In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo had a strong negative response to the imperialism of Africa by the Christian missionaries. Okonkwo reacted in such a way that Achebe wrote, “There were many men and women in Umuofia who did not feel as strongly as Okonkwo about the new dispensation” (178). This cultural collision changed aspects of his cultural identity in a variety of ways. His response to this event contributed to Achebe’s statement about culture in the novel. Okonkwo’s response to these events contained many aspects as he did not just feel one thing and come to a simple conclusion about what to do and say about it. First of all, Okonkwo had a strong negative reaction when he found out that Africa, specifically Umuofia, …show more content…
For instance, before Okonkwo was banned from Umuofia and the missionaries arrived, he was the most famous, wealthy, and powerful person in the nine villages of Umuofia. In fact, “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond” (3). However, when the missionaries intruded, that was no longer the case. He knew that he was once a leader, but no longer held the same position in his community. Okonkwo was so powerful prior to the implication of the Christian culture because he worked incredibly hard to be successful and not show any weakness so as to seem masculine and strong because he was very concerned with being the opposite of his father, Unoka, who begged for money without repaying his loans and could not provide for himself and the rest of his family. Therefore, “Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?” (8). Throughout the entire novel, Okonkwo had to hold back some of his true emotions so that his weaknesses do not become apparent. Even after he felt defeated from the Christian missionaries, Okonkwo had to act tough. He went so far as to not consider Nwoye his son anymore, even though throughout the novel he trained him to be a great man because he cared about him enough to not want him to end up like Unoka. Before all of commotion began, “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness” (13). After the beginning of the imperialism, Nwoye converted to Christianity, so Okonkwo acted as if he had never known Nwoye as part of his family. It was as if Okonkwo never had a son, even though he worked so diligently on training him to be a good person throughout Nwoye’s childhood. Okonkwo’s reaction and change in identity contributed to Achebe’s overall purpose for writing the
In Things Fall Apart, Achebe indeed demonstrates that the lack of an open mind drives destruction and havoc through the character of Okonkwo. His stubbornness and intolerance for Christianity leads him to devastation and frustration, tearing himself apart. First and foremost, Christian missionaries come and influence the people surrounding Okonkwo. In one case, his son Nwoye ‘had been captivated’ (147) by this new religion in Nigeria and saw it as a relief in his life. To demonstrate, Nwoye consistently visits the church and observes the missionaries’ practices. Another example of Okonkwo’s negative opinions on Christianity is when he is talking to Obierika about how ‘their own men and their sons have joined the ranks of a stranger’ (176).
Okonkwo had a very negative response to the cultural collision the white men brought to the village, do you know why? In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a great man called Okonkwo goes through difficult times as many obstacles come in his path to lasting greatness. When the white men start preaching about Christianity Okonkwo starts to loss his sense of identity because he’s used to people listening to him as he was once one of the great leaders of Ibo and everyone was now listening to the white men. While the men continue to preach about Christianity Okonkwo response is to refuse it, he doesn’t want to be a part of it. His consequences because he refused to changed ended with him losing his life and his son.
How can one write a compelling argument without ethos, pathos, and logos? That is right you can not! Nathan Wuertenberg, an author for The Washington Post, argues in the article “ Gun Rights are About Keeping White Men on Top” that gun laws had always been made to benefit white men instead of everyone. Wuertenberg uses multiple examples from the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, and school shootings to argue that in all those different situations gun laws have been put in place to benefit white men. Wuertenberg concludes that we can not blame anyone for what this country has turned to because we are the ones that are letting this happen.
Okonkwo was a great clans member to the clan of Umofia. Through the acts of European expansion, Okonkwo and many like him felt the influence of colonization. “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe tells the account of Okonkwo’s life and the beginning of European expansion into Africa. This paper will explain the story of Okonkwo’s interactions with Europeans, and how they affected the African people.
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.
Life before the coming of the Westerners was the life Okonkwo loved. “Okonkwo was well 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” (Achebe 1). With his entire life ahead of him, Okonkwo had brought great fame to his name and had already achieved what it took some men a lifetime before he turned twenty. He was regarded as “one of the greatest men of all time” (Achebe 3). Not only
This novel is the definitive tragic model about the dissolution of the African Ibo culture by Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo, a great and heroic leader, is doomed by his inflexibility and hubris. He is driven by fear of failure.
Okonkwo’s response to my evidence is that he that he doesn’t want to show weakness, but his culture pressures him into it and basically forces him to kill a boy who he felt was a son to
but on further thought he told himself that nwoye was not worth fighting for. why , he cried in his heart, should he, okonkwo, of all people, he be cursed with such a son?”(114) this shows how okonkwo was in fear the his children would follow nwoye and break the traditions of their religions. okonkwo disclaimed nwoye because he was weak in his eyes. weakness was okonkwo’s biggest
On the other hand, another characteristic of Okonkwo that causes him to be seen as a tragic hero is his struggle to deal with the crumbling Igbo culture around him. Upon his return to Umuofia from his motherland, everything has changed among the Igbo people. The white men had completely torn apart a culture which at one point seemed to be so strong. Some had even been converted into Christians and almost everyone was questioning their own beliefs. According to Stephen Criswell, when Okonkwo returned, he had a decision to make between standing up for what he believed in and against what he hated, or complying with the white man’s way and being like everyone else in the tribe(Criswell). Unlike the others, Okonkwo would not back down, and that is why he is a hero. The Igbo culture was slowly being destroyed by the
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
Okonkwo continually rejected the ways of his father, who was deeply indebted to other members of Umuofia, holding no titles, to the point where Okonkwo’s “whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (16). He transferred his fears into the context of Umuofia and the traits that society valued, but what was really the driving force in his decisions “was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” (17). The values of Umuofia resembled the polar opposite of what Unoka was and Okonkwo twisted his motivations around in his mind and presented them to himself and the community as derived from Umuofia’s traditions. From this delusion, Okonkwo established his ultimate goal of becoming a revered member of the village, possessing many titles, and achieving anything necessary displaying his prominence in the community.
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
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.
In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart Okonkwo’s identity of being a respected clansman is challenged, after the arrival of the missionaries, Achebe utilizes this to bring out the theme “a man’s violence will be his