Okonkwo And Mr Brown Analysis

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo does not have an open mind when it comes to new traditions and a new culture. Therefore, when Mr. Brown came in and introduced Christianity, Okonkwo immediately saw him as a target. Mr. Brown and Okonkwo are almost complete opposites. Okonkwo is a self-centered person who does not respect his family. Mr. Brown, on the other hand, is very openminded and listens other’s opinions as well as his own. Okonkwo does not sympathize or empathize with anyone. His son Nwoye went joined the Christian church, and he therefore disowned him. He did not for a second stop to think about the situation Nwoye was in. Mr. Brown on the other hand, let anyone join his church, even the outcasts that nobody wanted.
Brown’s campaigns is gun control. Mr. Brown and Okonkwo have similar opinions on gun control in one aspect. This aspect is that a woman’s right to carry a gun is not even in the question. This connects back to their views on women’s rights. They believe that carrying a gun is a manly and does not pertain to women. Both Okonkwo and Mr. Brown think that if anyone should have the right to bear arm, it should be a man. The differences between Okonkwo and Mr. Brown’s opinions derive from the question of the acceptance of killing at all. Okonkwo believes that it is a man’s right to bear arm because it shows his strength and power. After beating his wife for picking a few banana leaves off a tree, Okonkwo decided to go out hunting because “Although Okonkwo was a great man whose prowess was universally acknowledged. he was no hunter”(Achebe 38). Even though he was not necessarily good with a gun, Okonkwo thinks that to continue to show his manliness, using a gun is a sure way to do that. Because he believes that a man can show his manliness by force, he believes that the right to carry a gun is man’s right. He thinks that a woman should rely on their husband to protect them, so they do not need a gun. Okonkwo also believes that it is a man’s right to be able to protect himself. Mr. Brown thinks that killing of any sort is against The Bible. It is part of the ten commandments that murder is unacceptable. Because Mr. Brown is such a religious man, he believes that violence of any sort in bad. This is quite different from Okonkwo’s views which show that he believes that killing a man in war is an honor and a high title. In Things Fall Apart, it even says that Okonkwo drinks from the skulls of those he has killed in war. He does this to display the high title he earned while fighting in the war. These differences are what set each campaign apart from the