Friday, August 1, 2014

In Chapter One of Things Fall Apart, how does Achebe foreshadow the presence of Ikemefuna?

I am not too sure if "foreshadow" is the correct word to
use here. Let us remember that foreshadowing is when the author plants hints or clues
about what is going to happen later on in the novel. A good example would be the
numerous times that Okonkwo expresses his rage and anger, which clearly foreshadows the
murder that he commits later on. However, Chapter One doesn't really foreshadow the
arrival of Ikemefuna into Okonkwo's family, it just tells us that this is going to
happen. Consider what it says at the end of the
chapter:



And
that was how he came to look after the doomed lad who was sacrificed to the village of
Umuofia by their neighbours to avoid war and bloodshed. The ill-fated lad was called
Ikemefuna.



Thus we can see
that there are no hints or subtle suggestions that this is going to happen. The text
rather states it openly. Therefore I would argue that "foreshadow" is not the correct
word for this question. Having stated a brief history of Okonkwo, which explains how he
managed to be successful in spite of the shortcomings of his father and his upbringing,
the narrator concludes the chapter by explaining how Okonkwo's position in the tribe led
him to be responsible for Ikemefuna.

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