Who Is Okonkwo In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart?

Okonkwo life is “dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). When Okonkwo was a boy, his playmates teased him calling, saying that his father was agbala. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was lazy. He did not work on his farm; he died in great debt. He did not acquire a single title. He did not have a barn to pass down to his son. Unoka is a type of man who is scorned in Umofia. He is seen as weak and effeminate. As Okonkwo grows older, he is determined not become a failure like his father. His father was weak; he will be strong. His father was lazy; he will be hard-working. Okonkwo earned his fame by defeating the reigning wrestling champion. Okonkwo diligently plants yam, building a successful farm. He builds himself an obi, has three wives and many children. His fame “rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo will not let one womanly trait sully his reputation. Therefore, he “hate[d] everything that his father Unoka had loved” (Achebe 13). One of these was gentleness. Okonkwo refuses to show any signs of emotion, except his temper. He

Every action Okonkwo carries out is “dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). This fear stems from his hatred towards every one of his father's attributes. Thus, his character depends so much on comparing himself to someone else's identity, that Okonkwo cannot verily become aware of his own inner qualities. Speaking to Okonkwo, Unoka, his father, says “‘a proud heart can

A character who makes negative interactions with others is definitely someone who’s unsympathetic.The main character okonkwo from the novel Thing Fall Apart is a good example of a character who is unsympathetic.This is because his actions and interactions with others makes us despise him .In addition many of the characters seemed as if it was hard to have a close bond with okonkwo,and for a lot of readers that makes us uncomfortable.The relationships okonkwo had with his youngest wife Ojiugo and his other wife Ekwefi make him unsympathetic .These two characters both had a similar relationship.

Okonkwo’s father was a man who was not looked up to through out the village. This was because he was a man who was lazy and would not think of the future. On page 3 it is stated, ‘In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of think about tomorrow.’ As a result of Unoka’s lifestyle, Okonkwo despises a lazy lifestyle. Okonkwo’s life is all about hard work and never

In the beginning, Okonkwo feared being like his father, he raised his family and built up his life by his self because he did not want to be like his father. “He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his father.” (pg. 1 TFA) the book said. He wasn’t very fond of his dad; his dad did not own much and had a lot of debt with everyone. Okonkwo did not want to grow up like his father; “In his

Okonkwo’s father is a lazy beggar who owes the whole tribe money, but dies before paying them back. Okonkwo hates his father, which is why he wants nothing to do with him and does not want to resemble him in any way. After Okonkwo’s hard childhood, he became “well known

Things Fall Apart “Reputation is what others think of us; character is what God knows of us. When you have spent what feels like eternity trying to repair a few moments of time that destroyed the view others once had of you then you must ask yourself if you have the problem or is it really them? God doesn’t make us try so hard, only enemies do.” ― Shannon L. Alder In the story Things fall apart Okonkwo is a man who is always worried how others preserve him to be.

had been ruled by a great passion-to become one of the lords of the clan. That had

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, the protagonist, may be seen as a hero, however, I don't believe he's a hero. My definition of a hero is someone who risks something- big or small- to help another person or group of people. Okonkwo may have attempted to save his village, but he never accomplished that goal and caused only more hurt in people, including his family. He was fit to be one- strong and imperious- but his actions didn't prove him to be so.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, is a tragic story of Okonkwo’s life of trying to be the man his father never was. Okonkwo sets out his life trying to be ‘manly’ and being the opposite if his father. Okonkwo, among growing yams, also beats his wife because it’s a sign of manhood in their culture. The things Okonkwo does to his wives are horrible, and even goes as far as helping kill his ‘adopted son’, how far will he go to prove he is manly and not weak? Does this society actually condone these harsh ways towards women?

Okonkwo works extremely hard to gain titles for himself. Okonkwo is worried about his reputation in the tribe because his father was a lazy man who never came to anything but debt. Okonkwo does not want to be like his father by having a lot of debts and bad titles.Even though Okonkwo fears failure. Okonkwo has a tendency to not make the best decisions.

Okonkwo the Hero Okonkwo was a man of wealth, high title, and was well respected. But he lost everything he had due to an unfortunate event. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is about Okonkwo living in Africa when the English missionaries came. In Umuofia, the village Okonkwo lived in, they had very strict punishments.

In the village of Umuofia, they believe different gods and spirits, but mostly they believed that the men were the ultimate/stronger gender. In this village, if a man were too soft, lazy, or had sympathy, they were seen as weak and useless to the world. I think that Oknonwo fits his culture perfectly. Okonkwo is a very hard-hearted man that does his best every day to not become his father. His father, Unoka, was seen as a very weak man. His father never worked for what he wanted, he always took the lazy way and expected it to work. He also liked music and showed compassion. All these things were seen as an abomination to their culture. Okonkwo never wanted to be like his father, so at a young age, he became cold and only cared about himself. He became so cold that he even killed Ikemefuna, someone he became fond of

Okonkwo detested his father and despised his laziness. Okonkwo was motivated by his father’s laziness to become a tough guy. Okonkwo feared that he would be useless to his father and to the tribe “He wore a haggard and mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on his flute,” (Achebe 2). Okonkwo sees hard work as a masculine trait. He works hard and insists to those around him also have the same work ethic that he once had. He beats his wives and children to make them realize that he is in control and will always be in control. His oldest son Nwoye seems to have the same traits like his grandfather, Unoka, which apparently Okonkwo is not very happy about. “He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough money to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back,”(Achebe

Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was the opposite person that Okonkwo wants to be. He was poor, only had one wife, had no titles, and hated fighting. By being born into Unoka's home Okonkwo had to start completely from scratch: “Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young