Abame, a village almost identical to Umuofia, had recently been wiped out by the strange visit of white men. The area in which this story takes place has never seen these albino people, and most of the villages didn’t believe the stories that these men exist. After the first arrival of a white man, Abame consulted the Oracle, who in return, foretold the demise of the clan if they were to let him free. As a result, Abame killed the intruder, and laid the matter to rest. However, even after many market weeks, their precaution led to the anger of the man’s party. On a popular market day the white men attacked and murdered the entire village, and only a small band of refugees were able to survive. When hearing of the innocent slaughter of the tribe, Uchendu tells the story of Mother Kite and her daughter, who are …show more content…
Okonkwo reacted in a similar manner, I think that the group of men talking about the demolition are intimidated by the quick manner in with Abame was destroyed. The blame in the whole situation was put onto the villagers, no one seemed to disagree with what the intruders had done. As you read you can see that all of the fault is put onto Abame. Okonkwo blames their lack of preparedness, “They had been warned that danger was ahead. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market” (140). Uchendu puts responsibility on the fact that Abame was warned, and didn’t listen, “Never kill a man who says nothing. Those men of Abame were fools. What did they know about the man?” (140). The two men differ in opinions due to the diversity of their personalities, Okonkwo, who is more bold and bloodthirsty, was putting fault on lack of battle readiness. Uchendu, with a more traditional disposition, blamed their unfaithfulness to the
"Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all." (Aristotle). In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is living proof of Aristotle's statement. Although he is arguably the most powerful man in Umuofia, His personal flaws of fear of failure and uncontrollable anger do not allow him true greatness as a human being.
Their village was destroyed and burn to the ground and numerous people were killed by the white man because “‘they killed the white man and tied his iron horse to their sacred tree…’”(138). Okonkwo and Uchendu had similar thoughts on the foolishness of the Abame clan but explained in different ways. Okonkwo’s take on the situation was “‘They were fools’…’They had been warned that the danger was ahead. They should of armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to the market’”(140). Okonkwo states they members of Abame should of prepared for the danger and fight them off instead of killing a white man and not being prepared. Uchendu thought on the situation was “‘Never Kill a man who says nothing. Those men of Abame were fools’…’There is something ominous behind the silence’…’There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts’”(140). Uchendu take on it was similar to Okonkwo’s rather than retaliate he explained that the members of Abame should of been suspicious about the man and should of been wiser about the situation as he illustrated in a story. Both stated the members of Abame were fools for what they did and explained what they should of done
Everyone in the past, present, and future strive for success. People of all ages and generations aspire to be successful in one way or another. One of the most prominent ways to define success is having lots of money and lots of respect. The desire for money and titles can tear a life apart. In, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo’s desire for status is a negative force that is ruling his life.
The men that come to Umuofia destroy the cultural balance of faith and religion that encompasses the native people in Africa. People in Umuofia depend strongly on the ancestors and gods in their culture. It is their tradition and their beginning, from which they govern their lives. Even the priestess that serves the god Agbala, "...was full of the power of her god, and she was greatly feared" (16). Without the stronghold of customs and traditions, only chaos exists. Peace, trust, and knowledge are thrown off when the new religion of Christianity is introduced. When the missionary explains that:
Okonkwo is “a man of action, a man of war” (7) and a member of high status in the Igbo village. He holds the prominent position of village clansman due to the fact that he had “shown incredible prowess in two intertribal wars” (5). Okonkwo’s hard work had made him a “wealthy farmer” (5) and a recognized individual amongst the nine villages of Umuofia and beyond. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw isn’t that he was afraid of work, but rather his fear of weakness and failure which stems from his father’s, Unoka, unproductive life and disgraceful death. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness….It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” Okonkwo’s father was a lazy, carefree man whom had a reputation of being “poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.” (5) Unoka had never taught Okonkwo what was right and wrong, and as a result Okonkwo had to interpret how to be a “good man”. Okonkwo’s self-interpretation leads him to conclude that a “good man” was someone who was the exact opposite of his father and therefore anything that his father did was weak and unnecessary.
Throughout the book, Okonkwo makes rash decisions out of the fear that he would be thought of as weak, just like his father. The moment when he kills Ikemefuna he states that he did it because, “He was afraid of being thought of as weak.” This is a common theme throughout the book. He was said to rule his house with a “heavy hand”, which can be seen in the way he treats his wives and his son, Nwoye. When the youngest of his three wives forgets to cook supper he brutally beats her.
In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is portrayed as a respected and determined individual whose fatal flaw eventually works against him. Throughout the novel the readers are shown that Okonkwo has many of these Characteristics because he is obsessed with the idea of becoming just like his father. This becomes his flaw in the novel that puts him into exile and makes it hard for him to adjust to the changes that were made with in his village.
Two passages from the story Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, provide the reader with a more profound understanding of Okonkwo, and his son Nwoye. The two do not have a good relationship and it becomes worse as the story progresses. Throughout the book the two become increasingly distant and it is apparent that Okonkwo is very disappointed in his son. After the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye begins to question many aspects of his life, especially religion. As the Christian missionaries spend more time with the members of the village, Nwoye becomes interested in this new religion. The first passage I have chosen discusses Nwoye’s feelings about Christianity.
The effects of colonialism on Umuofia had caused major modifications. Umuofia was no longer the strong tribe it was before his exile, they were weak. When Okonkwo tried to get his people to fight against these men but they refused, and some of his men were converts. “How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us. ”(130)
The teller has the ability, whether consciously or subconsciously, to incorporate their own cultural customs on what is important and what is not (White 1537). In Things Fall Apart the narrator of the story is never identified, yet is aware of Okonkwo’s life and the cultural customs of Umuofia. The narrator makes a clear stance on what is deemed culturally acceptable and that is on side with the village and the people within it. Although the narrator is unidentifiable, the narrator is explain the history of Umuofia and its people, providing a history with the narrator’s own given bias. The narrator does not seem to react to controversial customs within the village, such as the killing of twins (Achebe 92) and the killing of Okonkwo’s adopted son (Achebe 61).
In the book “Things Fall Apart”, evidence of a social structure was apparent within the Igbo community. This rigid social structure served as a purpose to balance the life of the people within the society, as well as promoting the downfall of the clan. The social structure was important in keeping a centralized society and preventing any sign of corruption within their clan. The social structure had advantages in keeping a balanced and equal society, supporting a division of labor, providing a surplus of food, individual huts, a communal society, and the development of some kind of government. In contrast, this social structure led others to reject to cooperate with the new religion and aided the lack of unity among the people. It also promoted a more patriarchal society, the inferior rank of women, and the lack of strong bonds between family members.
The character of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was driven by fear, a fear of change and losing his self-worth. He needed the village of Umuofia, his home, to remain untouched by time and progress because its system and structure were the measures by which he assigned worth and meaning in his own life. Okonkwo required this external order because of his childhood and a strained relationship with his father, which was also the root of his fears and subsequent drive for success. When the structure of Umuofia changed, as happens in society, Okonkwo was unable to adapt his methods of self-evaluation and ways of functioning in the world; the life he was determined to live could not survive a new environment and collapsed around him.
Things fall apart focuses on the lifetime of the protagonist of the novel, Okonkwo. As the novel develops Okonkwo accidentally kills a person and he and his family are exiled from Umuofia. At the time of his exile white missionaries arrive in Umuofia and try to change the village. When Okonkwo returns to his village he sees various transformations that Umuofia has undergone at the time of his exile. Unhappy with the amendment, Okonkwo and other villagers come together to drive the white missionaries out of their land. Their efforts go in vain because the missionaries send their messengers to abort the meeting.
“In world mythology, there are countless examples of tragic characters whose greatest strength is also the source of their undoing. But the ancient Greeks and Romans also held the view that acceptance is the beginning of wisdom”(Simon Van Booy). Okonkwo was a very strong man physically, mentally, and emotionally. That was his biggest strength, but also the reason of his descent, which made him a tragic tragic hero. If Okonkwo would have accepted the fact that he was not as strong as he made himself out to be, maybe there would have been a different ending to the novel. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as, “A character that makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her destruction.” This is essentially what Okonkwo does during the final events of his life. From the start of his life, Okonkwo was a very impressive figure because of
Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, uses the changes in African tribal culture brought about by European colonization to illustrate the evolution of the character Okonkwo. As Okonkwo leads his life, his experiences, personality and thought are revealed to the reader. The obstacles he faces in life are made numerous as time progresses. Okonkwo's most significant challenge originates within himself. He also encounters problems not only when in opposition to the white culture, but in his own culture, as he becomes frustrated with tribal ideals that conflict with his own. The last adversary he encounters is of the physical world, brought upon himself by his emotional and cultural problems. The manner through which Okonkwo addresses his adversaries in Things Fall Apart creates the mechanism that leads to his eventual destruction.