How Is Okonkwo Selfish

After reading the novel, Things Fall Apart, you would probably wonder why Okonkwo is such a ruthless person? What drives the character? Iyanla Vanzant once said, “ parents are teachers, guides, leaders, protectors, and providers for their children.” We all know that parents greatly affect their children’s behavior. This is also true of Okonkwo, the way he acts is truly affected by his father. Okonkwo’s characteristic is totally opposite from those of his father, Unoka.
Unoka is only mentioned at the beginning of the novel. Although he in very into music and good at it, he is also lazy and irresponsible. In the first chapter, his appearance describes as, “he was tall but very think and had a slight stoop. He wore a haggard and mournful look
From the way Okonkwo is with his family and others in the community, he is a self-made, well-respected member of the village, but also a ruthless person. For instance, “Okonkwo’s prosperity was visible in his household. He had a large compound enclosed... He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut, food and palm-wine, and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children.” (14) From this quote, it is easy to see that Okonkwo is self-made person, and that’s probably the reason why he is well-respected in the village. Whereas, his father is such a lazy person. It actually talks about how others treat his father: “Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title.”(13) He is probably shamed by what his father had done, that’s why he tried so hard to be rich. Moreover, there are a lot of examples that show Okonkwo is quite a ruthless person, but one of the best quotes is, “He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week Of Peace. ”(29) Okonkwo treats very strict to his family, he even beat his wife during the Week of Peace without
He hates everything that his father Unoka had loved(13). During the terrible year, his father said, “Do not despair. I know you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and bitter when a man fails alone.”(24-25) What Unoka said is encouraging, but Okonkwo doesn’t appreciate it at all. The novel explicitly states that,“ perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fare of failure and of weakness...And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved.” (13)In deep of Okonkwo’s heart, he didn’t afraid of anything but to become his father. So he is trying his best to be totally the opposite person from his father, that’s how he became a strong and self-made person. By Comparing Okonkwo and his father, Unoka, we found out they are quite different people. And the time that affected Okonkwo the most is when he was growing up, because he needed to support the whole family. Overall, Unoka is actually the one drives Okonkwo’s