Okonkwo's Downfall in: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, things fall apart for the character Okonkwo because of his character traits. Okonkwo is a very structured man with little patience for whatever he believes is wrong. Some of Okonkwos negative character traits include his violent temper, which gets him in trouble with his religion, clan, family and the missionaries, and his constant battles with his own father which cause him to believe in what is wrong, even if he is aware of what is right. As well, Okonkwo being such a structured man is a good feature of his personal nature, but even this has a negative effect on his life. Okonkwo is an extremely complex character created by Chinua Achebe, and his life falls apart because of all of these factors.
Okonkwo believes that the worst thing you could do is be a woman while you are a man. This is a character trait that helps tear his life apart. Okonkwos father, Unoka, causes Okonkwo to be confused about life. Unoka was a complete failure in the eyes of the Umuofia people because of his effeminate way of thinking, and, When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt.(p.5, Things Fall Apart). Okonkwo is so greatly ashamed of his father that he based many of his beliefs about how life should be lived by doing things exactly the opposite to that of his father. At first, Okonkwo had much success doing this, but his mind was so strongly warped that he did not develop a well rounded personality and thought only of doing things so he would not be considered a woman. Okonkwo was fully aware that many of the actions that he took, solely to be more of a man, were wrong to do. Unfortunately, Okonkwo so strongly felt that everyone would respect him for making manly decisions in place of wise decisions that he would do things to cause his life to crumble.
Ikemefunas death is an excellent example of Okonkwos immense fear of being effeminate, like his father. When the Oracle sentenced Ikemefuna to be killed,
Okonkwo believes that the worst thing you could do is be a woman while you are a man. This is a character trait that helps tear his life apart. Okonkwos father, Unoka, causes Okonkwo to be confused about life. Unoka was a complete failure in the eyes of the Umuofia people because of his effeminate way of thinking, and, When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt.(p.5, Things Fall Apart). Okonkwo is so greatly ashamed of his father that he based many of his beliefs about how life should be lived by doing things exactly the opposite to that of his father. At first, Okonkwo had much success doing this, but his mind was so strongly warped that he did not develop a well rounded personality and thought only of doing things so he would not be considered a woman. Okonkwo was fully aware that many of the actions that he took, solely to be more of a man, were wrong to do. Unfortunately, Okonkwo so strongly felt that everyone would respect him for making manly decisions in place of wise decisions that he would do things to cause his life to crumble.
Ikemefunas death is an excellent example of Okonkwos immense fear of being effeminate, like his father. When the Oracle sentenced Ikemefuna to be killed,
Bibliography: ll quotes and page numbers from the novel:Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe