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Characterisation of okonkwo by chinua achebe in things fall apart
Characterisation of okonkwo by chinua achebe in things fall apart
Essay on Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
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In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe writes how the arrival of the Christian missionaries in Umuofia intensify Okonkwo's internal conflict between changing as a new person and commit to the new changes by following the missionaries religion (which in the Igbo culture, it’s consider as being weak) vs. going his own way and follow the Igbo religion and be "manly". Okonkwo was a respected and honored man who had a lot of prosperity, but sadly his choice at the end of the book was to commit suicide. His choice had an negative impact on his clan because people look up to Okonkwo as an exemplary to the Igbo clan. Okonkwo find himself unable to adapt to the changing times as the white man comes to live among the Umuofians. As it becomes clear that you need to change to adapt to the changing society or fight for how it was before, Okonkwo realizes that he no longer can compliance the missionaries’ regulations and can’t do nothing about it, realize he can no longer can be able to function within his changing society. 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 ... ... middle of paper ... ...remain strong against the tide of change, but he appears to be the only one. When he kills the colonial official in the end, it is one last attempt to 'save' his tribe from the weakness and influence of the white man. No one else backs his attempt however, so Okonkwo, in desperation, chooses the most dishonorable death possible, suicide, rather than allow himself to be handed over to the 'weak' white man. In my opinion, i wouldn't think that Okonkwo would give up the Igbo tradition to be part of the white men religion; that’s why he killed himself because he thought he was the only one following the Igbo “steps” and he knew that nobody is on his side no more. What Okonkwo would handle his situation better if he would probably gave the "new changes" a shot and if he doesn't like it, then probably just run away and make his own community, since he is tough and manly.
As Okonkwo’s acts of violence and their resulting consequences grow, he eventually loses capability of decision making, providing a crescendo toward the conclusion of the novel. The white man’s colonization of Mbanta originally took on a peaceful approach before imposing their religious and governmental beliefs upon the people, luring them into a sense of security; overtaking and dividing the tribe from there. While they do not use a directly violent approach, Okonkwo reacts to the missionaries in a violent way, showing that he did not learn anything from his seven-year exile. Achebe does this to further illustrate Okonkwo’s position as a plot device: whereas most tragic characters may experience a change of character after seven years, Okonkwo still refuses to accept how they are and in this case, change, and therefore, he commits suicide.
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
The character Okonkwo is very insecure about failure. For example, If he fails, he will resemble his father, Unoka. Okonkwo was ashamed of his father since “he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt.” It shows how Okonkwo avoids anything similar to his father. In addition, he is also worried that Umofia will fall apart, making them seen as weak. When he is given the news that the white missionaries took over, he mourned for Umofia since he realized it was falling apart. In brief, Okonkwo was not responsible for his downfall since he is not able to hide his insecurities.
In the book, Okonkwo is trying to prove that he can command his village and keep the power from the white missionaries. His village pressures him
In Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is the main character who is greatly honored in the Umuofia society, which consists of nine villages. Okonkwo had always been a greatly respected man even though at times he was violent, a male chauvinist, and was very enraged. At the end of the novel, Okonkwo commits suicide by hanging himself. He commits suicide since he does not feel like a part of his clan and has become weak for he can not fight the white men that are destroying the society. Everything Okonkwo ever worked for in his life, as well as his place as a man, was lost at the arrival of the Evangelists and missionaries and the spread of Christianity.
In the first section of the paragraph it is made known that Okonkwo was “…ruled by a great passion - to become one of the lords of the clan.” This was evident at the very beginning of the book by his fear of failure. The loathing he had for his father and what he stood for had driven Okonkwo to work hard through his entire life. This commitment help confirm the manliness that he had be seeking for, the one thing that could separate him from the shame of his childhood. However his strong will and determination has left him with a very egomaniacal self-image that leaves Okonkwo helpless when he actually fails in something. His banishment to Mbantu was a very hard blow to his self-image, leaving him weak and broken while trying to live there.
His reaction of anger is Achebe’s way of displaying the effect western colonization had on the Igbo people. He showed the audience that it was difficult to live through such a change when they had been practicing different beliefs their whole life. His actions because of this, displayed an angered mood, which helped show the theme and how Okonkwo felt about the new culture ideas. The clash of cultures causes some unwanted changes, and conclusively brings forth the idea that as a culture changes, the people change too. Okonkwo was so stubborn and stuck on his beliefs that he had to kill himself because he had too much pride built up to change like the rest of his people. The cultural collision leads to Okonkwo’s self-destruction and points out that because of his anger, Okonkwo was left with nothing in the end. The novel’s meaning as a whole comes to light through Okonkwo, and leads the audience to the conclusion that no matter how hard you try to keep things the same, things will always fall apart.
A prominent fear of others seeing him as weak ultimately causes Okonkwo's demise, lining up with the Igbo concept of universal justice. Instead of staying home as he was warned, Okonkwo accompanies
After Okonkwo gets banished from his original village, he goes to his motherland. There, he learns that white missionaries have arrived in his original village, and have begun converting villagers to Christianity. He becomes so blinded with being the best and being better than his father that he does not want to be weak by conforming to the missionaries’ ways. He is so resistant against the new religion that when his son, Nwoye, comes home from a Christian school, Okonkwo “… suddenly overcome with fury, sprang to his feet and gripped him (Nwoye) by the neck” (151). This only shows how much resentment Okonkwo has for the recent conformations. He is nothing less than disappointed that his son would fall under the influence of the Christian faith. If nearly killing his son because he became “weak” and started believing in a new religion is the necessary step in getting Okonkwo’s point across, then so be it. Furthermore, Okonkwo’s ambition and goal to be the best in his village blinds him from seeing the finer things in life. He is so enveloped with the thought of succeeding, that he becomes stubborn in accepting new ideas and things. He wants things done his way. It only shows the lengths that he is willing to go to show that he will not be weak and conform, which is something his father would
Instead of accepting the fact that a new religion was separating his clan and family, Okonkwo decided to fight for his beliefs and not listen to anything the missionaries had to say. Despite the fact that Okonkwo went against everything the missionaries were doing, if he were to have stayed in Umuofia when the missionaries first arrived Okonkwo could have been more open and understanding towards their beliefs and reasoning. When Okonkwo returned after seven years he was forced to be resigned to the fact that change had occurred, instead of learning and working with the Christians. “He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umunfia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (Achebe, 140). If Okonkwo were to have been there from the beginning he would have the same thoughts and feeling of those who were always there. Not everyone in the clan believed what the Christians were saying but they respected their choices and
...The holes within Okonkwo's character are not external as they are very much internal. His flaws may have shed some positive light; respect and honor among his people as well as high status, but in the end the negatives qualities outweighed the positives. His ‘never showing any emotion besides anger; inflexibility; fear of being perceived as weak and, therefore, womanly’ characteristics slowly deteriorated his life away. Okonkwo’s disregard for the consequences of his actions and his disability to make good decisions overpowered his care for the village and his hardworking personality. Okonkwo's committed suicide to end his internal conflicts. Like his father, he died with no titles and no honor because committing suicide in Umuofia is an abomination. Okonkwo self-destructs due to his internal flaws of fear, masculinity, anger and inability to adapt with change.
Okonkwo has seen first hand what it is like to be weak and lazy and knows what the clan thinks of men like that. Idle men who sit around and do not live up to the clans expectations are called “agbala” or women which is a huge insult in their culture which values masculinity greatly (Achebe 13). Extremely early on his life Okonkwo does everything he can to become a valued member in Umuofia. He works his very hardest so that he will be seen as a masculine figure that the clan will be proud of and will look up to. All throughout his life Okonkwo focuses on being accepted by others instead of doing things that make himself happy. Often times his fear of not being accepted causes him to make bad decisions while trying to impress others. When Okonkwo is dancing and shooting off his gun attempting to impress his clan members, he accidentally fires off his gun killing a boy. This results in his exile. When Okonkwo is banished he believes that his life is over. One of the things that he fears the most has come to pass and Okonkwo is almost unable to deal with it. Up until this point he has been driven by his passion to “become one of the lords of the clan” and now he is lost without that drive. (Achebe 131). The only thing that keeps him from ending his life right then is the drive to come back and regain his old title. After killing the messenger at the end of the novel, it is
In the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe the main character Okonkwo ends up killing himself. This character is very much against weakness and all about being strong and manly. During the novel, Okonkwo has to watch his tribe convert, under the influence of the white man, to Christianity, which he sees as his tribe caving into weakness. In a last attempt to save his tribe from the path of weakness and help trigger them to want to be warriors and strong, he kills the leader of the court messengers who are trying to stop a meeting that is happening to try to put an end to what is happening in their tribe. My belief to why Okonkwo killed himself is because he knew that killing that messenger would lead to execution, and rather than die at the hands of the white men, the men who turned his tribe against their beliefs and made them weak, he would rather kill himself than let the white men kill him.
Okonkwo has had a long battle with his status throughout his lifetime. He is a strong willing warrior ready to fight for what he believes in, but he tends to lean towards violent responses and creates problems in his relationship with family and friends. “When he walked, his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody. And he did pounce on people quite often” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo is passionate about fighting and power. He always needed to be involved in an activity and never wanted to
He resists the new political and religious orders because on the surface it seems that he feels that aren’t manly enough, but with a more in depth look we can see that this would also heavily effect his societal status negatively in the Umuofia clan. These vast cultural changes come directly with the theme of religion and the change from Igbo to Christianity bestowed upon them by the whites. After being introduced with the system of evaluating ones self many of the Umuofia clan’s outcasts shift to embrace Christianity. This shift from Igbo to Christianity gave the less privileged and looked down upon in the Igbo society to a more comfortable and elevated status in the Christian society which attracted a very high appeal. Between Okonkwo and the converts showed the current dilemma of either embracing the change or resisting it for as long as they could until it eventually became overwhelming. The heavy influence brought by the Europeans nearly made traditional techniques of farming, harvesting, building, and cooking abysmal due to the whites bringing their own new and much more improved techniques. Lastly with the theme of religion comes “Chi” which is discussed throughout the novel, which is a person’s individual god, which is decided by the person’s good will as well as a person’s lack of good will. Okonkwo’s appalling fate at the