fear in things fall apart
Living In Fear
In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the main character, Okonkwo’s life revolves around fear. Throughout the novel Okonkwo struggles with a fear of becoming his father and with a fear of not being respected throughout the village. Instead of overcoming his fears, Okonkwo lashes out and his fears dominate him and take over his actions. Okonkwo believes that his fear drives him to do better, but in reality he only becomes worse and turns into his father. Since Okonkwo was young, he always was scared that he was going to turn into a failure like his father, Unoka. In the village, Unoka is known to not be able to take care of his family and falling into debt. Unoka’s bad reputation drives Okonkwo’s to fear being a bad father and being a disgrace to his family. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. … Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.(pg. 13)” In this quote the phrase “Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” stick out because they show that Okonkwo is truly afraid of himself and of what he is capable. Okonkwo grew up watching his father fail and bring nothing but shame upon his family. By watching his father fail it motivates Okonkwo to fear himself, and to make sure that he becomes a responsible, respectable man.
Another fear of Okonkwo’s is the fear of not being respected by the people in the village. To prove to the people that he is worthy of their respect, Okonkwo becomes one of the greatest wrestlers in the village to prove to the people that he was great. “If every man deserved his success, that man Okonkwo. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. That
In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the main character, Okonkwo’s life revolves around fear. Throughout the novel Okonkwo struggles with a fear of becoming his father and with a fear of not being respected throughout the village. Instead of overcoming his fears, Okonkwo lashes out and his fears dominate him and take over his actions. Okonkwo believes that his fear drives him to do better, but in reality he only becomes worse and turns into his father. Since Okonkwo was young, he always was scared that he was going to turn into a failure like his father, Unoka. In the village, Unoka is known to not be able to take care of his family and falling into debt. Unoka’s bad reputation drives Okonkwo’s to fear being a bad father and being a disgrace to his family. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. … Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.(pg. 13)” In this quote the phrase “Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” stick out because they show that Okonkwo is truly afraid of himself and of what he is capable. Okonkwo grew up watching his father fail and bring nothing but shame upon his family. By watching his father fail it motivates Okonkwo to fear himself, and to make sure that he becomes a responsible, respectable man.
Another fear of Okonkwo’s is the fear of not being respected by the people in the village. To prove to the people that he is worthy of their respect, Okonkwo becomes one of the greatest wrestlers in the village to prove to the people that he was great. “If every man deserved his success, that man Okonkwo. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. That