There is no such thing as a life without conflict. Even the most well-off of us have their own problems, just ones that stem from their different lifestyle. But how do people deal with those unfortunate situations? It all depends on the person. Reactions to conflict are completely dependent on certain parts of a person, such as their personality, drive, and experiences. The personality of an individual greatly affects everything he does. A person may have certain tastes that lead them to doing certain things, or may act a certain way that leads him to living a certain life. Because of this, it’s natural that one’s personality is a major part of his reactions to conflict. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the main character Okonkwo is very brutal and straightforward. His usual reaction is violent, as he thinks it would be cowardly to do much else. As a result, Okonkwo ends up having a negative impact on the people around him, and even himself if the act is done during something like …show more content…
Without the grit and drive to do things, a person way cower in the shadow of conflict without any sort of motivation to overcome it. Personally, I have a problem with avoiding conflict. People like me may try to pretend that the problems do not exist for the sake of their own comfort and safety. The problem with that, however, is that the avoidance commonly leads to a piling up of problems, and allows the conflict to become overwhelming. It becomes a huge source of anxiety when a person knows it is there but puts forth no effort into fixing it, which also leads to guilt. That all has to do with a lack of drive to solve things. Instead of putting forth effort to fix the problem, some may find it easier to pretend there’s nothing happening at all. This almost guarantees failure, since there’s nothing being done to fix anything. While someone may not harm anyone in the process, nobody is being benefitted,
Who can dare say they have never encountered a conflict? No one is without conflict; there will never be a person who says they have never faced a problem. What is a conflict? Most think an opposition or a struggle of some nature. It can be that and more, to state it simply its man vs. anything; that anything can be nature, God, self, and even fellow man.
“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
One example of Okonkwo's quick reflexes is seen when he kills Ikemefuna because he did not want his fellow clansmen to think that he was weak. After the Ikemefuna's slaying, Okonkwo is unable to eat or drink for two days due to the fact that he is upset over the death of Ikemefuna. However, he must fight against his manly pride, which reminds him that killing someone should not bother him. However, he has trouble accepting this, but must for fear of being considered weak, like a "shivering old woman" (Achebe 45). Another instance of Okonkwo's hot temper arises while he and some other men are locked up in a cell and Okonkwo reaffirms how he believes they should have killed Mr. Smith. A messenger overhears this remark and beats each of the men on their backs and heads with a large stick. A final illustration of Okonkwo's rash actions leading to suffering for himself and those around him occurs when he hastily kills the head messenger who comes to Umuofia to break up a town meeting. The messenger is only able to speak 2 short sentences, before a furious Okonkwo assassinates him.
Conflict is something everyone experiences in their daily lives; it can happen amongst person’s and their friends, family, and coworkers. Conflict occurs when individuals have a disagreement on a person’s values and beliefs, which could relate to religious or political views. Each person handles conflict differently depending on their personal values, interpretation, and the environment
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 has many flaws, such as his refusal to appear weak and not wanting to be anything like his father, however, his main and tragic flaw is his temper. When Okonkwo gets angry he lashes out both physically and verbally. He aggressively beats all of his wives and also his children for trivial matters. Okonkwo's temper is so bad that he is not even able to control it when his culture insists he must. This is shown when he beats one of his wives during the Week of Peace, a week when no one is allowed to harm anyone: ¨In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace¨ (Achebe 29). The fact that he goes against Igbo law and tradition shows that his temper is his tragic flaw.
Being the main character and like many characters of modern day literature, Okonkwo 's tragic flaw was his determination to become strong and bring pride to his name resisting change seeing it as something to fear bringing out weakness. Though battle and wrestling made Okonkwo a strong leader, these harsh acts of violence were in response to restore pride to his name. As Chinua Achebe states, “Okonkwo was not afraid of war. He was a man of action, a man of war. 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” (chapter 2). Having such pride and honor forces Okonkwo to make many decisions and because of these traits they ultimately lead to his death when the European colonisers arrived bringing change this fear is
Many people enjoy working or participating in a group or team, but when a group of people work together chances are that conflicts will occur. Hazleton describes conflict as the discrepancy between what is the perceived reality and what is seen as ideal (2007). “We enter into conflicts reluctantly, cautiously, angrily, nervously, confidently- and emerge from them battered, exhausted, sad, satisfied, triumphant. And still many of us underestimate or overlook the merits of conflict- the opportunity conflict offers every time it occurs” (Schilling, nd.). Conflict does not have to lead to a hostile environment or to broken relationships. Conflict if resolved effectively can lead to a positive experience for everyone involved. First, there must be an understanding of the reasons why conflicts occur. The conflict must be approached with an open mind. Using specific strategies can lead to a successful resolution for all parties involved. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument states “there are five general approaches to dealing with conflict. The five approaches are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. Conflict resolution is situational and no one approach provides the best or right approach for all circumstances” (Thomas, 2000).
It was a village conference contemplating war, but Okonkwo knows they will not take his side and choose war. We all know Okonkwo is all about actions, so what does he do? He kills the messenger sent by the District Commissioner. Here is how he killed the innocent man, the narrator states, “Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body,”(204). He felt defeated, Okonkwo did not do anything more violent.
Our qualities and virtues contributes to the way we are, and the way we act. Certain personalities can lead to great success and power, other qualities lead to a life of sorrow and misery. Even our virtues can lead us to downfalls. The award winning book, Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe introduces us to the story of Okonkwo, a man with many virtues which leads to downfalls. He is a victim of his masculinity, his success, and his passion.
All Fairness in Things Fall Apart Things Fall Apart is not sexist. Achebe’s book made readers feel as if the book was against women, but it does not. In America, if someone hit a girl or hurt her in any way, they would go to jail, but if they did that in the clan in the book, no man would care enough to stop the beating.
Conflict is energy, conflict is excitement, conflict is often driven by a passion that is necessary to progression. In other words, we need many of the characteristics that might cause conflict and conflict itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The important thing is learning how to manage
In the novel, the author uses much religious content as a significant role in the story. The novel can be interpreted differently depending on the reader. For example, an Evangelical Christian would implement its church ideology and relate every event to be a cause of religion. In contrast, an atheist would correlate the causes and effect of the characters as a fault of their environment and in this case own personality. One of the most crucial parts leading to the climax of the novel is the death of Ikemefuna.
Weddings are one of the greatest celebrations in any man and woman’s, or the family's life. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, the wedding for any member of the village is one of the most celebrated things. Every woman from the village takes part in the preparing for the wedding feast to make sure there will be enough for all the villagers who are all invited. The wedding is a sacred bond between a man and his new wife, and it is very important part of their lives in the village. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, he shows us how wedding ceremonies brings people together, bring out the tribal traditions and bring the community together as one.
We each possess unique ideas, opinions, beliefs, and feelings about specific situations in life. This uniqueness is a large part of what makes us human. Because we all have our own individual way of looking at things, we each have a different viewpoint on what is proper or improper. With all that variation in society conflict is inevitable! Conflict is antagonistic in nature and we all must find ways to work through conflict issues both at work and at home. This paper describes different types of conflict, the influences I personally had in learning to deal with those conflicts, some of the conflicts that I commonly experience, how I go about dealing with those conflicts, and how conflict affects me on a personal level.