to greatness starts to crumble. Because of a scuffle with one of the nearby villages, Okonkwo is given a boy to take care of. The boy, Ikemefuna, shows many similarities to Okonkwo and they become very close. He sees Okonkwo as a father figure, and even calls him "father." Okonkwo even puts him before his true son, Nwoye. But one day the village elders decide that he has gotten too close and that he needs to be killed. Okonkwo eventually deals the final blow that kills Ikemefuna, to show that he is not weak. The grief that follows starts Okonkwo on his downfall. The next major event that led to Okonkwo's downfall took place at the funeral of one of the elders in the clan. When the group of men fired their guns to give the man his last salute, Okonkwo's gun exploded and a piece of iron dug into a young boy's heart, killing him. Even though the death was accidental, Okonkwo was forced to flee from the clan. He had committed a crime against the earth goddess, and would have to leave the village for seven years. Okonkwo and his family fled to his mother's land. Okonkwo had lost everything he had worked so hard for, and could not work to get it back for seven years. While in his exile, missionaries came to his motherland. These white men greatly disturbed Okonkwo. He especially became angry when he heard that his oldest son, Nwoye, was one of the converts to the new faith. His resentment for the missionaries grew, and he was appalled when he returned to Umuofia after his seven-year exile. He became extremely distressed when the men of Umuofia decided not to go to war with the white men. When five court messengers came to stop a meeting in the village, Okonkwo finally released all of his anger. He beheaded the head messenger and thus finished his downfa...
