Things Fall Apart: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Okonkwo is just settling into bed one night when he hears the ogene of the town crier, who summons all the men of Umuofia to the marketplace the next morning. Okonkwo hears an overtone of tragedy in the crier's voice and wonders what might be amiss.

The narrator describes how quiet and dark the night is without moonlight. Children avoid whistling so as not to call evil spirits, dangerous animals become even more dangerous in the dark, and snakes are not referred to by their real names in case they hear. Okonkwo tries to figure out what the meeting might be about, and thinks that there might be war with a neighboring clan. He remembers his own prowess in war, being the first to bring home a human head in the last war—his fifth head.

In the morning, the market place is full. Ogbuefi Ezeugo bellows “Umuofia kwenu” four times to get the clan's attention and silence the talk. He bellows the words a fifth time before pointing in the direction of Mbaino and describing how the sons of Mbaino have dared to murder a daughter of Umuofia—the wife of Ogbuefi Udo. The crowd then begins to shout in anger. In the end, it's decided that Mbaino will either choose war or offer a young man and a virgin as compensation for their crime.

Umuofia's neighbors fear it as a powerful clan and try to avoid going to war with the Umuofia. The Umuofia, for their part, only go to war when their Oracle accepts it. When Okonkwo arrives at Mbaino as the emissary of war, he is treated with respect, returning two days later to Umuofia with a 15-year-old boy and a virgin. The boy's name is Ikemefuna, and the narrator reveals that Ikemefuna's sad story will continue to be told in Umuofia until the narrator's present day.

The elders, or ndichie, meet and decide that the girl should go to Ogbuefi Udo to replace his murdered wife. As for the boy, the clan decides that Okonkwo will look after him until the elders decide his fate. For the next three years, Ikemefuna lives in Okonkwo's household.

Okonkwo rules his household with a heavy hand and short temper, instilling fear in his wives and children. The narrator suggests that this might not indicate that Okonkwo is a cruel man at heart, but Okonkwo's whole life is dominated by the fear of failure and of weakness. Okonkwo still remembers a time when a playmate told him that his father was agbala, and Okonkwo came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, but also the name for a man with no titles. Since then, Okonkwo vowed to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved, including gentleness and idleness.

During planting season, Okonkwo works long daily hours on his farm and rarely feels fatigue. His wives and young children suffer, however, and are afraid to complain openly. Okonkwo's first son, Nwoye, is twelve years old and already worries Okonkwo with his laziness, which Okonkwo seeks to correct with nagging and beating.

Okonkwo's wealth is clearly visible in his household. He has his own hut, or obi, and behind the obi, each of his three wives has a hut. He also owns a barn with long stacks of yam standing inside, a shed for goats, and a “medicine house” or shrine where he keeps the wooden symbols of his personal god and ancestral spirits.

When Ikemefuna joins Okonkwo's household, Okonkwo hands him over to his most senior wife, who asks if he'll be staying long. Okonkwo, who doesn't have an answer, tells her to do as she's told, so she takes him in with no further questions. Ikemefuna, still unaware that his father had a hand in killing one of the daughters of Umuofia, is terribly afraid and doesn't understand what's going on. He only knows that he's been taken away from his mother and that he traveled to Umuofia with another girl, who he never sees again.