Suicide is a grave sin in the Igbo culture. The other men
in Okonkwo's clan tell the District Commissioner that because Okonkwo has killed
himself, his body is now evil, and they are not allowed to touch it. They have sent for
people from a distant tribe to help them take the body down from the tree where Okonkwo
hung himself. They also ask the Commissioner to help them with this task. Usually, the
Igbo are very respectful of the dead and have specific ceremonies that they follow
whenever one of their clan dies. Suicide, however, goes against their beliefs and is
considered an affront to the spirits, so the normally tight-knit clan is forced to break
with their traditional burial ceremonies.
Okonkwo is so
intent on not becoming like his father, unworthy and weak, but by committing suicide, he
makes himself unworthy and ironically, even more cut off and disrespected by his clan.
He does not have any concern for his clan, however, and how his suicide would affect
them. He is only concerned about himself. He did the same thing when he committed murder
earlier in the novel and was exiled from his own village for many years. Again, his clan
was forced to suffer the humiliation that he caused them, but he was only focused on
himself.
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