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Things Fall Apart Critical


An example of this is when the Oracle of the Hills and Caves pronounces that Ikemefuna, the boy living with Okonkwo, be killed. Since the Oracle of the Hills and Caves had said it must be done, the men of Umuofia took the boy outside the village and killed him. (57). Another god the Ibo worship is the snake, which is called the sacred python. When the Christian missionaries came to the village, the son of the snake-priest was said to have "killed and eaten the sacred python." (185). Enoch, the son of the snake-priest, ate the sacred python when he converted to Christianity. In addition, the Ibo believe each person has a chi, which is a personal god. When Okonkwo is exiled to his mother's homeland, he thought that his chi was not made for great things. The belief was that "a man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi." (131).
             A second difference in Ibo and Christianity is the belief in animate gods and an inanimate God. Christians have an inanimate God, which means that He cannot be seen. Christians also believe that God is eternal. Unlike Christianity, the Ibo believe in animate gods, which are alive and can be seen. An example of the Ibo believing in animate gods is they worship carved wood, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, and the sacred python.
             Another contrast of the two religions is the practice of polygamy compared to monogamy. Monogamy is what Christians practice and it is being married to one wife at a time. Christians believe that when a man and a women become united in Christ they become one, and a man can only have one wife at a time. In contrast, the Ibo practice polygamy, which is having many wives at a time. In Umuofia, the more wives a man has, the better. Okonkwo, the main character in the book, has three wives. (13) It is a common practice in Umuofia for all the men to have more than one wife. Each wife and her children live in a different hut and the man lives by himself in his obi.


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