A REVIEW OF THINGS FALL APART BY CHINUA ACHEBE (PART 2)

Summary:
Okonkwo was known throughout the nine villages and beyound, his fame rested on solid personal achievements. At 18, he had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the cat to the ground. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten from umuofia to mbaino and his back never touches the earth.
Okonkwo was tall and huge, he breathed heavily during sleeping, he walked on springs, he pounce on people quite often, he had slight stammer and when he is angry he could not get his words out quickly enough, then he uses his fists. He had no patience with unsuccessful men including his father Unoka who died ten years ago.
In Unoka days, he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow, if any money came his way and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine and made merry. Unoka was of course a debtor and he owed every neighbour some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts. Unoka was tall but very thin and had a slight stoop, he loved playing flute and daunting, he won a mournful look, he was a failure, he was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat.
Okoye was Unoka neighbour and was not a failure, he had three wives and he took up the Idemili title being the third highest in the land. He was been owned by Unoka of 200 cowries which he borrowed from him for more than two years. Unoka died of swelling and buried in the evil forest to riot away as tradition and customs demand, his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him.
Okonkwo won fame as a greatest wrestler in the nine villages. Agbala was an abuse used on Okonkwo’s father, which meant another name for a woman and a person who had not taken any title, this made Okonkwo to hate whatever his father loved (idleness and gentleness).
Okonkwo looked after a lad who was sacrificed to the village of umuofia by their neighbouring village, due to the ultimatum which was dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between war or on the other hand the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation to avoid war and bloodshed because Mbaino murdered a daughter of Umuofia on her way to market at Mbiano and the woman was Ogbuefi Udo’s wife. The people later offered them their request of a virgin and young man, the ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna, the virgin girl was to go to Ogbuefi Udo whose wife was killed and Ikemefuna was taken care of by Okonkwo.