An Obsession With Perfection The journey that Okonkwo takes in the novel goes from hero to villain. This downward journey is caused by many factors. The character Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart is obsessed with proving his masculinity, often by beating his wives and son. Okonkwo’s flaws lead to misery for himself, when he is unable to realize not every action must be a vigorous one. His family suffers when he takes his anger out on them for the simplest things just to prove he is a man.
In their village, having no title (as a male) means that you aren’t worthy or powerful. Understanding that Okonkwo was very afraid of failing, even more afraid of being like his father. Meaning having no power, or being worthy. The narrator tells us that Okonkwo, “...was ruled by one passion - to hate everything his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness.” (Achebe pg.13).
The Mbaino chose to replace the woman a young man, Ikemefuna, and a virgin woman. Okonkwo feared failure and weakness. He feared he would resemble his father. When he was little he suffered when a playmate said that his father was a failure. He was always angry and worked very hard.
When Okonkwo takes part in the murder of the young boy, his birth son, Nwoye, loses all respect for his father, and that is the turning point in Okonkwo’s life because he no longer is the valued individual among all members of his family. In Okonkwo’s understanding, “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man” (Achebe 58). This chapter drives the plot because Okonkwo is no longer respected by his only son, who was the one person that he had the most faith and hope in. In terms of character, Okonkwo did not respect his own father, so he wanted to make sure that this wasn’t the case with his children, especially his son. Okonkwo wants Nwoye to grow into a strong and powerful man,
With his strong attitude he has no patience for his wife that is why she ends up getting beat many times through the novel. Also when Okonkwo expresses that he is worried that Nwoye, his son, does not exert his energy or strength like a man. Showing that Okonkwo prefers a traditional life style
Achebe described Okonkwo's father in this way: “Unoka (Okonkwo's father) …was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow.” (Achebe 4) In contrasting that to the culture I have been brought up in, it seems that the majority of men who had a father like Unoka responded in living their life in trying to make up for what their father lacked in his – which is the same idea that I felt that Okonkwo's goals and ideas were based on. I say this because of how often he had to fight the urge to show affection or love to his children and wives, and also to his believing that if he told Nwoye stories of battle and destruction that Nwoye would become more of a man. I feel grateful that I have been raised in a family that the idea of showing affection is encouraged, and that there is nothing wrong with the feminist traits of women, and that it is ok for me to have them. I have been raised to always express yourself through words and emotion, and in some cases physically. If one of my five sisters or one of my 4 brothers did something nice for me I wouldn't just turn my shoulder and pretend like nothing happened or just stare at her/him with indifference, but I would
Okonkwo’s perception of masculinity leads to him creating a rigid sense of right and wrong that honors those who agree with him, but shuns those who do not. Eventually, Okonkwo’s actions push his son, Nwoye, away, and help Chrisianity take hold in the village, destroying the cultural traditions in the process. The disillusionment of Nwoye was not a one step process. In fact, it took many years for the tension between the father and son to come to a head. While this process took many years, there are landmark events that can reveal how Okonkwo’s ways would eventually push the boy away.
Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate.” (Achebe 208-209). The commissioner intends to write a book documenting the Ibo culture. He is unaware, and likely uninterested in knowing the full story of Okonkwo’s life. “one must be firm in cutting out the details.” (Achebe 209) Okonkwo had just realized that his tribe was doomed because of their weakness. He decided to take his own life as a result of a lifelong struggle to help his clan by being a strong and hardworking man, in an attempt to distance himself from his weak and unsuccessful father’s reputation.
He’s not safe to be around “. (Burroughs 13)The fighting and absence reflected onto Augustan’s relationship with his older brother, John Elder. John was not only eight years his senior but also made it habit to torment the very young Augesten, who summed his thoughts on him by stating,” My hatred for him nearly caused my skin to steam, and I was constantly plotting revenge for one thing or another.”(Burroughs 24). The lack of emotional support lead Burroughs’s to find solace within his own self. Nevertheless, a juvenile Augesten yearned for a certain comfort he has been devoid of
Things Fall Apart In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, the main character, is a very strong man and very respected. He is also very strict and unpredictable. Okonkwo is banned from his clan because of an accident and is forced to flee to his mother clan. Okonkwo is the kind of man who does not wilt under pressure but this growing season in foreign lands will put him to the test. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe combines forceful diction with vivid imagery and incorporates descriptive syntax to define how moving to his mother clan was difficult for Okonkwo and his family.