Ezeudu

The Funeral

In chapter 13 of the novel, Things Fall Apart, we meet Ezeudu, a member of the Umuofia tribe. Throughout his lifetime Ezeudu had achieved three honorable titles and was recognized as brave, highly respected and the oldest man in his village. Upon hearing the death of this great man, Okonkwo was given a sense of remorse. The last time he spoke to Ezeudu was before the death of Ikemefuna, where Ezeudu pleaded with Okonkwo to leave the killing to the others in the clan. "That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death" (Achebe 57). The fact that Okonkwo had in fact killed his son, Ikemefuna, made him uneasy about not listening to Ezeudu. As Okonkwo contemplated, the entire clan arrived at the funeral. One important guest was the one-handed spirit. He commented about Ezeudu's life and death. The spirit acknowledged Ezeudu as a brave character who was rich and had lived a long and fulfilled life, but he also commented on how he died. The spirit said, "If your death was the death of nature, go in peace. But if a man caused it, do not allow him a moment's rest" (Achebe 123). These two events stood out among the others during Ezeudu's funeral. It appeared to me that there was some connection or reason why Okonkwo was so distraught by Ezeudu's death and why the spirit put so much importance on how Ezeudu died. It seemed there was a reason the author made the reader aware of Okonkwo's feelings about Ezeudu in addition to the spirit's. Is there reason to assume Okonkwo's reluctance to listen to Ezeudu's advice and the spirit's speech about torture to the man who killed Ezeudu?