Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was a coward and a money spender. He never took a title in his life and did not become a warrior because he feared the sight of blood. As a result, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father ever since he was a little boy, until the day of Unoka's death. When Unoka died of an abominable illness he was taken to the Evil Forest to rot, making Okonkwo more ashamed of his father. Okonkwo's biggest fear was to become weak like his father. For example, in chapter seven of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo joins in killing Ikemefuna because he is afraid of being weak, yet his decision drives him to become what he fears the most, weak like his father.
Okonkwo's fear of becoming like his father: cowardly and weak, drives him to kill Ikemefuma. Ikemefuma a fifteen-year-old boy from a neighboring clan called Mbaino, was given to Umuofia as a sacrifice for killing one of the members of their clan. The boy lived in Okonkwo's household for a period of three
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Ogbuefi Ezedeu had been a great warrior, his funeral was large and elaborate with beating drums and firing guns. At the celebration, Okonkwo accidentally kills Ezedeu's son. Although it was not intentional, Okonkwo had to pay the price for his deed which consisted of a seven-year exile period. Followed by tradition the clansmen burnt Okonkwo's huts and killed his animals to cleanse the village. At this point in the story he had lost everything in his village, the only thing he had intact was his family. Okonkwo was weak with no power or a title for a seven-year period, similarly to the way his father spent all his life with no power or a title. Although Okonkwo's exile from Umuofia left him with no potential title and weak, nothing beats how weak he felt and emotional after killing