Okonkwo Research Paper

Okonkwo life is “dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). When Okonkwo was a boy, his playmates teased him calling, saying that his father was agbala. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was lazy. He did not work on his farm; he died in great debt. He did not acquire a single title. He did not have a barn to pass down to his son. Unoka is a type of man who is scorned in Umofia. He is seen as weak and effeminate. As Okonkwo grows older, he is determined not become a failure like his father. His father was weak; he will be strong. His father was lazy; he will be hard-working. Okonkwo earned his fame by defeating the reigning wrestling champion. Okonkwo diligently plants yam, building a successful farm. He builds himself an obi, has three wives and many children. His fame “rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo will not let one womanly trait sully his reputation. Therefore, he “hate[d] everything that his father Unoka had loved” (Achebe 13). One of these was gentleness. Okonkwo refuses to show any signs of emotion, except his temper. He

Okonkwo's first and most prominent flaw is his fear of becoming a failure. It is greatly influenced by his father, but Okonkwo takes his fear to the extreme. Okonkwo's father was a very lazy and carefree man. He had a reputation of being "poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back." (Achebe Page: 5) In Umuofia, a father is supposed to teach the children right and wrong, and in this case, the lessons were not taught, but self-learned. Okonkwo had to rely on his own interpretations of what defined a "good man" and to him that was someone that was the exact opposite of his father. As a result of his own self-taught conclusions, Okonkwo feels that anything resembling his father or anything that his father enjoyed was weak and unnecessary. Because of his fear to be seen as weak, Okonkwo even strikes down a child that calls him father: "(and as the machete came down] Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow... He heard Ikemefuna cry 'My father, they have killed me!'... Okonkwo draws his machete and cuts him down, he does not want to be thought weak." (Achebe page:61) The fact that he kills the child shows that the way that he thinks is wrong, that reputation is more important than the life of a child. Although it is a shame to be

Nigeria is a West African country, it has a large population and economy, with approximately 174 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa. The country is viewed as a multinational state, it is inhabited by more than 500 ethnic groups of which the three largest are Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, the ethnic groups speak over 500 different languages and are identified with wide variety of cultures.

Although Okonkwo wanted his family to think of him as a strong, powerful, and hardworking man, "Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand." (P.13) His wives and children feared his anger very much. "Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness." (P.13)

The country of Nigeria is located in Western Africa and borders the Gulf of Guinea between Benin on the west and Cameroon on the east. The country's land mass goes from the Gulf of Guinea in the south to the Sahel in the north. Comparatively, Nigeria is a little more than twice the size of California, or the size of California, Nevada, and Arizona combined. The capital of Nigeria is Abuja. Abuja replaced the former capital, Lagos in December 1991, because of its more central location, among other reasons. Lagos still does remain Nigeria's commercial capital. (encyclopedia.com)

The current socioeconomics for Nigeria are extreme poverty and it is estimated around 62% of it current population live below its poverty line, which equates to under $1 day a day (Nigerian Millennium Development Goals, 2015). Nigeria’s gross domestic product per capita in 2015 is estimated at $6,400, and its unemployment rate in was estimated at 23.9% in 2011(Central Intelligence Agency, 2016).

Nigeria as a country is located in Africa and it is the most populous country with about 170 million people. It is a nation comprising of more than 250 ethnic groups, 380 languages with different range of cultural, religious beliefs and practices according to WHO report of 2000. The country is divided into six geo-political zones, 36 States with the state further subdivided into a total of 774 Local Government Areas and a Federal Capital Territory.

Nigeria is the most crowded nation in Africa, it is in the west coast of Africa. It has about 120 million people living there, is the largest group of Africans Ireland. Nigeria is a federal republic country and has 37 states, which practice strict Muslim laws in 12 of the states. It’s considered to be the world’s 32nd largest country. The north side of the country is the Hausa and the Fulanses, the more dominated part, the west is the Yorubas, then the east is the Igbos and Calabaro. (Nigeria, 2013).

The federal Republic of Nigeria is a country in western Africa, with its federal capital situated in Abuja. It comprises of 36 states and has about 174 million inhabitants. Nigeria is one of the most popular countries in Africa because of its economy, cultural diversity, ethnicity, movie- and music industry. It is also a member of the commonwealth Nations, African Union and the United Nations. Which implies that its under the English law (Common law).

“This essay will be written on Nigeria during the independence era to the present time of the country. What will be discussed about Nigeria is how they achieved their development, how they are now currently the African continent’s top economy. “The discussion that will be in this essay is the theories used after Independence in Nigeria to obtain development. Nigeria is also known for the country’s population growth; population growth has its advantage which has a positive impact on the country’s economic growth as it causes demand for products and also leads to an upsurge in human a country which is why Nigeria today is leading with their economic growth.” “Nigeria is a country endowed with human, agricultural, petroleum, gas and large untapped mineral resources” Nigeria was once a colonialized country, they managed to obtain their Independence. According to (Babs,1977) Nigeria is mostly likely referred as the “Giant of Africa” because of its population, the country is also culturally diverse and has a large economic growth in Africa.” Nigeria has relatively advanced power, road, rail and ICT networks that cover the national territory quite extensively, Nigeria has a good progress in their infrastructure and sanitation”

Okonkwo was known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights. The drums beat and the flutes sang and the spectators held their breath. Amalinze was a wily craftsman, but Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water. Every nerve and every muscle stood out on their arms, on their backs and their thighs, and one almost heard them stretching to breaking point. In the end Okonkwo threw the Cat. That was many years ago, twenty years or more, and during this time Okonkwo 's fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan. He was tall and huge, and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose gave him a very severe look. He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe. When he walked, his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody. And he did pounce on people quite often. He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, he would use

Located in the west of Africa, housing a city with major attractions in the country as the Nigerian National Mosque and the Nigerian National Christian Centre, it is safe to say that Nigeria has a prosperous ethnic diversity housing 250 ethnic groups of which there three in 250 ethnic groups are predominant which are the Hausa, Yoruba and the Igbo. Amongst other predominant tribes the Edo, Ijaw and the Kanuri are three major tribes of six major tribes (Maps of World, 2014: Internet).

The Nigerian economy before independence in 1960 was predominantly an agricultural economy. With a geographical land mass of about 923,768sqkm, Nigeria is located along the Atlantic coast line. The location of natural resources in almost every part of the country has attracted trade domestically and internationally.

Nigeria a country located on the west coast of Africa that is divided into 36 States. The country itself was not created until the British consolidated their colonial power in 1914; however all 36 states wasn’t established until 1996. Nigeria is known for over 527 Languages in which 7 are extinct. Nigeria has a variety of ethnic backgrounds which range from Arabic to Western European. Regardless of Nigerians social status being rural or urban; it is tradition to celebrate births and weddings as well as congregate for funerals; which typically are withheld for a month to gives families from different regions time to arrive back to the country. Nigerians celebrate common holidays that’s also here in America; however the dates are different, for example Independence Day is October 1 and Workers day (Labor Day) is May 1. Music as well as dance is central to the Nigerian culture, and is incorporated with celebrations such as festivals and rural events (Britannica.com).

The Federal Republic of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country is in the West African sub-region, bordered by Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria uses the presidential system of government and her currency is the Naira. Nigeria currently has 36 states with a Federal Capital Territory and a population of over 160 million people. Of this population, approximately 30 million are stu