Things Fall Apart Chapters 4-6

Chapter 4 Okonkwo is respected for his rise from great poverty. But he had little patience for dealing with others who were not successful, or who do not take a title. Ikemefuna misses his mother and little sister and is afraid even though Nwoye’s mother treats him as a son. Ikemefuna is well-liked by Okonkwo’s children; even Okonkwo becomes very fond of him, but true to his nature, he shows no emotion.

Chapter 4 Thoughtlessly, during the Week of Peace, Okonkwo’s youngest wife, Ojiubo, leaves her hut without having cooked dinner. He beats her, breaking the peace of the sacred week. The priest reprimands Okonkwo and demands payment for his sins. After the Week of Peace every villager begins to clear the brush from the land for the planting of their farms.

Chapter 4 Nwoye and Ikemefuna help; however Okonkwo finds fault with their work. Okonkwo wants his son to be a great man and a great farmer, and hopes that criticism will drive his son to be a great man. Ikemefuna begins to feel like a member of Okonkwo’s family as he and Nwoye become close.

Chapter 5 The annual Feast of the New Yam, a festival held to honor the earth goddess, Ani, is approaching. Okonkwo does not like the feast and prefers to work on the farm. Okonkwo invites each of his three wives’ relatives. The women clean and decorate their huts; the children shave their hair in beautiful patterns.

Chapter 5 Okonkwo becomes enraged when he finds a dead banana tree on his land. After she admits to cutting a few leaves from it, Okonkwo beats his second wife, Ekwefi, until his anger is satisfied. Although a great man, Okonkwo is not a hunter. After beating Ekwefi, he decides to go hunting with the gun made for him by the village blacksmith.

Chapter 5 Okonkwo calls to Ikemefuna for his gun, and Ekwefi, whom Okonkwo has just beaten, murmurs an uncalled for remark about “guns that have never been shot.” Enraged, Okonkwo, shoots the gun at Ekwefi, but misses. The second day of the new year brings to Okonkwo’s village the annual wrestling match with the neighboring village. Ahhh! The fresh smell of testosterone in the morning!

Chapter 5 It is Okonkwo’s second wife Ekwefi’s favorite part of the festival because many years ago Okonkwo won her heart by throwing “the cat” in the greatest contest in memory. In the distance drums can be heard announcing the coming of the match while Okonkwo eats the meals that his wives have prepared for him. Even though he is too old to wrestle any longer, the beating of the drums fills Okonkwo with fire.

Chapter 6 The entire village shows up on the village green for the wrestling match. Seven drums sit arranged according to their size. Three drummers work back and forth from one drum to the next. The drums helped to excite the crowd, a bit like the opening act at a concert. Finally, the two teams come into the circle, exciting the crowd. The first two wrestlers are young boys of fifteen or sixteen.

Chapter 6 During the final match, one of the young wrestlers performs a move few have ever seen. Quickly, the other boy is flat on his back; the winner was Maduka, son of Obierika. The village prepares for the real match. Five matches end with the judges stopping them because they are equally matched. It is the last match between Ikezue and Okafo, the best of the wrestlers, that is much anticipated. In the end Okafo is the victor and is swept off his feet by his supporters.