BONUS LINK: My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
CHARACTERS:
Arrow of God Notes:
I was first struck by how funny this novel was. I guffawed several times while reading it. It takes a remarkable writer to do this with humor, especially across cultures.
I thought this work illustrated well the role of religion in society. For the Igbo there was no separation of religion from society—they were one and the same. It’s perhaps fitting that while the administration doesn’t quite get this (Clarke doesn’t even understand that a Chief Priest is not the same as a medicine man) , the missionaries do, ultimately manipulating the villages to connect Christianity to their harvest.
Achebe does a superb job humanizing Ezeulu in the story, so that the reader forgets that he is truly half-spirit. This makes Ulu’s command to stay the course of revenge near the conclusion all the more shocking. There is no option for Ezeulu to do anything else. At the other end of the spectrum, the reader witnesses the death of the Umuaro society in their necessary drive to survive by finding a way to harvest. Similarly, it would have meant the death of Ezeulu (at least culturally) had he accepted the Chief position since his society isn’t structured to be ruled (with the exception of the quasi-king that first had to pay everyone debts). Instead Ezeulu chooses the path of self-destruction.
From the British colonial perspective, Achebe shows the tension of indirect rule and their priorities. Clarke and Captain Winterbottom discuss all the money spent on native courts (that they natives won’t use) and the void of funding for infrastructure like roads. This is important because one could argue that it is these roads that enable the homogenization of the Igbo people and subjugate a shared identity onto them.
-Humor that the English think they understand the people,
but they still don’t despite prolonged presence…parallels to our presence in
Iraq and Afghanistan
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- Advantages of living near the infrastructure
- In direct rule seeks lighter hand by default…goal is more
to maintain a status quo of peace
- Comments on missionary role by Capt W?
- Influence of infrastructure on Igbo…shifting from a
language group to an identity
- with regards to religion, subtleties in the region…a
priest chief is not necessarily a medicine man.
Religion is the same as the society…there’s no delineation as in Western
culture.
CHARACTERS:
Ezeulu- Chief Priest of Ulu
Matefi- Ezeulu’s senior wife
Ugoye- Ezeulu’s younger wife
Okuata- Ezeulu’s wife that is dead
Edogo- Eldest son of Ezeulu, and Okuata
Obika- son of Ezeulu (drunk and troublesome and handsome)
and Ugoye
Nwafo- youngest son of Ezeulu (his favorite) and Ugoye
Obiageli- daughter of Ezeulu (sister of Nwafo) and Ugoye
Ojiugo- daughter of Ezeulu and Matefi
Akueke- daughter of Ezeulu and Okuata
Oduche- Ezeulu’s son
CHAPTER 1
Ezeulu (Chief Priest of Ulu) introduction as he looks to the
sky for the new moon (which he must announce).
Ezeulu’s announcements control the harvest seasons, most importantly the
New Yam Feast. Edogo carves ancestral
masks. Ezeulu is bitter about division
among the six villages because he spoke the truth to the white man and
testified against his people about land dispute with Okperi. Obika beats up and humiliates Akueke husband
who had been beating her. Oduche is
training with the whites per Ezeulu’s instructions.
CHAPTER 2
6 Villages come together and call for war against the Okperi
(led by Nwaka). Akukalia is killed when
Umuaro messengers lose their temper. War
ensues with retaliatory killings. Then
the whiteman intervenes and judges the land to belong to Okperi. He also breaks all their guns.
CHAPTER 3
Captain Winterbottom is introduced and Tony Clark as his
assistant. He recounts their version of
the Umuaro-Okperi wars which are different from reality. Captain Winterbottom believe in the value
of native institutions but is forced to enforce indirect rule. Ibos never developed a system of central authority.
CHAPTER 4
Enmity of Nwaka and Ezeulu is revealed. Oduche was given to learn the ways of the
whiteman’s church. Oduche put a python
in a box, which Ezeulu finds and frees; scandal ensues. Ezidemelli (Nwaka’s friend and python priest)
asks what he will do to purify his home.
CHAPTER 5
Winterbottom doesn’t believe indirect rule is effective but
most obey his superiors. “Great tragedy
of British colonial administration was that the man on the spot (who knew his
African) and knew what he was talking about found himself being constantly
overruled by starry-eyed fellows at headquarters. Ibos detest kings, but Ikedi makes himself
one as a puppet of the administration—he’s very corrupt.
CHAPTER 6
Akueke’s inlaws come for her and promise not to let husband
beat her—Ezeulu agrees to this.
CHAPTER 7
Purification day for the six villages. Ugoye has the most ivory of Ezeulu’s
wives. Nwaka’s wives has most
ivory. Ezeulu does the purification
dance. Women gossip.
CHAPTER 8
Mr. Wright needs unpaid labor to finish his road and gets it
from the Umuaro. Obika is late (because
he was drunk) to the road work party and gets whipped. In the ensuing controversy Moses acts as an
intermediary. Ezeulu tries to get to the
bottom of what happens and his sons show no remorse. The
death that will kill a man begins as an appetite.
CHAPTER 9
Akuebe visits Ezeulu to talk about Obika and the lack of
respect of the youth in general.
Pride of Umuaro that
they never see one party as right and the other as wrong.
CHAPTER 10
Background on Capt W (including his soldiering in Cameroon)
and how his wife ran off with someone else.
Capt W expresses disgruntlement
at the bureaucracy and their flawed administrative appointments. Capt W and Clarke dine. Clarke and Wright are friends and no one ever
investigates whipping. Capt W intends to
make Ezeulu paramount chief. Idea of institutions vs. Infrastructures is
addressed with administration spending all the money on native courts but not
enough on roads. Most Africans aren’t
using the courts either (or at least willingly).
CHAPTER 11
Ezeulu visits Akuebe where a man is sick. Ezeulu asks him what the man
did to deserve the sickness. Obika
and Okuata wed. The medicine man keeps
the chicken from the ceremony (which he isn’t supposed to do). Ezeulu hopes Obika is a changed man.
CHAPTER 12
Edogo talks to Akuebe and feigns disinterest in being chosen
to succeed his father. Oduche gets in
fight with Obija about the python. Ezeulu says that Oduche is a sacrifice from
the people to Akuebe. Capt W sends
messengers to tell Ezeulu to come see him.
Ezeulu says no, I will send my son Edogo. No one
however great can win judgment against a clan.
CHAPTER 13
Ezeulu calls all the village leaders to talk about being
summoned. Nwaka jabs at him over his
‘friendship’ with the whiteman. Ezeulu
is unaffected (at least outwardly) by it.
Capt W sends for Ezeulu to be arrested and falls ill. Guards come to arrest Ezeulu but they miss
him because he already left to come in.
The eat, take a bribe and leave.
Ezeulu arrives at headquarters and everyone things he cast a spell to
make Capt W sick. He likes this.
CHAPTER 14
Obika returns home and Ezeulu has a vision in prison. He starts to plot his revenge. Ezeulu’s family comes to visit him. He’s
offered the position of Chief and refuses it. The advantages of getting in with the whiteman
early are discussed. Clarkes calls him a
‘witch doctor” highlighting the levels
of misunderstanding culturally.
CHAPTER 15
Ezeulu is in prison 32 days and his reputation soars as he
still refuses the offer. He’s then
released. Capt W and Clarke get a
message from the administration stating that they reserved the adverse report
on indirect rule but any change in policy will have to come from the
governor. They are directed to maintain
the status quo but not appoint any new chiefs.
CHAPTER 16
Ezeulu returns home, enjoying the suffering and plotting his
revenge. He reconsiders his revenge due
to all the nice people coming to visit him.
Ezeulu is told by Ulu that he
can’t reconsider, he’s an arrow of god against Idemelli and the python
god. Ezeulu remarks that he is half man
and half spirit. He wonders if his boy
is also an arrow.
CHAPTER 17
Life returns to normal in the village. A new ancestral mask is introduced. Obika slaughters the ram in the ceremony and
Edogo carvest he mask.
CHAPTER 18
Feast of New Yam approaches and Ezeulu plots his
revenge. He’s questioned by lots of
people for delaying the announcement. He
rebukes them. The elders come and ask
him to ask Ulu how they can appease him so that they can have their yam
harvest. Ulu says no. Ezeulu is despised by his people Goodcountry says if they give church a yam
they can harvest their fields and he will protect them from Ulu. The
best way to deal with whiteman is to know him (so they send their kids to his
school).
CHAPTER 19
People are starving.
Ezeulu is shunned and lonely.
Obika has a fever but goes to dance in a burial ceremony and dies. Ezeulu is ruined. People go to Goodcountry so they can
harvest.
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