Okonkwo's Treatment Of Women In Things Fall Apart

Even though it is literally stated that Okonkwo is not one to show his emotions nor talk very much, he has deeper thoughts and feelings. There were numerous occasions when his children were put in danger and he was too worried for them. I also strongly believe he would defend his wives if ever the need arose. It is also written, however, that he almost always loses his temper on his family, and beats them occasionally. It is also because of this temper that he beat one of his wives on the Week Of Peace, almost shot another, and practically strangled his eldest son. But do not entirely blame him. His temper is his temper, and even though he learns how to control it, it is still always there, a part of him. As of the beating, he is not the only one that practices it. It is in their culture for the husband to beat his family when he feels it is necessary. His people believe it is a form of

He left his people in a way that was disrespectful in the eyes of his clan. To hang oneself in this culture is taboo, so Okonkwo committed a great sin. One reason Okonkwo has such a hard time with finding justice is because of his violence and immediate anger. On page 195 it says, “He carried a strong stick, and he hit each man a

Even during a time of peace and love, Okonkwo cannot hold himself back from dealing out a harsh punishment to his wife. He does not care about traditions or his religion as much as he cares about being strong or making a point. This plays into the theme of Man vs. Society by showing how Okonkwo goes against the expectations of the tribe and the theme of Self-Made Man by showing how he treats the world around him to better himself. Okonkwo’s first thoughts are not that he should just be calm because of the time; they are ones of violence because that is how he has reacted to every situation. He actually forgets all about the holiday that was occurring then because of his anger. It should be noted that even when his other wives confront him to remind him about the sacred peace, he continues to beat his wife because he is not one to quit once he starts making an example out of

Okonkwo beat both wives for different reasons. One for getting her hair done and the other for taking some plants off a tree.. “Unfortunately for her,Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the leaded gun, ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children.” After beating Ojiugo, Okonkwo's nearly shot her to death, this did not happen to Ekwefi.

First, Okonkwo is a controlling gentlemen. He wants to be nothing like his father, him and his father are very different. During the week of peace Okonkwo beats his wife. He beats his wife up because she was braiding her hair instead of

“Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure” (Achebe 4). As Okonkwo grows up, he realized his biggest fear and fatal flaw is the fact that he desperately did not want to end up like his father, disrespected and very emotional. Therefore, Okonkwo fears weakness and open shows of emotions, so he contains himself and only shows anger, as he associates it with manliness. He is so scared of becoming his father and changing his ways that he resorts to beating people to show his dominance. “And when she returned he beat her very heavily” (Achebe 19). In this quote, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife, Ojiugo, for not returning soon enough to cook the afternoon meal. Since he decided to act without thought, he beat his wife in the Week of Peace, where no one is to be harmed. This causes a great unrest between Okonkwo and his chi, or his inner spirit, and gradually leads to his downfall of luck and

Okonkwo is also incredibly aggressive. He regularly physically abuses his nuclear family and does so to make himself seem more masculine. His violence in order to protect his fragile masculinity goes to the extent that “his wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper.” (2.12) After the missionaries arrive in Umuofia and Okonkwo’s

Everyone in the book Things Fall Apart must make decisions throughout the book, some of these decisions are minor, while others are major. Characters also make decisions that can be good or bad, some of the decisions affected just that person, and while others affected the people they love and know. In the book, every action has a consequence, some of these make the characters’ lives better while others turn their worlds upside down. In this essay, I’m going to talk about the decision that Okonkwo made when he was younger.

Okonkwo thinks he is the owner of his household and he shows no mercy to anyone who angers him. “He ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives…lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness.” (Achebe, Chapter 2, p.8). Okonkwo beats his children and wives because of his temper which is influenced by the Igbo society; he puts on a hard exterior because he is afraid of being weak and unsuccessful. At one point, he attempts to kill his second wife with a gun because he thinks she is the cause of a tree’s death. In order to prove his power and strength, without thinking of the consequences, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife during the week of peace - a week when the village celebrates peace and who ever disrupts the peace will be punished by Ala, the earth goddess (Lycos, online). “His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for the fear of a goddess.” (Achebe, Chapter 4, p.21). Okonkwo lives in a male dominant society where men are pressured to be strong and successful; because of these influences, Okonkwo develops an inner

Okonkwo is a man who has to have things his own way. In the novel, there is a scene where his second wife, Ojiugo, did not make him his afternoon meal. Okonkwo, in an act of anger, started to beat his wife heaviley. His other two wives begged for him to stop beating Ojiugo, as it was the Week of Peace, a sacred Igbo holiday. However, “...Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess” (Achebe 30). Despite believing that he may be punished by a god, Okonkwo did not stop beating his wife. Unoka was a more compassionate man than Okonkwo, he was also stubborn. Unoka was lazy and fiscally irresponsible. He spent what little money he had on alcohol and didn’t

Okonkwo is known as a man with anger issues in the book and beats on his wife and kids and doesn’t get punished for by the clan for it . “ He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children . “ He shot at his wife out of anger and missed and wasn’t punished for it . “ There are many good prosperous people here , but i shall be happy if you marry in Umofia when

In the book, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist, Okonkwo is shown as hardworking and strong, but violent towards his three wives. Okonkwo is displayed as hardworking when he would rather work than wait for The Feast of the New Yam, which was a festival that honored the earth goddess, Ani. He was “...always uncomfortable sitting around for days waiting for a feast or getting over it. He would be very much happier working on his farm.” (Achebe 37) Okonkwo seems to be a workaholic, a person who doesn’t want to sit around not working when he could get things done. In addition, he wants to appear strong. When Okonkwo and other men are leading Ikemefuna to his death outside of Umuofia, Okonkwo takes the last blow to end the Ikemefuna’s

Passion and responsibility are very peculiar nouns. Passion is an extreme measure of emotion usually driven by selfishness. Responsibility is a task or chore that is usually influenced by the environment. In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Okonkwo is a popular warrior within his tribe. Okonkwo is a man driven by passion, but he must follow responsibilities with they are necessary.

Okonkwo's​ wives and kids are treated very differently. The reader can get the illusion that okonkwo is a lot more rough and violent towards his wives. “The wife who had just been beaten murmured something about guns that never shot...Aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn,” (Achebe, pg 39). Okwonko has a temper, he mostly concentrates it on his wives. His children are almost left untouched; reason being, is that he wants to be the good father he never had which is never the appropriate way to gain respect. As for beating his wives, they are basically his punching

Okonkwo was known for his valor in war and his victory against Amalinze the Cat, Okonkwo believed that masculinity can only be shown through his violent action, in order to express his power, he often hit his wives and children, even during the Week of Peace. Nothing seemed to be able to stop him from being violent, because nice or caring personality is considered as weak or feminine. First case was when Ojiugo left without feeding her kid, and such action to Okonkwo was Ojiugo not doing her duty as stated “‘Did she ask you to feed then before she went?’ ‘Yes,’ lied Nwoye’s mother, trying to minimize Ojiugo’s thoughtlessness. Okonkwo knew she was not speaking the truth. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace” (Achebe 29). The word “beat heavily” implies that Okonkwo did not just beat Ojiugo, instead, it is in the form of domestic violence, the