Things Fall Apart Character Analysis

Throughout the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is affected by colonialization which caused a dramatic change that affected his cultural sense and identity. This can be seen through the desertion of his family and being exiled from his own tribe from the overload of new traditions that are being forced upon him and his tribe by the white man. To begin with Okonkwo reacted harshly to the sudden shift in colonization and culture. Such as his murder of his friend, which caused an upset to Nwoye; Okonkwo did this to prove his strength to his tribe. Due to Okonkwo’s choices he was exiled from his tribe to Mbanta proving Nwoye right calling his father womanish and spineless.

In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart Okonkwo is the tragic hero due to his tragic

Change is a reoccurring theme throughout history. It destroys and creates. It displaces and introduces. It can cause death and life. The movement of imperialism in Africa brought great change to the native tribal life. Forcing the indigenous people to turn away from their century-old traditions caused violent rifts between the European settlers and the tribes, as well as internal problems between once amiable members of the Ibo culture. With the introduction of the foreign Western Society in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the tribe’s life and ideals are drastically altered as the new ethics and principles collide with the old traditions and laws, causing the members of the society to either adapt or be crushed underneath the foot of colonialism. Achebe’s character, Okonkwo, was impacted immensely by the cultural collision, as his previous way of life was pulverized before his eyes, and he found no reason to live any longer.

In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe employs imagery, symbolism, and themes to reveal the story of Okonkwo. Throughout the novel he weaves in these things to really tell us the tale.

Chinua Achebe’s novel, “Things Fall Apart” is an extraordinary example of life lessons and internal battles characters can face. The novel show cases that sometimes characters can have struggles within themselves and that it does don’t necessarily have to be a person. Throughout the novel the audience gets to meet Okonkwo, the main character who is quite hard to read. As the book progresses the true Okonkwo is discovered. Okonkwo is faced with this immense pressure he puts on himself and soon we see this character self-destruct. Okonkwo’s complex character and internal struggles is what makes him such a strong and relatable character because of this everyone can formulate an Okonkwo in their life.

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, originally written in his native language Ibo, tells the tragic tale of an African pre-Christian tribe seen through the eyes of Okonkwo. Okonkwo became a very successful clan leader in his village, by working hard and refusing to be lazy like his father Unoka. Achebe uses irony to encourage character development, drive the contrast between Okonkwo’s dreams and his reality as others see him, and explain the culture’s beliefs in the way they treat women vs. the way women are revered.

In the narrative Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe manifests the vision of a tragic hero. He encapsulates this by assimilating diction and mood to typify the comportment of the main character, Okonkwo, after producing his own downfall. The usage of diction and mood assist in portraying all the definitions of a tragic hero.

In life, we all have fears whether it’s spiders, darkness, or even death. In Things Fall Apart, we see the fears of many of the main characters being shown especially in Okonkwo. Okonkwo was not born into power and wealth and it was up to him whether he was going to make something out of his life. His choice was to disregard his father’s ways and work as hard as possible so that he can become one of the most powerful men in his village of Umuofia. His work ethic and passion for success drive him towards this better life, but as a person, he is no honorable man. Okonkwo’s ongoing fear of ending up like his lazy father makes him obsessed with building up his reputation so much so that, once tarnished, Okonkwo loses himself.

Negative stereotypes surrounding obese individuals include that they are lazy, therefore their condition is their own fault. Mama’s character feeds into this stereotype by primarily being shown sitting or eating. Mama states, “I never meant to be like this, a joke,” and apologizes for her appearance after meeting Becky. These comments contribute to the stereotypes that obesity results from one’s own lack of control and that large bodies are unsightly; thus, they necessitate an apology for being seen by others. Mama’s weight gain began after her husband’s suicide, suggesting that eating served as a coping mechanism following a traumatic event. Therefore, the film could have focused on the underlying issues that triggered her eating disorder to negate the stereotypes about obesity.

At first glance, Things Fall Apart by Achebe, may seem like a bona fide innocent novel. When a reader further analyzes the novel, one can identify the true meaning of the text, the meaning that the author has tried to portray. Throughout the text, Achebe uses multiple literary devices to effectively portray the idea that although people are not open to change, change will still happen and life as we know it will be different than what we experience today. Such is the case multiple times when Okonkwo is analyzed as a character, and is most prominently seen as the white Christian’s come into the villages.

Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe’s novel are Okonkwo’s life – his ambition, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values.

The novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, deals with the confrontation of cultures and the violent alterations in life and values brought about by the commencement of British colonialism in Nigeria. Its spotlight is directed on the tragic fall of the protagonist, Okonkwo, and the Igbo culture. Okonkwo is also considered a tragic hero. A tragic hero holds a place of power and influence, chooses his course of action, holds a tragic flaw, and gains awareness of circumstance that led to his fall. Okonkwo shows several aspects of being a tragic hero.

In Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, the protagonist Okonkwo plays the role of a tragic hero destined to fall from his valuable titles. Okonkwo works away from poverty to a successful man. Along the pathway to successfulness, Okonkwo is self-made, and he can not allow anything to get in his way. Okonkwo is a son of a lazy debater, which causes him to possess the fear of never to be associate with humility and happiness. Okonkwo with his characteristics preordain for misfortune, led a prosperous life, though a tragic flaw of pride and wrong decisions stole him of his fantasized life.to a fierce warrior and successful farmer of yams that consider him to be a rightful owner of the role for a tragic hero, as well as the characteristics in the story, Things Fall Apart and in literature. In literature, Okonkwo classifies as a

“In response to Conrad's stereotypical depiction of Africans, Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart through the point of view of the natives to show Africans, not as primitives, but as members of a thriving society. Things Fall Apart follows Okonkwo's life as he strives for prestige in his community. When European missionaries come to Umuofia, Okonkwo's clan, Okonkwo tries to protect the culture that the missionaries would destroy in the name of "civilizing" the natives. However his rigid mentality and violent behavior has the opposite of its intended effect, perpetuating the stereotype of the wild African in the eyes of the

The theme of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is that life is shaped more by outside events than what is inside you. Okonkwo is a man grappling with adversity and trying to define and walk his own path according to his own wisdom. Okonkwo rejects his father, and lives his life to be as different from his father as he can. Okonkwo is trying to determine his fate, yet the thing he wants to be least like he becomes which parallels his society’s struggle to navigate the changes of colonisation and not conform to it.There are multiple major events in the novel where, despite Okonkwo’s efforts, he fails to control his life by the sheer power of will and creates more similarities between him and his father than there otherwise would have been.