Okonkwo Essay

failure, his masculine authority, and his abundant pride. Okonkwo caused his entire family’s lives to be destroyed because he had to remain at the top and always do what was best for himself, even if it meant harming someone he cared about. Okonkwo’s fear of weakness and failure cause him to go through his entire life trying not to have the same fate as his father, who was lazy with no titles. The narrator wrote, “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was driven by

that will eventually bring him down. The main character, Okonkwo, meets each of the four criteria to be a tragic hero. His flaw would be that he is violent but he does have some good. He cares for his family; he wants his son Nwoye, to be tough and hardworking like him. Moreover, he wanted his daughter, Ezinma, to be safe. He is a protagonist of the story because he is the main character, he is a hero, and in addition, he is tough. Okonkwo also exhibits wisdom because he is a leader. He is a great

downfall of a hero). Okonkwo, the main character and tragic hero of Things Fall Apart has very glaring flaws. One of Okonkwo’s flaws is his temper, that often gets the best of him. But Okonkwo's biggest flaw is his fear of failure as shown on pg. 12; “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.” This fear often leads him to act harshly and violently towards others. This is shown when Okonkwo beats one of his wives

leaf falls, that is when we know it is winter, and like the leaves on the tree, Okonkwo changes slowly through the novel. The shift may be hard to notice, but when it is pointed out, it leaves an impact. All through the book, the reader sees Okonkwo, the protagonist run by one passion which causes him to lash out at others. That is, until the end of the novel; the changes are quite difficult to acknowledge, but Okonkwo does change by the way he acts. His behavior is more controlled, and he can communicate

by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo, the main character, is raised in a village centered around respect and authority, too scared to let anyone think he is anything less than a leader deserving of ultimate respect. His father, Unoka, is a man that will always be at other people’s debt. He is everything Okonkwo aspired, or better yet- feared, not to become. Okonkwo spends his entire life working to be nothing like his father, that he lets himself become something debatably worse. Okonkwo has a never ending

Compare and contrast Okonkwo with Obierika and Uchendu. Okonkwo is a stern man who firmly believes in the Ibo traditions. He works hard and has a lot to show for his work ethic (Achebe 13). Okonkwo and Obierika both follow the tribe traditions when it comes to marrying off their daughters. Obierika however is more lenient in Ibo traditions. Obierika questions Okonkwo’s exile, he believes Okonkwo should not be punished for accidentally killing Ezeudu’s sixteen year old son (125). Okonkwo accepts his punishment

Okonkwo and Obierika, two characters from Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, are often considered FOILS of each other, as they are two drastically people yet share similar beliefs and qualities. These two characters are used in order to show all of the aspects of Ibo culture through different perspectives and viewpoints to give the reader a greater understanding of what times and cultures were like during the period of New Imperialism. Okonkwo and Obierika, while both have some overlapping

Obierika and Okonkwo are best friends but they are completely opposite. That is called foil. Foil is where one character is completely different than the main character. Even though the are opposites, there are still many similarities and differences. Obierika is similar because they are both men and they are about the same age. Both men like palm wine. Also, both men have a couple of wives and some children. “Okonkwo's first wife soon finished her cooking and set before their guests a big meal

share a few important characteristics. Both Okonkwo and Macbeth are fearsome fighters, societally respected and ambitious; all traits which are typically seen in a positive light. However, those same qualities are the very source of the two heroes’ defeats. These similarities between Okonkwo and Macbeth provide evidence towards the idea that in literature, across both time and culture, the traits which make a tragic hero great also cause their downfall. Okonkwo and Macbeth are known to be fearsome in

the name Okonkwo spent his life trying not to follow in his father Unoka footsteps. He had one fatal flaw, he was haunted by the ghost his cowardly father. But will hiding who he really is lead to the fall of his facade? This fear of weakness and failure has come from his father and is the reasoning for many things he does in his life. His father, Unoka, was not a strong higher figure, like Okonkwo. Unoka died, leaving many villagers he knew with unsettled debts. In this story, Okonkwo is thought