All Things Fall Apart Okonkwo's Relationship

The protagonist, Okonkwo demonstrates his sympathetic character solely to himself, personally, and infrequently not in the eyes of others. During the plotting of Ilemefuna’s death, Okonkwo was hesitant to make the boy aware of his fate and also hesitant to take part in his death. “‘I cannot understand why you refused to come with us to kill that boy,’ he

Is Okonkwo sympathetic or unsympathetic? Okonkwo has a history of being messed up but he could also be kind hearted, because he take care of the thing he likes. I say “The thing he likes” because he could be really harsh and irrational with the things he doesn't like. He has two characters that would have different opinions about Okonkwo because he treats them differently. Is he unsympathetic because he beats his 3rd wife for messing things up and doesn't respect women, and he treats a new member in his village with a lot more respect on the first month of him being there.

We take a look at his personality and see that he had a warrior complex and machismo. For example in the novel on page 158 paragraph six it says “let us not reason like cowards.” His warrior complex turns everything he does like a battle plan. He wants there to be a fight or else they are not doing it right. Okonkwo’s machismo makes everyone else who is not like him not a man. In the book we see this on page 26 paragraph two “this meeting is for men.” He did not want to listen to the man because he was not well known like him and he did not have as many titles as okonkwo did. Both of these traits aided in the way he responded to the new culture.

First, Okonkwo is a controlling gentlemen. He wants to be nothing like his father, him and his father are very different. During the week of peace Okonkwo beats his wife. He beats his wife up because she was braiding her hair instead of

Is Okonkwo’s family relationships make him a sympathetic or unsympathetic character? There are many interactions that Okonkwo has with his family. Such as his first, second, and third wife, and all of his kids. Most of these interactions were negative interactions as it seems like his family is afraid of him but some were still positive. It may seem like Okonkwo hates his family but he doesn’t, he really loves his family. Okonkwo is a sympathetic character and there are a couple of characters that can prove this.

Okonkwo thinks he is the owner of his household and he shows no mercy to anyone who angers him. “He ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives…lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness.” (Achebe, Chapter 2, p.8). Okonkwo beats his children and wives because of his temper which is influenced by the Igbo society; he puts on a hard exterior because he is afraid of being weak and unsuccessful. At one point, he attempts to kill his second wife with a gun because he thinks she is the cause of a tree’s death. In order to prove his power and strength, without thinking of the consequences, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife during the week of peace - a week when the village celebrates peace and who ever disrupts the peace will be punished by Ala, the earth goddess (Lycos, online). “His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for the fear of a goddess.” (Achebe, Chapter 4, p.21). Okonkwo lives in a male dominant society where men are pressured to be strong and successful; because of these influences, Okonkwo develops an inner

In my opinion, Okonkwo was kind of confused he didn’t know if he wanted violence or not. Okonkwo was sometimey he felt bad when he accidently killed the little boy. Also, if you think about it he was mad because the white people came and took over so he couldn't be a leader and it made him want to kill them because they was ruining what he had going on. He is not a very violent person but the fact these people came to his place and took over made him

Many of Okonkwo’s violent acts happened through fear of being seen as weak. Throughout the story, there are a lot of incidents where Okonkwo committed acts of violence. “And when she returned he beat her

His clan turns against him and refuse to stand up for themselves against the white men. Once Okonkwo realizes he’s alone he is found hung on a tree, having taken his own life. His fatal flaw is his fear of weakness and failure. This fear causes him to act out harshly to his people and his family, “Perhaps down in his heart

First, Okonkwo starts off as a poor child, as shown when the book states, “Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had, he did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit” showing that Okonkwo and his family were penurious, compared to others in the Igbo tribe (Achebe 16). Eventually, through his hard work and effort, he became a noble leader, which emphasizes his role as a tragic hero. Throughout the story Okonkwo goes through many challenges, but “In the face of futility, however, he maintains his nobility of character”(Gaydosik).

Okonkwo has hubris and is too violent to have the honor of being called a hero. When describing Okonkwo, the narrator said “He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, he would use his fists. He had no patience with unsuccessful men,” heroes do not solve problems with their fists since heroes are not supposed to harm acquitted people; instead rationally solve an issue which demonstrates the hero-like trait of maturity. Moreover, Okonkwo does not treat everyone equally. He is so honored with his reputation and that presents him as conceited and inconsiderate. Okonkwo has beaten his innocent wives because he is incapable of controlling his anger, “He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s

Even though he felt weak for that moment, really quick he "begun to feel like his old self again. All that he required was something to occupy his mind" (69). Okonkwo never showed compassion or hurt, even if he may have felt it, he never showed it outwardly. The only real emotion that he has ever shown is anger. Honestly, I do not find that Okonkwo does not fit in his village. He fits his village's image of what men are supposed to be almost to a T. The only thing I would say is that at some moments, he feels as though he is better than most people in his village. He one time called a man a "women" just because the man had no title. He told this man before a meeting had started that, "this meeting is for men" (26). Another thing that makes him a little different, is that if his wife would not do something right, he would beat her. He became so angry one time that he "ran madly into his room for the loaded gun, ran out again and aimed at her" (39). He thankfully did not shoot

In conclusion, Okonkwo’s fanatical need to prove himself stems from the effects of having an alcoholic parent, aggression, resentment,and hypermasculinity. “A man's pride can be his downfall, and he needs to learn when to turn to others for support and

It can be said that Okonkwo was doomed from the start seeing as his father did not provide for him, leaving him to fend for himself early on but for me it is another sad excuse for his inexcusable actions. Despite these very negative traits, Okonkwo does possesses some positive ones. For instance he is very hardworking. This is shown throughout the book especially during harvest and planting seasons. However Okonkwo’s hard work does not make up for the fact that he is not in control of his passionate hate for his father and fear of becoming like Unoka, allowing it overcome him causing him to physically hurting people in his life. I have no respect for Okonkwo seeing as his actions due to his fear and hate of his father paired with his excuses are not something that should ever be respected or even tolerated leaving me to dislike him

Okonkwo’s whole life is based solely to not be like his father. He wants to redeem his name because of his father’s failure in life; this includes not showing weakness. When an individual does not show weakness, he does not show affection. That all builds up the fact that Okonkwo just is not a sympathetic character. You are not physically showing that you care, however doing practically the opposite: by hitting them, yelling, and killing. “His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness.” Controversially, Okonkwo can be said that Okonkwo acts this way around his family so his children can have something to look up to, unlike himself with his father. However, they would not know how he really feels because he never shows