Okonkwo is a very aggressive man and because of that his temper isn't very well maintained. Okonkwo is a very strong wrestler and because of that, he is well respected by the village. Though he is not the nicest person alive he respects manly men, unlike his father who which he is afraid of representing. Although he is a good man the wrongs outweigh the rights, making him not very sympathetic. one example of him being unsympathetic is beating his wife and nearly killing her because she was doing her hair while he takes care of kids it's not that he beats her that makes it bad, it's that he tries to shoot her during the week of peace, completely ruining the week of peace luckily he misses though. “ Ojiugo has left her hut to have her hair
Okonkwo is known throughout Umuofia to be extremely masculine. He rarely shows signs of fear or weakness. This is because Oknokwo promised himself he would be the complete opposite of his father Unoka. Unoka had passed away ten years prior to when the story takes place but he has always been remembered as a weak, lazy, poor man who could barely provide for his family. He was always in debt and didn't care to work, he would play his flute all day everyday if he was able to. "People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back" (5). Unoka was the laugh of the town and Okonkwo would never allow himself be that.
Okonkwo is a man of action, he would rather settle things with his strength rather than talk it out with the person he is mad at. This is very unsympathetic because not only is he going to use violence towards others, he is doing it just because he can not get his point across with using his words. This quote shows that he does not care towards others emotions because he would rather just fight them than talk it out. Another quote that shows Okonkwo’s unsympathetic behavior is,“He rules the household with a heavy hand” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo is shown to be someone who disciplines where he sees fit, if he does not like what is going on then there might be a high chance that the heavy hand is going to come down onto you. It shows how unsympathetic Okonkwo is because it shows how he might not care about his family’s feelings towards getting hit when they disobey him. His wives are more often beaten, especially Ekwefi, who has been beaten almost to death because Okonkwo was in a bad mood. It shows that he lets his emotions get the best of him and he does not control them very well, he would rather let it all out violently than talking it out with the people that he is mad at. Those quotes show how Okonkwo can be seen as a very unsympathetic person from his
Okonkwo’s fear of unmanliness is kindled by his father, who was a lazy, unaccomplished man. Okonkwo strives to have a high status from a young age and eventually achieves it. He has a large family, many yams and is well known throughout the village for his valor. He raises his family by his mentality of manliness and is ...
In these few chapters that we read, we have already learned a lot about Okonkwo, his life, and how he shows sympathy to some, but to others he is heartless. Okonkwo is other wise known as an unsympathetic person. Okonkwo is a clan leader of umuofia who holds many titles and is well known among his people. Okonkwo's daily life consists of tending to the three yam farms he has produced and to make numerous offerings to numerous gods and to help himself and his family. Okonkwo's personality is hard driven, since his father did not provide for him and his family Okonkwo had to start man hood early and this led him to be very successful in his adulthood, Okonkwo is an unsympathetic character who only shows sympathy rarely because he believes it's a sign of weakness Okonkwo's family relationships make him a sympathetic character because when his children show signs of manliness or do their jobs right he shows sympathy towards them. He is an unsympathetic character because whenever he get a little mad he has to take his anger out on something and that is usually vented by beating his wife's.
As the book opens, Umuofia is unafraid and powerful and Okonkwo the man with three wives was known as a majestic wrestler. Okonkwo’s father name is Unoka, but he is dead and before he died he was known to be a very lazy man. His son Okonkwo refuse to be like him so he tried to do the opposite of his father. Unoka owed neighbors very much money. Okonkwo desire for toughness, but his son Nwoye is very different from his dad he is lazy and Okonkwo don’t find that to be any good in his son life from what Okonkwo grew up from. Okonkwo wanted his son Nwoye to follow in his foot steps and find shelter and to provide for his family when he grow older. Then a couple of days after Nwoye sit at the table with his father. Okonkwo finds that
Okonkwo is a very powerful character in this story he really doesnt show emotion and He has the need to be stronger because his family is weak so okonkwo wants to be very stonf and powerful and he wants to be the leader so everyone looks up to him and he can lead everyone so be a stronger person and not weak at and he wants to show everyone that hes a strong person and some that doesnt have fear so everyone knows he can lead his team and his village
From birth Okonkwo had wanted his son, Nwoye, to be a great warrior like him. His son instead rebelled and wanted to be nothing like Okonkwo. Okonkwo would not change so that his son would idolize him, as he had wanted since his son's birth. He chose not to acknowledge his son's existence instead. This would weigh heavily on anyone's conscience, yet Okonkwo does not let his relationship with his son affect him in the least bit.
He was a very proud man and did not take kindly to being questioned, especially by those whom he considered of lesser social character (Ikuenobe, 2006). Such as the case of calling another male villager a “woman” while in a meeting because he did not have any titles (Achebe, 1994). Being questioned by a “lesser” man was equivalent to being weak, and Okonkwo had a fear of being seen as weak and lazy, like his father. However, because he had this fear, his ability to fully integrate with the clans virtues, such as humility and compassion, he lacked the ability to enjoy some of the “restful and festive periods” that the village had, such as the Week of Peace (Ikuenobe,
In the essence of his character, Okonkwo evokes sympathy in the reader only because of his many cultural and personal influences. These influences make him a product of society. Due to this he has lost much but also gained much. Okonkwo also thinks he is doing something to help when he may in fact being harming others. He has a conscious and regrets certain deeds. He punished himself after killing Ikemefuna. Therefore, Okonkwo is a cruel yet kind man who evokes sympathy in the reader.
Okonkwo cannot control himself when one of his wives or kids does something that makes him frustrated, he either beats them or punishes them in another way, “His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess” (Achebe 4). Okonkwo has tried to influence his son in positive ways but already sees that Nwoye is already...
Although Okonkwo’s mindset and way of life are static throughout the novel, the influence of the Christian faith increases in the village people. From the first paragraphs of the novel, it is clear that Okonkwo is deserving of the respect he earns. An easy way to gain status in the village is by defeating others in wrestling matches. The novel begins with Okonkwo overcoming an undefeated wrestler and and gaining status in the village. Along with wrestling, he is also proficient as a warrior in combat.
Okonkwo’s later receipt of a boy from a neighboring village unexpectedly gifts him with the kind of son he had always wanted, and he begins to think of himself as the boy’s father. Despite his pride in him, Okonkwo continues to withhold any sign of approval or endearment for fear of tarnishing his manly reputation. This indignation is made undeniably clear when he slaughters the boy in front of his men—even against the advice of the oracle—in an effort to flaunt his
Okonkwo is portrayed as a respected individual in many ways. He was a well known person through out the 9 villages and beyond. His successes were based wholly on his personal achievements. For example, he was a warrior and wrestler who gained respect through his athletics. Manliness was a characteristic that was greatly valued by the people of the village. Since Okonkwo was a wrestler and a warrior this showed that he was a fierce fear-free individual. And because he hadn't lost one fight or any battles this was more reason for the people of the village to love him. He was also respected because of his wealth. Okonkwo had three wives and m...
Okonkwo is one of the most powerful men in the Ibo tribe. In his tribe, he is both feared and honored. This is evident by this quote, "Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on the solid personal achievements. He brought honor to his tribe by throwing Amalinze the Cat" ( Achebe 3). This suggests that in Okonkwo's tribe, making a name for yourself in any way possible, even if that means fighting and wrestling to get your fame attains power. Okonkwo wanted to be one of the highest leaders in the tribe, and was willing to do anything in order to achieve that goal. He loved his tribe, and they defined him.
Not only did his actions bring harm to others, “he beat her heavily” (29/10) and “Okonkwo’s second wife, Ekwefi, whom he nearly shot” (29/3). His actions also brought consequences to himself. Ojiugo and Ekwefi and her daughter feared him, and he was known in the village to have broken the sacred peace for the first time in many years, leaving many people in shock (31/3).