In the book Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe expresses Okonkwo’s emphasis on strength and manliness creating similarities between the Ibo culture and the modern American culture that is seen today. The fear of being like his father frightens Okonkwo leading him on the path of no remorse and affection. The signs of weakness pushes his inner chi causing chaos within his family and society. Okonkwo conveys his feelings through aggression and rage; this is best viewed when he threatens his family members and beats his wives. The Ibo culture is similar to the modern culture today because both cultures focus on manliness, it consumes them until they come to a stage in their lives where they fall short and fail. In the Ibo culture and the modern …show more content…
In the Ibo culture, strength and manliness was taken seriously by Okonkwo so that he wouldn’t grow up to be a failure like his father. The life of Okonkwo and the lives of many Americans today aren’t so different. People in the modern day society strive for perfection doing anything they can to succeed whether it causes conflict or not. The thought people have of being better than someone else or dominating one another is an act of selfishness because all they care about is the good that is coming to them. This is seen when the white men are overpowering and forcing the people of Umuofia to convert to Christianity. Life in the modern day is similar because many people have different opinions and values on certain topics. People always want to feel powerful and in charge by forcing change in other people's’ lives. The need for being a man to show strength in life creates hectic situations that can lead to tragic downfalls. In the heat of the moment people in the real world just like Okonkwo do not stop and think of their actions. They just do whatever they feel causing more damage to the conflict itself. The modern American Culture and the Ibo culture present the terrible outcomes when trying to be the most powerful man. These disputes can be related to modern culture when a proud American is overpowered and then they collapse by talking back to higher power within their job recieving severe punishment. This completely explains the lives of many success driven Americans and is seen in Okonkwo’s society and life where being manly can cause many problems within a society and