Okonkwo In Things Fall Apart

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo was a very honorable man. He was motivated to be dignified. Okonkwo had a self fear of being a weak, lazy, and unsuccessful man, like his father had been. His father played a key role in the man Okonkwo became. His father actions in life caused his sons outlook on life to become bleached and devoid to any since of kindness in life. Okonkwo hated anything and everything his dad loved in life. In the village, Umuofia, the people valued a man by how hard he worded, how many titles he had, how many wives they had, and his manliness. Okonkwo was the child of Unoka. Unoka died a debtor and was put in the evil forest for his body to rot and did not bury him in fear of currupting the earth. Unokas life of failure motivated Okonkwo to “rule his house with a heavy hand.

In result he took action by “constant nagging and beating.” Okonkwo feared his son had resembled Unoka. When it was time for Ikemefuna to be killed by the men of the village Okonkwo was told, “That boy calls you father,.. Do not bear a hand in his death,” by the elders. When the men took Ikemefuna to his death Okonkwo did not listen to the elders. Ikemefuna ran to Okonkwo for mercy and according to the text he “drew his machete and cut him down.” He thought the other men would call him weak, like his father, if he had not participated in the killing. During the week of peace Okonkwo was angered because he could not work his fields and he suppressed his anger. He found a way to relieve it. His second had trimmed the leaves of the banana tree to wrap food in for the feast. He accused her of killing the tree and Okonkwo “gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping.” During the weak of peace the people of the village did not work the fields and was not violent. The elders were angry that Okonkwo had beat his wife during the week of