Okonkwo's Fear

It is commonly seen how an individual who is highly regarded to go above and beyond to keep that reputation in place. Likewise, Okonkwo was known for his persistence and high prestige, which is why weakness becomes his greatest fear and causes him to unintentionally exert harm on himself and others. Throughout his life, Okonkwo was seen to constantly place his well respected reputation above everything else, even his own family. Despite his affection for his household, Okonkwo seems to show greater care about others’ opinions about him, which is why he is seen to install fear instead, as it is mentioned how, “His [Okonkwo’s] wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children,” however the author

Thus since Okonkwo’s childhood, Okonkwo develops his determination to become the strongest and most dominant he can ever become, which misleads him into criticizing normal, humane actions as an interpretation weakness. As a result he chooses to be a feared figure, even to his own family, as it is mentioned how okonkwo’s wives and young children “lived in perpetual fear,” which reveals the extremity of Okonkwo’s cruelty as Okonkwo’s family, even his young children, view him more as a tyrant instead of a caring father. The fact that Okonkwo chooses terror as the only way to display his strength reveals his insecure nature and how excessive care to fortify oneself can turn from a goal into uncontrollable addiction which may corrupt one’s ethic. Similarly, Okonkwo overwhelms himself by always going above and beyond to prove his dominance, which should be rewarding, however in his case, hard work due to fear of failure becomes a concerning obsession, which causes him to do whatever it takes to retain high respect, even if it meant terrorizing his own