Everyone has a secret, a secret that is kept deep inside not wanting to be exposed. Fear in a way is, too, a secret but a secret that may change the person’s behaviour. In a book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is controlled by his fear; all of his decision is tied to fear of being seen as weak. The feeling of fearfulness is the certain factor that affects Okonkwo actions and personality because it changes the person’s behaviour, making Okonkwo himself. It also affects his interaction with other people and his status as a tribe member.
The behaviour of a person can be changed by his fear, especially for Okonkwo. At the end of chapter 7, Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna with his own hands even though he didn’t want to do it. He really likes Ikemefuna because he influenced Nwoye, Okonkwo’s child, to be more manly and hardworking. He had to kill him himself because he didn’t listen to the elder that warned him, “He [Ikemefuna] calls you [Okonkwo] father” (Achebe 57), not to participate in the custom. This quote by Achebe, “‘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” (61), especially the last sentences, illustrates that
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For Okonkwo, he married three wives and has eight children. This means that he has to feed and keep all of them healthy. This demonstrates that Okonkwo is very wealthy which caused by his fear: not wanting to be like his father. From the quote by Achebe, “He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams” (8), it can be inferred that Okonkwo worked hard as a child to be wealthy and strong. This is caused by the fact that his father is poor and heavily in debt. His driving force is the fear of being seen as his father, being poor and