Character Analysis Of Okonkwo

“To show affection was a sign of weakness” (Achebe 28). Some of his actions were out of his control but the murders he committed were his own choice and apparently his reputation and ego meant more to him than mercy and human decency. “People who want to feel better about themselves make decisions that meet their needs”. All of the decisions he made like beating his wife, killing Ikemefuna, the missionary and accidently Ezeudu’s son decided his fate, the way the tribe ended up was Okonkwo’s view of a tragedy. The village did not want to go to war with the missionaries that religiously destroyed their clan so Okonkwo became miserable with life. He could not believe that the villagers were okay with the new religion being forced upon them so he decided to take his fate into his own hands and take his own life so he does not have to face what tragedy is to him; his clan failing and falling into the enemy's arms. Okonkwo could not bear the burden of this mental and emotional pain his failing village caused

For all of his desire to be strong, Okonkwo is caught up by the constant fear of being perceived as weak. He is afraid of failure and afraid of being considered weak. This fear drives him to do whatever he can to not become a failure like his father which ironically contributes to his death. While Okonkwo was a strong and important figure in his tribe, he had to keep his reputation that way by making some hard decisions. One of them was when he had to kill Ikemefuna, a young boy from the neighboring tribe. Okonkwo started accepting the decision to kill Ikemefuna because he started to call Okonkwo father. He had to keep his own valor intact and kill the boy to prevent himself from showing any weakness, but deep down, Okonkwo was really upset because of what he did which was ironic, “’When did you become a shivering old woman,' Okonkwo asked himself, 'you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed.'" (Achebe 65). He continued to roll downhill when the white man comes to try and convert Okonkwo’s tribe. Okonkwo responds by killing one of the messengers that were sent. This cause Okonkwo's own tribe to question his actions. “"Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape.

In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is portrayed as a respected and determined individual whose fatal flaw eventually works against him. Throughout the novel the readers are shown that Okonkwo has many of these Characteristics because he is obsessed with the idea of becoming just like his father. This becomes his flaw in the novel that puts him into exile and makes it hard for him to adjust to the changes that were made with in his village.

To begin, Okonkwo is shown to be a self made, well respected member of the Umuofia clan. Though, he seems stern, most of his life is dictated with fear. For example,the passage states “ And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death.”(Achebe,18/1). This helps the reader understand that Okonkwo faces many challenges in life to prove to his village and the people themselves that he is nothing like his father, Unoka and is haunted by the fact that one day he will become a man whom he promised he will never become. The passage states “ Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.”(Achebe,61/1). This helps the reader understand the reason why

Okonkwo had to deal with change when he was forced to move to his mother’s homeland of Mbanta for accidentally murdering a young boy, “Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart” (Pg 124). It was a crime to kill another warrior from the same clan, accident or not. He knew he had to leave, but it angered him to know how much he would be leaving behind. He thought, being a strong warrior, he would get free forgiveness for his mistakes, thinking the rules could be bent for his sake. Okonkwo wasn’t able to comprehend how his village was able to get by without him.

First of all Okonkwo has the qualities of a hero. He is one of the most powerful

Okonkwo had a son, Nwoye. Moreover Okonkwo does not like his son because he had characteristics that made him look weak. Okonkwo saw his

This attitude made him into a smart, strong and wealthy man. The fear of becoming weak has been haunting Okonkwo for his entire life. This tactic of becoming the complete opposite of his father helped him become a very successful man in his village and yet it eventually leads to his downfall. This is because Okonkwo’s fear of his clan becoming weak is the reason why “he drew his machete” and “made the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body” (188). He wanted to make a final attempt to save his clan from becoming weak, when he realized his attempt didn’t work he hung himself.

What is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary, noble character who makes a judgment mistake that eventually leads to his/her downfall. In the book Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is our tragic hero. His leadership and eventual nobility, big reversal as a character, and his tragic flaws that lead to his downfall, are classic examples why Okonkwo is a tragic hero.

Okonkwo's tragic flaw that lead him to his downfall. Okonkwo didn’t want to be like his dad and be a failure and not be able to support a family. “ with a father like unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had” (18).

Okonkwo’s fear of being like his father has terrorized his mindset and influenced him to the extent of opposing anything that pertains or causes him to be perceived as woman like. Okonkwo believes that a man is “not really a man” if he is unable to rule his family members (45). Hence Okonkwo developed a bad side to his personality - an aggressive manner that causes his family to greatly fear him. Okonkwo demonstrates his fiery temper through his persistent violent actions which include him beating his wife in the Week of Peace, and murdering Ikemefuna when he advised not to. Okonkwo’s violent actions cause him to be portrayed as different from the initial heroic description given of him.Okonkwo’s aggressiveness is not only recognized by his family members - the people of Umuofia also recognized Okonkwo as a person who uses aggressive words and brusqueness to “kill a man’s spirit” (9). Okonkwo’s actions demonstrate that Okonkwo has a conflicting

Okonkwo’s actions show that he doesn’t think or empathize like a real person that can rule over people. Although his fear gives him more respect from his tribe, it only motivates him to be the best of his

“Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand”(Achebe pg.13). Some might say that Okonkwo is a cold man who cares for no one else, while others say that he is a bit of a softie. Through the story we are able to see two main sides to Okonkwo, a sympathetic and unsympathetic side. Okonkwo lived a difficult life. His father was a lazy man, who owed many others heavy wages. Okonkwo knew that in order to become a strong, respected man in the village he had to prove himself to not be like his father. He worked hard to get to where he wanted to be and on the way developed a somewhat cold hearted attitude towards things. All he cared about was being successful unlike his father. Unfortunately, due to this he pushed his sympathetic feelings aside. Okonkwo’s family relationships make him a sympathetic character because

Tragic heros are seen throughout several pieces of literature. In the book, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the main character, Okonkwo, journey of life through his Ibo culture and being a leader. In the novel, Okonkwo qualifies as a classic Aristotelian tragic hero; some characteristics that he portrays are: the hero must be spiritually or physically wounded by his experiences, often resulting in his death, the tragic hero shows excessive hubris, and a reversal of fortune brought about because of the hero’s error in judgement. These few of the many attributes that are given to Okonkwo since he’s a tragic hero.

As stated in Chapter Two on pages 13 to 14, Okonkwo ruled his household with a hand so heavy that his entire family lives in perpetual fear of his fiery temper and impatience. Okonkwo is a very rash person and, when in a fit of rage, does not think about the consequences of his actions, which inadvertently leads him to his own downfall. In committing these actions, it is not ludicrous to believe that Okonkwo will later receive consequences due to the immorality of these actions.