The three women began to harvest, and Ezinma shook every tree violently in order to shake away all the water. They continued to dig for the tubers. “Sometimes it was not necessary to dig. They just pulled the stump, and earth rose, roots snapped below, and the tuber was pulled out” (164).Once they were done harvesting the cassava tubers, they carried the load to the stream in two trips, where each of them had a “shallow well for fermenting her cassava” (164.)The women then go on to talk about how long it would take for the cassavas to be ready. Obiageli says they should be ready in three or four days because they are young tubers, but Ezinma contradicts her by saying that they are not young; the soil in which they were planted was just poor (164-165).The story moves on to a different setting. Okonkwo and Ekwefi are arguing about how many goats are to be killed for the feast. Ekwefi says two will be enough, but Okonkwo says that he wants to show how truly grateful he is to his mother’s kinsmen. Finally they agree upon three goats and several fowls being slaughtered (165).The gratification feast was compared to a wedding feast. “There was foo-foo and yam pottage, egusi soup and bitter-leaf soup and pots and pots of palm-wine” (165). All the descendants of Okolo were present for the feast, the oldest of them being Uchendu, Okonkwo’s uncle. They gave him the kola nut to break, and he prayed for health and children. “We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. We do not pray to have more money but to have more kinsmen. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen…”(165).Once the kola nut was passed around, Okonkwo’s wife and children began to bring out the food. Okonkwo’s sons brought out the pots of palm-wine, and when all the food was laid-out, Okonkwo stood up to speak (166).
Chapter 19 continued Okonkwo asks the kinsmen to accept the little kola. He then goes on to say that he cannot repay for all that his mother’s kinsmen have done for him in the past seven years. He then says “[A] child cannot pay for its mother’s milk. I have only called you together because it is good for kinsmen to meet” (166).The order of the food was then given. First came the yam pottage because “it was lighter than foo-foo and because yam always came first.” Second came the foo-foo. Some of the people present ate this with egusi soup while other ate it with bitter-leaf soup. After the foo-foo came the meat, which was shared so that all of the kinsmen had a portion to eat. The way the portions were passed out was in order of age. The passage goes on to say that some portions were saved for those kinsmen who were not able to make it.While everyone was drinking the palm-wine, one of the older members of the kinsmen stood up to thank Okonkwo. He says that to say that they didn’t expect such a big feast was to say that Okonkwo was not openhanded. He states that they expected a big feast, but Okonkwo exceeded their expectations. This member of the umunna continues by saying that it’s nice to see that some people still respect their elders in a generations where the young ones think they are wiser than their elders. The kinsman continues saying that “[A] man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so”(166-167).
Chapter 19 continued The older member then admits that he fears for the younger generation because he claims that the younger ones do not understand the importance of kinship. He says that because they are like this, an “abominable religion” has settled and now a man can leave his family and his family’s beliefs and traditions. He finishes off by saying that he fears for the clan, and thanks Okonkwo for bringing them together. Analysis: - Okonkwo shows his mother’s kinsmen that he is grateful for their hospitality.
- The older members of the group fear for the younger generation because they do not understand the proper way to do things.
- Even when it comes to gratitude, Okonkwo once again shows no feelings. He tell his wife that he planning the feast to show his gratitude, but then tells his kinsmen that he is doing it because it’s what kinsmen ought to do.
- Okonkwo proves to the reader that he can overcome most things. Regardless of the fact that he was exiled from his land, he still prospered in his motherland.
Chapter 20 This chapter begins with Okonkwo recognizing all he had missed in Umuofia during the seven years in exile. Some of these losses included “his place among the nine masked spirits” and “years in which he might have taken the highest titles in the clan” (171).Achebe writes that even in Okonkwo’s first year in exile he was planning his return to Umuofia. Okonkwo says the first thing he would do would to be to rebuild his compound, but this time it would be bigger. Okonkwo would also build a bigger barn than before and two huts for his two new wives (171).Okonkwo then says that he will show how much wealth he has by entering his sons into the ozo society. After all this, Okonkwo imagined himself taking the highest title in the land (171-172).It also looked to Okonkwo that his chi was making up for Okonkwo’s past disasters. His yams grew plentiful and prosperous not only in Mbanta but in Umuofia (172).
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