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Ikemefuna As A Christ Figure Analysis

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A character can be considered a Christ figure based on a reader’s perspective. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Ikemefuna is a young boy brought to Umuofia from a neighboring village as payment for a murder. He is sent to live with the protagonist, Okonkwo, and his family for an undisclosed amount of time. Throughout his short time in Umuofia, Ikemefuna continually proves himself to be a Christ figure, and foreshadows his death. Ikemefuna’s good character demonstrates his role as a Christ figure in Things Fall Apart. After some time, Okonkwo ceases to see Ikemefuna as a prisoner, but as a son. He invites him into his obi to tell him masculine stories. He also teaches him how to plant the “king crop”; yams. This is similar to Jesus Christ as the “only begotten son.” Also, because of Ikemefuna’s influence, Okonkwo’s “weak” son Nwoye becomes more manly. Ikemefuna changes Nwoye, just as Christ changes people. He also becomes a role model not only for Nwoye, but for the younger children, as well. Through his positive influence, Ikemefuna begins …show more content…

First of all, he desperately misses home. Ikemefuna has been taken from his home and family, and is now expected to adjust to his new life in Umuofia. This transition proves to be hard for him as he searches for comfort in this new life, similar to Christ being sent to Earth. Another hard thing for Ikemefuna is the fact that he really isn’t Okonkwo’s son. Okonkwo learns to love him as a son, and Ikemefuna loves Okonkwo as a father, but it doesn’t make it true. This causes friction with Nwoye, who grows jealous of the praise Ikemefuna receives from Okonkwo. An example of this is Lucifer’s jealousy and hatred for Christ. Lastly,and most importantly, Ikemefuna dies as a sacrifice. This is the greatest similarity between Ikemefuna and Jesus Christ. Because of his flaws, Ikemefuna’s death as a Christ figure is strongly

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And, indeed, Ikemefuna called him father.” (Achebe 28). He loved him but still showed him his heavy hand because he didn 't want to come off as weak. Because of his arrogance he had become cruel to the boy he loved and in the end killed him out of misery. If we look at this scene we can see that he 's having an inward battle with himself, being strong was his main priority over anything else, even his own family.

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He killed him because he didn’t want to be seen as weak or as a female. Another example is “Okonkwo didn’t taste any food for two days after Ikemefuna's death. ”(page 63) This detail is important because this shows the after feeling Okonkwo had after killing Ikemefuna. To wrap up, these pieces of evidence supports how the author critiques the dominant narrative about Okonkwo by showing him

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Okonkwo’s aggressive ways caused Nwoye to rely on Ikemefuna, A boy given to Okonkwo by a neighboring village, as an older brother who teaches him a more gentle form of masculinity. The bond between Nwoye and Ikemefuna was stronger than the bond between Nwoye and Okonkwo ever was because of Okonkwo’s refusal to demonstrate affection towards his son as it could make him appear weak. However, because of the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye fears having to return to the harsh values of his father. Okonkwo’s stubborn ideas of masculinity ruined his relationship with his son beyond repair. Okonkwo’s refusal to show emotion towards his family pushed them apart which shows that Okonkwo is not willing to give up his stern values and reputation to be emotionally committed to his family.

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When the clan elders decided that Ikemefuna was going to have to be killed he was very saddened even though he didn’t show it. Okonkwo took in Ikemefuna in not knowing how long he was going to stay with us, Ikemefuna stayed with us for 3 years nobody thought he would be with us for that long. With him staying with us for that long he molded into our family, he became my “brother” and Okonkwo’s “second son”. Seeing them bond over the those three years i know for a fact that he must have been heart broken, but tried not to show that he was weak to the clan elders or the towns people.

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Next, Okonkwo is warned that he will be told to kill Ikemefuna, a boy who has become like a son to him. When the time comes, Okonkwo, Ikemefuna, and a few other men set out on their journey. When the men move to kill Ikemefuna, Okonkwo trails behind them so he will not have to be a part of

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This just starts to show Okonkwo’s downfall from there because what he did was inhumane and he held onto that guilt. His actions affected the way that his son viewed him as well since he had such a deep connection to Ikemefuna. The killing of Ikemefuna really just leads to Nyowe questioning the customs and values of the tribe since his father painted such a bad picture through his action of killing Ikemeuna who was like a brother to him. Later on, in the book, Achebe describes another one of Okonkwo’s actions in the following quote, “‘The white man’s whose power you know too well has ordered this meeting to stop.” In a flash, Okonkwo drew his machete…

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Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, also decided to be who he wanted and stayed true to himself when the missionaries first came to Umuofia. Nwoye was captivated by the “poetry of the religion, something felt in the marrow.” Okonkwo was opposed to Nwoye’s move, and when Okonkwo found out that Nwoye had been to a church, Okonkwo no longer accepted Nwoye as his son. Okonkwo stated to his other four sons that “If any one of you prefers to be a woman, let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him.” At that time, Okonkwo wished that his daughter, Ezinma, was a boy, as Okonkwo believed that Ezinma was the only child that “understood his every mood,” and that “a bond of sympathy had grown between them as the years had passed.”

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When Ikemefuna runs towards him, “Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna because he is afraid someone will believe he is weak and similar to his unsuccessful father. He lets this fear of compassion and failing control his life and his decisions. When he is faced with a difficult choice he completes the action that will portray him as a man and not as an agbala, a woman.

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In the beginning of the story, Okonkwo was a very vigorous man who everyone loves. One day a killing happened leaving Okonkwo with a wife and a son, Ikemefuna. He grew to like the young boy, where he is different from his other children, On a fateful day, Okonkwo murders Ikemefuna. Okonkwo had a load of guilt for killing his adoptive son, Ikemefuna.

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Additionally, although Nwoye is Okonkwo’s first-born son, he does not carry the pride of his father because he is a womanly son. In short, Nwoye should be Okonkwo’s most important child; however, Okonkwo prefers Ikemefuna and Enzinma over Nwoye. Ikemefuna is not even Okonkwo’s son, and Enzinma is not even a boy. To continue, this symbolizes the imbalance of the value between masculine and feminine traits. Although Nwoye is a boy, he has feminine traits.

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During those three years, Okonkwo and the tribute, Ikemefuna, become like father and son, but after the three years are over, the oracle proclaims that Ikemefuna must die. As Ikemefuna unknowingly walks to his old village with Okonkwo and some other men, they start to close in on him and when Ikemefuna runs to Okonkwo, “Okonkwo drew

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When Ikemefuna was alive, Okonkwo saw him as a son and allowed the boy to call him “father”. The first sentence following Ikemefuna death is, “[Okonkwo] was afraid of being thought weak,”(61) This line demonstrates that Okonkwo is aware that killing Ikemefuna is wrong, but his excessive need to be a strong man forces him to kill the boy. Okonkwo could have grown up to be a wise and ethical man if it were not for the pressures society put on men to be the strongest in the village. This actions proves that the fear of not fitting in often forces you to become someone

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The positive relationship Ikemefuna has with both Nwoye and Okonkwo, as well as Ikemefuna’s ultimate murder by Okonkwo, illuminates the central theme of destiny and fate in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Ikemefuna’s fate was decided for him so early in the novel because he was traded for a crime which he had no part in; he was the victim of circumstance and he could not do anything to avoid it. Ikemefuna was a fish out of water when he was forced to live with Okonkwo, however, he created a very good relationship with Nwoye. Before Ikemefuna, Nwoye was very tired and lazy.

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Ikemefuna and Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, were really close as Nwoye looked up to Ikemefuna as a role model and older brother. After the clan decided that they had to kill Ikemefuna the elders told Okonkwo not to get involved since they had a really close relationship. Even though they said that Okonkwo still got involved in the murder and killed him with a matchet. This quote shows us that even though they had a very close relationship Okonkwo took up a matchet and killed Ikemefuna just to show his manliness. Okonkwo’s decision of killing Ikemefuna was a bad decision because after this many horrible events soon

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