Theoretical Framework REVIEW OF LITERATURE
One day, a man from the neighboring village of Mbaino have killed a girl from Umuofia. Because of his great esteem in the village, Okonkwo is chosen as
emissary. He goes and is treated with respect, and he returns with the young boy and the virgin girl as a peace settlement between two villages. The girl goes to the
man whose wife was murdered. As for the boy, Ikemefuna, the village is in no hurry to decide his fate. Then, he lives with Okonkwo and his family until the
oracle instructs the elders on what to do with the boy. For three years the boy lives with Okonkwos family and grows fond of Okonkwo, he even considers him as his
father. Then the elders decide that the boy must be killed, and the oldest man in the village warns Okonkwo to have nothing to do with the murder because it
would be like killing his own child. Rather than seem weak and feminine to the other men of the village, Okonkwo kills the boy despite the warning from the old
man. In fact, Okonkwo himself kills Ikemefuna as he begs Okonkwo for protection.
After the death of Ikemefuna, everything begin going wrong to Okonkwo. One day, when everyone in the village gathers for the funeral ceremony, he
accidentally kills a boy of his own clan when his gun fires the last salute to the dead man. Okonkwos accidental killing is considered as a crime against the earth
goddess. As a result, he and his family must leave Umuofia for seven years. During Okonkwos in exile, the British Christian missionaries arrive in
Umuofia. When Okonkwo knows they come to his village, he cannot accept it. He believes that it is not good for the villagers.. He works so hard to refuse
Christianity. He does not want his culture to be replaced with new belief and
practices. In fact, most of the Igbo people finally follow the white people. They accept Christianity because they believe that this religion has ability to fulfill their
needs. In the end of the story, when the people of Umuofia gather, Okonkwo kills
one of the messengers of the white government who wants to try and stop their meeting. He realizes that the people of Umuofia are not going to fight to protect
themselves because they let the other messengers escape. When the local leader of the white government comes to Okonkwos house to take him to court, he finds
that Okonkwo has hanged himself. Ironically, although he has been a respectful leader, the people of his village do not want to put his dead body from the tree
because his body polluted their sacred land.