What Is Okonkwo's Passion In Things Fall Apart

The decision that Okonkwo made when he was younger was that he decided he was not going to be a failure like his father. He got on this as soon as he could and he eventually did some great things, as stated in the book “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.” This is how Okonkwo first gets his “fame,” he beat the Cat in a wrestling match and everyone began to realize that this man isn’t at all like his father. The people of the clan began ot thing that maybe Okonkwo had a chance of being someone special. He also did some other great things which earned him titles, which were like

In order to not become like his father, Okonkwo consciously strives to be prosperous, violent, resourceful, unable to show “soft” emotion, and denies music orientation. “And no Okonkwo was ruled by one passion—to hate everything that his

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

“Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure” (Achebe 4). As Okonkwo grows up, he realized his biggest fear and fatal flaw is the fact that he desperately did not want to end up like his father, disrespected and very emotional. Therefore, Okonkwo fears weakness and open shows of emotions, so he contains himself and only shows anger, as he associates it with manliness. He is so scared of becoming his father and changing his ways that he resorts to beating people to show his dominance. “And when she returned he beat her very heavily” (Achebe 19). In this quote, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife, Ojiugo, for not returning soon enough to cook the afternoon meal. Since he decided to act without thought, he beat his wife in the Week of Peace, where no one is to be harmed. This causes a great unrest between Okonkwo and his chi, or his inner spirit, and gradually leads to his downfall of luck and

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

It was not uncommen in the igbo society for husbands to beat their wives, but beating your wife during peace week was unthinkable. "(Achebe 29) In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace, but Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess." Okwonkwo was so fixiated on showing his wife a lesson that he put his whole can in trouble. in their culture they believe that if they beat some one during the Week of Peace then they will anger the earth goddess, and she will keep the yams from growing. He broke one of their most sacred rules just to teach a lesson. Aside from beating his children and his wives Okwonko is a murderer. "Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him dow. He was afraid of being thought weak." (Achebe 61) In order to look strong Okonkwo did things that a hear never would have done.

Okonkwo's behavior here shows that he is really frustrated with what is going on and what the missionaries are doing to his children, and it is causing he to act intensely towards his own

Okonkwo often times tells himself that violence is always the answer. “Okonkwo was not a man of thought, but of action (pg. 69).” Okonkwo did not think before he acted, okonkwo always responded with violence. “Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body (pg. 204).” Once again Okonkwo’s mind was set for revenge which lead to his mistake of murder.

Okonkwo’s life revolves around a vicious circle. “He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood”. (10) Early on in the novel we are enlightened on how Okonkwo is ashamed of his father Unoka’s weakness and that his goal to be the opposite of him. Spurred by resentment Okonkwo is driven to want to be masculine and powerful and instil these values upon his son.

But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess.” (Achebe 29-30). Okonkwo was incapacitated to stop bashing his wife; he perceived it would change others view of his strength. He resists changing therefore making him unable to stop beating his wife, even when told it’s the week of peace this is because he cannot adapt to a new way of acting, since he has such a deep fear of being seen as anything but masculine. Ikemefuna has become part of Okonkwo’s family and the family has become very fond of him.

Okonkwo’s fear of becoming weak, leads him to act brutally towards his wives. During the Week of Peace in Umuofian tradition, being peaceful and kind to everyone is important. Okonkwo breaks this sacred rule by beating his youngest wife Ojiugo, because she “did not come early enough to cook the afternoon meal”, Ojiugo had just “gone to plait her hair at her friends house” (Achebe 30-31). By Okonkwo beating his wife, it demonstrates his efforts of showing his power over her, even the village priest thought it was a “great evil to beat her” (32). Luckily, the next time he displayed his power over his wife, she was just “shaken and frightened but quite unhurt” (39).

Okonkwo was known for his valor in war and his victory against Amalinze the Cat, Okonkwo believed that masculinity can only be shown through his violent action, in order to express his power, he often hit his wives and children, even during the Week of Peace. Nothing seemed to be able to stop him from being violent, because nice or caring personality is considered as weak or feminine. First case was when Ojiugo left without feeding her kid, and such action to Okonkwo was Ojiugo not doing her duty as stated “‘Did she ask you to feed then before she went?’ ‘Yes,’ lied Nwoye’s mother, trying to minimize Ojiugo’s thoughtlessness. Okonkwo knew she was not speaking the truth. He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace” (Achebe 29). The word “beat heavily” implies that Okonkwo did not just beat Ojiugo, instead, it is in the form of domestic violence, the

Achebe Says “Okonkwo was deeply grieved”. Now when people aren’t listening to him he gets mad. He wants to prove that he can still contribute to the clan. Okonkwo doesn’t understand how to adapt to the

Okonkwo is motivated by a desire to prove himself superior to his father, who was cowardly and irresponsible and died a poor man with many unpaid debts. He viewed his father as overly pensive, slow to act, and womanly. Therefore, Okonkwo adopts opposite traits; Okonkwo is rash, quick to act, and excessively violent (Okonkwo associates violence with masculinity). Achebe uses figurative language like metaphors and similes to compare Okonkwo to a fire. “. . .

In the novel Things Fall Apart the main character Okonkwo deals with some decision making that would affect his life dramatically. Okonkwo wanted to shake the reputation of his father and start his own reputation. The only thing stopping him was his anger and his inability to express himself without using his fist. He has to make a very tough decision. He either has to give in and follow his dad's past or fix his anger and create his own legacy.