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Okonkwo's Impulsive Actions

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Throughout this novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist, mostly referred to as “Okonkwo” is very impulsive. The protagonist sometimes cannot control his thought process and thus would lead to effects and sufferings to others. Okonkwo is very impulsive. He acts before he thinks. As a result of this, his actions would come in place and effects others. In the book, “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo’s impulsive actions are demonstrated through the killing of his son Ikemefuna and the beating of his second wife Ekwelfi. One day the oldest an of the tribe asked Okonkwo to a private talk. Ikemefuna must be sacrificed as part of the retribution for the woman killed three years before in Mbaino. Okonkwo was advised to not participate or interfere with the killing of Ikemefuna because …show more content…

After discover that someone destroyed his banana tree, Okonkwo was furious and suppressed anger and displeasure. Leaves have been cut off from his tree to wrap food. Afterwards, his second wife, Ekwelfi, admits to taking the leaves. Okonwko enraged and starts beating Ekwelfi. Okonkwo beats her severely with motive and anger. Then he went and grabbed his hunting gun and threatens his wife with his gun. Ekwelfi responded and mumbles about his gun. She mumbled about how he isn 't skilled with his gun and mumbles about his “guns that never shot.” Okonkwo then grabs his gun, and aims it at her, and pulls the trigger. Okonkwo is very impulsive. In the book, the author describers Okonkwo as a violent, masculine man who will confront anything that stands in its way. Okonkwo is a very helpful and friendly man. He always works on his yam farm to help and support his family. But his friendly personalities doesn 't translate to his thought process. Okonkwo is impulsive, he doesn 't think before he act. As a result of this the people surrounding him are effected

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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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Achebe writes, “ Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 63). Many other members of the tribe would have let their son be killed because of the unwavering faith many have in their religion and the decisions of the elders. However, not many would do it themselves. This scene truly showcases Okonkwo’s fears.

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Okonkwo hates change, and he feels that the missionaries have brought about change through their religion, which has started to affect other aspects of traditional Igbo life and its people. He feels that the men have gotten weaker, hence him feeling proud when the warriors start acting like warriors again in his mind when the village agrees some violent action must be taken against the white man. When the village crier announces that there will be a meeting to discuss what to do about the foreigners following Okonkwo and the other prisoners getting released, Okonkwo is very excited. However, once the meeting gets interrupted by court messengers during a speech about how the white man is desecrating their gods and ancestral spirits, things take a turn for the worst. As soon as the head messenger tells the crowd to disperse “Okonkwo drew his machete.

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The novel “things fall apart” is about the fatal demise of Okonkwo and the igbo culture of Umuofia. Okonkwo is well known and respected leader in his community, who is successful in everything he does, such as wrestling and farming. He is quick with his hands and takes pride in his accomplishments. Okonkwo’s family relationship makes him a sympathetic character because of his support and an unsympathetic character because of his cruelty. In many ways Okonkwo showed that he had no sympathy for others , However at times he could be sympathetic.

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786 Words | 4 Pages

Killing Ikemefuna shows that Okonkwo does not have absolute control over his emotions. As he sits in his obi afterward he is sad and defeated: “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna” (Achebe 63). Killing someone close to him causes Okonkwo to fall into a deep state of depression. Starving himself because of his grief reveals that he has succumbed to his fear. Okonkwo has committed his life to avoid a situation that causes him to appear weak, but refusing to eat outwardly demonstrates his pain and sorrow of killing the boy that called him father.

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Okonkwo wanted his tribe to fight back the missionaries in order to protect their Igbo culture but his persistence only led to his downfall. This can be seen when Okonkwo makes a rash decision to kill a messenger thinking Umuofia would fight back but ended up not fighting, “The white man whose power you know too well has ordered this meeting to stop.” In a flash, Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless.

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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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Okonkwo becomes like this because of his father. His father was lazy and dies a dishonorable death and leaves nothing for his family. Okonkwo fears becoming like his father, an agbala. The effect of this is beneficial for Okonkwo. The way he turns out makes him a great man and because of this, he obtains the third highest title in his tribe.

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He thinks that anyone who is not like that is weak The main reason why Okonkwo is a tragic hero is that of how weak his chi is. The chi takes a big important role in the novel because according to the Igbo people, anything something goes wrong with a person it is because of there bad chi.in the beginning of the book, Okonkwo seems to be the one that has the best chi and has everything going for him at the time. In the beginning of the book the reader is meant though think that Okonkwo will overcome anything that is thrown at him because of his chi. This is shown in the novel when

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In the book “Things Fall Apart“ Okonkwo is a very strong man and from time to time he starts showing his true self. He has a lot of responsibilities and other things he has to do around the living environment and interact with lots of people. Okonkwo changes from being that strong man, to a man who feels like his tribe is not with him when he wants to go to war with the missionaries. For someone like Okonkwo a lot of people looks up to him and while in the tribe Okonkwo beats his wives and children. Not good behavior for someone who is supposedly looked at as strong.

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“Black men struggle with masculinity so much. The idea that we must always be strong really presses us all down - it keeps us from growing” (“Donald Glover Quotes), says Donald Glover, a famous African-American actor. This is shown during the book, “Things Fall Apart”, by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo, the main character, hates his father who acts very feminine according to their tribe’s definition and is not successful at all, but still lives life to the fullest. Okonkwo’s actions are based on his fear of becoming like his father so he rejects all characteristics that his father had (feminine qualities).

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Okonkwo’s values are restricted to physical strength, power, and prosperity, and when the Europeans suddenly arrive, the cultural convergence prompts Okonkwo to respond with even more violence. While the majority of his tribe, including his son Nwoye, is open to considering

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1774 Words | 8 Pages

The hatred that he had for his father he carried with him throughout his whole life. That hatred turned into him killing Ikemefuna and the messenger. Ikemefuna was thought of as a son and he killed him in fear of being considered weak in front of his clan members. That weakness was thought of his weakness which was considered a failure. At the end of the story Okonkwo ends up being just like his father which is ironic because he strived to be nothing like him.

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How does okonkwo’s family relationships change his life, and how does it make him the person he is now? In what ways does this make him sympathetic and/or unsympathetic? I dictated this based off his relationships with both his father Unoka, and his wife Ekwefi. And deciding how the way he treated them affected him and his sympathy?

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Okonkwo In literature, there are many characters that stand out and show that they have a variety of qualities about them. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is one character that presents character traits from both the negative and positive sides of him. Okonkwo is portrayed to be a warrior who wanted to become somebody strong and looked up to, but also possesses less favorable qualities. He, however, does not let any one trait dictate his whole personality; he is written to be a well-rounded character.

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