Okonkwo's Suicide Analysis

Although believed solely to represent his fall to weakness, Okonkwo’s suicide has far-reaching consequences for his tribe and culture. To begin with, Okonkwo’s death marks the end of the Ibo culture in Umuofia. Anxious to return home, Okonkwo does not understand why everyone is allowing the missionaries to interfere with their lifestyle. Imposing a new religion and government, the white men do not understand or seem to care about how the clan operates, focusing solely on converting the clansmen to a supposedly superior ideology. As a result of his upbringing, Okonkwo is not afraid to fight for what he believes in, his tribe and culture, unlike most of the people in Umuofia. Originally convinced that Umuofia would fight against the new religion,
In Umuofia, suicide is “an offense against the Earth and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen” (207). Considered to go against Umuofia’s culture, suicide requires a certain set of rules to be followed. According to beliefs, only strangers from another tribe may touch the body. In accordance with their culture, the men at Okonkwo’s compound have already called for another village to come and bury the body. Once that is complete, they will continue to do their duty, making sacrifices to clean the ruined land. To readers, it seems that Umuofia has not completely forgotten its ways and fallen victim to the white men. Not only does Okonkwo’s death remind the tribe of the customs they have always upheld, but it also spreads understanding of the Ibo culture unwittingly to the whites. Participating in the tribal ways, the white men gain more knowledge of the ways of these so-called primitive tribes, albeit unknowingly. Even though the district commissioner himself doesn’t participate, he allows for his men to do the job for Umuofia and intends to write about the suicide. Blindly, the district commissioner thinks that he has won and overcome the villagers, but in reality, Okonkwo spread remembrance of his culture to Umuofia and the