The prose, “Things Fall Apart,” written by Chinua Achebe, follows the life of Okonkwo, the leader of a local tribe, who faces internal conflict everyday that could only stem from his childhood. Okonkwo’s life was destined for success, however, in the end his life had a miserable end. His fate had been decided because of the problems Okonkwo had faced throughout his life which Achebe expertly highlights. This novel introduces Okonkwo as a very successful man, for the first quote of the book is, “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond.” Okonkwo was a famous wrestler in his tribe, for he was capable of defeating the infamous wrestler, Amalinze the Cat, at the ripe age of eighteen. As the years progressed, Okonkwo was able to maintain his prominence and status, and Achebe was able to express this through the use of simile in the quote, “Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan.” Achebe further indicated Okonkwo’s success in the quote, “He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just …show more content…
I believe that his suicide was a result of all the suppressed issues he had and the lack of knowing how to process and express himself to someone he would’ve trusted. Although Okonkwo had been successful with physical things, such as farms, wives, and barns, he was not successful internally. Okonkwo was a very troubled man, and his troubles had deferred his success and inevitably caused him to fail. I feel for Okonkwo, for we see from the start that he was destined for failure simply because his father wasn’t a decent role model to show him how to work. His father made him hate all sensitive things, and, although he is a man, everyone needs to be sensitive once in a while. If you don’t have a sensitive side, you end up like Okonkwo, suppressing every complex emotion, and eventually becoming overwhelmed and