The desire for power is a natural human tendency. This social authority allows people to feel superior to others. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, there is a constant impulse among some of the characters to gain power through prosperity. The story takes place in an Igbo village in Nigeria, where culture and religion have an immense impact on an individual. The main character, Okonkwo, appears to yearn the most to become a powerful and respected man. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo gains power over others by defeating the most distinguished wrestler in a match, committing acts of violence, and increasing his possession of material goods.
Okonkwo first gains the respect of the villages by defeating a well-known wrestler, Amalinze the Cat. A quote from Things Fall Apart reads, “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat” (Achebe 1). This wrestler was unbeaten for seven years, until Okonkwo proved his worth in a wrestling match. With this win, Okonkwo gained fame and, most importantly, power in the tribe. This can be seen as an example as one of the many times where Okonkwo asserts his dominance as an effort to become a better man than his father was. All his life, Okonkwo has been shamefaced due to his father, Unoka, and his acts which ultimately left his family in debt. The author writes,
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
He is the greatest wrestler in the land and has four wives and a large land size and farm all of this and no thanks to his father Unoka. Growing up his father was poor and gave him no land and no wife and Okonkwo was forced to start his adult life from scratch. Because of his father Okonkwo fears laziness and everything his father enjoyed. “Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness,[...] a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title” (Things Fall Apart 12). If he see a sign of laziness in his children a punishment is followed. Because of his father's laziness it motivates him to succeed. This flaw of the fear of weakness and being like his father is one characteristic that makes him a tragic hero. He is a dedicated to the tradition of the Ibo culture and follows the traditions of his culture(reword this). Okonkwo is also ill-tempered he tends to beat his wife's if they do something wrong, once he threaten to get his gun. This can be seen from a statement in the book “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (12). Okonkwo can be described as a tragic
The novel, Things Fall Apart, takes place in a Lower Nigerian village of Iguedo and Mbanta and is centered around a man by the name of Okonkwo. Okonkwo, the protagonist, is introduced as the most renowned warrior of all tribes who brought great honor to his tribe by becoming the top wrestler of the villages. Throughout the book, Chinua Achebe expresses Okonkwo as a man whose obsession with power is what ultimately leads him to failing in attempts to obtain that power through his role as a farmer, the actions towards his family, and his actions towards the new civilization of the village. When introducing the protagonist, Achebe makes Okonkwo’s thirst for power and status very apparent not just through his
The focus of the individual is prominent in Things Fall Apart, a tale of an almost anti-social being in a world dominated by change. Achebe's main character, Okonkwo, is the window to the dramatization of social, economic, and political change of the nation known as Nigeria. The focus of the narrative is the struggle of a strong and well respected individual to maintain his own life course, and to differentiate this outcome from the end result of his lethargic father's life. The story embodies the ideal of embracing the individual's goals and aspirations to yield an outcome
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.
When I first began reading Things Fall Apart, it helped me understand about the Nigerian culture. This novel is a post-colonial novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe in 1958. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. The novel follows the life of Okonkwo, an Igbo leader and local wrestling champion in the fictional Nigerian village of Umuofia who is afraid to share his feelings for fear of being thought as weak and he had to protect his reputation. He is a brave man, but stands alone a lot with his decision to fight. He believes everyone in the tribe has turned into women when they do not want to fight, but deep down he is just like them, but afraid of how people will now view him. When he starts to become violent he accidentally kills a man and is forced to leave his tribe. When he is allowed to
The Idgo tribe from the Novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, live by their traditions and values to grow and earn success. Many of the Idgo community members idealize Okonkwo because he is known to be the strongest man of the tribe. Okonkwo has an expectation when he raises his children so that they too will have the same success as him. Okonkwo also holds his community to similar expectations in their everyday functionings.The values and traditions of the Idgo tribe in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, is seen through work ethics and strength of one another.
Okonkwo starts off with great accomplishments, and is feared by many. He defeated “The Cat” who was a well known, undefeated wrestler. He earns respect and fame in his village. He has three wives and ten children who all see him as very intimidating. Achebe writes “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children.”(13). His family does as he says. They do not go against him, and they are very intimidated by him. Okonkwo’s father was lazy with little success, and Okonkwo lives exactly the opposite.
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.
When the man is first introduced in the novel, he is described as “well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo’s actions throughout the story are a direct result of his wanting to maintain a masculine, and powerful figure in his village. He pushes himself to commit intensely immoral crimes to support his strivings.
In Chinua Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo's cruel and arrogant attitude towards those around him divides Ibo society and causes a clash of cultures that ultimately destroys the community. Achebe utilizes characterization and conflict to illustrate the inherent tragedy of society and the unfortunate realities produced by individuals when power is founded in ignorance and hatred. Okonkwo first gains the respect of his clan by defeating Amalinze the Cat. Following this, his hard work and determination builds admiration as he repeatedly overcomes obstacles that would have broken anyone else.
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.
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader follows the uncertain and constantly changing life of Okonkwo, who is a member of the Ibo tribe. Okonkwo can only be described as a headstrong and stubborn man whose goal in life is to make a name for himself amongst his tribe. His determination to gain a well respected title is spurred on by the constant reminder of his father’s failure as a man in the tribe. His father was an extremely lethargic man who did not care about the wellbeing of his wife or children. Because of these traits, he was considered a massive failure.
Things Fall Apart takes place in 1890, throughout the initial days of colonialism in Nigeria. Achebe portrays the Igbo culture with its transformation since its contact with the British colonialists. The literary works about this period included stereotypical ideas of Africans representing savages who were oppressed by the British. Things Fall Apart is a counterexample to those writings as a postcolonial novel that breaks the stereotypes and stays unbiased, but has the focal point on the Igbo values and traditions. Okonkwo as a young man becomes the greatest wrestlers of his clan.
In the beginning, Achebe states that, “Fortunately among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father” (Achebe 8). This quote is a solid structure in defining what this book is truly about. Okonkwo was not to be judged by his father's lack of integrity, and incoherent thinking abilities, but by whom he is. Reputation plays a key role as a theme in this novel, along with Okonkwo’s fear of following his father’s footsteps and the internal conflict that comes along with Okonkwo’s battle with himself and to keep the tribe united.