Okonkwo's Decisions In Things Fall Apart

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

For many years, Okonkwo was trying to live a different life than his father’s. He didn’t imagine that he would do it at such an early age. Before even reaching his father’s age, he already owns a big successful farm, with three wives, and a big family. Also, he had established himself as an important figure in his community—he was acquainted with everyone. His best friend, Obierika, was his neighbor, and they were close. Then one day, Okonkwo accidently killed one of his clansman. It was a really hard situation because he had to leave for seven years. This made him live in a land that he wasn’t too familiar with, so he would often explore. Besides, exploring his landscape he explored his character a little more by reflecting on his life.

He was terrified to turn out like his father; his actions bring a lot of trouble, which affects himself and his family. Throughout the novel, Chinua shows the troubles that Okonkwo goes through due to his stubbornness and bad decisions such as beating his wife during the week of peace, which was not right because that week was supposed to be peaceful without any violence. Another example was when Okonkwo killed the slave that he was keeping with him which was considered as another wrong decision because he wasn’t supposed to take part in the killing. The last strike that Okonkwo was given was when everyone was at the funeral of the man who had the divine message to kill the slave and Okonkwo accidently shot the deceased man’s son, which made the village not happy at all. After this, Okonkwo was sent into exile for seven years (Achebe, 124). A couple years later, missionaries from North America came to the village and started preaching the gospel. This is where colonialism was becoming a huge issue.

In the beginning, Okonkwo feared being like his father, he raised his family and built up his life by his self because he did not want to be like his father. “He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his father.” (pg. 1 TFA) the book said. He wasn’t very fond of his dad; his dad did not own much and had a lot of debt with everyone. Okonkwo did not want to grow up like his father; “In his

“…His [Okonkwo’s] whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness…It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” (13).

“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe has a lot of unique characters, but the one that is the most unique and really makes the novel interesting is Okonkwo. Due to his frustrating childhood and exhilarating life, he really adds a lot to the story. Okonkwo may seem flawless, and in some ways he is, but in reality he has a lot of insecurity and worry on his plate.

He was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 61). When we see that Okonkwo chooses to go through with these actions, we quickly see what we once thought was an epic hero on the rise quickly begin to

Toil has a negative connotation as it refers to hard work without cessation. While Okonkwo was serving his punishment in exile, Obierika brought word to Mbanta about the government the white men had brought with them. In this government, the District Commissioner oversees the judging of “men who had offended against the white man’s law” (174). The court messengers were the ones who had to do hard work: they, nicknames “Ashy Buttocks,” were responsible for fetching the defendant and forcing prisoners to work (175). When Okonkwo finally returns to Umuofia, the District Commissioner continues to do his facile task of judging the Ibo people and dishing out punishments. To describe the District Commissioner’s work as a toil is an overstatement.

His status and behavior in Umuofia made many people uncertain of his action, especially in the start. In early chapters, it mentioned Okonkwos disliking to weakness comes form his father. He wants to come off as strong, and that caused him to live with a violent nature, “He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, he would use his fist” (4).This quote shows how Okonkwo is harsh and is not patient enough to wait for any explanations. His violent ways causes others in the village to dislike his ways and believes he deserves what is coming to

Okonkwo thought of himself as a strong and fierce man that could do whatever he set his mind to… that was before his 7 year exile. During his 7 year stay in Mbanta Okonkwo immediately didn’t like them and wanted to rid

In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo starts off with so much strength and power. He is a leader in his village and, is always working towards more success.With many mistakes Okonkwo starts to lose everything including his respect and authority. He goes through some big changes, and his life completely turns around. His aggression and violence become out of hand, and he can not control himself. He has to face extreme punishments that change who is and how he feels. Okonkwo’s success decreases throughout Things Fall Apart.

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 father was someone that was seen as weak, as he had no titles and was unable to provide for his family. This drove Okonkwo to do everything he could to not be weak like his father, but in turn it made him susceptible to strong emotion and sadness. By never wanting to show his emotion or be seen as weak,

Okonkwo’s a wealthy respected warrior of a lower Nigerian tribe call the Umuofia clan. Some may say Okonkwo’s world fell apart because of his father, or even the amount of wives he had. One would suggest his world fell apart due to manly values and Christian values. Things exist in Okonkwos mind that he refuses to share with others. This could explain why Okonkwo was so angry and violent throughout the novel, leading up to his death.

Okonkwo wasn’t known for thinking before taking things into his hands. He was always demanding, and he thought everything he said, thought, or did was right. Having to do                                                                                                                with