Who Is Okonkwo In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo also tries to show himself as an unsympathetic character to show that he is not a weak man, like his father, Unoka. (Being a weak man is a very degrading quality for the culture of Umofia.) An example of Okonkwo’s unsympathetic personality is Ikemefuna’s death. Although Okonkwo treasured the presence of the adopted buy, Ikemefuna, Okonkwo contributes the last and fatal blow to Ikemefuna, causing him to die in the Evil Forest. Okonkwo, regardless of his love for the boy, killed Ikemefuna ultimately to prove his manliness and strength to the tribe, a valued aspect of the culture. “Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body.” (Achebe 146) Okonkwo is also very unsympathetic in regards to his father, Unoka. Unoka was a poor man who was always in debt; he had an interest in music and enjoyed talking.

The character of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was driven by fear, a fear of change and losing his self-worth. He needed the village of Umuofia, his home, to remain untouched by time and progress because its system and structure were the measures by which he assigned worth and meaning in his own life. Okonkwo required this external order because of his childhood and a strained relationship with his father, which was also the root of his fears and subsequent drive for success. When the structure of Umuofia changed, as happens in society, Okonkwo was unable to adapt his methods of self-evaluation and ways of functioning in the world; the life he was determined to live could not survive a new environment and collapsed around

Unoka is Okonkwo’s father, he is a very lazy man and has amassed many debts. Okonkwo is very ashamed of Unoka and seems to hate him very much. Achebe states

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Achebe is trying to convey the theme that excessive pride has the potential to be catastrophic. Achebe conveys this theme by using characters, structure, and Okonkwo as the tragic hero. The District Commissioner, Okonkwo, Enoch, and Mr. Brown are all prideful men and all of them have the potential to succumb to pride; however, pride can only wreak havoc if the person yields to it. The District Commissioner commits immoral acts because of his egotism and similarly, Enoch is the start of the conflict between the clan and the church because of his arrogance. In addition, Okonkwo is the tragic hero, who has a devastating end due to his inability to resist pride,

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.

In Chinua Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo's cruel and arrogant attitude towards those around him divides Ibo society and causes a clash of cultures that ultimately destroys the community. Achebe utilizes characterization and conflict to illustrate the inherent tragedy of society and the unfortunate realities produced by individuals when power is founded in ignorance and hatred. Okonkwo first gains the respect of his clan by defeating Amalinze the Cat. Following this, his hard work and determination builds admiration as he repeatedly overcomes obstacles that would have broken anyone else.

Before Ikemefuna came, Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, was lazy in his eyes and he believed that he was starting to shape more a man after Ikemefuna’s arrival, “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna.” Okonkwo learns that Ikemefuna is to be killed, "That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death." But Okonkwo is to have nothing to do with his actual killing. The day of Ikemefuna’s death nine elders and Okonkwo walk out of the village. “As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, "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.” Worse than beating his wives, worse than anything that Okonkwo has done in this story, he kills Ikemefuna. After being told not to. Okonkwo’s life is so caught up in being manly and being more than his father ever was that he participates in the killing of a boy who calls him father in fear that he might been as weak in front of the other

For better or worse Unoka played a major role in Okonkwo’s life. “It was fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” (Achebe 13). Throughout the entirety of Okonkwo’s life, his relationship with his father would affect his decisions which were always based on the question, “Would my father do this?”, and if he would he would do the opposite. Okonkwo viewed his father as a failure and did not want to even be seen as being related to him.

He was afraid of being thought weak,” (61) shows that Okonkwo thought that if he did not kill Ikemefuna, he feared he would be thought weak and lose the respect of his clansmen. Again the fear of being thought weak led Okonkwo to make a very rash decision that he regrets throughout the following chapters of the book. Another example is shown when Okonkwo kills the court messenger sent by a Christian missionary, he seeks approval from his fellow villagers, but in fact receives the opposite. The men let the other messengers to escape and question Okonkwo for killing the messenger.

Eventhough they are directly blood related, Unoka and Okonkwo have a very different characteristic. Unoka the father was a very lazy and wasteful man, while Okonkwo is everything Unoka was not. Many people have been asking the same question on this strange matter since they are more familiar with the saying ‘like father, like son’. But Okonkwo is different, since he was a child; he has been through neglected-like situation. He has spent days without food, and received all the teases and jokes of unoka’s incapabilities which were thrown upon him. He then became traumatized of

Pg 11- Okonkwo’s children and wives fear him because he is violent and loses his temper.

Unoka is his dad and which okonkwo and the whole village thanks he is unsuccessful. That’s make Okonkwo treat unoka like he’s lesser than a person. “He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience with his father.” (p.1/pg.4) This shows that Okonkwo was ashamed of his dad

In the literary novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the main character, Okonkwo is considered to be a warrior. He is looked upon by the people of the Igbo community of Umuofia, and the other villages in Nigeria. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo expresses himself in multiple ways with his variety of personalities. Okonkwo is a persistent, stubborn, and ambitious man. Persistency is one of Okonkwo’s most shown traits throughout the book.

The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe has two major themes, including the balance of traditional values and change and the perception of masculinity in different people and cultures. The main character Okonkwo demonstrates these in his opposition of the white, Christian missionaries and in his violent demeanor. Okonkwo exemplifies his inability to accept any kind of change in his life through his anger toward the Christians and through his suicide. He shows his radical view of masculinity through his constant aggression towards family members and through his fear of appearing weak in front of others,

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.