Chapter Thirteen Summary

The village of Umuofia woke up to the news of death—of the old man Ezeudu. Okonkwo was reminded of the old man’s last words to him about not having any hand in Ikemefuna’s death.

Ezeudu was given a warrior’s funeral since he was an important man and the whole clan was in attendance. The life of the living was closely associated with their ancestors—and it was practiced in the form of spirits and dancers who represented the world of death.

Ezeudu had taken three titles in his lifetime, which made him a noble and great man. There were only four titles in the clan and only very few men had been able to achieve all four. There was a gun salute to honor the old man and by accident, a bullet from Okonkwo’s gun shot Ezeudu’s young son, who died immediately. Such a thing had never happened in the village and no one knew what to do.

Okonkwo’s only recourse was to flee because it was a big sin to kill a clansman. However, since his crime was inadvertent, he could return to his village after seven years. Before sunrise the next day, Okonkwo and his family fled to his motherland—the small village of Mbanta, just outside of Mbaino.

In the morning, men from Ezeudo’s family came and destroyed Okonkwo’s huts, barns, and compound—there was no malice in their hearts but they had to cleanse the earth which had been sullied by the murder of a clansman by another clansman. Okonkwo’s friend Obierika was a thoughtful man who could not understand why his friend had to suffer for a crime which he committed by mistake. It was similar to the time Obierika had to throw away his twin children for no crime of theirs but simply because they were twins.

Chapter Thirteen Analysis

This chapter marks the end of normal Igbo life and a massive change in Okonkwo’s fate. The killing of a clansman is a sin. The rules of the clan are rigid and must be followed; so Okonkwo has no other recourse but to flee.

The reader observes Obierika wondering over the unfairness of it all which represents the individuality of his thoughts; even though he follows the rules of his clan, he thinks rationally about the consequences.