“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”― Bertrand Russell. In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, a story that takes place in Niger about the Ibo culture and people. One of the characters in the story is Okonkwo, who is one of the main characters of the story. Okonkwo resided in a manly and violent clan. He thought very little of the people with no titles, for in his mind the men were failures. Okonkwo was a very presumptuous, manly, and headstrong man. Who doesn 't want to be like his father, Unoka, who, in Okonkwo’s mind was a failure. His fear of failure made him cruel. Okonkwo is just one of the compelling perspectives Achebe creates in his …show more content…
“-and at the end of three years he had become very distant indeed.” (59) This quote gives the reader a time period from how long Ikemefuna has been away from his mother and sister. Three years apart from your family, your mother and sister can break the bonds between the members. “Although he felt uneasy at first, he was not afraid now. Okonkwo walking beside him.” (59) Before it explained that he was wondering how Okonkwo wasn 't his real father, for he is quite fond of him and the thought of as his father. “Why had Okonkwo withdrawn to the back rear? Ikemefuna felt his legs melting under him.” (61) Changing the point of views throughout the chapter between first and third person shows how two people think differently. Showing the different emotions people feel at the same moment. One cheerful and the other is melancholy. “ ‘My father, they have killed me!’ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo draw his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.”(61). Earlier in this paragraph Ikemefuna thought of Okonkwo as his father yet he still killed him. The thought of being weak in front of others or being thought as weak drives some to