Okonkwo's Rise to Fame

Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested

on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to

his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years

was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was called the Cat because his

back would never touch the earth. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which

the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the

wild for seven days and seven nights. The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators

held their breath. Amalinze was a wily craftsman, but Okonkwo was as slippery as a