Things Fall Apart Character Analysis

Okonkwo's fear of being perceived as weak tragically leads to him to be unnecessarily violent and excessively prideful. These two fatal flaws lead to Okonkwo’s own emotional isolation, and his inevitable downfall. Driven by the fear of being seen as weak and emasculated, Okonkwo exhibits hyper masculinity and rage. Although this behavior initially leads to success in the patriarchal society of Umofia, rage is his greatest bane: it masks his compassion and pusillanimity. Onkonkwo’s obsession to never appear feminine is driven to the extreme. He denies affection even to his own family, “never show[ing] any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To [Okonkwo] show[ing] affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.” (pg. 28). Okonkwo whose “whole life [is] dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness.” (pg. 13) suppress his compassion in order to appear important and manly. Ironically this creates a stark juxtaposition between his own fear and his position as an alpha male. Rather than being masculine and courageous, Okonkwo just creates tension within his family and within himself. The pinnacle of this extreme hypermasculinity is when Okonkwo ignores the wisdom of the elder Ezeudu, and violently kills his “son” Ikamafuna: “As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He had heard Ikamafuna cry “My father, they have killed me!”

Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe about the fictional people of the Ibo tribe in Umuofia. The practices of this African tribal society are depicted through the third person limited point of view that follows the main protagonist of the novel known as Okonkwo. The novel illustrates practices and values that are sanctioned by the society as they end up struggling to maintain their prevalence once colonists arrive. As a culture, the Ibo people of Things Fall Apart have practices that shape their society by showcasing what is seen as important. This includes their invaluable idea of masculinity in which they see to require strength and success. The patriarchal rule of Ibo society establishes the framework that leads to the perceived inadequacy of females and

This is an example of the difference in personal beliefs among family. Some may say that the book is about the differences in beliefs between the Africans and the colonizers, but it is more than that. It is clear that it was Okonkwo's personal beliefs and not necessarily the views of the people of Umuofia which guided him in what he did. One of these is his reliance in the strength of anger. Although he felt strongly in the beliefs and customs of the Ibo people, there are several occasions in which Okonkwo made a decision to disobey the customs in order to live out his own personal beliefs. For example, in chapter four, Okonkwo is yelled at by Ezeani, the priest of the earth goddess, for beating his wife during the sacred week of peace. Okonkwo did not feel remorse for his actions and probably thought of it as a sign of strength and manhood. Okonkwo was always worried about being seen as weak. One good

In the novel, All the Broken Pieces, by Ann E. Burg, Matt makes a comparison between himself and his brother when he defines his brother as “summer” and himself as “fall”. This metaphor can be explained not only by their physical features, but their emotional and mental characteristics as well. His brother features summer and hasn’t faced any misery, while he himself looks like fall and has come across atrocious things.

We take a look at his personality and see that he had a warrior complex and machismo. For example in the novel on page 158 paragraph six it says “let us not reason like cowards.” His warrior complex turns everything he does like a battle plan. He wants there to be a fight or else they are not doing it right. Okonkwo’s machismo makes everyone else who is not like him not a man. In the book we see this on page 26 paragraph two “this meeting is for men.” He did not want to listen to the man because he was not well known like him and he did not have as many titles as okonkwo did. Both of these traits aided in the way he responded to the new culture.

In Things Fall Apart the Igbo society is dominated by gender roles. Husbands beat their wives just for bringing food a few minutes late. Women are completely discriminated against. In fact, it is an insult to call a man an agbala (a woman). To men, women exist in a world in which they are "to be seen not heard, coming and going, with mounds of foofoo, pots of water, market baskets, fetching kola, being scolded and beaten before they disappear behind the huts of their compound" (Mezu 2). However, the role of women is far more essential than the male villagers believe. Achebe repeatedly refers to the masculinity or femininity of a person. Though Achebe seems to believe that men seem to dominate relationships, in fact, there are many ways in

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.

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

Okonkwo may try to act “manly” and strong when in the presence of others, but Okonkwo does possess sentimental emotions that he claims to view as weak which make up an

In addition, it is an insult to a man or boy if they possess any female qualities. Guilt ridden after murdering Ikemefuna, his surrogate son, Okonkwo sternly reprimands himself not to “become like a shivering old woman” – this he considers the worst insult (65). Okonkwo also relates negatively to his oldest son Nwoye, who according to Okonkwo possess weak qualities and thus acts like a woman. He wanted Nwoye to listen to “masculine stories of violence and bloodshed” rather than the stories told by women which were for “foolish women and children” (54). The stories that men told were about bravery and war and young men were expected to listen to this instead of fairy tales that women told. “So Okonkwo encouraged the boys to sit with him in his obi, and he told them stories of the land” – while Nwoye feigned that he liked the stories his father told him to make him a man, he preferred his mother’s that he heard while growing up that kept his spirit gentle.

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

Historically, women have been viewed as inferior to men due to a female's lack of physical strength. In the candid novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe clearly defines gender roles; women are the caretakers and cooks- simply existing to satisfy men’s desires. Although “Things Fall Apart portrays the women as weak ,inferior, and being put in their place by men; however, Achebe also notes their importance during several parts of the story. By incorporating powerful dialogues and scenes to develop gender conflicts, Achebe uses the completely divergent character of Okonkwo, who constantly strives to achieve manliness to demonstrate that although women in the Igbo society are important, they are not treated as such. Chinua Achebe, the author suggests that there is a constant conflict which exists between the two genders and the expectations of the roles in which each of them must play.

There are many phrases within this novel and within today’s society that are used to degrade a man’s ego. The similarities are resorting to some form of femininity one is displaying. “That was why he had called him a woman. Okonkwo knew how to kill a man’s spirit” (Achebe 32). This quote emphasizes on the word, “woman” in the degradation of “a man’s spirit,” and quite frankly in modern America, the phrase such as, “stop acting like a girl,” is used often as a form of a male not obtaining enough manliness in a situation. Later on in the novel Okonkwo believe that though his strength seems up to

He is quick to the trigger, quick to act. “He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children. He threw down his gun and jumped into the barn, and there lay the woman, very much shaken but quite unhurt” (Achebe 39). Okonkwo is unsensable to the way his family acts around him, he is like a dictator of the household, controlling their every move. “And when she returned he beat her very heavily.

He is aggressive to his own family members, and even resorts to murder multiple times in attempts to establish his dominance over others. While masculinity and acts of strength were valued in Igbo society, Okonkwo took it too far and his actions ended up hurting rather than helping. We see the same issue paralleled in modern society, where men feel pressured to prove their masculinity in ways that may be harmful to others. Toxic masculinity may even be the driving force behind some mass shootings or other acts of hate. In the novel, it is clear that Okonkwo lost all respect from his family and clansmen; and in the end he committed suicide without honor or esteem.