Characterism In Things Fall Apart, By Chinua Achebe

Okonkwo was a man of war; he was a great wrestler, however, despite his fame for wrestling he had won titles for inter-tribal wars twice. He never wanted to look weak before the tribe. Ikemefuna was like a son to Okonkwo. He called Okonkwo as his father and Okonkwo taught him how to work and do certain things as though Ikemefuna was his son. However, when the time came that the tribe had to kill Ikemefuna, they specifically asked Okonkwo no to participate with the killing because Ikemefuna was like a son to him. Okonkwo did not want to seem weak to the clan so he went along as it is shown in the following quote (Page 44), ‘He heard Ikemefuna cry, “My father they have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his matchet and cut him down. He was afraid of

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a sympathetic character and unsympathetic character in regards to his family relationships with his adopted son, Ikemefuna, his daughter, Ezima, and his father, Unoka, as a result of he appears to genuinely care about his family; but, the pride within himself prevents his expression of such pride and concern openly.

The disparity between Okonkwo’s true motivations and his warped motivations lead Okonkwo to behave in ways which shocked other members of Umuofia with his apparent disregard for others, but which made sense to him as he saw weakness and Unoka in alternatives. When Ezeudu, a respected elder in Umuofia, informed Okonkwo that the village Oracle called for the killing of Okonkwo’s adopted son Ikemefuna, he asked Okonkwo not to take part. However, Okonkwo not only accompanied them,

In the novel Things Fall Apart it states, “The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.” (Achebe 153). This quote conveys a negative tone in the word, “abomination” portraying the colonization and destruction of native people. This story focuses on the era of colonization/imperialism and in this quote the clash of cultures and its consequences is evident. The focus of the story is the head chief, Okonkwo, of an Igbo village tribe in Nigeria. It follows this “strong man,” Okonkwo, and his many heroic exploits and triumphs. In addition, it elaborates on his subsequent fall and expulsion from his tribal land. However, throughout this tale it is clearly evident that women were seen as

Women are often thought of as the weaker, more vulnerable of the two sexes. Thus, women’s roles in literature are often subdued and subordinate. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, women are repressed by an entrenched structure of the social repression. Women suffer great losses in this novel but, also in certain circumstances, hold tremendous power. Achebe provides progressively changing attitudes towards women’s role. At first glance, the women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an oppressed group with little power and this characterization is true to some extent. However, this characterization of Igbo women reveals itself to be prematurely simplistic as well as limiting, once

According to Achebe, the main character detested his father at a very young age, “Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala.”(28) The Igbo tribe in Things Fall Apart uses the term an “agbala” which is used to describe “woman”. Okonkwo considered his father to be weak, effeminate, poor, disgraceful, and always in debt to his fellow tribes people. Okonkwo’s life revolves around the deep fear of becoming a failure and adopting the image of his father. Due to this self rooted perception of failure there are indications that he tries to rise above his father’s legacy.

Okonkwo’s killing of Ikemefuna Things fall apart is a novel about African family. Okonkwo is the main character, who is well respected and has three wives and their children. Okonkwo has a position of high status in his clan; he worked very hard for it. He didn’t want to be weak and lazy like his father, who couldn’t support his family. Okonkwo has an adoptive son, Ikemefuna, who he kills.

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is viewed as a very masculine man. His view of masculinity brings him many downfalls and causes him to do things that are not reasonable. This view relates to that of important characters in the novel because he has taken the meaning of masculinity to seriously and brings it to a whole new level. The characters who are affected by this view are Nwoye, Ekwefi, and himself. To begin with, Okonkwo's view of masculinity affects many characters in this novel and one of those characters is his son, Nwoye.

A prominent theme in the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, is gender roles and its continuation to grow even to this day within the Igbo culture. In Pre-Colonial times women were stereotyped into one general group possessing traits of the caregiver, mother and pleaser. While, on opposite ends of the spectrum, men were identified as brave, strong and courageous. They were responsible for the struggles on the battlefield and in the village, but as time went on and the British colonized their culture, the Ibo people and their comfortable gender roles would drastically change. Ezinma; daughter of Okonkwo, has a very headstrong personality and she often exhibits very masculine like traits for she is not afraid to speak her mind or stand up for herself, while Okonkwo had always wished she had been born a boy, the attributes that he sees in his daughter are what make him more than

Nwoye’s betrayal in the novel is the same level of betrayal that Achebe is condemned with in his lifetime. African literary theorists who vie for the purity of African literature for African languages defy Achebe as a European traitor, writing his stories with his back turned to his native homeland. Yet this thesis argues for a reevaluation of that criticism. Achebe does not in fact deny his beliefs, his country, or his heritage. He rather aligns himself in a tragically ironic way with the hero of Things Fall Apart. Achebe writes his own struggle with colonialism into the life and death of Okonkwo. It is interesting to note that Achebe’s father was in many ways very similar to Nwoye. His father, Isaiah Achebe, was orphaned early in life and spent most of his childhood with his uncle, Udoh. Udoh was a man of the land; he prided himself on tradition and leadership. Chinua writes in his essay, “My Dad and Me,” that the differences between Isaiah and Udoh were seen early through the eyes of Chinua, a questioning child who was placed in the middle

Later on in the story, Ikemefuna is sacrificed to atone for the murder that was committed. Okonkwo silently mourns his death, but he will not openly admit it lest he be considered weak. After these turn of events, Achebe begins to show a softer side to Okonkwo. Though he is not very good at showing it, Okonkwo cares deeply for several people, especially his daughter Enzinma. Since she was younger, Enzinma has been a very sick child.

Another indication to prove the text’s postmodernism aspect is the presence of irony (Lewis, 2001) in the fate of Okonkwo. He was considered one of the

Ikemefuna is very well-liked by Okonkwo and his family, and becomes a mentor and best friend to Nwoye. Okonkwo feels dismay that Nwoye is taking on the torpid characteristics of his grandfather, Unoka, and is quite pleased that Nwoye is thriving and maturing under Ikemefuna’s guidance. “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna” (Achebe, 1958, p. 52, para. 2). Okonkwo’s pride, and fear of demonstrating any perceived sign of weakness, does not allow him to show any favorable emotion to Ikemefuna; he treats him with the same severity he does the rest of his family. “Even Okonkwo himself

The novel, things fall apart was set in the late nineteenth century which was a period of conflict and drastic change in Africa, where indigenous societies clashed with imperialistic European powers. The author, Chinua Achebe adds this tension of the historic British colonial expansion to present another dimension to Okonkwo's tragedy. Achebe challenges ethnocentric views of Africa through his use of language throughout the novel. The author also includes themes of Cultural relativism by introducing the Ibo’s traditions and language.

More than those of any other African writer, Chinua Achebe’s writings have helped to develop what is known as African literature today. And the single book which has helped him to launch his "revolution" is the classic, Things Fall Apart.  The focus of this essay includes: 1) Achebe's portraiture of women in his fictional universe, the existing sociocultural situation of the period he is depicting, and the factors in it that condition male attitudes towards women; 2) the consequences of the absence of a moderating female principle in his fictions; 3) Achebe's progressively changing attitude towards women s roles; and 4) feminist prospects for African women. In the context of this study, the Igbo people whom Achebe describes will