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Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

362 Words2 Pages

Prompt 2
Every hero of a story, either great or disappointing, has a flaw; Achebe writes the character Okonkwo to examine his flaw: fear of failing tradition. Umuofia is a land where the concept of tradition is ending due to the colonization of the white man. For example, Okonkwo's own son, Nwoye, joins the new church and Okonkwo is livid. He thought, “ To abandon the gods of one’s father and go about with a lot of effeminate men clucking like old hens was the very death of abomination,” (Achebe 153). Through Okonkwo’s anger for Nwoye changing beliefs, deep down he becomes frightened that the traditional Igbo religion will be no more because of people like his own son. The other members of the tribe, Uchendu for example, saw Okonkwo’s actions as extreme and uncalled for therefore showing Okonkwo's over-the-top attitude towards failing traditions compared to other Igbo …show more content…

Because Umuofia had been traditionally known as a fierce, warlike community, Okonkwo feared of his tribe not fighting against the white man after being captured and beaten by them. He speculated, “If Umuofia decided on war,all would be well. But if they chose to be cowards he would go out and avenge himself,” (Achebe 199). How Achebe is portraying Okonkwo in this situation is that if his community fails to stick up for what is right, then prideful Okonkwo will intervene to prevent his uneasiness of failing their traditional bellicose status. However, this angst of failure ultimately leads to Okonkwo's demise. During a meeting of the tribe, five messengers ordered appeared and the head ordered the meeting to stop. Okonkwo then pulled out his machete and killed the

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In the end, he makes the decision that the tribe would have praised before colonialism: “Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his unformed body,” (Achebe 189). Okonkwo murders the messenger because he believes that it could spark a war that could reinstall Ibo culture and kick out the Europeans. He is willing to do anything to try to protect his ideals, even if that requires him to kill a man. The violent act does nothing though, as it becomes evident that people have accepted the Western lifestyle against Okonkwo’s desire: “He knew that Umuofia that would not go to war. He knew because they let the other messengers escape,” (Achebe 189).

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Okonkwo is portrayed as “well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements”(Achebe 1). This quote demonstrates how just like many people Okonkwo's fundamental objectives was to be well respected and successful. Additionally it represents the objectives of the culture one of which is to be

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Unoka, who is Okonkwo’s father, was a failure. His wife and children did not have enough foods to eat and he owed almost every villager money (Achebe, 5). Life was hard for Okonkwo because Unoka was a lazy father who did not bother to think about his future. Okonkwo was not able to focus on other events because he was busy trying to feed and support his family. Okonkwo did not start his life as everybody else did (Achebe, 16).

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688 Words | 3 Pages

Okonkwo may not be seen as a kindhearted person to the people of Umuofia, however Ezinma and Ikemefuna say otherwise. “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, represents a story about the Igbo tribe, focusing mostly on the protagonist Okonkwo who is one of the well-respected people in the village of Umuofia. Throughout the story, Okonkwo has made many mistakes because he has too much pride on himself. Though the people in Umuofia judge him by his actions and what he says, Ezinma and Ikemefuna are eased off from him, although they don’t know.

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His father was the exact opposite of what the Igbo people stand for. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is a “coward [who] could not bear the sight of blood” (Achebe 6). In turn, Okonkwo became a ruthless warrior who was known across the different tribes. The worst aspect of Unoka is that he was considered to be a failure. This caused Okonkwo “even as a little boy [to resent] his father’s failure” (13).

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When Okonkwo was young, he declared that his father was not able to feed adequately of his family and he was ashamed by his father’s strength. He expressed his embarrassment against his father and also discovered that villagers of Umuofia had similar dislikes against his father. The hatred feelings against his father by the villagers encouraged him to follow his principles and strategies to self-stand. His independence was more or less admired and kept respected by the community and gave him feelings of security and reverence of his gaze further elevates his self-respect, and became more distance from his father.

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1106 Words | 5 Pages

Due to having a difficult childhood, Okonkwo credits his fame to hard work, discipline and determination. To him, the gods did not play a large role in aiding him to become the stable man he is. This has a second-hand effect on his son because he does not embed the importance of making sacrifices or devotions to the gods as much as he does with Nwoye’s non-existent masculinity. Upon arriving in Umuofia, the missionaries waste no time preaching the concept of Christianity and the Holy Trinity. This creates a clash with the villagers who were already deep-rooted within their polytheistic faith.

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Being the leader of his clan his ideals and aspirations are directed to his people but his advisors Ogbuefi Ezeudu and Nwakibie are the ones who try and influence his decisions. Umuofia, the small Nigerian village in which the plot takes place is one where tradition, culture and honor is respected above all. The village functions on the hierarchy of its elders and clan leaders. Okonkwo grew up in a poor household. His father Unoka was a lazy man who never worked or earned any great amount of money.

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In Things Fall Apart, the character Okonkwo is proud of his culture and wants to keep it alive. He shows courage by declaring he will fight in a battle against the colonizers if it saves the traditions and customs of Umuofia. Okonkwo says, “Afraid? I do not care what he does to you. I despise him and those who listen to him.

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Okonkwo’s world is filled with downfalls flaws throughout his life as he is shown to be a man of strength. Indeed, Okonkwo is a man that is shown to fear failure and weakness, especially among him and others. Okonkwo’s hamartia is the dominance “by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (13). In fact, Okonkwo’s fear of failure brought him to have little patience for others, and immediately take action if anything seemed out of the ordinary. As white men came to Umofia, Okonkwo realized that no one was going to stand up and go towar, unless Egonwanne changed the next day.

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836 Words | 4 Pages

(pg.117) Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan for his return and recuperate his lost title, but his plan failed due to white missionaries (pg.161). His arrival was not welcomed by his clansmen and he lost his importance in the clan. One feature of the tragic hero the protagonist suffers due to his crime or mistake he made. He suffers emotional not physical due to mistake he made, from this line we came to know that, Okonkwo really feels low while working in new farm. Work was no longer for him the delightment he used to have for his work, and when there was no work o do he sat in a silent half-sleep (Achebe, 1958, p. 122,

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846 Words | 4 Pages

But in spite of these disadvantages, he had begun even in his father’s timeline to lay the foundations of a prosperous future.” (Achebe, 18). Okonkwo had many problems in the beginning of his career and Unoka. However Unoka wasn’t all of Okonkwo’s household

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1720 Words | 7 Pages

Therefore, when the structure of Umuofia has changed by the arrival of the white man, Okonkwo has failed to adapt with this new world "he deeply grieved. It was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart" (183) Consequently, Okonkwo met his tragic

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992 Words | 4 Pages

Through the use of description, pre colonist and post colonist setting it is clear that setting influences characters in the novel as well as Chinua Achebe himself. In the novel Things Fall Apart it is clear that Okonkwo’s character is greatly affected by the setting of the novel. Okonkwo is the clan leader of his village called Umuofia. He is considered the protagonist of the novel; he is described to be an aggressive, hard

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1152 Words | 5 Pages

These indigenous people who once valued violence, fighting, and war lose sight of their old core values. Due to fear, they become unwilling to challenge the foreign white man. Okonkwo is the only one who maintains these values and his warrior spirit shows when he kills the main messenger, but no one else in the clan was willing to revolt. None of the other clan members gathered were willing to kill the other messengers, scared of the consequences. Although, it is quite ironic at the end of the novel that Okonkwo kills himself.

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