Okonkwo's Man Research Paper
Jonathan Bonifas
Lit 2300/3
Fiction Paper
Okonkwo as a Man’s Man
Chinua Achebe’s novel Thing Fall Apart focuses around the Ibo people in Nigeria but more specifically those of the tribe of Umuofia. In this tribe the male is the head of the household and must constantly prove himself to be worthy of his responsibilities. Each family in this tribe grows their own food and creates their own structures and supplies. To be successful a household must have a strong, powerful, and well respected male figure at its head. Is Okonkwo such a man that would have success in this society? Absolutely! Okonkwo is a man’s man especially according to the qualities held by his people. He is the most feared and probably the most respected man not only in his tribe but in the surrounding tribes as well. How does Okonkwo get this respect? We see him start his …show more content…
He returns home, after the seven years, to find his tribe has adopted new beliefs, customs, culture and religion that have been brought over by the white European missionaries. From this moment on Okonkwo sees no more success in his life. He tries to rally his people to fight against these “invaders” but no one seems to want to follow him. In Okonkwo's mind it was better to take his own life than to allow the missionaries to change the way he lived it. He was so blinded to his own faults that it magnified the faults of others. This did not allow Okonkwo to see what was coming on his return and how he could have protected himself against the changed Umuofia tribe. To his death Okonkwo remained a man’s man refusing to accept the consequences of his own actions by doing what he thought was right not caring about the traditions and consequences involved once again. Obierika sums it up nicely when he talks to the District Commissioner about burying Okonkwo.
“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….” (Chapter 25 pg
Lit 2300/3
Fiction Paper
Okonkwo as a Man’s Man
Chinua Achebe’s novel Thing Fall Apart focuses around the Ibo people in Nigeria but more specifically those of the tribe of Umuofia. In this tribe the male is the head of the household and must constantly prove himself to be worthy of his responsibilities. Each family in this tribe grows their own food and creates their own structures and supplies. To be successful a household must have a strong, powerful, and well respected male figure at its head. Is Okonkwo such a man that would have success in this society? Absolutely! Okonkwo is a man’s man especially according to the qualities held by his people. He is the most feared and probably the most respected man not only in his tribe but in the surrounding tribes as well. How does Okonkwo get this respect? We see him start his …show more content…
He returns home, after the seven years, to find his tribe has adopted new beliefs, customs, culture and religion that have been brought over by the white European missionaries. From this moment on Okonkwo sees no more success in his life. He tries to rally his people to fight against these “invaders” but no one seems to want to follow him. In Okonkwo's mind it was better to take his own life than to allow the missionaries to change the way he lived it. He was so blinded to his own faults that it magnified the faults of others. This did not allow Okonkwo to see what was coming on his return and how he could have protected himself against the changed Umuofia tribe. To his death Okonkwo remained a man’s man refusing to accept the consequences of his own actions by doing what he thought was right not caring about the traditions and consequences involved once again. Obierika sums it up nicely when he talks to the District Commissioner about burying Okonkwo.
“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….” (Chapter 25 pg