feelings and reminded himself that killing someone should not bother him because he feared being seen as weak, like a "shivering old woman" (Achebe 65). This same event is also a major breakdown for Okonkwo. Killing Ikemefuna represents killing off everything in which Okonkwo believed very strongly in. He saw many of his own qualities in Ikemefuna. He could have done a lot of good for the clan and Okonkwo was very proud of him but, he ends up killing Ikemefuna himself. Just as Okonkwo was gaining power and higher positions within the clan, he was banished for seven years for accidentally killing another member of the clan. They burned all 5his huts down and he and his family had to live in his motherland. He had to resettle in his mother's maiden land of Mbanta. It was also against the law to unmask the egwugwu spirit. Even though everyone knew that he was innocent and that the banishment was meant for murder, no one was willing to challenge the tradition. The fact that the Ibo people relied on tradition and would not accept change was a weak point in their society. As Okonkwo was preparing to return to Umuofia from his time is exile, he was expecting the people to be exited for his return. He thought they would be happy to have their warrior leader back home. Their reaction was not what he expected. He believed that the people had grown weak. While he was gone the missionaries had also arrived in Umuofia. Okonkwo was not scared of them at first. He did not think that anyone would believe what they had to say. The arrival of the missionaries is the issue in which there is the biggest clash of beliefs. When the Christian religion was introduced, many members of the clan who were not happy with the Ibo religion became interested. Some of the title-less men were also interested. Nwoye, who did not approve of leaving the supposedly evil twin babies in the woods or the killing of Ikemefuna, was also interested in Christianity because it t...
