Okonkwo Falling Apart

Okonkwo’s main characteristics as he is depicted in the first few chapters are he is a well respected warrior and determined individual of the Umuofia clan throughout the nine villages and beyond. Okonkwo is a well

Since Okonkwo stood out more than all the other men he was seen as Umuofia's most powerful man. Although Okonkwo is the most powerful man in Umuofia he also has weaknesses. One of those weaknesses is his father, he doesn’t wanna be a weak man and careless like his father. As the white missionaries moved in into their home land, the Igbo people who are unsure of how to react to these traditions either switched to their ways or stayed faithful to their faith. Many people became persuaded of the new religions authorities, however Okonkwo who is an warrior at heart refuses to accept the changes that were taking place in his community.

Okonkwo name is well known throughout the nine villages for his great wrestling ability. Okonkwo is the pride of the igbo tribe in Nigeria this is around 1900s. Okonkwo is a very prideful man who lives in fear of not becoming the man his father was, He seems to be so caught up in being the total opposite of his father that he does not live his own life and do whats in his heart. Okonkwo 's father Unoka had no personal achievements he was a man who was in debt to many people and failed as a farmer, But Okonkwo 's “fame rested on solid personal achievements” (pg 1). Okonkwo was a great farmer and had no debts to pay. In all ways that Okonkwo could be he was the complete opposite of his father.

Okonkwo achieves respect and high social status through his own heroic efforts despite being left with nothing but the dishonorable reputation of his “lazy and improvident” father. Toiling in the fields, enduring droughts, exhibiting fearless on the battlefield, and fueled by a burning desire to succeed, Okonkwo becomes a hero in Umuofia. Okonkwo’s success stems from his hard-work and perseverance, which he achieves in spite of his father’s shortcomings. He “lay[s] the foundations of a prosperous future” by slowly and painfully working like “one possessed” in order to escape “his father’s contemptible life and shameful death.” Okonkwo, so “possessed” with escaping the lingering reputation of his father, does anything in his power to earn

The destruction of Okonkwo was revealed slowly throughout the books. He started to make some poor decisions, which became the beginning of his downfall. He killed Ikemefuna just because he didn’t want to be thought weak. He made unwise decisions to only appear to be strong and manly to others in the village. He did not realize how he lost so much from living that way. When, Okonkwo kills Ogbuefi Ezedu’s son, the real tragedy begins. Other tragic heroes usually have a steadier downfall, but Okonkwo had a direct fall in society due to this event. This puts his family into exile for seven years. After a short period of time, white missionaries arrive to Umuofia. When “The

Okonkwo showed great interest in Ikemefuna and treated him like his son. However, Ikemefuna was boy from another village sacrificed to keep peace, thus soon there came a time when Ikemefuna had to die. The narrator shows that Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna, The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, My father, they have killed me! as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak. (Chapter 7 Pg. 61) Although Okonkwo loved Ikemefuna and had much affection for him, Okonkwo was forced to leave all of his emotions behind in order to kill Ikemefuna and not be seen as a weak man who could not kill another man. Okonkwo showed no mercy as he was blinded by his fear of his fathers submissive attitude. Oknokwo had to protect his status as a true warrior in his clan and if he was not able to slay Ikemefuna, then Okonkwo fears that he might be called an agbala just like Unoka, Okonkwos father. This quote also shows that Oknokwo is willing to sacrifice virtually everything in order to keep his high rank among his tribe.

As we seen the character development in Okonkwo, we begin to see his true colors shine through when he lets his rough exterior down to take in a new child that came into the village. With this slight glimmer of hope, we see that he takes the child in as one of his own, and we suddenly see things make a turn for the worse when one of the village men inform him that the child must die. For example in the text it states, “‘My father, they have killed me!’ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down.

Okonkwo was the main character in “Things Fall Apart”. He was respected and revered by all as a man willing to fight for his people. However his eagerness

Okonkwo is the most powerful man in his tribe, Umuofia. He always fought to be the best:

At first okonkwo was high ranking in the nine villages of mbanta for his great wrestling skill and but okonkwo has a terrible downfall that lead to his misfortune and eventually changed his tribe forever.

“Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was

Okonkwo is held in great regard not only for his physical prowess but also because he "had risen so suddenly from great poverty and misfortune to be one of the lords of his clan" (26).

In this book, Nwoye seems different than everyone because he had higher goals and wanted to do something different with himself. His dad was a farmer and a well respected warrior, but he didn't want to follow in his footsteps. This feeling was stronger after his dad killed his brother who was taken in from a different village due to a deal that prevented war between the two villages. Even Nwoye's dad liked his brother because he left such a good impact on Nwoye. I think he chose Christianity because it seemed more real to him than the religion he grew up with and it was different than what everyone else he knew was doing. The leaders that order killings and such in the villages are looked at like gods, and they ordered the death of his brother.

This powerful façade is founded on innate, heroic qualities in Okonkwo. Nnoromele best captures this writing, “Okonkwo, who had a resolute hunger to become a hero, was not afraid of the forces that surrounded him” (Nnoromele 88). This depiction of fearless ambition solidifies when

The description given early in the novel clearly establishes his character as being a strong and wealthy man who is well respected among the rest of the tribe due to his superior fighting abilities and his influential personality. Having achieved such elite status within the Umuofia clan, Okonkwo appears to be old-fashioned as it is seen in his approach in raising his family and tribal people. However, Okonkwo’s character changes incrementally with the emergence of a boy, Ikemefuna, from a neighboring village, who was brought to him because of his brutal attack against his wife Ojiugo during the ‘week of peace’. Amongst the Umuofia clan, the ‘week of peace’ is a tribal ritual whose conditions are not to complete any evil sins in a certain week span. After having accepted Ikemefuna into the family, Okonkwo experiences a shift in his mental state. Shortly hereafter, he questions this change, which demonstrates his lack of willingness to change which is clearly demonstrated in the book in several different ways like in chapter Eight, Okonkwo proclaims to himself, “When did you become a shivering old woman, you, who are known in all nine villages for your valour in war” (Achebe 56). This represents that his character has become a weaker, less influential individual amongst the nine tribes where he is well known. Symbolically, this depicts a fragile reputation in Okonkwo’s status within the community to which he belongs.