Okonkwo In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo is the protagonist, so it makes sense for him to demonstrate a lot of pride which he undeniably does. Okonkwo is constantly bragging and boastful talking about how many men he or Umuofia has killed and is constantly scared to be perceived as weak. An early example of this is in chapter 7 when Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna. He is advised by his elders not to go and just stay at home. But Okonkwo goes anyway, which leads to him killing Ikemefuna because "He was afraid of being thought weak.

The novel “things fall apart” is about the fatal demise of Okonkwo and the igbo culture of Umuofia. Okonkwo is well known and respected leader in his community, who is successful in everything he does, such as wrestling and farming. He is quick with his hands and takes pride in his accomplishments. Okonkwo’s family relationship makes him a sympathetic character because of his support and an unsympathetic character because of his cruelty. In many ways Okonkwo showed that he had no sympathy for others , However at times he could be sympathetic.

His reasoning for hurting his family is tell himself that he is not like his father. He is a warrior and that he can hurt and kill people. Okonkwo’s family loved Ikemefuna, the adopted son. He feels guilty for killing him but he can’t say no to their “god”. “The earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger,” Okonkwo said.

The author, Chinua Achebe, used Okonkwo as an example of the father/son conflict and how the conflict affects a man’s life. Just because one does not always act like the typical strong, almost emotionless man, that does not mean one is coward. Okonkwo’s thought process leads to his demise because he cannot bear to see the strong willed tribe and culture he has known his whole life fail him: just

“Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop”. This quote said by Usman B. Asif describes the negative effects of fear. In the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo lives a life in constant fear of becoming like Unoka. This fear was fueled by the failures of his father and the drive to be completely different than his father. Okonkwo,s motivations, interactions and development as a character all suggest that he is a Byronic hero.

Killing Ikemefuna shows that Okonkwo does not have absolute control over his emotions. As he sits in his obi afterward he is sad and defeated: “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna” (Achebe 63). Killing someone close to him causes Okonkwo to fall into a deep state of depression. Starving himself because of his grief reveals that he has succumbed to his fear. Okonkwo has committed his life to avoid a situation that causes him to appear weak, but refusing to eat outwardly demonstrates his pain and sorrow of killing the boy that called him father.

After Okonkwo murders Ikemefuna he has a bulk of feelings and becomes emotional which isn’t like him. The text says “ Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. .. He did not sleep at night, he tried not to think about Ikemefuna but the more he tried, the more he thought about him”(Achebe 63). Okonkwo grown very fond of him, so his death made Okonkwo very dismal about his actions.

In the book “Things Fall Apart“ Okonkwo is a very strong man and from time to time he starts showing his true self. He has a lot of responsibilities and other things he has to do around the living environment and interact with lots of people. Okonkwo changes from being that strong man, to a man who feels like his tribe is not with him when he wants to go to war with the missionaries. For someone like Okonkwo a lot of people looks up to him and while in the tribe Okonkwo beats his wives and children. Not good behavior for someone who is supposedly looked at as strong.

Okonkwo’s sense of identity is challenged by the relationship of his father, Unoka, and his adopted son, Ikemefuna. Unoka is not the typical role model for anyone because “when Unoka died he had taken no titles at all and he was heavily in debt” (8). Unoka’s death did not bring good to his name due to his debt and the lack of titles. This shows why Okonkwo doesn’t want to be like his father, who in the ibo culture has no dignity due to the lack of titles. This makes Okonkwo become tough and respected because “he was not afraid of war.

Rick Godwin once said, “One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain”. In the novel “Things Fall Apart”, by Chinua Achebe Okonkwo resists changes when the british missionaries arrive and it causes conflicts throughout the novel. His defiance, warrior-like, manliness behavior leads him to his suicide when he realizes change sometimes can not be controlled. Okonkwo’s nobility and prosperity is revealed through his success and leadership within the clan. Aristotle stated in “On Tragedy” that “He must be one who is highly renowned and prosperous.”.

The hatred that he had for his father he carried with him throughout his whole life. That hatred turned into him killing Ikemefuna and the messenger. Ikemefuna was thought of as a son and he killed him in fear of being considered weak in front of his clan members. That weakness was thought of his weakness which was considered a failure. At the end of the story Okonkwo ends up being just like his father which is ironic because he strived to be nothing like him.

“Life can only be understood backwards; it must be lived forwards “ -Soren Kierkegaard In the novel Things Fall Apart,by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is driven by his past. Specifically his relationship with his father, Unoka who was a failure in village standards; he was poor, owed a lot of debt, and was too lazy to do anything about it. Okonkwo saw this as weakness and swore that he would live his life as a stark contrast from his father. Okonkwo’s motivations, interactions, and development of his character and his society suggest that he is a Byronic hero.

From being nothing in his village he rises to be a great, honorable, successful leader of umuofia. He also has a tragic flaw of being weak, failure and having fear that leads him to fail at things several times because of his fears. All of these failures then lead him to his suicide. Finally, he finds his own tragic fate because of his murder of the missionaries court messenger during his villages meeting. Though Okonkwo's life started out as one of the most successful and leading men of Umuofia but because of his violent and impulsive characteristics, even the most successful and well-respected man can fall from his

Okonkwo is portrayed as “well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements”(Achebe 1). This quote demonstrates how just like many people Okonkwo's fundamental objectives was to be well respected and successful. Additionally it represents the objectives of the culture one of which is to be

One of the characters in the story is Okonkwo, who is one of the main characters of the story. Okonkwo resided in a manly and violent clan. He thought very little of the people with no titles, for in his mind the men were failures. Okonkwo was a very presumptuous, manly, and headstrong man. Who doesn 't want to be like his father, Unoka, who, in Okonkwo’s mind was a failure.