Things Fall Apart Ikemefuna Quotes

He doesn’t want to be like his father since he was a coward and debtor. “Fortunately, among these people a man was not judged according to his worth…. or the worth of his father” (Achebe 11). His fatal flaws were weakness, failure and being like his father. His father was known as the irresponsible and lazy debtor of the clan. The way he treats other people such as his son and wives horribly shows how his flaws and insecurities control his life. He expresses more love for Ikemefuna than his real son because Nwoye shows traits of his father. By taking his own life, he escapes his fate of a new religion and reality. “A great deal of your decisions is informed by your emotional responses because that is what emotions are designed to do: to appraise and summarize an experience and inform your actions” (Lamia). Okonkwo’s actions and language towards his family, clan, and himself were all based off of his own insecurities which caused a tragic ending in the story. His unhappiness and pain revealed stress, anxiety and insecurities among

The last big rains of the year had not come yet. Okonkwo became anxious as soon it would be time to return to his fatherland. He began to dream about all wrestling matches he had won and the bravery of his kinsmen. Suddenly there was a loud noise coming from outside his compound. Okonkwo jumped to his feet to see what it was. Obierika, his good friend was coming to pay him a visit and tell about the change that was taking place within Umuofia.

Okonkwo despises his father to an extent that Okonkwo strives to be nothing like Unoka. Okonkwo lives his life and his goal is to be one of the high lords of the clan (Achebe 131). Okonkwo’s life goal is to be the opposite of his father, who is seen as a failure in the Ibo society. Unlike his father who did not fulfill the community's ideals of success Okonkwo did, and strives to achieve his whole life to prove that he was not similar to his father, because he does not want to be like someone who he despises. Similarly to Okonkwo, Nwoye does not have a good relationship with his father, because Nwoye does not act like him. Nwoye Knew that he should act violent like his father, but he preferred to be with his mother and listen to stories (Achebe 53). From a young age Nwoye knew he did not want to be like his father, because he did not approve of the way Okonkwo acts thus he rebelled by being like his mother and preferring kindness and stories over violence. Besides not wanting to be violent like his father, Nwoye rebels by converting to christianity. Nwoye converts, changes his name to Isaac and goes to college to become a teacher (Achebe 182). Nwoye converting and changing his name is the ultimate rebellion because he literally changes everything Okonkwo tried to make Nwoye. Okonkwo attempted to make Nwoye a strong man in the eyes of Ibo society just it in turn made Nwoye rebel and turn

Okonkwo used brutality and force throughout Nwoye’s childhood, causing him to drift away from his family. As a small child Nwoye was the constant object of Okonkwo’s criticism. When Ikemefuna, Nwoye’s adopted brother, moved into his home, Ikemefuna filled the role of the father, the brother, and the best friend. They were inseparable from the beginning and their relationship grew stronger as time passed. When Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna it destroys Nwoye. “...Nwoye knew that Ikemefuna had been killed, and something seemed to give way inside him, like the snapping of a tightened bow. He did not cry. He just hung limp.” (44). Nwoye found comfort in the arms of the Christian religion. He saw the Christian religion as a more forgiving and loving community, compared to Igbo

In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe tells a story set during the British colonialism of Nigeria in the late 19th century. Of the descriptions that Achebe makes, one of the most significant is the British District Court officers and the egwugwu. There are several superficial similarities between the District Court officers and the egwugwu. These similarities include their relationship with the people of the culture. The egwugwu are masqueraders who impersonate the gods of the Igbo culture and settle disputes of the people of Umuofia. Most of the time the impersonators are local leaders of Umuofia. While the District Court officers work in the courts of the British Empire and settle disputes of the people and enforce the laws

In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, I learned that Okonkwo, Nwoye, and Ikemefuna were similar and different from one another. Okonkwo was very strict and loyal to his lifestyle while Nwoye was lazy and acted oppositely of him. On the other hand, Ikemefuna wasn’t Okonkwo’s son, although Okonkwo preferred him because he wasn’t lazy. Okonkwo, Nwoye, and Ikemefuna had many different and similar characteristics.

Okonkwo has set views on what a boy should act like. In his mind a man should be strong, a fighter, and fearless; this description of Okonkwo’s version of a man is everything his son is not. Nwoye is affectionate, creative, emotional, and likes women’s stories. Okonkwo considers Nwoye’s strengths to be weaknesses saying, “to show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was

The theme of the book Things Fall Apart, which focuses on the breakdown of a society as well as the main character’s personal breakdown, stems from many conflicts of interests and misunderstandings throughout the book. There is not one single moment in the book where everything falls apart, but many times throughout. In the beginning a lot of problems arise from Okonkwo’s anger problems, and his inability to see other’s views. His ignorance is what ultimately leads to his exile from his clan. It’s not just the fact that he accidently killed a fellow clan member, but many other events that had angered the village. One of the first problems was when he disregarded the week of peace by savagely beating his wife. Wife

Nwoye struggled with meeting the expectations of his father and clan. He was viewed as lazy by his father which was not an acceptable attribute for a man. Okonkwo, his father, believed he could beat his inadequacies out of him however it only made Nwoye more sad and troubled. He preferred listening to his mom’s bed time stories rather than his father’s war stories. He struggled becoming the man his father wished him to be. Then came along Imf, an older brother figure for him as well as motivator. Imf encouraged Nwoye to be more masculine and to work hard. They challenged one another. In the end, Imf was killed, a direct result of the clan’s

He has always been set in his way of life, and he does not react well to the changes around him. The intrusion of colonists alters the traditions of the tribe. Even amidst the disgrace of exile and after each of his various earlier crimes, he retains his pride and determination, and recognizes that his punishments are just and sensible, grounded in the clan’s legal system. However, the alterations brought about by the colonists don’t adhere to his customs and are far less comprehensible. When he loses his son, Nwoye, to the church, he reacts by denying that he has a son and takes the whole incident as a failure on his part. Despite his attempts, throughout the book, to prevent Nwoye from becoming weak and lazy, the boy has become a proponent of the very thing which is destroying Okonkwo’s way of life. In retaliation, he “seized a heavy stick that lay on the dwarf wall and hit him two or three savage blows” (Achebe, 152). His anger expanded past his son to all of the Christians; “The spirit of war” (Achebe 158) was upon him. Okonkwo "recognized that accepting the invitation [of Christianity] is done at the expense of the things that comprised his identity and defined his values" (Nnoromele 147). He, therefore, refuses. Put another way, "there is the traditional way of life pulling on the Umuofia people and one man's struggle to maintain that cultural integrity against an overwhelming force of the

Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart is a narrative story that follows the life of an African man called Okonkwo. The setting of the book is in eastern Nigeria, on the eve of British colonialism in Africa. The novel illustrates Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs, and his eventual downfall, all of which basically coincide with the Igbo?s society?s struggle with the Christian religion and British government. In this essay I will give a biographical account of Okonwo, which will serve to help understand that social, political, and economic institutions of the Igbos.

When analyzing the different relationships Okonkwo has with his family and acquaintance such as Ikemefuna. You can than see how both Nwoye and Ikemefuna have a different perspective on how they get treated by okonkwo. Such as how Nwoye thinks his dad is kind because he treats him good. Okonkwo cared about nwoye however he did not much show it. As for ikemefuna “ he treated ikemefuna as he treated everybody else- with a heavy hand.” He was set out to be more like property of the family however ikemefuna looked up to him as if he were his dad. And so on okonkwo treated him kindly because of the admiration. However showed it in a much simple way still treating him with a heavy hand.Within these relations you can than on see how he is a unsympathetic character he cares for certain members of his family but he doesn’t really identify himself with anyone. He may care for you but he keeps those feelings to himself not letting others see how he really feels. Either he shows a slight bit of mercy or he beats you like how he beats his wife and almost shot her. He thinks showing affection is for cowards basically.

When we fear failure and weakness, it drives us to act without thought which leads to regret and self-blame. In Things Fall Apart, the death of an adoptive son named Ikemefuna affects a relationship between a father and his son. Okonkwo and Nwoye find themselves in a difficult relationship which may lead to the downfall of Okonkwo and the failure of Nwoye to be the son his father wants him to be. Ikemefuna was a young man that came from a different tribe and affected the lives of Okonkwo and Nwoye. Nwoye and Ikemefuna were close friends who saw each other as brothers.

Chinua Achebe explains African culture through storytelling to provide a different perspective. Achebe does this by using a lot of proverbs throughout the book. These proverbs are an important part of the Ibo culture, most of the stories told by the ibo are spoken rather than read. An example of a proverb can be found in chapter one, "If a child washes his hands he could eat with kings." this quote is saying that if you are able to get away from the shadow of your ancestors then you could do anything. This helps explain African culture because it shows that if someone works hard, no matter what background that person is from, they can achieve great things. another example of this could be one of the stories in chapter nine about a mosquito

In the story of Thing’s Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo, the main protagonist, decides to participate in the killing of his adoptive son, Ikemefuma, who has been sentenced to death by the tribe’s oracle. He does this despite a respected elder warning him against doing so. The elder tells him that ‘“The boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in is death,’” which is saying that killing Ikemefuma would have the same effect as killing his own son (Achebe 57). The elder is correct and Okonkwo begins to feel uneasy and remorseful after the murder. He doesn’t eat or sleep well after the day of the murder and felt very weak. He wishes that “he could find some work to do he would be able to forget [about Ikemefuma]” and act if his murder never