Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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. Ezinma, daughter of Okonkwo and Ekwefi, is the most adored child by Okonkwo.The reader can see love Okonkwo has for his daughter. He treats Ezinma differently from his other children in a way that she

He had to live with Okonkwo for three years. During those three years, Okonkwo and Ikemefuna’s relationship became a father and son relationship. Okonkwo’s wish for a boy to be just like him besides Ezinma. “He therefore treated Ikemefuna like everybody else- with a heavy hand. But there is was no doubt that he liked the boy. Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts, he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son, carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. And, indeed, Ikemefuna called him father” (Achebe-4.28). Okonkwo became fond of Ikemefuna, though he does not show it, because showing emotions is a sign of weakness to him. Ikemefuna is the young man, that he wish Nwoye was. He has the masculine traits that OKonkwo was trying to teach Nwoye, which failed of course. He appreciates the way Ikemefuna influences Nwoye to be a man, such as farming and hunting. The relationship between Okonkwo and Ikemefuna began to be a father- son relationship. The fact that they both were fond of each other, the oldest man of the village, Ezedu tells Okonkwo not to participate in the killing of Ikemefuna, because “that boy calls you father” (57). This is where Okonkwo's fear of weakness just like his father shows the most, because instead of listening to Ezedu, Okonkwo decides to kill Ikemefuna. After the killing, Okonkwo did not eat for two days, because