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How Does Okonkwo's Character Changes

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How Does Okonkwo's Character Changes
Do people really change based on their past? I believe they do. Chinua Achebe, wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart. The main character, Okonkwo, has a hard childhood. Later in his life he becomes very wealthy and has a big family. Okonkwo makes some big mistakes, but we can believe he learns from them. In the end of the book, Okonkwo kills himself after he kills a Christian missionaries. We can think Okonkwo does learn from his mistakes because now he cares about his family more, he thinks about his actions before he makes them, and he has a more sense of compassion now.

One can think Okonkwo does change by learning from his mistakes because he now cares about his family more. “Go home and sleep,” said Okonkwo. “I shall wait here.” (Achebe, pg. 108). This quote demonstrates how Okonkwo runs after Ekwefi and his daughter, after Chielo (a servant to the oracle, a religious figure in their local tribal religion) takes Ezinma. The old Okonkwo would never run after his wife if she makes a stupid decision like that. In …show more content…
“He had no appetite. He only ate to please her.” (Achebe, pg. 199). This quote informs us that Okonkwo is eating to please someone else, not himself. He does nice things for people now. Okonkwo used to kill someone even if they just looked at him wrong. Now Okonkwo is less violent than he used to be. I think Okonkwo realizes that fighting gets you into more fights then out. Okonkwo accidentally shoots a kid at a funeral. For Okonkwo's punishment, he is exiled for 7 years. After Okonkwo kills the Christian missionarie, we can assume he knows he will be killed or another 7 years in exile. Okonkwo wouldn't want to put his family through another exile, and if he were to be killed, he was getting it over with. One can say Okonkwo kills himself to save the trouble of his family. Okonkwo used to have a lot of fights, now he has sympathy for others and his
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