t as she had been taught to do. Mr. Achebe writes, ?Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and child-births. But each time she had borne twins they had been immediately thrown away. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and were not unduly perturbed when they found out she had fled to join the Christians. It was a good riddance (pg.151). This shows us how Mr. Achebe understood what was happening and wasn?t surprised when the women fled to the Christians. We can also see his knowledge of this belief transformation happening in his village when he writes, "?and were not unduly perturbed when they found out she had fled to join the Christians". This tells us that he didn't really care about the people who left the tribe. He understood why they left but as he said, ?it was a "good riddance". From our point of view we can understand why the people who were being hurt by the tribes belief system fled from the tribe in search of a better life. They really had no choice if they didn?t want to live in fear and superstition. There are many examples of people getting hurt in the Ibo tribe, like when Ikemefuna, the young boy, was sacrificed after a women from the Ibo tribe was murdered. Mr. Achebe records the incident, ?As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, "My father they have killed me!" as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak (pg.61). Notice how Okonkwo, the main character and father of this boy being killed couldn?t help his own son for fear of tribal backlash. When Mr.Achebe says that Okonkwo "looked away" he shows us how Okonkwo was too afraid to look at his son. This tragedy left a painful scar on Okonkwo. Notice how Mr. Achebe describes this scene with detail. He writes "the pot fell and ...
