The similarities between Okonkwo and Oedipus, of Things Fall Apart and of Oedipus the King are displayed on numerous occasions and are easy to recognize. Both men possess an egotistic nature and have an overwhelming sense of pride of their accomplishments, their successes of rising to power are short lived as they will lose along with their legacy as respected men, and Okonkwo and Oedipus were short tempered and were angered easily. The latter would contribute greatly to their downfalls. The tragedies of both Things Fall Apart and Oedipus the King link the protagonists regardless of the thousand year gap.
As highly regarded members of their community, Okonkwo and Oedipus never admitted to ever acting unjustly or being wrong and misjudging the input of others. For Oedipus, he was told on multiple occasions of how he would fulfill his dark fate of killing his own father and mating with his mother by a blind prophet and oracle, regardless of the applicable evidence of where Oedipus gets his name from and how he is not the son of the king of Corinth. Although others believed the words of the holy men, Oedipus dismissed them, satisfied that it would never come true because he thought he knew who his real parents were and was already making the caution to be wary of them. "Revealed at last, brother and father both to the children he embraces, to his mother son and husband both-he sowed the loins his father sowed, he spilled his father's blood!" ( Tiresias; 520-524).Okonkwo, is set in the traditional ways of his culture that he and his ancestors have followed for generations and naturally rejects any other way of life other than the Ibo culture. An example of such loyalty to his heritage includes attempting to beat down the beliefs into...
... middle of paper ...
...his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title. 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.
You prophecies of the gods, where are you now? This is the man who Oedipus feared for years, he fled him, not to kill him-and now he's dead, quite by chance, a normal, natural, death, not murdered by his son. he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating
Revealed at last, brother and father both to the children he embraces, to his mother son and husband both-he sowed the loins his father sowed, he spilled his father's blood!
Okonkwo was well known through out the nine villages because of his achievements in the tribe. Okonkwo had a great fear of becoming like his father. This had a rather large impact on his life and how his personality. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was a lazy man whereas Okonkwo was a hard worker, Okonkwo ruled his house with a heavy hand and he was a man of war.
Okonkwo was the son of Unoka, and Unoka was know in all of Umuofia as a poor coward who never paid back his debts. From the day Unoka died, Okonkwo vowed to never be like his father. Instead, Okonkwo was the complete opposite being described as wealthy but frugal, brave, violent and stubbornly opposed to music and anything else that was perceived “soft” such as, conversation and emotion. In regards to his wealth he married 3 wives and his 3 wives bore him 7 children all together. Of his 7 children he favored Ezinma his only child with Ekwefi his second wife, and did not approve or agree with his oldest son Nwoye’s actions. Okonkwo more than anything valued manliness, his own and others. During the time in this book when Ezinma is taken by
Both protagonists, Oedipus of “Oedipus the King” written by Sophocles and Okonkwo from “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, possess tragic flaw that leads to their eventual downfall. Oedipus and Okonkwo are portrayed to be tragic heroes of their respected story. Tragic hero is someone who falls of power not necessarily because he is a “bad” or evil person, but he is destined to his downfall. In both stories, fate and free was a major theme that decided both characters fortune. Both characters, Oedipus’ and Okonkwo’s individual actions and their individual character traits led them closer to their downfall. However, narrow-mindedness leaves them both at fault for their self-destruction. Both Oedipus and Okonkwo’s fate and actions through
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.
One example of how the Igbo culture molds the fictional character Okonkwo into who he is is by the usage of the title system. The title system fuels Okonkwo’s hatred for his father, Unoka, and the fear of being like him in any way. Throughout Things Fall Apart, Unoka is constantly shamed for his lack of titles, which, in turn, causes Okonkwo to begrudge his father. On page thirteen it states, “Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title” (Achebe). This quote illustrates how significant the amount of hatred that Okonkwo has for
Unoka is Okonkwo’s father, he is a very lazy man and has amassed many debts. Okonkwo is very ashamed of Unoka and seems to hate him very much. Achebe states that, “When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him? Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not the worth of his father.” Okonkwo was a strong man who was very proud and thought that any show of weakness would make him less than a man.
become rich and famous, a privilege that was unseen before in his family. Age was also an extremely important and greatly valued among his people, but success was honored. "As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders" (8). This was Okonkwo's drive in life and so he remained successful and worked twice as hard to prove to others that he was not the same man as his father. Unfortunately, this was not a mutual feeling in the clan, and Okonkwo, in trying to make up for his father's mistakes, took on the responsibilities of an older man as a young boy which led to him having the mindset of an elder in the community.
Which brings us to our title character Oedipus. There was a prophecy at birth that he would take the life of his father and then shortly after he would take his mo...
Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, is a play about how Oedipus lives up his fate that he will kill his father and marry his mother, both of which are extremely bad in the Greek society, even though he thinks he is getting away from it. Despite the Greek notions of supreme power of the gods and fate, Oedipus' downfall is primarily the result of King Laius' and his own actions and attempts to defy the gods, consequently Sophocles says that prophecies from the gods of someone's fate should not be ignored. Prophecies from the Oracle of Delphi are told to King Laius and Queen Jocasta, and to Oedipus.
Since his childhood, Okonkwo has always been ashamed of his father, Unoka. Unoka was rarely able to feed his children, which made Okonkwo scared and embarrassed. When he went out into Umuofia, he found that the villagers had very similar opinions towards his father. As...
Okonkwo wanted to become one of the greatest men in the Ibo tribe, but three unfortunate events occur bringing him closer to his end. Okonkwo was a proud, industrious figure who through hard work was able to elevate himself to a stature of respect and prominence in his community. The one major character flaw was that he was a man driven by his fear to extreme reactions. Okonkwo was petrified of inadequacy namely because his father was a complete and utter failure. This fear of shortcoming made him hate everything his father loved and represented: weakness, gentleness, and idleness. Who was Okonkwo, well Okonkwo was a hero and also he...
When Oedipus was born he was taken to an Oracle, this was custom for the rich. The Oracle was to tell his fate. The Oracle said that when Oedipus grows up he will marry his mother and he would also kill his father, "... Why, Loxias declared that I should one day marry my own mother, And with my own hands shed my father's bool. Wherefore Corinth I have kept away far, for long years; and prosperd; none the less it is most sweet to see one's parents' face..."(p36 ln1-6). When his parents herd this they gave Oedipus to a man and he was to get rid of the baby by leaving it in the forest, but an servant of Polybus, the king of Corinth, finds the baby and brings him to the king. The king falls in love with the baby and takes him in as one of his own.
The foundation of Okonkwo’s fear of failure and weakness stems from the qualities possessed by Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, and his inability to succeed during his life. As a young boy, Okonkwo had always known and resented that his father was essentially the definition of a failure. Throughout Okonkwo’s childhood, he was constantly reminded of the fact that his father was unsuccessful: “... even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him his father was agbala” (Achebe 13). The word agbala has two different meanings, one referring to a woman and the other meaning a man who has taken no titles in the clan. Titles are an important part of the Ibo culture because they show a man’s achievement and success in the clan.
While everyone was working on their farm, Unoka did nothing but drink, dance, and just plainly prayed to the gods. Okonkwo was ashamed of him and did everything possible to never end up like his father. When the narrator stated, “With father like Unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had…But he threw himself into it like one possessed. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death” (pg. 18). The shame of a father like Unoka drove Okonkwo into the passion of being nothing but successful in his life. Everything about Okonkwo had to be acknowledged and respected whether be his family or the people in the village. The true hatred of his father derived his power when the author stated, “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” (pg.13). Also, another statement that represents the flaw in Okonkwo is the way he is when it comes to his father, not defeating him or fighting for the father that raised him even thought they were poor, the gesture of lowing your head to the outer of your father’s name in disgrace when the narrator stated, “ … ‘Ask my dead father of he ever had a fowl when he was alive’ Everybody laughed heartily except Okonkwo, who laughed uneasily
Here is a story where Oedipus the King, who has accomplished great things in his life, discovers that the gods were only playing with him. He has everything a man of that time could want; he is king of Thebes, he has a wonderful wife and children, and great fame through out the lands. He has lived a good life, but in the end everything is taken from him.