What Is The Theme Of Control In Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo works hard to create an adequate life for himself, “In spite of these disadvantages, he began to lay the foundation of a prosperous future” (18). Okonkwo grew up with a father who was not respected in the Igbo culture due to his lack of hard work and masculinity. He had always sworn to himself that he would have a better life than his father, and in order to achieve that, Okonkwo worked diligently for a successful life. But slowly throughout the book, one can observe how he begins to lose control of everything that he has accomplished. This leads him to panic because he is not in authority of his life, causing him to go into a cycle of self-destruction. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, he uses specific word choice and

At a village meeting, after Okonkwo kills a messenger (Kotma): “He wiped his machete on the sand and went away” (205). In a fit of rage, Okonkwo impulsively takes his aggression out on a fellow Ibo man. He does this because he did not want to seem weak like his father and he knows his clan won’t do anything to avenge Umuofia against the Christian people. The action of wiping his machete on the sand could represent this resignation of life and giving up on the clan. This is because he realizes that nothing he does will change the clan’s mind to not take vengeful actions against the Christians, and he just gives up. Due to all this, it drives Okonkwo to kill himself by hanging himself to tree (207). Okonkwo realizes that his life is meaningless, and his actions reflect that he is a disgrace to the people of Umuofia and the Earth god, Ani. Okonkwo, a powerful warrior would rather kill himself with the little ounce of dignity he has left than be exiled again or possibly executed. In the Ibo culture, it is considered an offense to the earth if a man kills himself. Hence, Okonkwo a successful and accomplished man is being sent to the evil forest to be buried. This is ironic because at the beginning of the book, he exclaims how he dreads to die a shameful death like his father. He ends up in the same fate, even though he spent his entire life trying to escape that outcome. After trying to be the best, Okonkwo starts to intentionally shatter everything he has worked