Okonkwo In Things Fall Apart

Okonwko, the protagonist in the novel Things Fall Apart, had two different sides- the public man and the private man. Though he may seem and portray a very masculine character, that is actually a facade. In reality, Okonkwo is a man loaded with insecurity. Due to his fear of being judged and failing, eventually, he resorted to hanging himself at the end of the novel. Personally, I feel that his death was not one expected.

Throughout the book, Okonkwo shows his determination to succeed. He was driven by the fear of his father- to avoid being weak and feminine, and as such, he developed into someone who was known for his perseverance, and it is indeed a shock that the protagonist eventually commits suicide, since one would have thought that he would possess enough courage to face the consequences. During the year of share-cropping, a vital year to Okonkwo, that marked the start of his career as a prosperous farmer, the rain poured, and the crops were destroyed. As many were discouraged,
Okonkwo is a man who was possessed by his extreme fear of weakness and failure. We see that very clearly here. In the novel, after the men were released, Okonkwo wanted the clan to fight back, and gain their rights. Hence, he proceeded to kill the head messenger to prove to them that they should fight back. However, the missionaries were allowed to run away and he would bear the consequences. But since Okonkwo previously knew about the "men in Abame" and "the hanging incident", he could have chose suicide as an option over public humiliation. Since he was so afraid of failure and of seen as being weak or vulnerable, there was a high possibility that he would not want to face a public death and be subjected to the White man's tortures. Thus, the only way of an escape was for him to take his own life. This resulted in his suicide in the