torn over Ikemefuna. Okonkwo visits his friend Obierika's son expresses how wished his son was different. He had an unspoken fear that he was too much like his grandfather.

During his visit Obierika, expresses his thoughts on the Ikemefuna's death, stating he would not haven taken part. Okonkwo goes home & returns later to take participate in the bride price, & after a while a price is negotiated. Afterward the men ate and drink while criticizing the customs of other neighboring villages. The chapter finalizes with the men refer contemptuously to "white men," comparing their white skin to lepers' white skin.

Chapter 9 Summary

Chinua Achebe

Ekwefi wakes Okonkwo up to inform him that Ezinma is sick from iba. She is so worried because all of her children before Ezinma died early on.

Chinua explains the background of her childbirths. She continuously lost children and in turn became bitter. One medicine man told her to live with her family in order for the evil spirit not to find her.

When Ezinma was old enough to tell where her iyi-uwa was and the medicine man found it. Chinua returns back to the present where Okonkwo makes some medicine to cure her iba from leaves, grasses and barks. Though Ezinma's iyi-uwa was dug up, Ekwefi still worried about her health.