Things Fall Apart Ikemefuna's Death

“The Headstrong Historian” and Things Fall Apart forms a topic of what is good for one is bad for another. In Achebe’s novel, Okonkwo often thinks about the matter of his pride and not for his family or

Okonkwo soon learns about this and confronts his son, Nwoye about his secret meetings, Okonkwo soon becomes enraged and disowns his son after hearing about his experience not before abusing him of course. This action causes an effect which ultimately leads to Okonkwo’s downfall. Okonkwo enraged by the spread of Christianity within his own village self-proclaims war on the “white man”. Okonkwo eventually was detained as a result of his actions towards the “white man”. After he was released from detainment Okonkwo killed a courier and began to truly understand he was a rebel without a cause as his fellow Tribesmen would not help him with his internal struggle. Okonkwo knowing, he would be caught and executed for his crimes, instead decided to ultimately end his own life by hanging himself. Okonkwo’s major downfall in the story was his inability to co-exist with the white man and began his own personal vendetta against the Christian missionaries. Throughout the story the main essential theme Achebe tried to relay to us would be the fact that even though individuals may be of different religions, skin color, and have different personalities there is a realization that

            While Okonkwo, Nwoye, and Ikemefuna are feasting upon the locusts, a man named Ezeudu pays Okonkwo a visit. Achebe describes Ezeudu’s visit on page 50, writing, “He refused to join in the meal, and asked Okonkwo to have a word with him outside…When they were out of ear-shot, he said to Okonkwo: “That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death…Yes, Umuofia has decided to kill him.” Achebe implies that Ezeudu brings bad news by describing the caution Ezeudu takes to avoid being overheard and his decision to not partake in the meal.  Also, now Okonkwo is forced to decide what actions he is going to take and how far he should be involved in Ikemefuna’s death. Okonkwo’s fears result in his taking great effort in order to avoid appearing weak or feminine, yet the decision Okonkwo faces is whether or not he will allow his insecurities to take precedence over the advice that Ezeudu has given them. Achebe uses Okonkwo’s dilemma as a way to convey a sense of tension. The next day, Okonkwo tells Ikemefuna that he is returning to his own home. Achebe describes Ikemefuna’s reaction on page 51, writing, “He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them. But somehow he knew he was not going to see

Through the character of Okonkwo, Achebe illustrates the dangers of being selfish. Although successful, Okonkwo is one of the most aggressively selfish men among the Igbo people based on his self-centered needs and desires. This characteristic is prevalent throughout the entirety of the novel, and there are always consequences to his actions. For example, Okonkwo is fond of calling men “women” to make himself look more masculine. He does this to Osugo in front of a group of men in a meeting. “Okonkwo knew how to kill a man’s spirit. Everybody at the kindred meeting took sides with Osugo when Okonkwo called him a woman” (Achebe 26). Since the other men sided with Osugo, Okonkwo’s punishment for this narcissistic outburst is embarrassment. Continuing,

After a village elder had found what crime Okonkwo committed, he told Okonkwo that, “you are not a stranger in Umuofia. You know as well as I that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth, we should observe a week of peace in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor” (30). The elder proceeded to give Okonkwo instructions on how to attempt amends with the goddess. After a single action was taken, his proceeding efforts were nearly non-existent. Any attempt to fix the situation were minimal, as were efforts to learn from his mistakes. Furthermore, Okonkwo advances to partaking in the death of Ikemefuna. The relationship between the two is complicated, but is closest description is that of a boy and his step-father. Killing Ikemefuna is not an evil against the earth, as beating a wife during the week of peace was, but a crime against himself. He is unhappy with himself, and still does nothing to fix his ways, continuing on to single handedly killing a boy at a funeral. Although accidental, Okonkwo was still the man behind the gun. “It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land….he could return to the clan after seven years” (124). Okonkwo had no choice but to leave for the seven years, perhaps upon his return

Okonkwo’s adherence to a tradition of cruelty that harms large groups of minorities leads to a pronounced division once Western missionaries establish their church: a church which allows for aspects of life that tribal law did not. His adherence to traditional law and inability to compromise — rigidity in a culture of flexibility — alienates family members, members of his community, and furthers an internal pressure which ultimately helps the pressures of colonialism. Okonkwo’s inflexible interpretation of tribal law, borne of a need to escape his father’s seemingly feminine weakness, leads to morally bankrupt decisions. Unable to settle on a compromise between law and morality, he murders Ikemefuna: although correct in the eyes of law, the action lacks morals, is purely driven by a need for social power and fear of seeming weak. Such personal conflict culminates in intense inner pressure on both Okonkwo’s part and on the part of the community as a whole, leading to a collapse of long standing unity when faced with the external pressure of missionaries, providing a “way out”. This culminates in a scene in which tribal leaders call for an attack on colonialist forces, including other tribal members which have joined the

Social rank and relative wealth play great roles in determining a person’s life in Umuofia society. Sometimes a man with sheer force of will cannot change his future through hard work. One of the main conflicts in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the clash between Okonkwo’s determination to succeed, his free will, and fate – which seems to have less appealing things in mind. Okonkwo’s will plays a major factor in determining his future; he chooses to kill Ikemefuna with his own hands, he chooses to kill a government official, and in the end, he chooses to take his own life. However, the pre-destined conditions of his life, his father’s failures, and a series of unfortunate circumstances ultimately lead to Okonkwo’s downfall.

For all of his desire to be strong, Okonkwo is caught up by the constant fear of being perceived as weak. He is afraid of failure and afraid of being considered weak. This fear drives him to do whatever he can to not become a failure like his father which ironically contributes to his death. While Okonkwo was a strong and important figure in his tribe, he had to keep his reputation that way by making some hard decisions. One of them was when he had to kill Ikemefuna, a young boy from the neighboring tribe. Okonkwo started accepting the decision to kill Ikemefuna because he started to call Okonkwo father. He had to keep his own valor intact and kill the boy to prevent himself from showing any weakness, but deep down, Okonkwo was really upset because of what he did which was ironic, “’When did you become a shivering old woman,' Okonkwo asked himself, 'you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed.'" (Achebe 65). He continued to roll downhill when the white man comes to try and convert Okonkwo’s tribe. Okonkwo responds by killing one of the messengers that were sent. This cause Okonkwo's own tribe to question his actions. “"Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape.

He believed that his father’s actions were feminine and therefore worked hard to become a warrior. Along with not wanting to appear feminine, Okonkwo does not think his actions through. When Ikemefuna was brought into Okonkwo’s family, he accepted him and the two became very close. But after three years Ikemefuna was sentenced to death and Okonkwo was sent out with him. As the man raised up his machete Ikemefuna run to Okonkwo, “My father, they have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak”(Achebe 61). In this split second Okonkwo lets his emotions and fears of appearing weak win and did not allow himself time to think. Achebe utilizes Okonkwo to display the principle of cause and effect. Okonkwo is very proactive and does things on a whim. By doing so he makes hasty decisions that will be regretted in the long run. Okonkwo’s suicide was caused by a hasty decision and the responses of the tribesman. “He heard voices asking: “Why did he do it?”(Achebe

Ogbuefi Ezeudu said, “That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death” (Achebe 122). Not only did he bear a hand in Ikemefuna’s death, he was the one that took the last blow and ended his “son’s” life, over the fear of being weak. Not only did Okonkwo kill Ikemefuna, he lied to him about

Okonkwo justifies this killing of his foster son as a show of his own strength and manliness (66). He does not understand that this is no honor in killing a child who rushes to him for protection. He has in fact killed his own blood.

Have you ever met someone who got killed by their father? Of course not… because that would mean that they either came to life, or that you were dead also. Sometimes, in other cultures or your own, who your parents are and what they do can play a major role in your life. Even if it was indirectly, or something that happened purely by accident. The book, Things Fall Apart, gives us a closer look on how much family members had an effect on you. In the book, Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo and Ikemefuna are very similar to each other because both of their fathers played a major role in their death in one way or another.

Ikemefuna is very well-liked by Okonkwo and his family, and becomes a mentor and best friend to Nwoye. Okonkwo feels dismay that Nwoye is taking on the torpid characteristics of his grandfather, Unoka, and is quite pleased that Nwoye is thriving and maturing under Ikemefuna’s guidance. “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna” (Achebe, 1958, p. 52, para. 2). Okonkwo’s pride, and fear of demonstrating any perceived sign of weakness, does not allow him to show any favorable emotion to Ikemefuna; he treats him with the same severity he does the rest of his family. “Even Okonkwo himself

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.

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