Okonkwo's Virtues In Things Fall Apart

Everyone has different character traits, some that can be seen as virtues. Even the most unpleasant person has virtues; however, they may be a victim to those virtues. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, he writes about a man named Okonkwo who has many virtues, yet he is seen as a victim to them. His virtues can be seen as the cause of his downfall. Three virtues that Okonkwo is a victim to are strength, masculinity, and determination.
Okonkwo is a very strong man. His strength is both physical and emotional. While this may seem like a good thing, Okonkwo is very prideful about his strength and refuses to show any emotion that he deems “unmanly.” He fears that if he does he will be like his father which is what he is the most scared
If a person has what he believes to be feminine qualities then he looks down on them. If anyone so much as slightly resembles his father in behavior he begins to dislike them. This is something that causes many problems in Okonkwo's life. He even begins to resent his son because “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth.” (thirteen) The way Okonkwo treats his family causes them to resent him as well and eventually Nwoye leaves, which angers Okonkwo very much, and is what causes him to be so against the white men, which leads to his downfall. Okonkwo is against feminine qualities so much so that he even scolds himself for showing any emotion other than anger. When Ikemefuna is killed causing Okonkwo to feel a great amount of grief he started to reprimand himself because “‘you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed.’” (sixty-five) Okonkwo’s pride in being man-like causes him problems in many instances in which he later is troubled
It is shown that when Okonkwo is determined he does not stop to reflect on his actions. When he doesn’t want to be seen as weak he is determined to do what will make others think otherwise. When he doesn’t agree with what is said or done he is determined to change what has happened so that it is to his liking. When he doesn’t approve of his family's behavior he is determined to beat it out of them. This need to do what he believes is write causes himself to do what crosses the line, causing him to kill himself. When there is a messenger from the church who is there to stop them from challenging it Okonkwo does not think he just acts. “In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed chest.” (205) When he kills the church’s messenger he realizes what he has done and that causes him to finally end his suffering. “‘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….’” (208) His determination is what chiefly caused Okonkwo’s downfall.
There are many factors that contribute to Okonkwo’s death and uniformly his downfall. However the factors that played the largest part in his downfall are his virtues of strength, masculinity, and determination. They all caused him to suffer in someway therefore causing him