Wednesday, 7 September 2011

P83-118

I was very intrigued by the circumstances under which possession of the children is given. On page 69, Machi speaks to the point that it would be madness if children belonged to their mother and her family, as opposed to a father and his. Then, in the most recent reading, Achebe throws about the term "her children" or "her daughter" (91). I believe that this ownership depends on the situation. If they talk about the children as one of a man's many possessions, then they belong to the father. But, on the other hand, if Achebe is speaking about a relationship or responsibility to a child, they are most definitely the woman's.

I find this switch of male/female ownership interesting. It gives the impression that the Women of Umuofia do just as much, if not more, work than most men. Yet they still receive much less credit, if any credit at all. Another surprising event was when Ekwefi chased after her daughter. This was the first time in the book that any of the Umuofians showed any incredible connection to a family member, let alone a mother daughter relationship. They rarely even show a loving and meaningful relationship between friends. There most certainly is not any kind of sacred bond between the average husband and wife.

The fact that Ekwefi chased after Chielo with Ezinma was also intriguing because Ekwefi directly disregarded Chielo's instruction. Umuofia was a village where I thought commands and beliefs such as these were most definitely to be abided by. This is the first sign I have read of any disobedience of commands.

This chapter definitely was a turning point where a lot of things

No comments:

Post a Comment