"His anger thus satisfied, Okokwo decided to go out hunting. He had an old rusty gun made by a clever blacksmith who had come to live in Umuofia long ago. But although Okonkwo was a great man whose prowess was universally acknowledged, he was not a hunter. In fact he had not killed a rat with his gun. And s when he called Ikemefuna to fetch his gun, his wife who had just been beaten murmured something abut guns that never shot. Unfortunately for her, Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun, ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children. He threw down the gun and jumped into the barn, and there lay the woman, very much shaken and frightened but quite unhurt" (Achebe 38-39).
Prompt Part II- How is imperialism encouraged by patriotism, religion, &/or a sense of cultural/
racial superiority in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart / the past?
In this quote Okonkwo shows the power that he has over his wives and children by beating up his second wife Ekwefi who disobeyed him by stating that he could not properly shoot a gun. This is an example of imperialism because Okonkwo is demonstrating the power and influence he holds in his household over his wives and children by punishing his second wife for muttering something that is very disrespectful towards Okonkwo's skills in hunting. Okonkwo's beating of Ekwefi showed his other wives and children a piece of what could happen to them if they ever decide to disrespect their father or husband in any way. The beating of Okonkwo's second wife is much like how slaves would get treated in the United States in the 1800s because when a slave did not do what they were told or disrespected their owner in anyway the owner would beat them with a whip on the back to set an example towards the other slaves to show them what could happen to them if they do the same thing.
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