And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness (Chapter 2 Pg 3).” This quote shows the truth of how Oknonkwo was not really this cruel, tyrannical man. He lives his life in constant fear of being a failure the same as his dad. Who was very weak and considered lazy by his tribe. Even his father’s death has brought shame to Okonkwo.
Daniel Arrants Things Fall Apart Draft English Honors Pr.6 Intolerance has negatively impacted people in today’s society as well as in the past. Things Fall Apart is written to follow the life of Okonkwo and his fall from greatness in his community. He has 3 wives, many crops, and is a strong warrior, all traits of a typical wealthy man in the Ibo Tribe. Okonwko’s main goal in life is to not gain the characteristics of his father, who was weak and considered a failure to those around him. He lives in a society where men rule, and it is hard for him to show love or affection towards his family.
I think it takes a lot of courage to move to a different town and this is also something I can relate to because when I moved to McKinney from Tulsa Oklahoma I felt a little alone except for my family. Of course from Lincoln’s view of the situation it must be very different because he is surrounded by different cultures around him and was even separated from his best friend. Lincoln’s determination shows throughout taking side when he is determined to not give up or slack off because of a hurt to that causes him lots of pain. “I hurt my toe……” Lincoln tried to explain,” poor boy hurt his itsy bitsy toe.” Coach Yesuits said sarcastically. Lincoln feels irritated with him but is determined to stick it out and work hard at practice to do his best.
They feel guilty for the deaths of men in their platoon, for the deaths of Vietnamese, and for their own inadequacies. This leads each individual’s guilt to develop in a different manner and force the individual to cope with the guilt in the best way they see fit. After the war, the psychological burdens the men carry during the war continue to define them. Years after the end of the war, Jimmy Cross goes to visit Tim O’Brien at his home and together they look at old photographs and reminisce. “We paused over a snapshot of Ted Lavender, and after a while Jimmy rubbed his eyes and said he’d never forgiven himself for Lavender’s death.
At one point, when Chlomo was being beaten by Idek, he was ashamed of his father and he didn’t feel any grief for him. When Rabbi Eliahou’s son abondons him, Elie prays to God to never let him abandon his own father like that. Elie says “Rabbi Eliahou’s son had felt that his father was growing weak, he had believed that the end was near and had sought this separation in order to get rid of the burden, to free himself from an encumbrance which could lessen his own chances of survival. I had done well to forget that. And I was glad that Rabbi Eliahou should continue to look for his beloved son.
If it was not evident in earlier scenes, it is now clear that Biff in no salesman. He has been “talking in a dream” pretending to be something he is not. This is an inner conflict that Biff has been wrestling with for years now. He now comes to realize the he’s unhappy and he’s only conforming to this harsh, man-eating profession to please his father. This once inner conflict soon becomes an outward conflict between Biff and Willy.
No one wants to be seen as weak or a failure and be taken advantage of, that’s why people have their guards up. Things Fall Apart tells a story of a stubborn man (Okonkwo) responding to change. In Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart, he reveals Okonkwo’s fear of failure and of weakness. Okonkwo, with a deep insecurity of being like his father, known to be a poor, unsuccessful man and a failure in his society, gives his best to be successful and nothing else. Okonkwo passionately works hard to be at the top as a respected man (which he achieves) and the complete opposite of his disappointing father.
But what the villagers do not know is that he never wanted to kills his son. In fact, he feels horrible about it. Okonkwo falls into a deep depression some days after Ikemefuna’s death. Okonkwo and Unoka are truly polar opposites. However, just like his father, Okonkwo is always at odds with the values of the people of the village.
Although his father was looked upon as a failure in society, in the eyes of the tribe, and by his own son, he contained something that Okonkwo never had: humility and happiness in the smallest things. He thought that those were the reasons that made his father a failure. His son, Nwoye, was more like Okonkwo’s father and this leads them to drift off in different directions. Okonkwo had grown up to reject anything that resembled his father, humility or happiness, and this leads him to live his life dominated by fear. Okonkwo's tragic flaw is that he fears looking weak and letting emotions get the best of him is what lead him to his ultimate downfall.
This is important in the novel because when Okonkwo interferes with the Christians’ way of life at the end of the novel his “wing breaks”(he dies). So this oral tradition forshadows the end of the novel and further pushes the message that compromise is necessary for unity. “Who will wrestle for our village? Okafo will wrestle for our village. Has he thrown a hundred men?