This world can appear to be a very large place when looking at the perspective of the earth on a globe. We notice the many continents and the vast country places, which exist within in it. The blueness of the seas that stretches from one end to the other is overwhelming within itself. It’s an elementary fact that life is prevalent on the dry places on the earth. However, another fact is true. Every society wants to establish its importance along with its reason for living and existing. The people of Umuofia were a people who had a strong belief in their power for oneness. Okonkwo’s people were a society of people who exercised strength and agility. The power of their strength came partly from their cultural beliefs. The clan of Umuofia had established a system that worked for them, and it worked quite well for centuries. They structured their own medicinal system, governmental system and religious system.
A person is called a leader because of the great accomplishments he has achieved in spite of their trials and tribulations. It is generally because of the circumstances an individual survive that causes another individual to call him a leader. “His life had been ruled by a great passion – to become one of the lords of the clan” (Achebe 131). Okonkwo considered himself a survivor and desired to become a leader to the people within his society. “Since I survived that year,” he always said, “ I shall survive anything” (Achebe 24). Okonkwo owned a fierce determination on the inside to be an overcomer and conquer the things others within his village may have believed were impossible for him to achieve. One of Okonkwo’s accomplishments was the wrestling battle between him and another wrestler, known as Amalinze, the Ca...
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...yone who disrespects it. The Europeans and the missionaries were able to tread the land of the Okonkwo’s people with the assistance of their neighboring villages. The missionaries needed an interpreter in order to communicate with Okonkwo’s people. The neighboring villages feared the people of Umuofia. The other villages undoubtedly desired safety and refuge from the people of Umuofia, considering all of the neighboring villages knew about the greatness and strength of Umuofia. Certainly, having a great wrestler, such as Okonkwo, increased anxiety among them. The surrounding villages welcomed the white man, the white man’s church and the white man’s government. It was their aide, which complimented the Europeans agenda to possess the land and the people of Umuofia.
Work Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 50th ed. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print.
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... [He] brought honor to his tribe by throwing Amalinze the Cat..."(3) This suggests that in Okonkwo's society, power is attained by making a name for yourself in any way possible, even if that means fighting and wrestling to get your fame. Although honor is a good thing, when people have to fight to gain it, it becomes an object of less adoration. Okonkwo's "prosperity was visible in his household... his own hut stood behind the only gate in the red walls. Each of his three wives had her own hut... long stacks of yams stood out prosperously in [the barn]... [Okonkwo] offers prayers on the behalf of himself, his three wives, and eight children." (14) Okonkwo has also worked and tended to his crops in a very zealous fashion, and drives everyone around him to work as hard as he does. Because of this, he earns his place as one of Umuofia's most powerful men. In many cultures, a big family is a source of pride. Although Okonkwo is not always pleased by his children and wives, it also brings him a source of pride to have three wives and eight children. Large families mean that the head of the family is able to support all of them. Okonkwo's devotion to his crops and family gives to him the respect that any father and husband deserves, and in his culture, being able to fight and kill as well gives him even more influence and power.
Although Greenland and Australia are thousands of miles apart and very different in geography, they also have many similarities. In his book “Collapse”, Jared Diamond shows that both countries have the five factors that can contribute to a society’s collapse. Greenland’s Norse society already collapsed a long time ago, while Australia is still a First World country going strong. If some things there don’t change, the country’s living standard will go down and there could be major problems.
Akunna on one of Mr. Brown's visits. " We also believe in Him and call
In the book, Things Fall Apart, there are a couple of folktales that are extended throughout the book. These folktales contributes to and comments on the central narrative of the story. Animals and folktales were important to the Igbo people. They used animals in fables and stories to demonstrate their beliefs and rituals. With all rituals, animals and symbols play a crucial role in Igbo society. The fable of the Tortoise and the Birds has uncanny similarities with Okonkwo and his rise and fall. The tortoise’s strength and cunningness eventually gets to be too much, which ends up crushing him. And Okonkwo’s inability to adapt to change leads to his demise. Both the tortoise and Okonkwo’s seek to be strong in society and they both want to be known as important. That is why I believe that the fable, The Tortoise and the Birds, is the closest fable to the central narrative of the story.
He was in great conflict with the ideas of the white men and the missionaries. Okonkwo saw that their beliefs had not only changed the daily life of the Ibo, but it also changed the people themselves: “He mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (Achebe 183). The author uses strong diction to compare the men before and after colonization. This quote also portrays Okonkwo’s opinion towards the cultural collision. He values strength and masculinity immensely because of his fear of appearing weak like his father Unoka. When he describes that the men of Umuofia changed to be soft like women, this shows how much he dishonors the Western ideas and how it has taken over the village. He made an attempt to get rid of the Western influence by urging the tribe to fight like men, but they refuse to. He was determined and still attempted to furthermore encourage the people of Umuofia to revolt against the new culture. He realizes that his attempts to return the village back to the way it was before were futile. He knew that Christianity was tearing his people apart, but knew he was incapable of making change to help his people. Okonkwo then starts to feel hopeless and abandoned by his clan, which causes him to commit suicide by hanging himself: “Obierika… turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: ‘That man was one of the greatest men
Okonkwo, the main character in Achebe’s novel, begins as an individual who holds great power in the Umuofi...
Overall, Okonkwo is a crucial part to the story Things Fall Apart, for he represents African culture, and helps demonstrate how colonization can change everything. Through this book we see how colonization changed history, and how it is important for groups, tribes, societies to stay together in times of invasion, in order to protect their own customs and traditions; and how crucial a sense of unity would've been for the Umuofian tribe. Okonkwo was the sense of unity of the tribe, doing everything he could could to protect it. His collection of honorable titles, his love for his tribes culture, his drive and passion, and even his booming pride all contribute to his district character, a true hero in my eyes.
Okonkwo’s desire for respect motivates his quest to preserve the practices of Ibo culture, while Obierika preserves the practices of the Ibo culture with a more humanistic perspective. Achebe uses the differing approaches of Okonkwo and Obierika in maintaining the cultural doctrines of the Ibo people to reveal his sympathy for Obierika over Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s motives for maintaining the customs of the Ibo originate with fear. Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna while “dazed with fear,” drawing “his machete [to] cut him down” because, “he was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe 61). Though Okonkwo attempts to appear strong to the people of Umuofia, his fearful motivation speaks to a hidden internal weakness. Okonkwo’s focus on eradicating the taint of “his father’s weakness and failure” and his yearning for respect drive him to kill Ikemefuna instead of the more proper motive of simply effectuating what the Ibo conside...
They provide a feeling of belonging, they brings families and communities together, and enable people to connect with each other. In Chapter three, of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is in need of yam seeds, so he seeks out the most prosperous man in his village, Nwaikibie. Okonkwo attempts to “bribe” Nwaikibie by, “[bringing him] this little kola [nut]” (19). By bringing him the “little kola” he symbolizes “As our people say, a man who pays respect to the great(s) paves the way for his own greatness”(19). Furthermore, in chapter one, the author is mentioning numerous attainments Okonkwo has achieved as a young man, illustrating that “Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered” (8). Achebe illustrates with the first quote that traditions and sayings of the elders dominate the Umuofia society by causing someone to alternate their actions to comply with the traditions of the elders. The sayings of the elders in the Umuofia tribe are equivalent to modern customs. Meaning, Umuofia clansmen incontrovertibly follow the sayings of the elders by, out of habit, incorporating them into their daily lives. For instance, whenever someone gives someone else something, they immediately reply “Thank you,” as if it were almost a reflex. There is no rule that one must say “thanks” after being given something, it has just become a well-known custom drilled into people’s minds by their elders. This quote illustrates
The main character, Okonkwo, is a wealthy and respected warrior of the Umuofia clan. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, died as a poor man with a reputation of being an emotional coward. Okonkwo is embarrassed of his father’s reputation, therefore he adopts opposite ideals. Okonkwo becomes everything his father was not; strong, productive, and a provider. He achieves great social and financial success by embracing these ideals. Throughout the village, Okonkwo is seen as powerful. Although Okonkwo is powerful, he is imprisoned by the social pressure of the village to portray
The above passages were taken from the end of chapter three, part one. After finishing reading this book and then going back through it, I found these passages very ironic in regards to how the story eventually ended. Okonkwo believed that because he was such a fierce fighter, he could conquer anything life threw at him. However, it was his fierce, proud, fighting attitude that was his demise in the face of uncontrollable circumstances in the end. Okonkwo believed that war and brute fighting would fix everything. He was a proud and stubborn man constantly struggling to improve his standing in the tribal community. Okonkwo also had intense pride for his tribe and way of life. He believed it was the right way of life and not to be questioned. Everyone was supposed to fear war with Umofia due to their fierce warriors and greatness in battle. When the white men not only did not fear them, but openly threatened the tribal way of life, Okonkwo prepared to handle the situation the only way he knew how. He wanted to got to war against the new white invaders, chasing them from tribal lands and ending the threat of different ways of life.
From an early age, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father, Unoka, who was unable even to feed his family. The unpredictability of receiving enough food at a young age was enough to inspire fear and embarrassment in Okonkwo who associated this embarrassment with his father and was given further justification for these feelings when he went out into Umuofia, discovering that the other villagers held similar opinions of Unoka. When he was old enough, Okonkwo began farming his own yams because “he had to support his mother and two sisters […] And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father” (25). Okonkwo’s self-reliance was admired, valued in the community where “age was respected […] but achievement was revered” (12); this admiration gave him feelings of security, and the respect of his peers pushed him towards greater self-respect, distancing him from his father. The security and respect became related in his mind as he viewed his acceptance in the community as his life’s goal and Okonk...
Upon an initial reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, it is easy to blame the demise of Okonkwo’s life and of the Umofia community on the imperialistic invasions of the white men. After all, Okonkwo seemed to be enjoying relative peace and happiness before then. He did have a few mishaps; one of them resulted in him being exiled for eight years. Nonetheless, he returned to his home town with high spirits and with prospects of increased success. However, everything has changed. The white men have brought with them a new religion and a new government. Okonkwo’s family falls apart. The men in his village lose their courage and valor; they do not offer any resistance to the white men. Consequently, Okonkwo kills himself in disgrace and Umofia succumbs to the white men. However, the white men are not the only people responsible for demise of Umofia. The Igbo culture, particularly their views on gender roles, sows the seed of their own destruction. By glorifying aggressive, manly traits and ignoring the gentle, womanly traits, Umofia brings about its own falling apart.
Okonkwo is a self-made man. He achieves greatness through his own hard work and determination. Okonkwo started his life without the benefits that other young men had. His father, Unoka, was a lazy man. He had acquired no honorary titles. When Unoka died, Okonkwo did not inherit any barn, title, or young wife. He merely acquired his father’s debts. Therefore, Okonkwo sets about to make a name for himself and to achieve greatness in his community. He diligently plants and harvests his yams, building a farm from scratch. He builds a large commune for his family. He marries three wives; one of them was the village beauty. He acquires two titles. Okonkwo is not a failure, like is father was. In Umuofia, “achievement was revered”, and Okonkwo’s achievement was immense (8). He was “clearly cut out for great things” (8). To the Igbo people, Okonkwo epitomizes greatness and success.
Civilization is most often defined by its prevailing culture. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, this connection is still apparent. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, displayed an appreciation of culture, as well as a deliberate incorporation of it into his life. While he didn’t treasure hard work or labor, Unoka was infatuated by his village’s music and stories, and was well known for his verbal prowess. In one respect, he held characteristics that were traditionally associated with femininity, but in another, he represented the Nguzo Saba principle of Kuumba, or creativity. Unoka was titleless, and in one word lazy, but he was still able to contribute to his people in ways he saw best fit.