Who Is Okonkwo In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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

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.

According to the author Okonkwo and his father had a string of differences. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka , is described as being lazy, improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow. It’s clear from the start that Okonkwo doesn’t really care for his father. Because of one person, Okonkwo believed that if you showed any emotion then you were nobody and would never be anybody.

Okonkwo’s hunger for power is greater than any others in the Umuofia village. Okonkwo’s thirst for power is greater than just doing it for publicity and for the people. Okonkwo endless hard work to gain titles is personal for him. Okonkwo wanted to be nothing like his father Unoka since he was a child. Unoka resembled all the things Okonkwo was not such as weak, a liar, cheap, couldn’t take care of his own family, and considered a women to the rest of the clan members. Okonkwo rarely speaks about

Okonkwo's father was seen as weak and Okonkwo said he was never going to be like his father. On page 13 it says, “ And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo hated his dad so much he was willing to do

Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, was a failure, and a much despised man in Umuofia. Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him

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

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,

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

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.

Okonkwo is the son of Unoka. Unoka was poor and a debtor, and he didn’t take the responsibilities that a man needs to take in the Igbo community. He is the reason why Okonkwo is afraid of failure and weakness. Okonkwo grew up to be a powerful man. If he wanted something, he never stopped to get it.

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.

In the first part of the book, Okonkwo is a great, successful, and strong man of title and fame. He is a stark contrast from his father, who is lazy and weak (2, 10). Okonkwo fears “failure [and] weakness”, which fuels his desire and strive to be strong and manly (10). In addition, the Ibo admire manliness and strength, which inflates Okonkwo’s hubris. In his attempts to maintain his image of power, he allows his ego and pride to take over his judgment. For example, when Ikemefuna cries to Okonkwo to save him, he is in a “daz[e]” of fear, he makes the horrible decision of killing Ikemefuna (53). This is the big mistake that is his reversal of fortune, or peripeteia. After the death of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo is met with great misfortune. He faces depression and exile for 7 years when he accidentally kills Ezeudu’s son (109). To add onto his unluckiness, in part two, Christians start to interfere with the Ibo and Okonkwo loses Nwoye to them. In part three, Okonkwo faces the drastic changes of his fatherland. He is sad and angry because tradition is changing and the things like title and status aren’t as important as before, therefore, his ego is hurt and his hatred of the Christians increase. To continue with the miseries of Okonkwo, after the men of the clan burn down the church because of Enoch’s unmasking of

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