What Is Okonkwo's Role In Igbo Society

His persona serves as a template of an ideal individual in Ibo society, which acts as a goal for others to strive towards. Achebe contrasts the success of Okonkwo with his father Unoka, who serves as an example of failure to conform to the Ibo society’s expectations. Achebe evaluates this through the characterisation of both Unoka and Okonkwo, “When Unoka died, he had taken no title and was heavily in debt. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?” The rhetorical question revealing Okonkwo’s shame for his father’s lowly status prove Unoka’s position as the antithesis of success in the Ibo society. His contemptible circumstances serve as an example to others in the clan of what to strive against; the reverse effect of Okonkwo’s persona. Okonkwo and Unoka are consistently depicted as opposites by Achebe, serving as examples of success and failure within the Ibo society. Their differing positions within their clan outline the traits the Ibo society value within the individual. It is from these values that the Ibo people derive their societal expectations, which in turn act as guidelines for behaviour within their society, contributing to their continued stability. The expectations that a society places on individuals support the preservation of stability by providing a framework for proper

Even though the Ibo are described as ‘primitive and savage’ by Mr. Smith, one of the missionary church leaders, the tribesmen evidently show their etiquette through their mannerisms. Proverbs, a form of Ibo mannerisms, are used quite frequently throughout this novel as ‘the art of conversation is regarded very highly [by the Ibo], and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.’ (Achebe. P.5:1986) The Ibo people are also not as violent and savage as many of the missionaries believed. This is shown when a villager from the Mbaino village kills a woman from the Ibo village, the Ibo village elders and those with titles, instead of initiating war against the neighbouring Mbaino, reach a peaceful agreement on the reparations from the Mbaino tribe.‘… [A]t the end it was decided to follow the normal course of action. An ultimatum was immediately dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between wars on the one hand, and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation.” (P.8)

Change is a reoccurring theme throughout history. It destroys and creates. It displaces and introduces. It can cause death and life. The movement of imperialism in Africa brought great change to the native tribal life. Forcing the indigenous people to turn away from their century-old traditions caused violent rifts between the European settlers and the tribes, as well as internal problems between once amiable members of the Ibo culture. With the introduction of the foreign Western Society in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the tribe’s life and ideals are drastically altered as the new ethics and principles collide with the old traditions and laws, causing the members of the society to either adapt or be crushed underneath the foot of colonialism. Achebe’s character, Okonkwo, was impacted immensely by the cultural collision, as his previous way of life was pulverized before his eyes, and he found no reason to live any longer.

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, originally written in his native language Ibo, tells the tragic tale of an African pre-Christian tribe seen through the eyes of Okonkwo. Okonkwo became a very successful clan leader in his village, by working hard and refusing to be lazy like his father Unoka. Achebe uses irony to encourage character development, drive the contrast between Okonkwo’s dreams and his reality as others see him, and explain the culture’s beliefs in the way they treat women vs. the way women are revered.

One quotation that expresses Okonkwo’s view of manliness states Okonkwo “was always happy when he heard [Nwoye] grumbling about women. That showed that in time he would be able to control his womenfolk” (53). This quotation shows that Oknonkwo feels pleasure when his son displays signs of power, such as the control of the perceived weaker gender. Ergo, Okonkwo views the subordination of others by his son as an example of “masculinity.” This idea is further supported by the quotation: “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children… he was not really a man” (53). Oknonkwo clearly considers utter authority of one’s nuclear family as a prerequisite to meet “manhood.” He literally states that a man without patriarchy in his family is not a man. Therefore, when Nwoye displays the early signs of this dominance, like the grumbling about his subordinate women’s issues, Okonkwo is finally considering his son “masculine” as shown by his happiness.

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

In a society where everyone was first born into a culture of not their choosing, one feels that they must conform to it whether or not certain customs are questionable at times. Brought into the Ibo culture and raised by the ancient traditions since birth, Nwoye finds himself questioning the morals behind this culture and searching for an escape after an unfortunate incident occurs within his village. In Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe introduces themes such as justice, morals, and traditions in order to establish the idea of Nwoye being the most affected by the presence of the missionaries. In the beginning of “Things Fall Apart,” the audience is introduced to a sympathetic, naive, and rather soft Nwoye who lacks certain masculinity; a trait valued by Ibo people and especially his father, Okonkwo.

One of Achebe’s challenges was to illustrate the Ibo’s religious system. Even though the Ibo people had little contact with the outside world, they had developed their own beliefs and practices that became essential elements in their everyday lives. The Ibo religion played a role in the way they raised their families, communicated, entertained, and governed their society. Similar to those of the early Egyptian and Greek religions,

The Igbo language was used by John Goldsmith as an example to justify deviating from the classical linear model of phonology as laid out in The Sound Pattern of English. It is written in the Roman script as well as the Nsibidi formalized ideograms, which is used by the Ekpe society and Okonko fraternity, but is no longer widely used.[115] Nsibidi ideography existed among the Igbo before the 16th century, but died out after it became popular among secret societies, who made Nsibidi a secret form of communication.[116] Igbo language is difficult because of the huge number of dialects, its richness in prefixes and suffixes and its heavy intonation.[117] Igbo is a tonal language and there are hundreds of different Igbo dialects and Igboid languages, such as the Ikwerre and Ekpeye languages.[5] In 1939, Dr. Ida C. Ward led a

Okonkwo does not treat his son, Nwoye, well because he acts in a similar manner to Okonkwo’s father, Unoka. Despite the fact that family should always come first in Ibo society, family is not of great significance to Okonkwo. Okonkwo does not have any appreciation for his family, consequently his family is unappreciative of him. He acts with his emotions rather than reason, which causes him to beat his wives as seen when “[Okonkwo] walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's

Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe’s novel are Okonkwo’s life – his ambition, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values.

Achebe 's significant thought process in his craft is the presentation of a honest and nitty gritty picture of Ibo-society and culture. Achebe goes up against the undertaking of uncovering its different measurements and demonstrating that Nigerian tribal-culture likewise like some other culture is rich and various, it includes a complex joining of religious formal, social and monetary elements. Things Fall Apart is a brief and thorough record of the life in the town of Umuofia especially of Okonkwo and his family that have experienced diverse changes inside the progression of time. Prior to the interruption of the Europeans, the Ibo society was loosened to share the delights and distresses of each other. In icy seasons they used to lounge around log-fire warming up their bodies, moving, giggling and singing. They had confidence in the prophets of the slopes and the holes. They had the dread of their tribal divine beings, enchantment and of the powers of the nature. Individuals used to originate from far and close to counsel Agabala. At gather or while devouring they used to appease the progenitors or the divine beings, offering them their best employments and worshiping them in their naturally peaceful and delightful way. They were extremely cordial to any meeting visitor and offered him/her Kola nuts, which were ceremoniously broken and broke preceding any discussion. A piece of African one of a kind culture is shown in the accompanying concentrate of the Things Fall Apart:

The novel "Things Fall Apart" examines African culture before the colonial infiltration. Achebe's novel forces us to examine the customs and traditions that make up an informal culture. At times we may find some their practices appalling, but Achebe makes us realize that the traditions and customs are what essentially hold the Ibo together. Achebe wrote 'Things Fall Apart" with the intention of changing the common view of African culture. He wrote the novel from an insider's perspective, revealing that African culture was not solely based on barbaric and mindless rituals. Achebe reveals the affects of the colonial infiltration on African societies. Through his

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was wrote in 1958 as a response to European Literature viewing Africans as savages who were then enlightened and found peace and safety by the Europeans. Chinua describes the Igbo people and showed the culture and showing the way of life of the Igbo people. This book shows this powerful and eye opening look into the complex society of these tribes and villages and how law and order is run. The major theme that is I will focus is that traditional development of the Igbo tribe alone and with the influence of the Europeans.

Chinua Achebe, who has taken upon himself the role of a teacher or interpreter devotes more than half the text to portray the social and religious customs, myths, legends, beliefs, superstitions and taboos of the Igbo people which were deeply rooted in their consciousness. At the thematic level, Achebe explores meticulously and faithfully the