Who Is Okonkwo In Things Fall Apart

In the historical fiction novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist Okonkwo is a tragic hero who deals with many internal and external conflicts. Okonkwo is a leader in the Ibo village in Nigeria, and is seen as a very prestigious and powerful figure throughout the village and among his peers. This is because of his history as a great wrestler earlier in his life, his success as a farmer, and his fierce personality. He is married to three wives, and has many children to care for. Although Okonkwo’s life may seem like one everyone would want to live, he struggles with internal conflicts that have to do with his resentment towards his father, which causes him to live in fear and anger. In addition to his internal conflicts,
he is a victim along with everyone else in the village to European missionaries, who try to change all culture and religion, and convert the Ibo men and women to Christianity. The insurmountable issues that Okonkwo faces both internally and externally, cause him to commit the worst of crimes in his village, suicide. Okonkwo ended up committing suicide because of his weaknesses. Okonkwo committed suicide because of his fear of failure, impetuous behavior, and resentment towards the past and his father.
Okonkwo was a very powerful figure and was respected among most people in the village. Although he seemed like a bold and courageous person, he lived in fear. This was a fear of failure and weakness. He was afraid to not succeed, or come off as weak to others, therefore he presented himself as a fierce and mighty warrior in the village. There are many examples throughout the novel on how this fear can be seen. One example is how he treats his son. His son, Nwoye, is the first born child and supposed to carry on the family name. Despite Nwoye carrying this responsibility, he is very weak and lazy. Okonkwo beats him countless times, and tries to bother Nwoye as much as he can, hoping that he will change. Okonkwo is so afraid of failure that he does not want to be known for having a weak son. This is why Okonkwo keeps trying to change his son and his ways, because he is afraid of his name being in the same shadow as weakness. Another example is how Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna was a young boy that was given to the Ibo village as a sacrifice. Ikemefuna ends up living with Okonkwo. He grows up living in Okonkwo’s presence and becomes so fond of him, he calls him father. Although he does not show it, Okonkwo is also fond of Ikemefuna. When the elders of the village decide Ikemefuna should be killed, Okonkwo is advised not to participate. However, Okonkwo thinks about what others will think of him. He is afraid people will think is scared of blood and womanly. Consequently, Okonkwo makes a decision he will regret, and takes part in killing Ikemefuna. This shows the fear and idea shadowing over Okonkwo. He lives in fear every day, which shows what kind of person Okonkwo is. It is a problem, because the fear of Okonkwo causes him to do things he never would, if he was not afraid of what others think. This ultimately is a factor in Okonkwo’s decision to take his own life. Another trait of Okonkwo that causes his tragic death is his impetuous behavior.
Okonkwo acts with emotion, rather than thought. He commits his actions too quickly, and does not think them through. A perfect example is when Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna. He let his emotion (fear) take over him and killed the boy, rather than thinking and making the right decision. If Okonkwo were to think over and actually process the situation, Okonkwo could have made an entirely different decision and not have killed the boy. This flaw comes back to haunt Okonkwo time and time again. Whether the emotion is fear, anger, or pure rage, Okonkwo makes his decision as quick as he can. These poor decisions range from beating his wife to burning down the Church. This is a very poor trait because the choices Okonkwo makes at times do not only hurt him, but those around him. Once Okonkwo realizes that his choices and actions end up putting him in tough situations time and time again, he realizes his failure. This is why his impulsiveness takes part in his
suicide. The final factor that causes Okonkwo’s suicide is his resentment towards his father.
Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was a very weak and fragile man in the Ibo village. He owed money to a lot of people, and was nothing like the warrior Okonkwo is. Because Okonkwo hated his father’s womanly ways so much, he made it his goal to do everything opposite to what is father would have done. Unoka was irresponsible, while Okonkwo tried to be very responsible and kept his family in order. Unoka fainted at the sight of blood, while Okonkwo was a very violent person, which was shown in his actions. The hatred Okonkwo had ultimately caused his fear of failure. He did not want to fail because he knew his father had, and he hated his father. Okonkwo hated Nwoye because Nwoye reminded him of his father. The hatred Okonkwo had for Unoka tied in to everything he did, from his daily decisions to his decisions to kill others. Although hatred for another family member may be a common trait, Okonkwo’s was so strong that once he realized he had failed like his father, he decided to take his own
life.
There are plenty of reasons Okonkwo committed his shameful death, from his internal conflicts to his external conflicts. Things Fall Apart shows us that no matter how great someone’s life may seem, everyone has problems, and those issues may become greater than one can handle. Okonkwo was seen like a God to most, but to himself, he was a failure. These traits, his fear, his impetuous behavior, and this resentment towards his father, caused Okonkwo to do something no one would have ever imagined him to do, take his own life. Just like the book’s epigraph reads, “Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot here the falconer, things fall apart, the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”