Okonkwo owes his great success to his unrelenting warrior character, but when his culture begins to fade away and he does not change, it is also his downfall. From the beginning of the story, Okonkwo bases his entire personality…
Change is one of the biggest themes in this book. Okonkwo goes through a lot of changes for the worse. One example of a change for Okonkwo is when he was exiled for seven years. Okonkwo was exiled because his gun exploded and it shot a boy right in the heart. "It was the crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land." (P.124) Being exiled was a huge change for Okonkwo because he was forced to leave his farm that he worked so hard to build and move to his mothers natal village. The village men killed all the animals and burnt down Okonkwo 's whole farm to cleanse the village of his crime. He had to build new huts and a farm for his family, in which he wasn 't very happy about. Okonkwo felt as if "He had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach, panting ." (P.131) The major reason why Okonkwo was angry about being exiled was because it ruined the chance of him ever being "lord of the clan," because he killed a clansman.…
2. Describe Okonkwo, the protagonist of Things Fall Apart. How does he work to achieve greatness as defined by his community and culture? How does he differ from Western heroes whom you are familiar with?…
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.…
Okonkwo, the main character in Things Fall Apart, is a hard headed man. He is very custom to his tribe's way of life. He believes a woman's place is in the house, cleaning cooking and taking care of the children. Okonkwo's father was not an acceptable man in Igbo society. His father was in extreme debt and was not a very structured man.…
Okonkwo suffers the consequences of his actions being motivated by fear throughout Things Fall Apart. He damages his relationship with his family, and his actions lead to his eventual death. Okonkwo and his son Nwoye could never relate to each other. Both had totally different outlooks. Okonkwo was always trying to appear manly and trying to get Nwoye to appear the same way. These things were not really…
Okonkwo, the main character of the book, was born the son of Unoka, who was a loafer. Unoka was too lazy to go out and plant crops on new, fertile land, and preferred to stay at home playing his flute, drinking palm wine, and making merry with the neighbors. Because of this, his father never had enough money, and his family went hungry. He borrowed much money in order to maintain this lifestyle. Okonkwo perceived this as an imbalance toward the female side in his father's character: staying at home and not using one's strength to provide for the family is what the women do. In reaction, Okonkwo completely rejected his father, and therefore the feminine side of himself. He became a star wrestler and warrior in his tribe and began providing for his family at a very young age, while at the same time starting new farms and beginning to amass wealth. He is very successful, and soon becomes one of the leaders of his tribe and has many wives and children. His big ambition is to become one of the powerful elders of the tribe, for what could be more manly than that?…
He was losing the pride he once had in his culture and society. It also caused him to kill himself. "That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself and now he will be buried like a dog..."(153) He was trying to uphold his culture and ended up disgracing it. The cultural collision deeply affected Okonkwo. “Then the tragedy of his first son had occurred. At first it appeared as if it might prove too great for his spirit. But it was a resilient spirit, and in the end Okonkwo overcame his sorrow. He had five other sons and he would bring them up in the way of the clan.”(126)…
In Things Fall apart, Okonkwo was considered a tragic hero. He used to be a great wrestler, a fierce warrior, and a successful farmer of yams in Umuofia. Shortly after Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo accidentally killed someone in a funeral ceremony. He and his family were sent into exile for seven years. Nevertheless, when he returned to Umuofia, he found himself unable to adapt to changing time as the white men came to live among the village. Okonkwo realized that he was no longer able to function within his changing society. Consequently, he committed suicide by hanging himself for his final tragedy. His tragic end was led by his character flaws, a betrayal of his clansmen, and the colonization.…
Fate is a powerful word, with different meanings to most individuals. To some, fate is a superstition. But to others, fate is a strong belief by which they live their life. For those who believe in fate, it can destroy the plans of even the strongest and most determined people. Which is what happened to Okonkwo in, “Things Fall Apart”. Okonkwo worked all his life to be everything his father was not, but his fate was inevitable and his inner weakness was revealed. His family was a main point of weakness for him but he tried not to let it show. Also, when his life became difficult, he took his own life proving how weak he truly was.…
In another part of the story, Okonkwo is banished from his fatherland. This incident is the first where he is punished greatly for his actions. It marks a turning point in Okonkwo’s downfall, and therefore the downfall of the traditional culture that he stands for. His hopes and aspirations are almost forgotten while he is away from Umuofia, and he desperately tries to regain his status when he returns. During this period of time, Okonkwo also discovers that his son has converted to his enemy’s ways and beliefs. He abandons his son, and doesn’t want to be his father any longer. This shows that his relationships with family and…
What others may think of you should not be the force that drives you, in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo lived each day trying to prove that he was a strong man even if it required him to make the wrong decisions. Okonkwo was a man of great honor in the village of Umoufia. He was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame was due to his personal achievements. He lived in fear of being a failure or thought weak as his father was; Okonkwo did everything in his power to have the respect of his people and to be a “man.” Being that his main focus was to always do be masculine; this led to his downfall and caused him to be punished by Chielo.…
Okonkwo never understood the concept of going with the flow or adjusting to circumstances. It started in his childhood. His father, Unoka, “had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt” (Achebe 8). He was a poor farmer and a coward in war. The people of Umuofia called him an agbala, which means woman. Okonkwo was immensely ashamed by him, and his life was definitely affected because of him. “Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit,” (Achebe 16). In a perfect world, his father would have been a bloodthirsty warrior, with many wives and children, and a number of cowries. Okonkwo was narrow-minded, and this quality backfired in the form of shame and discontent. “He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience with his father,” (Achebe 2). Unoka never had the money to support his family, and this disgraced Okonkwo. Okonkwo was never able to understand his father and his different ways. Since Unoka was his father, he couldn’t say anything to him, but in his heart and mind, he meant nothing to Okonkwo.…
Okonkwo is essentially a good man, but he is often too proud of himself, which makes him capable of making bad decisions and displeasing the gods. The sacred week…
Throughout the book Things Fall Apart, we see Okonkwo’s character change numerous ways. At the beginning of the book you see Okonkwo “come up from the coldest places.” One example of Okonkwo progressing from a rough place is on page 18, “With a father like Unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had,” (Achebe). Unfortunately, Okonkwo did not have the life most men in Umuofia had. Most of the men in Okonkwo’s tribe were able to gain respect by having a father with high status. Sadly, Okonkwo’s father was a failure and Okonkwo could not inherit anything from him. In the end, Okonkwo had to gain his triumph by himself. Another example of Okonkwo coming up from a rough place is on page 16, “Okonkwo did not have the…