Okonkwo Masculinity

William Shakespeare wrote, “This above all: to thine own self be true”. In the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, relationships between fathers and sons reveal great tensions. Throughout the book, the author portrays Okonkwo as a man of action rather than a man of thought. He controls his family with an iron fist, which shows masculinity and dominance. The reason behind his actions is that he does not want to be seen like his father. His father was a weak, unsuccessful, and dishonored man. Okonkwo has his own beliefs and wants to stay true to himself. However, throughout the book, the author shows rare glimpses of Okonkwo’s emotional father-son instincts towards Nwoye and Ikemefuna. Okonkwo fears this side of himself because he does

Okonkwo does not want to be associated with a man of such disgrace in the community. Okonkwo is a very courageous man, “But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness...It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father...And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness” (Achebe 13). He is haunted by the thought of being like his father, which is why he constantly beats Nwoye, his son, so that Nwoye will be nothing like Unoka. Okonkwo takes this fear of being viewed as weak to such an extent that he kills Ikemefuna, who was like a son to him. Although Okonkwo despises his father, Unoka shows compassion towards him and tries to give him advice during an atrocious harvest month,“Do not despair. I know you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and bitter when a man fails alone” (Achebe 25). Unoka cares for Okonkwo, which is why his words are given with such a bounteous spirit. However, Okonkwo does not listen or appreciate anything his father has to give

His relationship with Ikemefuna becomes more father son like, “[Okonkwo] himself became very fond of [Ikemefuna]…Sometimes when [Okonkwo] 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 28). Okonkwo shows the gentle and idleness side of him. He shows through letting him accompany him to village meetings that deep down he truly does care about Ikemefuna. Okonkwo soon realizes the underlying reasons why he repudiates gentleness, he fears this is unmanly. Because of this realization Okonkwo completes an action that would forever change his life. While they were walking towards Ikemefuna's death, “He heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, “My father, they have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 61). Worried about his reputation he quickly throws away his fatherly instincts. Again, the author is conveying how Okonkwo is a man of action and not thought. He kills Ikemefuna to prove to the elders he is still the strong masculine man he was, and that Ikemefuna did not bring out the weakness in