Okonkwo's Nobility

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.

William (Sir Ulrich) will show nobility of a true knight throughout the film. William follows the creed of a knight which is truth, honor and loyalty. Throughout the move he will always remain truthful to those around him. He is humble with his victories, always retaining the honor of victory but never broasting. The ending of the film is a prime example of a true knight, where William goes to the extreme. William finds out that Adhemar told officials of him not being a true knight. He even with his followers around him and his love there does not listen to what they say, which is to run. Knowing what will happen he still goes through to going to the stadium and being arrested by the twelve dozen men. This was true character, knowing what was to come but still facing it.

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

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.

Perhaps it becomes clearer how much of an accomplishment it is to stay oneself in unforgiving circumstances when it is shown how it can feel like it is best to just give up. At the beginning of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is a stern man who had to support himself from a very young age, and through his tireless work, rises up the ranks to become one of the greatest man in the Igbo village of Umuofia. Okonkwo, because of the lazy and carefree nature of his father, Unoka, has very rigid, harsh beliefs about strength and responsibility. During and after his seven-year exile from Umuofia brought on by an accidental killing, he notices a slow change coming about with the arrival of Christian missionaries from Britain, looking for converts. Eventually, the church established there becomes large enough to threaten the Umuofian religion and disrupt the villagers’ lives. Okonkwo’s identity is closely tied to his life and status in Umuofia, and the ideals

Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, once said: “A man who makes trouble for others is also making troubles for himself”. This concept can be seen in the development of Okonkwo as a character throughout the book. Creating plenty of trouble for others, but ultimately creating the most trouble for himself is possibly the plot for the entire book. Generally, the creation of trouble is not a value that is appreciated in any culture, especially in Umuofia. Okonkwo breaks many of the boundaries and social norms within his culture; his tendency to be immature and unaccountable combined with being very self-concerned and the defiance of elders creates an interesting mix adjacent to the cultural standards.

Gender roles played a crucial part to the understanding of the people of Umuofia; especially to Okonkwo. But just as in today’s world, one person of a group cannot define the entire group, it was the same back then, which further proves how the District Commissioner’s view of Umuofia would not represent the entire clan, let alone Africa as a whole. Okonkwo’s motivation behind his views of patriarchy stem from his father Unoka; he wanted to be such a great man of the tribe, unlike his “agbala” of a father. Okonkwo’s son “[n]woye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell, and which she no doubt still told to her younger children…but he now knew that they were for foolish women

Social rank and relative wealth play great roles in determining a person’s life in Umuofia society. Sometimes a man with sheer force of will cannot change his future through hard work. One of the main conflicts in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the clash between Okonkwo’s determination to succeed, his free will, and fate – which seems to have less appealing things in mind. Okonkwo’s will plays a major factor in determining his future; he chooses to kill Ikemefuna with his own hands, he chooses to kill a government official, and in the end, he chooses to take his own life. However, the pre-destined conditions of his life, his father’s failures, and a series of unfortunate circumstances ultimately lead to Okonkwo’s downfall.

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.

He was very well known thruoghtout nine villages and even beyond that. As a young man of the eighteenth centurry he bought geat honor to his village. This was a very surprising thing to do when you are young at that time .He defies this very well at the begining of the novel ‘’ hard work pays off’’.He does this by beating Amalinze the cat. Amalinze the cat was a great wrestler for seven years being undeafeated from umuofia to Mbaino .’’A young man of the eighteenth century bought great honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat who was a great wrestler for seven years from Umuofia to Mbiano’’(Things fall Aaprt pg 2).This is a very good quote to be edvidence of my theme I picked ‘’hard wor pays off’’. However hard work pays off does not mean anything as it progresses towards the end of the novel. However hard work comes in very well when the novel talks about Okoye and Unoka. Unoka is a very hard working man and tries to feed his wife and children by any means neccessary even when it comes down to borrowing money. Thing about him is that he has a very bad issue with paying people back their money on time.But in the novel people should undeerstand and respect what he is doing to feed his family.’’Unoka was of course a debtor and he owed every neighbor soe money from a few cowries to substantial amounts ( Things fall Apart pg 3).Unoka son definetly shows how hard work pays off.’’He was still young but still had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages’’.He was wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams and just married his third wife(pg6)This tells you he was a great man trying to make something out of himself and not trying to be like his father borrowing many from people and making a name for

Okonkwo has a tragic flaw, dark downfall, but does not recognize his flaw as the cause of his downfall. This conveys the theme that one’s insecurity will lead to their demise, regardless of their intent. First, Okonkwo’s flaw is his insecurity rooted in his need for masculinity. Okonkwo fears the idea that “he should be found to resemble his father” and was a “man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood” (13, 10). Given how Okonkwo’s father was a man of no wealth or status, he was seen as feminine. Refusing to resemble his father, Okonkwo becomes a strong, masculine man. Additionally, Okonkwo’s downfall was the result of multiple events that threaten his masculinity. Okonkwo’s first major offense was killing Ikemefuna out of fear of weakness despite being told to “not bear a hand in his death” (57). Additionally, the crime that forced Okonkwo into exile is when his “gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart” (124). Furthermore, Okonkwo’s need for power causes him to kill a messenger as his “machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body” (204). As a result of his need to appear masculine, Okonkwo makes one foolish decision after another that culminate to his downfall. His refusal to not kill Ikemefuna was done out of fear of seeming weak, his crime that sent him to exile was deemed

In conclusion, Okonkwo exemplifies Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero. His character has many tragic flaws, including, fear of weakness, hubris, and his work ethic, which in the end lead to his death. His life and death provoke pity and fear for the audience. Okonkwo becomes noble and is a great leader overall in the story. In the end, Chinua Achebe has shown an expressive character that evidently can be called a tragic

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.

    A sense of foreboding envelops us from the first. We sense all will not end well for Umuofia. The chill of fear grips us as the world of Okonkwo and his clan truly falls apart. Okonkwo will need all of his power to fight the forces against his world, but tragically he is crippled by the most destructive malady of all, fear of himself. Achebe employs the form of classical Greek tragedy to tell his African tale of the rise and fall of Okonkwo.

Okonkwo adopt a put of ideals that are entirely opposite to those of Unoka in an try to discriminate himself from his sire’s undesirable legacy. Umuofia does not judge an special on his or her forefathers; rather, discernment is base on the actions of the individual. Umuofia’s leniency concede Okonkwo to follow a reform energy, and he in the end effect his goal: “Although Okonkwo was still inexperienced, he was already one of the top man of his period. Age was regard among his kindred, but accomplishment was venerate. As the elders before-mentioned, if a brat washed his work force he could board with kings. Okonkwo had clearly washed his custody so he ate with kings and elders” (pg.8). Through perseverance and limit, Okonkwo is efficient to enact himself as one of the “top man of his season.” His character differs fully from that of Unoka; Unoka was recreant, lazy and of insignificant frame. In foil, Okonkwo was the top wrestler in all nine villages, constant in his product ethic, and deference throughout the commonness. Okonkwo is said to have “washed his men” suggestive of the event that he has dissociated himself from the bad name of his sire and has befit a revered member of Umuofia. The endeavor that Okonkwo faces can be categorized as an superficial one, in that it is largely societal affliction which incite Okonkwo.Adichie modify the underlying sense for contention accomplished in