Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart ranks among the best known and most read African literature written in English, and as such it occupies a somewhat unique position in literary discussion. One aspect of the novel that has garnered response are the structural similarities and dissimilarities that exist between Things Fall Apart and renowned western works, including the Aristotle's model of the “Tragic Hero” seen in works such as Hamlet and many Greek tragedies. Okonkwo, the protagonist of Things Fall Apart does match well some of the criteria for the “Tragic Hero”, particularly in in expository details, however, the concluding events of the novel do not follow Aristotle's outline. Achebe’s adherence to this ostensibly Western archetype in a novel that is often intentionally un-European plays with the expectation of …show more content…
He has reached great social standing, “His fame rested on solid personal achievements”, and he has multiple wives. His success is his own doing, his father lived in poverty, often taking loans with no intention to pay them back and possessing none of the masculinity revered in his community. This failing of his father proves to be a great motivator for Okonkwo, he was “ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved”, and following his father’s death, Okonkwo quickly climbed to the top of his clan. Despite the role this passion had in Okonkwo’s success, it also proves to be his weakness, his fixation on appearing powerful and masculine frequently eclipses his judgement and he acts with violence and anger toward all the people close to him, beating his wives and children frequently. In one particularly disturbing episode, the fear of being perceived as weak causes Okonkwo to kill his adoptive son, against the instructions of the oracle. This blend of the noble and heroic with a deep flaw is the traditional structure for a tragic
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.
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 on two ends of a stick. Sometimes he can be shown to be a caring, sympathetic character, but others he is shown as a ruthless person that is very unsympathetic person. Okonkwo is a man of action that would rather solve things with his fists rather than talking it out. He is a great wrestler hailing from the Umuofia clan that has thrown Amalinze the Cat. Okonkwo is also a very good farmer, where he has been able to grow two barns worth of yams. He is someone that doesn’t know how to control themselves when they get angry as he will then resort to violence. Okonkwo’s family relationships make him a sympathetic character because of his caregiving nature and hospitality and he is shown to be an unsympathetic character because of his
Okonkwo’s first and most distinctive flaw is his fear of failure. Many people would agree that this flaw is driven by the fear of becoming his father, but Okonkwo takes this fear too far. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was known for being a very lazy and carefree man. He also had notoriety of being “…poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat.” (Achebe 5). A big tradition in Umuofia is having a father who is supposed to teach his children right and wrong. In Okonkwo’s case, these lessons had to be self-taught. Okonkwo had to commit to his own understandings of what defined a “good man” and to him that was the exact opposite of his father. Because of his fear to be seen as weak, Okonkwo even murders a child that calls him father. Ikemefuna was sent to live with Okonkwo because someone was murdered in a nearby village. An example of Okonkwo’s ill-hearted actions are shown in the following quote: “As the man drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. He heard Ikemefuna cry, ‘My father, they have killed me!’ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.” (Achebe 61). The fact that he kills Ikemefuna shows that his reputation is more important than the life of a child. Okonkwo’s fear permits him to receive more respect from his tribe, but only because it inclines him to do better than anyone else.
His constant fight of not being like his father sets him up for failure. While Okonkwo constantly fights to not be like his father he mirrors some of his father's characteristics. Before Okonkwo kills himself he loses his possessions, title, and clan, his father did not have any real possessions or a title. Then he kills himself which is not masculine and is called a agbala which his father was known as. All of Okonkwo’s hard work and attention to details does nothing for him but end up like Unoka who he strived untiring to not even be seen as
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.
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.
Okonkwo is not all that he may seem; as there is more than what meets the eye. Okonkwo is the primary protagonist within the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo is a cruel yet kind man who has everything yet has nothing, which in turn creates a sympathetic character. A character such as Okonkwo has many facets; or masks if you will. Then we have his many influences: the Ibo culture; his father Unoka and of course his own personality. Then there is a staggering list of achievements. Okonkwo is a strong character but thinks only inwardly - especially towards his father - which will be discussed further in this essay.
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.
Because his father borrowed from others without means of returning, lived off of others, and never made a stable life for himself and his family, Okonkwo does the opposite in his life. Normally a son would inherit his father’s barn, but because his father was unmanly and “had a miserable harvest” (Achebe 16), “there was no barn to inherit” (16). Okonkwo “hate[d] everything that his father Unokoa had loved” (13) because all that his father did was weak. He makes a stable life for himself and his family by producing yams and stocking up his barn. Okonkwo’s idea of manliness is also more aggressive than the clan. When he is suggested to not take part in the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo not only was there, but he “cut him down” (61) because of the fear “of being thought weak” (61). Whenever Okonkwo thought he or a member of his family was being thought of as weak, he would either beat them, physically, or himself, emotionally, up. He is more aggressive and intolerant of unmanliness because of the fear of becoming like his
Okonkwo is a self-made, well-respected member of the Umuofia clan. Even though he is firm and powerful, I believe that he suffers from internal fear. His greatest fear is that he will become like his father – lazy, unable to support his family, and cowardly. Okonkwo thinks that the ways of his father are feminine and he reacts how he does to avoid being anything like his father. This means that he works hard, provides for his family, is brave, and masculine in every way. Okonkwo is successful in many ways. He becomes very wealthy, holds a high-ranked position in the community, has three wives, and is known for his skill as a wrestler and warrior. But you will find that even through all of the positive qualities, his fear of being like his father is forces him to make some unnecessary and harmful decisions. His fear of being like his father leads him to assist in the murder of Ikemefuna – who was like a son, to beat his wives, is emotionally distant from his children, and to disown his oldest son.
Chinua Achebe’s famous literature Things Fall Apart expresses ideas both meaningful and deep, the various chapters introduce a variety of character with unique characteristics. Things Fall Apart tells a story centering around Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in pre- and post-colonial life in late nineteenth century Nigeria. Okonkwo’s conflict in Things Fall Apart consists of his struggle between the keeping of his pride, personal agenda, and morals, which leads him to be mentally unstable. Achebe wrote this novel to express that pride can be an enemy.
Achebe describes Okonkwo at the beginning of the book to demonstrate Okonkwo as a prideful and respected man. Okonkwo’s described as a“wealthy farmer [who] had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife”(8). “[Having] no patience for unsuccessful man”(4), Okonkwo would pounce on individuals, as he cannot control his anger. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father having been a coward left his son and family nothing. Okonkwo worked his way up, “it was slow and painful, 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”(18). Okonkwo’s description depicts an individual, whose hardworking, prideful, and ferocious. Others in the village believe him as worthy of “[eating]
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart shows an odd similarity between the cultures of Ancient Greece and the Lower Niger. Despite the fact that two societies can exist during different periods of time and have conflicting cultural values, their stories and behavior can have surprising overlaps. Things Fall Apart is structured like a Greek Tragedy in its use of a chorus and in the presence of a tragic hero whose actions ultimately lead to his downfall.
Although the reader feels remorseful for Okonkwo’s tragic childhood life. It is another reason to sympathize with a man who believes he is powerful and respected by many when in reality, he is feared by his own family and that is another reason that leads Okonkwo to his downfall. He started positive, motivated but down the line, Okonkwo treats his wife and children very harshly. When the author mentioned, “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children” (pg.13).