Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

1491 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: A theme of culture in chinua Achebe's things fall apart

Fear is like religion which can poison thoughts and bias views before overwhelming and ultimately taking over one’s innocence and morals. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s reprehensible actions are caused by his fogged view of right and wrong since his life is dominated by a lifelong fear of failure. Okonkwo’s profound fear of failure originated from his failures of his father Unoka, and Okonkwo’s life purpose is to be the opposite of Unoka and to achieve high titles. If Okonkwo’s Ibo culture prospers then the title hierarchy will remain and Okonkwo can eventually earn his respected place in his community. Fear takes over Okonkwo’s’ ability to process reason and responsibility, and loses sight of why his village makes certain decisions when changing events make things go astray. Okonkwo feels as though he must maintain a high and respected title in his community, and he does all he can to protect his ego. In addition, his fear of failure causes Okonkwo to impulsively react to events that pose a threat to his chance at high titles and success. Due to Okonkwo’s fear of failure, he dangerously strives for personal achievement and success, which causes him to irrationally react to drastic changes in his Ibo culture and ultimately leads to his downfall.
Throughout the novel, Okonkwo’s fear of failure pushes him to have a high and well respected ego in his clan. Although Okonkwo does all he can to protect his ego, some obstacles cause Okonkwo to lose sight of reason. Earlier in the novel, Achebe describes the customs and rules of the Week of Peace, a single, sacred week in the year where the Ibo culture honors the Earth Goddess for a healthy year for crops. Although Okonkwo knows about the reason of the week...

... middle of paper ...

...their toll. Okonkwo ignores his emotions various times throughout the novel just so that others would not see him as weak or lesser than what Okonkwo wants to be seen as, powerful, perseverant, elite, and ultimately successful. Furthermore, Okonkwo fails to listen to the reason behind the decisions made by his community and in turn reacts irrationally and irresponsibly to the situation. Overall, Okonkwo’s fear of failing suppresses his potential to enjoy life, rather than living life just to make others think highly of him. Okonkwo’s inability to subdue his lifelong fear of failure limits him to react irrationally to situations without processing what is happening with reason, and ultimately the mistakes Okonkwo makes throughout his life add up and lead to his conclusive demise, suicide.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    Akunna on one of Mr. Brown's visits. " We also believe in Him and call

    Read More

  • Pride in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the main character, Okonkwo, has a lot of pride. There is a well-known aphorism, ?Pride goes before a fall.? Through Okonkwo?s hard work, he became a great man, with a sense of pride and haughtiness. He then suffered a loss of pride, which ultimately led to his down fall and even his suicide. So, through Okonkwo?s actions, Achebe suggests that excessive pride can lead to down fall.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    966 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fear is a concern about something that threatens to bring bad news or negative results. Okonkwo’s success was founded on the fear of failure, which forced him to resent his father in everyway. His will to succeed, which was strongly influenced by his fear of failure made him successful and respected by his people. Although fear of failure made him an achiever, it was also what led to his downfall. This is the kind of irony that is pervasive in the l...

    Read More

  • The Clash Between Okonkwo And His Society

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    Very early on, Okonkwo disagrees with many of his culture's most important values. These are held sacred in his clan, and have been practiced generations before him. The clan practices these values because they are tributes to the gods and goddesses. They are practiced as signs of respect for these deities in order to not make them angry. Achebe emphasizes the importance of being respectful, "a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness" (Achebe 19). If a man shows respect, the clan will commend him for it and he too will one day be great. One of these values is the Week of Peace. The Week of Peace occurs during the carefree season between the harvest and the planting of the yams. During this week, every clansman is obligated to remain peaceful with one another. No one may fight each other, and husbands may not beat their wives or their children. If the peace is broken during this sacred week, the offender must face severe punishment. They are considered an abomination to the earth goddess and cannot escape her wrath. Another unique value arises when a prominent member of the clan is murdered by a member of a neighboring clan. To atone for this crime, the family of the murderer must give up its son, Ikemefuna, to Okonkwo's clan as a sacrifice. The boy is taken from his family, and sent to live with Okonkwo in his village. There, he lives in Okonkwo's compound for many years and becomes a part of the family.

    Read More

  • The Power of Fear in The Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    Achebe uses internal conflict within his protagonist to demonstrate the power of fear. Okonkwo’s fear of becoming like his lackadaisical father is an internal conflict between Okonkwo. “Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo tries to live his life antipodally from his father. Unlike his father, Okonkwo is a hard worker with little debt and a driven personality. His internal fear leads to his decision to beat his wife during the week of peace and to take part in the mandatory action of killing his bel...

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart

    1974 Words  | 4 Pages

    Okonkwo is often described as being similar to characters in Greek tragedies. Okonkwo knew that the end of his clan was coming, and that they would do nothing to prevent it from happening. He took his life out of desperation. He had struggled his whole life to become a respected member of his community, and suddenly his world is turned upside down and changed forever because of an accident. Okonkwo sees that he is fighting a losing battle, so he quits. Suicide was one of the biggest offenses that could be committed against the earth, and Okonkwo?s own clansmen could not bury him. Okonkwo?s death symbolizes the end of patriarchy in Umuofia. The last page of the book is from the point of view of the white Commissioner, who notes that he wants to include a paragraph on Okonkwo?s life in his book entitled The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of Lower Niger. Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs and defeats are all reduced to a paragraph, much like his culture and society will be reduced.

    Read More

  • Destiny in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    Famous French fabulist, Jean de La Fontaine, astutely stated, “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” People, both in real life and literature, seal their fate through their own actions. The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe captures the cultural life of the Igbo people before and after the influences of British colonialism by focusing on a representative hard-working character named Okonkwo. The Igbo believed that Chukwu, lesser gods, ancestors, and their own personal gods were responsible for determining the destiny of one’s life. Through proverbs regarding motivation, achievement, and respect, Achebe communicates that destiny must eventually be accepted.

    Read More

  • Okonkwo's Failure

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Okonkwo In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his anger he had forgotten that it was the week of peace” (Achebe 24). This quote shows Okonkwo’s carelessness for other people. He did not let his wife off the hook when she went to go braid her hair even during the week of peace. It shows disrespect towards their people and their gods. Being unsympathetic is a sign of a person with good traits, according to

    Read More

  • The Untouchables in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people see other people as equal or lower than or higher than them. This includes by wealth, knowledge or rights. Few people know about the caste system in India, but many people are able to point out the untouchables. Why? Is it because everyone knows that they are better than the untouchables? Some people feel that the untouchables are strictly only in India, but they don’t realize that even bigger countries have untouchables; they are just called something else. Many tribes in Africa also have untouchables, including the Igbo tribe.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Okonkwo

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is another to sympathies for 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 wives 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). This is not power but a weakness when Okonkwo uses power to rule his own house, detaching himself from the emotional connection with this family rather than being frightening to live with. The sign of “gentleness” as like his father means weakness to Okonkwo even with his own family. Especially his wives, when the narrator demonstrated the lack of emotion to his wife, “Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his young wife, went to plait her hair at her friend’s house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal… He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace…But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half –way through, not even for fear of a goddess” (pg.29-30). Okonkwo does not even fear the goddess and the Week of Peace and ends up beating his wife to show that he owes

    Read More

  • Who Is Responsible For Okonkwo's Downfall

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    Whenever Okonkwo decided that he couldn't handle everything anymore, he took his own life, making the audience feel sympathetic towards him. “Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead.” (207) After Okonkwo came to believe that his whole clan was falling apart, he decided that he couldn't take it anymore. Okonkwo believed that the easiest way out would be to take his own life. Okonkwo didn’t find pleasure in his work like he used to. He felt like it was useless. “Work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have.” (131), this shows that Okonkwo had started to realize that something was wrong and things didn’t feel right. This shows foreshadowing of how Okonkwo’s life is about to go downhill. Okonkwo did countless things that draw him in trouble throughout the book. “Nobody else spoke, but they noticed the long stripes on Okonkwo’s back where the warder’s whip had cut into his flesh.” (199), Okonkwo received a whipping for wrongdoing which shows that no longer is he the most looked up to man in Umofia, but he is slowly starting to become one of the most hated.

    Read More

  • People Fall Apart in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    1669 Words  | 4 Pages

    His society was complacent to change, content to surrender its traditions to a different culture. In killing the messenger at the end of the novel, Okonkwo was looking to save the culture that had fallen apart long before that moment. And like his culture before him, he fell apart when no one else resisted. Whether or not he had hanged himself, under British rule, he would still have been dead. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua.

    Read More

  • Essay on the Downfall of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo takes his life as he sees himself a lone warrior in a society of weaklings. This isolation is truly imposed by his decision of how to handle the conflicts which he encounters. His unitary channeling of emotions, cultural inflexibility, and tendency to seek physical confrontation are compiled into a single notion. The idealized vision of a warrior by which Okonkwo lives is the instrument that leads to the climax of Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart: Okonkwo's demise.

    Read More

More about Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

Open Document