Question

14.) Read the excerpt below and answer the question.


And if the clan did not exact punishment for an offence on the great goddess, her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender. As the elders said, if one finger brought oil it soiled the others.


What does the phrase “if one finger brought oil it soiled the others” most likely mean in this excerpt from Things Fall Apart?


a. Erasing the past is as difficult as removing oil stains.

b. One man’s actions have an effect on the entire village.

c. When a man commits a crime, he stands alone in the village.

d. Sometimes it is necessary to lose a finger to save the whole hand.

Answer 1

The answer is B. “One man’s actions have an effect on the entire village.”

The text states that, “...Her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender.” Here we can see that due to one person’s wrongdoing, an entire group of people had to suffer the consequences.