Chinua Achebe 's Things Fall Apart

In order to not become like his father, Okonkwo consciously strives to be prosperous, violent, resourceful, unable to show “soft” emotion, and denies music orientation. “And no Okonkwo was ruled by one passion—to hate everything that his

9. “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth.”

Okonkwo’s oldest son, Nwoye, has to achieve high expectations, to be just like his father. If he falls short of Okonkwo’s near perfection, he will face consequence usually in the form of physical harm. Okonkwo wants Nwoye to be strong, powerful, independent, and hard-working. He must be like is father, and not like his grandfather, Unoka, or his mother. Unoka was an absolute failure in Okonkwo’s eyes, and a terrible father, who did nothing to help the family. Okonkwo is a man and wants his son to be a man too, not womanly like his mother. Okonkwo wanted “his son to be a great farmer and a great man” (33). Okonkwo is “worried about Nwoye....my children do not resemble me...too much of his mother in him” (66). Okonkwo knows that Nwoye resembles more of his mother than him, but also knows that he resembles Unoka too. Both fathers want their sons to be just like them, but do little to ask what they want in life, and neither father will budge on what they want for their sons.

The character of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was driven by fear, a fear of change and losing his self-worth. He needed the village of Umuofia, his home, to remain untouched by time and progress because its system and structure were the measures by which he assigned worth and meaning in his own life. Okonkwo required this external order because of his childhood and a strained relationship with his father, which was also the root of his fears and subsequent drive for success. When the structure of Umuofia changed, as happens in society, Okonkwo was unable to adapt his methods of self-evaluation and ways of functioning in the world; the life he was determined to live could not survive a new environment and collapsed around

In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s shame for his father, Unoka, motivates him to be everything his father wasn’t. As a result, Okonkwo hides behind masculinity and conceals his emotions, in hope of escaping weakness. Stubborn and impulsive, Okonkwo makes rash decisions to uphold his reputation, which affects his tribe and his family. Okonkwo’s constant fear of resembling his father takes over his ability compromise and causes him to suffer from depression, the “loss” of his son, the loss of

The breakdown of Okonkwo’s relationship with his son is evident throughout this novel. The reason for this tumultuous relationship is, Okonkwo is too engrossed in maintaining his status quo, and his relationship was governed by his own beliefs, principles and his own “right way to do right things”. He treated his family very strictly as he believed that showing affection revealed a sign of social weakness; thus the disheartening lack of respect and love was a mal nourishing factor with in the family.

Okonkwo abides by the rules of masculinity long after it suits his life. Okonkwo thought women we inferior to men. During the Week of Peace, Ojiugo lied to her husband; in the novel it states, “And when she returned he beat her very heavily” (Achebe 29). Okonkwo’s anger took over him. His vision of himself was so great that he thought he could beat his own wife, even during the Week of Peace. Okonkwo’s favorite child would be Ezinma, but she cannot be as great as he would want her to be because she is a female. Okonkwo openly said, “She should have been a boy” (Achebe 64). Okonkwo thinks that his daughter is great, but because she is not a boy he can not admire her. He thinks she would have been better a boy because, in his mind, he thinks men are greater beings than women. Okonkwo cannot wait for his son Nwoye to grow up and be as great of a man as he was. The novel states, “He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of ruling his father’s household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestor” (Achebe 53). Even though Okonkwo likes Ezinma, he thinks Nwoye will keep his legacy going after he is dead. Ironically, Nwoye leaves his father’s side and joins the missionaries, while Ezinma stood by Okonkwo’s side. The reasoning for Okonkwo’s exile was due to Okonkwo shooting a young boy

Chinua Achebe unfolds a variety of interesting connections between characters in the Novel Things Fall Apart. Relationships with parents, children and inner self are faced differently, however the attitude that Okonkwo gave them determined what kind of outcome he generated from these relations. Okonkwo looks at everything through his violent and manly perspective and is afraid to show his real feelings because he thinks that he may be thought out as weak and feminine this paranoid attitude lead him to self-destruction.

In addition to cultural clash, Achebe explores the theme of masculinity versus femininity, and in doing so, reveals Okonkwo’s fatal character flaw: hyper-masculinity. Okonkwo is motivated by a desire to prove himself superior to his father, who was cowardly and irresponsible and died a poor man with many unpaid debts. He viewed his father as overly pensive, slow to act, and effeminate (womanly). Therefore, Okonkwo adopts opposite traits; Okonkwo is rash, quick to act, and excessively violent (Okonkwo associates violence with masculinity). Achebe uses figurative language like metaphors and similes to compare Okonkwo to a fire. “. . . Okonkwo's fame had grown like

“Things Fall Apart,” by Chinua Achebe, is a story that takes place during the colonization of africa by European powers, and follows the adult life of Okonkwo. The village that Okonkwo calls home, Umofia, has a rich history and culture. A large part of their culture is how the two sexes are treated differently. Men are much more revered than women. The roles assigned to men and women greatly impacted Umofia’s society because of women’s required subservience, the treatment of women, and the unchangeable tasks assigned to each gender.

Okonkwo’s family bonds are considerably strained from his abuse and distinct lack of emotion. Any positive emotion Okonkwo has for his family, he shows inwardly. Okonkwo considers considers emotion soft and feminine: A weakness that we only make him resemble his father. By materially providing for his family and being “The Alpha Male”, Okonkwo presumes he is better than his parent. Yet, Okonkwo’s abuse and indifference makes him an unlikely candidate.

Things fall apart is a novel about nigerian culture and values in the 1900s and how the coming of the white missionaries and their religion greatly changed the nigerian way of life. The protagonist in Things fall apart is okonkwo, the leader in the Umuofia tribe of the Igbo people. Okonkwo has a complex about his father and strives to be the complete opposite of him; a lazy and improvident man. Okonkwo is later exiled from umofia and is forced to move to his mothers homeland for 7 years. In this time Okonkwo feels he has no control as the missionaries are gaining more followers one of which is okonkwo's son Nwoye. The tribe's way of life begins to fall apart and okonkwo realizes that the clan will not fight for a change and as a result takes his own life.

Okonkwo, the leader of the Umuofia tribe, is described as tall and massive. He is also powerful, and everyone respects him. Okonkwo is a prosperous farmer of yams with his three wives and multiple children. Even though many admire Okonkwo 's strength and leadership, they are afraid of him. Okonkwo has many positive characteristics, yet he also has his flaws. Okonkwo’s nature is symbolized as fire because he is fierce and destructive. He often acts before he thinks, is abusive, stubborn, demanding, and impulsive. He often acts before he thinks. His irrational behavior was caused by the fear of being weak.

The most traumatizing and destructive statement someone can say is to “Be a Man.” As Carlos Gomez once stated, “So many men in this world (are) living in this sort of quiet desperation, confined in this box of toxic masculinity.” In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, some characters are the epitome of this toxic masculinity. Things Fall Apart shows the dimension of both Igbo people and culture, while highlighting the tale of a tragic hero, Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s rise to glory was demonstrated by his humble beginnings and eye for prosperity. However, abundant cultural differences show how conflict emerges between individuals and what society expects of them. The novel also in part traces Okonkwo’s lack of emotional awareness as he murders his surrogate son while simultaneously criticizing his other biological son for being effeminate. Ultimately, Okonkwo’s obsession with masculinity sparked aggression between the white missionaries, and eventually he was driven to commit suicide. Chinua Achebe reveals that the overpowering theme of hyper masculinity portrays one as emotionally unacceptable, and although one ideal, the author demonstrates how heavy masculine qualities tear apart relationships and structure in life.

Throughout the clan Okonkwo was respected for his strength, his success, and his skills. Okonkwo had killed five enemies in clan wars and thrown the cat in a wrestling match showing his strength to the clan. His success was defined by Okonkwo having three wives and a plentiful amount of yams. After the clan settles a dispute with another clan, Okonkwo is given the important job of caring for the child that was part of the exchange, “The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo’s care for a while.” (Page 27) This displays the trust and respect the elders feel toward Okonkwo. Furthermore, Achebe makes it clear that Okonkwo carried enough titles and created an identity that gave him the chance to take on this immense honor of caring for Ikemefuna. Okonkwo had also gained enough of a presence to be like one of the elders for the clan, “The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. Okonkwo was among them.” (Page 46) Okonkwo is like the elders, because he is able to sit with them during clan events. This illustrates Okonkwo’s identity throughout the clan, being viewed by people of lower rank in the clan, while beside the most respected of the clan. In addition Okonkwo viewed himself as one of the high members of the clan, by challenging himself to be unlike his father and gain titles to contradict his father.