Essay Questions

Why was Onyesonwu called Ewu?

Onyesonwu was called Ewu by her society because her father raped her mother and she was the product of sexual assault by a white man. The Ewu was a disrespectful status and an Ewu child was a child of mixed race so the society did not accept such children. Onyesonwu was not allowed to live her life in a normal way. The society expected her to remain aloof and not to make friends. Her mother’s tribe exiled her because of being assaulted by a white man and she raised Onyesonwu away from Okeke tribe.

What was Onyesonwu’s motive in life?

Onyesonwu’s father wanted to enslave Okeke tribe and he considered it as a divine command. Onyesonwu’s sole motive in life was to take revenge of her mother and to save her tribe from the cruelties of her father and his tribe. She embarked on a journey with her friends to save the tribe from the people of Nuru tribe. She was a very strong girl who resisted the culture and society and tried her best fulfil her aim of life.

How did Onyesonwu resist the stereotypes?

The society expected Onyesonwu to live a subjugated life owing to her Ewu status but she made friends and lived an active life. She was a politically aware individual and she resisted the stereotypes regarding the Ewu children by assisting and uplifting the people who suffered the same fate like her. Although it was not the fault of Onyesonwu or her mother that she was a child of mixed race but the society punished them. Onyesonwu resisted the punishment and made an attempt to save other women and her tribe.

Why did the Nuru tribe sexually assault the women of the Okeke tribe?

Diab and other men of the Nuru tribe raped the women because it was a way of mentally colonizing the native women and erasing their culture and traditions. Onyesonwu was not like her mother in many ways. She acquired the characteristics of his father e.g. the boldness which was absent in her mother. Gang rape was another way of exploiting the women both physically and mentally.