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Character analysis about okonkwo only (things fall Apart
Culture collision in the igbo people
Character analysis essay on okonkwo
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In this essay, I will argue how the Chicanos in the U.S. have responded to the lack of inclusion in history, opportunities, to racism and violence because through time we have seen how the Chicanos have been part of the country history and what it came to be, but we have been left out of history. The Chicano helped build what the united states came to be, we are part of its culture since the treaty of Guadalupe was signed, but our path has not been easy, many have been victims of oppression, poor working conditions, lack of civil rights and segregation. I’ll argue not that the Chicano has been a victim but what he or she have done to change the way things were for our ancestors in this obscure past of our history, how we have come together
After he decided to go out hunting, but before he stepped out he heard his second wife murmur something under her breath. This led Okonkwo's savageness to react in a way that almost killed her. He pointed a gun at her face, pulled the trigger but did hurt her. Days later when the wrestling matches were going on, Okonkwo's second wife has a conversation with Chielo, a woman that was sitting next to her watching the matches, about the incident that almost got her shot to death. This proves that it socially acceptable to physically abuse women with no
Nwoye prior to the European colonists didn’t fully go along with everything his father Okonkwo had taught him to continue his clan ways and traditions. The invasion of the European settlers threatened to extinguish the need for the mastery of traditional methods for the igbo people. This reason is why the invasion was disliked by many, but some clan members chose to go about this impact with a positive outlook and were willing to adapt to the new culture, christianity. Nwoye chose to be open minded and seeked acceptance towards the new culture instead of continuing to try and follow the cultural norms of his own religion. Ultimately Nwoye Converted from his religion of the igbo community to the religion of the European settlers.
The pre-colonial and postcolonial Igbo society has been observed to be male dominated. Men reign supreme in sociocultural affairs while the female figure has specific limited prescribed roles, a confirmation of absence of feministic ideologies. Motherhood, being submissive to the husband and generally domestic dutiesare some of the roles women are associated with. As the title of the novel by Buchi Emecheta Second Class Citizenimplies, the female figure has been treated as a lesser significant sexwithin the Igbo society considering that equalityamong women is limited by their fathers, husbands and the general patriarchy system. This is something Adah finds quite the same when she moves to England whereby with her African descent she continues to suffer womanhood struggles.
Okonkwo was a big supporter of physical and verbal abuse in his home, especially towards his wives and Nwoye. To Okonkwo, physical abuse was another language. This is how he spoke, and punished, on the occasion of the abuse, and how he had handled the situation. Women was treated poorly in Umuofia because men believe that they were weak and in inadequate. “ Even as a little boy Okonkwo had represented his father 's failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was Agbala.
Okonkwo experienced change because of the actions that lead to his banishment and this made some of his fears come true. Even after these parts of his life have occurred, Okonkwo would have still been able to recover from his incident. However, because of colonialism, this idea of returning to his old life was shot down by the new ideas and changes within the people of Umoufia. This negative change was caused directly by colonialism. In “Things Fall Apart” the Igbo have been shown to have a large amount of culture that was effected by western beliefs.
When Okonkwo was “angry and could not get his words quickly out enough, he would use his fists” (Achebe 2). Okonkwo’s violent personality traits cause him to make very irrational decisions that would later have future consequences. Despite that, his less than perfect tendencies did help him to achieve many goals throughout his life. However, the instances where they worked against him outweigh all other factors. Okonkwo is seen as a very painfully structured man and when something doesn't go according to his structure, it causes him to make irrational decisions.
This also represents the importance of image to him and shows that he is self-conscious about himself. “‘We shall not do you any harm,’ said the District Commissioner..” (Achebe 194). This is quite ironic since the Europeans ended up abusing Okonkwo and his comrades and eventually destroying the Igbo culture. In this quote the author is implying that in the European's’ perspective, they are doing a good thing for the Igbo in the Umuofia by changing their beliefs, but in reality they are destroying their culture which the foundation and the identity of the Igbo.
Igbo Religion in “Things Fall Apart” Religion is different all around the world, there are more than 4,000 religions in the world itself according to Reference.com. However, the Igbo religion is one of the strongest and most historic religions. In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Igbo people believe in many gods but one of them is the supreme god Chukwu.
He got power through his ideals. He also obtains fame through the Igbo culture. In the Igbo tribe there are wrestling games and because of that “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond.” (Achebe 1). This is the Okonkwo before the white men come.
Is masculinity so important that you destroy a piece of you to keep an image? In Igbo culture the answer is yes, masculinity trumps all moral things; if you don’t kill if you don’t disrespect, if you show emotions, you are considered an agbala--a woman, or a man with no title. If you are a member of Igbo you are in a culture that is run by men, a patriarchy. The men fight, are served, make children, and marry women. Okonkwo a member of Igbo culture, falls victim of masculinity over family, where he gets as many sons as he can and have multiple wives.
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).
Among those of the same culture, individuals who are adaptive and open-minded can be successful when there is cultural collision. When the Igbo and European cultures collide, Okonkwo gradually spirals out of control, losing everything he values and his own sense of self. From the beginning of the novel, Achebe depicts Okonkwo as a virile warrior and a successful farmer within the Igbo tribe. Reacting with violence to anything he considers “womanly” or “weak”, “He was a man of action and man of war” (10). Because of his reputation as a warrior he is highly respected by his community.
Chukwu is their primary god along with others, and the Igbo fear him. They believe that their souls were given to them by ancestors and that they will eventually pass their soul down to their grandchildren. The spread of Christianity was not welcomed by all, but it found a way to sneak into the lives of all the Igbo people. Achebe uses these ideas to show the Igbo were civilized people who had their own beliefs before Christianity replaced the Igbo religion and ultimately changed their lives
“Things Fall Apart”, a novel written by Chinua Achebe about Africa through the character Okonkwo, a man who Achebe uses to illustrate the complexity Igbo culture, contrary to what the Europeans portrayed Africa as. One main focus of the book is to counter the single story, which is the idea that an area is represented by one story, similar to a stereotype. However, differing from a stereotype a single story often completely misrepresents something, and in this case Africa. Europeans had been the only ones writing about Africa, describing all the culture as problematic for being different, rather than looking at what African culture really is. Achebe was one of the first to write about African culture for westerners to read about, making Things Fall Apart a true innovation in writing.
