Quote:
Originally Posted by Bookpossum
While I didn't like Okonkwo at all because of his violence and bullying, which he thought were manly, he was a part of his society. I really admire Achebe for avoiding the trap of portraying the "noble savage" and the pre-colonial way of life as idyllic.
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I agree it is difficult to sympathise with Okonkwo, who seems to live of the reflection of his image in others: he is hell bent on shaping people around him in such a way to enhance his standing in the clan (a whiff of the Buddenbrooks here?) and is completely self centred - exile is so bad for him because he knows not being there is what will lose him social status. On the other hand in his mother's village he found what might have made a difference to his entire life: too late know, but Uchedu's "dressing down" of Okonkwo (end of chapter 14) seems to have an effect on him.
On the treatment of others, sadly we don't have to go too far back or to "exotic" countries to find chilling examples: in democratic Italy, one of the G7 nations, 'honour killling', i.e. killing your spouse, daughter or sister in an attack of rage (which carried a great reduction in penalty as compared to "standard" murder), though it had been declared unconstitutional in 1968, was only struck off the statute book in 1981!!!
Of course, sons and brothers couldn't dishonour the family...