Ikemefuma: A scapegoat

One of the major themes in Things Fall Apart revolves around the episode of Ikemefuna, a boy who comes to live with Okonkwo's family, as he is sacrificed to the Igbo people and their gods for the killing of a Umuofian daughter. The event of the execution in the novel affects considerably Okonkwo's relation with himself, with his son, and with some of the eminent members of the clan. Though some critics claim that the execution of Ikemefuna, by Okonkwo, is an unconscionable act which is not planned, it is more logical and reasonable to believe that Okonkwo's execution of Ikemefuna is a premeditated process which abuses Ikemefuna's right to life. Ikemefuna is first introduced in the novel as a "doomed lad" or an "ill-fated lad" . He comes to live with Okonkwo's family as a peace offering from Ikemefuna's home clan to the Igbo for the killing of a Umuofian daughter. Achebe does not say how she is killed, whether accidentally or as a premeditated murder, but the reaction of the Umuofia people is made clear: Umuofia would make war (a war of revenge) on Mbaino unless the latter pays compensation in the form of two of their own people. In fact, the boy is innocent of any wrong-doing. He is judged according to his father's worth in contradiction to one of the Igbo principles in the novel that "a man [is] judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father" Maybe, the Igbo wants to Punish Ikemefuna's father by taking his son away from him, overlooking the fact that this act punishes the son as well. Ikemefuna, at this point, may feel like a slave who is not aware of what is going on with him. In Things Fall Apart: "All [Ikemefuna] [knows is] that a few men [have] arrived at their house, conversing with his father in low tones, and at the end he [has] been taken out and handed over to a stranger."

On the basis of this excerpt, the stranger is Okonkwo, who treats and controls Ikemefuna "with a heavy hand" ; but, Ikemefuna adapts himself gradually to what Okonkwo expects from him and becomes a popular boy in Okonkwo's household. Ikemefuna "[grows] rapidly like a yam tendril in the rainy season" ; he acquires how to be a man just as Okonkwo wishes his son, Nwoye to be, and he soon becomes the ideal son Okonkwo has always dreamed of. The two boys, Ikemefuna and Nwoye, become quickly very close friends, almost brothers. Nwoye, two years younger, turns out to look at Ikemefuna as an ideal person and is attracted to Ikemefuna because "[Ikemefuna] [seems] to know everything [and has] a knack for telling folk-tales." This relation between the two leads Nwoye to abandon his mother's stories and join Ikemefuna for Okonkwo's "masculine stories of violence and bloodshed" Consequently, Ikemefuna fills the void in Okonkwo's life that Okonkwo's own son cannot.

After three years, Ikemefuna becomes "wholly absorbed into his new family." But just when most Umofians seem to have forgotten about Ikemefuna's life among them, they are asked to carry out a divine command to execute Ikemefuna. Those who are entrusted with this task are "a group of elders from all the nine villages of Umuofia". It is their duty to do such a thing; and, because of Okonkwo's personal achievement, he is one of the elders who have joined the group. Therefore, if Ikemefuna is kept in somebody else's household, it would be Okonkwo's duty to go to that household to execute Ikemefuna in compliance with the command of the Oracle of the hills and the caves.

On the one hand, according to Damian Opata, Okonkwo accompanies the elders because he is one of them. On the other hand, Opata claims that there is a more important motive which might simply be "a question of strategy". Before the execution, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, the oldest man in Umuofia, comes to Okonkwo and warns him not to have anything to do with the execution of Ikemefuna: "That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death." Okonkwo[...] "Yes, Umuofia has decided to kill him. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it. They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom, and kill him there. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. He calls you his father."

This excerpt explains that the act of the execution is a usual phenomenon in the Umofian village; the only exception this time is that there is a paternity relation between the victim, Ikemefuna, and a member of the group, Okonkwo. In fact, Ezeudu advises Okonkwo not to take part in the boy's death because of the filial affection the boy has for him. Okonkwo, in return, lies to Ikemefuna, telling him that he will be returning to his home village. Ikemefuna cries at this news because "he [has] already [become] wholly absorbed into his new family. He [is] like a brother to Nwoye" . Since the message of Ezeudu is delivered as a command, and as Okonkwo does nothing to protest or even to argue, Opata assumes that "we may be safe to assume that [Okonkwo] accepts Ezeudu's advice." Opata further supports his justification on the ground that One of the men behind him [clears] his throat. Ikemefuna [looks] back, and the man [growls] at him to go on and not stand looking back. The way he [says] it [sends] cold fear down Ikemefuna's back. His hands [trembles] vaguely on the black pot he [carries]. Why [has] Okonkwo withdrawn to the rear? Ikemefuna [feels] his legs melting under him. And he [is] afraid to look back.

On the basis of Okonkwo's withdrawal to the rear, Opata says that taking this position can be looked at as abidance by Ezeudu's advice. Moreover, the episode where the group of elders arrives at the place where Ikemefuna is going to be executed is described as follows: As the man who [has] cleared his throat [draws] up and [raises] his machete, Okonkwo [looks] away. He [hears] the blow. The pot [falls] and [breaks] in the sand. He [hears] Ikemefuna cry, "My father, they have killed me!" as he [runs] towards him. [Dazes] with fear, Okonkwo [draws] his machete and cut him down.

When Ikemefuna runs toward Okonkwo for protection, the latter has only two choices: either to give Ikemefuna the needed protection or to execute him himself. Opata considers the killing of Ikemefuna by Okonkwo as an instinctive act, in the sense that Okonkwo has no time to think of his action. The execution has been a compulsory act in an unconscionable manner and the circumstances under which Okonkwo has to kill Ikemefuna seem to be forced by "capricious fates". He is not in control of the situation. Therefore, according to Opata, Ikemefuna's death is a "fait accompli" which is neither premeditated nor made in a free will. If Okonkwo does not kill Ikemefuna, it will constitute an offence against the gods. As a result, Opata concludes that "we cannot logically go beyond that to establish that by killing Ikemefuna [okonkwo] [commits] an offence. Conversely, Solomon O. Iyasere seems to look at the execution of Ikemefuna from a different, but more logical and more reasonable, perspective. He claims that Opata's view on the execution of Ikemefuna derives from an inexperienced reading of the event. For instance, according to Iyasere, there is no place in Things Fall Apart which hints that if Okonkwo had time to react on the act of the execution, he would act differently. This seems to be true because "Okonkwo [is] not a man of thought but of action" ; therefore, Okonkwo's victimization by fate is not accurate. Moreover, when the gods command the execution of Ikemefuna, the Gods do not specifically order Okonkwo to participate in this sinful event, as explained in the following conversation between Okonkwo and his friend Obierika:

"I cannot understand why you [refuse] to come with us to kill that boy," [Okonkwo] [asks] Obierika."Because I [don't] not want to,"...the Oracle did not ask me to carry out its decision."... And ...If I were you I would have stayed at home.[...]. It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families." "The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger," Okonkwo said...."That is true," Obierika agreed. "But if the Oracle [says] that my son should be killed I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it." The passage shows a crucial and direct confrontation between Okonkwo and Obierika that occurs when Okonkwo visits his best friend soon after killing Ikemefuna. Obierika, one of the elders who stay away from the killing, is affirming that he is not less manly to kill. Obierika thinks differently from Okonkwo. He believes that in order to be a true man, one must show no weakness at all. Therefore, Obierika's refusal to participate in the killing is looked at as weakness and questions his manhood. But, in the last paragraph of the passage, it seems to be a clear sign of hypocrisy. Obierika seems to argue that the gods have not specifically ordered Okonkwo to participate in the execution of Ikemefuna while Obierika, for example, has thrown his own twin children away himself, an act which, according to tradition, the twins' father is not obliged to do himself.

Furthermore, Okonkwo acts too impulsively and violently to think of the results of his actions. Okonkwo, in fact, has the habit of acting with no consideration to the consequences. For instance, Okonkwo beats his third wife during the week of peace. Although his action carries much significance to the religion of the clan, okonkwo "[is] not a man to stop beating someone half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess." Okonkwo has no fears for the gods and the only thing he fears is failure. This notion of failure is clarified by the narrator when he explains that Okonkwo's life is dominated by fear from failure and weakness. This fear is deeper than fear from gods; it is not external but within himself .

As a result, it is fear from being like his father that pushes him to cut down Ikemefuna. So, it seems that he kills the boy as repudiation of his father's image of being weak and incapable of killing. The conclusion most critics reach from the analysis of this episode is that because of his participation in the execution of the boy that calls him father, Okonkwo's life faces a negative road, guides him to the unspeakable denouement.

This brutality, sometimes, has a prize; and this prize in return, weakens the Igbo society and creates many contradictions within the Igbo culture. For instance, Okonkwo, after the killing of Ikemefuna, commits a "female ochu [crime]" , is forced into exile for seven years, because this traditional Igbo man, obsessed with his masculinity, During this time, the British starts colonizing the neighbouring areas, and this begins a mutual conflict as the two cultures clash. For example, the people of Abame murder the first white man who appears to the city because they fear him and cannot communicate with him, and the British destroy Abame, and Igbo city, in retaliation for this murder. This brutal act of the killing lead Britain to take revenge using military power and, so, kills everybody in the market and begins a direct colonialism to the whole aera.