Trauma can cause a large deal of stress to those who suffer through it, usually it is dealt by when the victim is young. The brusque nature of a parent to a child can cause a large deal of impact, especially later in life. For example in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the protagonist Okonkwo is faced with a challenge of battling his internal fear and trauma, making those who are close to him suffer on his behalf due to his father’s negligence. In the small village of Umuofia one of the strongest men in the village has to endure a similar situation. His father, Unoka, was a man with no self respect; a drunkard who did not pay his dues. Fear is a constant battle in the story, fear of attachment, failure, or emotions. Unoka’s lack of love and care …show more content…
He has grown to detest all the things Unoka liked, and developed a strong will and exterior so he wouldn’t even flinch at bloodshed. His father was a coward that feared almost everything and was considered an agbala amongst others. Okonkwo had been personally affected by his father's underachievements by cause of children who taunted him at a young age. Unoka is also known to be the opposite of Okonkwo, or rather Okonkwo began to become the Unoka. “[…] Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. In Umuofia’s latest war he was the first to bring home a human head.” (2.4). He is ridden by the internal conflict of the always caring of the opinions of others in the village. Okonkwo faces man vs. man conflict since he has to tackle his own perceptions of being an idol in the village. This is a fright that cannot be shaken off in Okonkwo's situation, since it;s been deeply embedded into his personality and how he is. Now that he is overflowing with pride of his high status in Umuofia, his standards are higher, it induces an even more self conscious Okonkwo.“[..] his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic“ (12). Okonkwo is able to tackle many obstacles with his power, but unfortunately there is no greater opponent than himself. His mind is always patrolling back on …show more content…
After an incident happened in Umuofia, since a rival clan allegedly murdered an Umuofian woman. The recompense for such deeds were a virgin girl, and a boy. The boy was named Ikemefuna, as he arrived to the village he was handed over to Okonkwo's family. He was very young and after a while, began to grow onto Okonkwo. He was adored by Okonkwo, but he was rarely shown that privilege thanks to Okonkwo’s lack of expressing emotions. Another setback as a result of Okonkwo's firm stance on his macho image. Okonkwo and Ikemefuna were very close until the day of Ikemefuna’s execution. He was taken by a few men with machetes (by The Oracles orders) with Okonkwo following along, although he was not to be involved. Okonkwo tried his best to look away as he heard the first blow, but was later distracted by Ikemefuna’s cries of “My father, they have killed me!” (7.27-28). Okonkwo could not help but give into fear, and kill Ikemefuna on instinct, to hide his initial feelings of sadness and despair. Okonkwo was punished for becoming involved, and he mourned in his hut. Okonkwo was once again taken over by his internal conflict and did a non-sensical
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.
When the missionaries arrive in Umuofia, Okonkwo’s conflict between fighting back and adjust to the changing society becomes even more extreme. Throughout the book, when Okonkwo feels like he has power, he desires more control and leadership over his community. For instance, Achebe writes, “Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan for his return. The first thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale. He would build a bigger barn than he had had before and he would build huts for two new wives. Then he would show his wealth by initiating his sons into the ozo society. Only the really great man in the clan were able to do this. Okonkwo saw clearly the high esteem in which he would ...
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
“They will take him outside Umofia, as is the custom, and kill him there. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. He calls you his father. (57)” This quote explains that Ogbuefi expresses concern for Okonkwo, because the Oracle explains how it would be wrongful of Okonkwo to kill Ikemefuna. “Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak. (61)” This quote portrays that Okonkwo completely disregarded what Ogbuefi and the Oracle cautioned him about, because he was too concerned about his status of what others thought of him. “At last the man was named and people sighed “E-u-u, Ezeudu is dead.” A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo’s back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him. (121)” At this point in the story, it appears that Okonkwo is starting to realize his wrongdoings, primarily because he takes religion and his spiritual life very seriously, in regards towards the Oracle. Okonkwo begins to lose trust within his family, especially with Nwoye. (As mentioned in the previous paragraph.) In the beginning of the book, Okonkwo relied on Ikemefuna to help Nwoye become more masculine and tough. After Ogbuefi warns Okonkwo about taking part in the murder, Okonkwo thinks about what could happen to him once the gods find out. Once again, Okonkwo lets his emotions
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.
Unoka was seen as lazy, weak, and passive while Okonkwo strived to be strong, wealthy and successful. Okonkwo had feared of being weak so chose not to show emotions to others and he also killed Ikemefuna for the same reason. In the novel, Achebe writes, “ 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.
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.
There are multiple examples of Okonkwo’s lack of adherence to Umuofian customs, i.e., beating his wife, Ojiugo, during the Week of Peace (28-31); beating his wives and children for the most minuscule of reasons; and speaking out whenever he should remain silent. However, the one custom that he breaks that causes the most hardship for himself and, it can be argued, his family, is the killing of his adopted son, Ikemefuna. Although the murder is prescribed by the Oracle of the Hills and Caves and is condoned by the village elders, neither the Oracle nor the other men of the village expect Okonkwo to partake in the killing; in fact, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, a well-respected warrior and elder of the tribe, suggests that Okonkwo remain behind when the other warriors lead Ikemefuna to slaughter. “. . . Umuofia has decided to kill him,” Ezeudu says,...
I wish I could say that the character Okonkwo, in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, is very similar to myself, but I would be lying. Okonkwo is filled with many admirable traits: drive, ambition, goals, and his ability to overcome through his constant productivity. Okonkwo had the determination to become a great man, and even with the odds against him, he succeeded.
Okonkwo's refuses to show anything but anger and ends up killing Ikemefuna which he loved dearly all because of the dominant environment. Okonkwo becomes an alpha-male in Umuofia. Although he is already rich and strong he is scared that he will be seen as weak and poor like his father.
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
Okonkwo respected Umuofia very highly even when he was put to exile. Because Okonkwo was put to exile by Umuofia he lost everything. For example, when he went to Mbanta, his motherland, he was given “a plot of ground on which to built his compound, and two or three pieces of land on which to farm during the coming plant season”(130). Being given this little land showed how lowly the people of his motherland had thought of him in contrary to how people in Umuofia thought of him. He lost his wealth and needed a new reputation starting in a new village. Furthermore, he also lost his status starting out in a new place. “His life had been ruled by great passion - to become one of the lords of the clan… Then everything had been broken. He had been cast out of his clan like a fish onto a dry, sandy beach, panting”(131). Okonkwo was barely an inch away to become one of the lords of Umuofia, but after his exile all his chances were diminished. This gave him one less thing to live for, contributing to factors of Okonkwo’s suici...
Okonkwo is driven by the fear of weakness; being seen as feeble by the other men which escalated from his persistence to not be his father. Additionally when Okonkwo faces the attacked Ikemefuna he ignores his pleads. Achebe illustrates this through Ikemefuna cries, “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’ (1977:54). The confliction between personal and cultural consequences explores how Ikemefuna and Okonkwo feel fear differently in this situation. As a consequence the contrast between the characters fears highlights how Ikemefuna fears the men with the machetes and death, both of which he has no control over. On the other hand Okonkwo fears losing his sense of masculinity, an internal anxiety which he could regulate but chooses not to. Furthermore the representation of Okonkwo’s identity in chapter one and seven demonstrate how Achebe, created Things Fall Apart to ‘reveal the darker side of both traditions as well as the better side and leave us to draw our own