Okonkwo Being Selfish In Things Fall Apart

“The Headstrong Historian” and Things Fall Apart forms a topic of what is good for one is bad for another. In Achebe’s novel, Okonkwo often thinks about the matter of his pride and not for his family or

Okonkwo soon learns about this and confronts his son, Nwoye about his secret meetings, Okonkwo soon becomes enraged and disowns his son after hearing about his experience not before abusing him of course. This action causes an effect which ultimately leads to Okonkwo’s downfall. Okonkwo enraged by the spread of Christianity within his own village self-proclaims war on the “white man”. Okonkwo eventually was detained as a result of his actions towards the “white man”. After he was released from detainment Okonkwo killed a courier and began to truly understand he was a rebel without a cause as his fellow Tribesmen would not help him with his internal struggle. Okonkwo knowing, he would be caught and executed for his crimes, instead decided to ultimately end his own life by hanging himself. Okonkwo’s major downfall in the story was his inability to co-exist with the white man and began his own personal vendetta against the Christian missionaries. Throughout the story the main essential theme Achebe tried to relay to us would be the fact that even though individuals may be of different religions, skin color, and have different personalities there is a realization that

Okonkwo wrestles with his fear that any sign of weakness will cause him to lose control of his family, position in the village, and even himself. Like many heroes of classical tragedy, Okonkwo’s tragic flaw, fear, also makes him excessively proud. Okonkwo’s downfall is a result of the changes created by the coming of the British Colonisers to Igbo. The introduction of the Colonisers into the novel causes Okonkwo’s tragic flaw to be exacerbated. Okonkwo construes change as weakness, and as a result of his interpretation, Okonkwo only knows how to react to change through anger and strength. He derives great satisfaction, “hubris” or proud arrogance, from the fact that he is a traditional, self made man and thinks that to change would mean submitting to an outside force (Christianity).

One day at a kindred tribal meet a man contradicted Okonkwo’s view. Okonkwo was quick to call him a woman, and just as quickly Okonkwo was reprimanded by the other tribesmen. These outbursts made Okonkwo look ignorant and brash, but he could not stand weakness of any sort. This is one of many situations that convey the severity of Okonkwo’s tragic flaw.

In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, we see the effect the white missionaries had on an African tribe and the antihero Okonkwo. The main character Okonkwo is a tragic hero. Achebe depicts Okonkwo as a Shakespearean hero with a tragic flaw, that tragic flaw is the fact that he will do anything in his power not to be a weak man like his father Unoka. Okonkwo did what he did because he hated his father and would do anything in his power to be the exact opposite of his father.

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is known in his village for being a strong, ruthless man. He prides himself on his many achievements and titles and feels that a man is nothing without his pride and ego and is seen in the novel as the up keeper

Okonkwo is initially introduced as a proud, hardworking, successful warrior. He is described as "clearly cut out for great things" (6). But he is the son of a ne'er-do-well father; though genial and inoffensive, Unoka must certainly have been considered a failure. He is lazy and does not provide for his family. Not only is this disgraceful, but life-threatening as well. He is dependent on other members of the clan and must have been considered unsuccessful. Okonkwo chafes under such disgrace and his success is a consequence of his desire to be everything his father is not; society's vision of an exemplar citizen. The fact that Okonkwo is able to rise above his poverty and disgraceful paternity illustrates the Igbo's acceptance of individual free will. But Okonkwo's fate and his disharmony with his chi, family and clan are shown to cause his ultimate disgrace and death.

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.

Before imperialism, Okonkwo lives as a respected figure within his community. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond” (Achebe 1.) He has many fine traits which cause him

The world is full of cultural collisions. Every day people meet other with different worldviews. This concept of cultural collision, is shown perfectly though Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. In the story it is the cultural collision, of the introduction of Western Ideas into the ibo society, that causes Achebe’s characters to grow and change. One character in particular is forced to reevaluate his sense of identity because of the cultural collision. This is the character of Okonkwo. The collision challenges Okonkwo’s sense of self, as a religious leader or an Egwugwu, as a leader of his people, and as a man. It is Okonkwo’s response to these challenges, that shapes the meaning of the book of that as your world changes so must you or you

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).

Fear is a powerful tool that if used incorrectly, can control how one lives. Okonkwo’s life is one that is dominated by fear. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart follows the Ibo people, set during the time of the colonization of West Africa, in the town of Umoufia. The protagonist, Okonkwo, is a strong follower of his culture’s rigid expectations and practices. While Okonkwo’s steadfast adherence earns the respect of the townsmen, many detest the cultural expectations and practices they are forced to follow. When Christian missionaries introduce Christianity to Umoufia, many of the Ibo people are quick to convert, including Okonkwo’s own son. This new religion slowly undermines the Ibo culture and religion Okonkwo firmly believes in, leading to his downfall. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s fear of weakness along with the arrival of Christianity causes Okonkwo’s downfall.

The only thing he (Okonkwo) fears most is not ending up like his father, Unoka. However, Achebe ‘‘makes an insightful comment on the nature of masculinity through his representation of the tribal leaders. Achebe basically, was conducive in creating four alter egos of Okonkwo: one of which were the masculinity; next of his fatherly abilities; and the last of his family progress and four of his likelihood of success’’ (Achebe.179). My paper will explain how Okonkwo’s Masculinity from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart will be characterized by his fears, beliefs, and emotions for several reasons.

Okonkwo, as presented by Chinua Achebe in the novel Things Fall Apart, wished to be revered by all as a man of great wealth, power and control--the antithesis of his father. Okonkwo was driven by the need to exhibit utmost control over himself and others; he was an obsessive and insecure man.

Achebe uses the proverb "When a man says yes his chi says yes also" in the character development of Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a very successful man in his village of