Outside Reading, Week 3, Post B

Okonkwo-

Okay, maybe I was a little quick to judge. It certainly seemed like you tried to redeem yourself and I was finally able to witness the stress that it placed on you as the surrogate father of Ikemefuna. You suddenly appeared to be a kind and gentle man, certainly not the tough, courageous leader you seek to be, when you starved yourself for two days after Ikemefuna's death. Although it was too late to do anything, maybe you really were a good father after all and just had a terrible lapse in judgement. Then, you showed your compassion to the rest of the family when you thrust yourself into action to save the life of your daughter Ezinma. Even though you secretly confessed that you wished she was a boy, you still admired her personality and vigor and quickly rounded up all of the ingredients necessary to save her life. A truly remarkable feat and a test of your commitment as a father.

Finally, you showed your wisdom and logic at the council of the elders, where you devised a reasonable and sensible solution to the problem of the stolen wife. In short, perhaps I was just caught up in my emotions and felt like I needed to quickly pigeonhole you so I could concentrate my hatred. It seems that you were, in fact, and loving and caring father and community leader who simply was torn between two sides and was forced to make a hasty decision.