Things Fall Apart and Chapter

The students “believe that whites [are] not quite human” they walk like angry wolves and terrify them (Maracle, 173). The white men have made themselves powerful. In One, two, three little Indians, the Whites do not help the Native Americans no

7. “Okonkwo ruled his house with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children.”

Question ( 2 ): Discuss Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe 's “Things Fall Apart” is a tragic hero.

Okonkwo continually rejected the ways of his father, who was deeply indebted to other members of Umuofia, holding no titles, to the point where Okonkwo’s “whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (16). He transferred his fears into the context of Umuofia and the traits that society valued, but what was really the driving force in his decisions “was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” (17). The values of Umuofia resembled the polar opposite of what Unoka was and Okonkwo twisted his motivations around in his mind and presented them to himself and the community as derived from Umuofia’s traditions. From this delusion, Okonkwo established his ultimate goal of becoming a revered member of the village, possessing many titles, and achieving anything necessary displaying his prominence in the community.

One day at a kindred tribal meet a man contradicted Okonkwo’s view. Okonkwo was quick to call him a woman, and just as quickly Okonkwo was reprimanded by the other tribesmen. These outbursts made Okonkwo look ignorant and brash, but he could not stand weakness of any sort. This is one of many situations that convey the severity of Okonkwo’s tragic flaw.

Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one.-we have fallen apart” (176). The white man used his owns customs and religion to turn the clan of Umuofia against each other as they began to doubt what they truly believe in. As the colonizers continued to defy and tell the clan members that their customs were wrong, slowly but surely people started to listen to them, leaving their own ways behind them. A similar scenario occurs in Dakotah 38 as the Natives presumptuously cling to the colonizers’ ideas. “They tell us we are the Dakotah and we say ok, we are the Dakotah. They tell us we are the Sioux and we say ok, we are the Sioux. They don’t understand or care who we really are.” The Natives of the Dakotah take what is given to them by the colonizers because of the authority that they won over them. With this, over time many parts of a culture is lost and forgotten because of the brainwashing and cultural wipe of the white men. While these Natives are suppressed by the overwhelming oppression of the whites, others are still sticking to their beliefs. “What did I tell you? Enough with that talk of yours, we speak English here” (Rabbit-Proof Fence). One of the

Reread pages 52-54 and copy down quotations that help us understand Okonkwo’s view of “manhood” or “manliness”. After each quotation, write down your analysis of it.

Okonkwo is initially introduced as a proud, hardworking, successful warrior. He is described as "clearly cut out for great things" (6). But he is the son of a ne'er-do-well father; though genial and inoffensive, Unoka must certainly have been considered a failure. He is lazy and does not provide for his family. Not only is this disgraceful, but life-threatening as well. He is dependent on other members of the clan and must have been considered unsuccessful. Okonkwo chafes under such disgrace and his success is a consequence of his desire to be everything his father is not; society's vision of an exemplar citizen. The fact that Okonkwo is able to rise above his poverty and disgraceful paternity illustrates the Igbo's acceptance of individual free will. But Okonkwo's fate and his disharmony with his chi, family and clan are shown to cause his ultimate disgrace and death.

7) “ The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan. 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.”

Okonkwo is portrayed as a respected individual in many ways. He was a well known person through out the 9 villages and beyond. His successes were based wholly on his personal achievements. For example, he was a warrior and wrestler who gained respect through his athletics. Manliness was a

     During a burial ceremony for one of the tribesmen, Okonkwo accidentally kills the dead man’s son. The prescribed punishment for this is exile for seven years. Okonkwo and his family then move to his mother’s old tribe to serve his exile.

First, Okonkwo starts off as a poor child, as shown when the book states, “Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had, he did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit” showing that Okonkwo and his family were penurious, compared to others in the Igbo tribe (Achebe 16). Eventually, through his hard work and effort, he became a noble leader, which emphasizes his role as a tragic hero. Throughout the story Okonkwo goes through many challenges, but “In the face of futility, however, he maintains his nobility of character”(Gaydosik).

The first chapter of the book focuses on Unoka, Okonkwo’s father; he was seen as a lazy and wasteful man to the community. While reading the story told about Okeye, we see a sense of the modern world through the asking of the repayment of the borrowed money.

Okonkwo fears for his disturbingly weak son, Nyowe, and teaches him with his stories- "masculine stories of violence and bloodshed." (p. 53) But Nyowe prefers the stories of his mother- stories which teach wisdom rather than action. Nyowe knows that it pleases his father to listen to his stories, but it is apparent that Nyowe is a thinking person. As Nyowe absorbs the shock of Ikemefuna's death, we feel the first break in the solidarity of the clan. ."Nyowe knew that Ikemefuna had been killed, and something seemed to give way inside him, like the snapping of a tightened bow." (p. 61) Nyowe is forming his own impressions of the rituals of his society.

Throughout the clan Okonkwo was respected for his strength, his success, and his skills. Okonkwo had killed five enemies in clan wars and thrown the cat in a wrestling match showing his strength to the clan. His success was defined by Okonkwo having three wives and a plentiful amount of yams. After the clan settles a dispute with another clan, Okonkwo is given the important job of caring for the child that was part of the exchange, “The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo’s care for a while.” (Page 27) This displays the trust and respect the elders feel toward Okonkwo. Furthermore, Achebe makes it clear that Okonkwo carried enough titles and created an identity that gave him the chance to take on this immense honor of caring for Ikemefuna. Okonkwo had also gained enough of a presence to be like one of the elders for the clan, “The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought there by their young sons or slaves. Okonkwo was among them.” (Page 46) Okonkwo is like the elders, because he is able to sit with them during clan events. This illustrates Okonkwo’s identity throughout the clan, being viewed by people of lower rank in the clan, while beside the most respected of the clan. In addition Okonkwo viewed himself as one of the high members of the clan, by challenging himself to be unlike his father and gain titles to contradict his father.