Okonkwo's Societal Changes

943 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Explain why and how things fall apart in Chinua Achebe's novel

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe discusses the impact of a changing society on Onkonkwo, “one of the greatest men of his time” (Acebe 8). A clan built on the masculinity of its men goes through a metamorphosis with the introduction of the white man. Okonkwo’s violent past and actions only grow with the tension of an evolving social and religious scene, as he is firmly set in his traditional beliefs. This plays out through nso-ani’s, “a religious offence of a kind abhorred by everyone, literally earth’s taboo” as defined by Achebe. The build up leads to Okonkwo’s eventual suicide, the ultimate nso-ani as he can no longer fight the changing tides of time. Gradual societal changes threaten Okonkwo’s sense of masculinity, causing increasingly aggressive behavior that clashes with an evolving clan and causes him to implode. Okonkwo is introduced as a fiercely masculine warrior with a reputation throughout his village and the surrounding villages. The fame begins with how he “brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat,” who was unbeaten for seven years, in the “fiercest (fight) since the founder of their …show more content…

During Umoufia’s Week of Peace, Okonkwo savagely beats one of his wives, a crime against the earth goddess. Okonkwo’s allowance of violence to permeate the peace is “(committing) a great evil” (30)in the eyes of the gods and the clan. He faces this failure by refusing to be outwardly repentant. Okonkwo’s masculinity does not allow him to admit his fault, leading others to believe he was starting from his chi and losing respect for the gods. The situation is incredibly humiliating for Okonkwo, as “(his neighbors) talked of nothing else but the nso-ani which (he) had committed” (31). Okonkwo’s inability to accept his failure displays how he is beginning to be cajoled by his masculinity, losing touch with his cultural expectations to act on his need to assert his position as a

Show More
Related

  • The Stubborness of Okonkwo

    389 Words  | 1 Pages

    From birth Okonkwo had wanted his son, Nwoye, to be a great warrior like him. His son instead rebelled and wanted to be nothing like Okonkwo. Okonkwo would not change so that his son would idolize him, as he had wanted since his son's birth. He chose not to acknowledge his son's existence instead. This would weigh heavily on anyone's conscience, yet Okonkwo does not let his relationship with his son affect him in the least bit.

    Read More

  • Depiction of Masculinity in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo associates many of his tribal influences with masculinity. Right away in the book, Achebe affiliates strength with manliness. “As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalizine the Cat” (3). He is honored because he had enough strength and agility to overthrow the cat. Okonkwo feels to be successful and manly, one also must show no emotion. He thinks emotion is for the weak and for woman, and he does not want to be either of those. “Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness,-the only thing worth demonstrating was strength” (28). Okonkwo treats Ikemefuna with this idea. He becomes very fond of the child, but never outwardly shows his affection. If he showed his affection he was afraid he would be looked down upon in his tribe. Although his father enjoyed little things like music and dancing, Okonkwo had no desire to share his father’s enjoyment. He desired power and wealth. He wants to construct and maintain a big house for his many wives and even more children. “Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of ...

    Read More

  • Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo is “a man of action, a man of war” (7) and a member of high status in the Igbo village. He holds the prominent position of village clansman due to the fact that he had “shown incredible prowess in two intertribal wars” (5). Okonkwo’s hard work had made him a “wealthy farmer” (5) and a recognized individual amongst the nine villages of Umuofia and beyond. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw isn’t that he was afraid of work, but rather his fear of weakness and failure which stems from his father’s, Unoka, unproductive life and disgraceful death. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness….It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” Okonkwo’s father was a lazy, carefree man whom had a reputation of being “poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.” (5) Unoka had never taught Okonkwo what was right and wrong, and as a result Okonkwo had to interpret how to be a “good man”. Okonkwo’s self-interpretation leads him to conclude that a “good man” was someone who was the exact opposite of his father and therefore anything that his father did was weak and unnecessary.

    Read More

  • Cultural Collisions In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    You never know how much you care about your culture until people try to take it away from you. Okonkwo was a prideful jerk as moste would describe him, who was once exiled for seven years for his unlawful actions. When he finally returned to Umuofia, white men come trying to change things and take land. Okonkwo stepped up to help lead his clan but ended up with the same mistakes he used to make, which connects to violence. He then gives in to his biggest fear, weakness. When stress and trying to step up and change to somebody your not takes toll over you, sometimes one just can’t over turn it. This was his reaction to the cultural collision of the white men and Igbo people. This is important because that cultural collision impacted many people on both sides of the dispute. Okonkwo’s reaction to this collision showed how one can connect back to old habits and how cultural collisions mostly never end well no matter what. There will always be that person offended, killed, or even that person to take their own life because of

    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

  • Okonkwo's Status In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo's life was driven by his strong desire for status. In Okonkwo’s eyes, status was defined in two parts. The first part being how much respect and how many titles one has. Okonkwo goes to extreme odds to gain respect in his village, Umuofia. Okonkwo’s opinions on success relating to titles is displayed very early on. An example of this

    Read More

  • Okonkwo Character Analysis Essay

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    “But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess.” (19). Okonkwo physically and mentally abused his family, especially the younger ones who were easily intimidated by his sizzling temper and challenging personality. Okonkwo would mistreat his wives and kids without any reason or rational thought. “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand.

    Read More

  • Okonkwo's Self-Destructive Masculinity in Things Fall Apart

    2752 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout the novel, Oknonkwo does many things to prove his masculine quality. Many of these things are debatable as to whether they affirm Okonkwo's masculinity or if they bring out his true weakness and lead to his destruction. (Goldman 2)

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Okonkwo

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although the reader feels remorseful for Okonkwo’s tragic childhood life. It is another reason to sympathize with 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 wife 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).

    Read More

  • Okonkwo: The Tragic Hero in Things Fall Apart

    470 Words  | 1 Pages

    Okonkwo’s fear of unmanliness is kindled by his father, who was a lazy, unaccomplished man. Okonkwo strives to have a high status from a young age and eventually achieves it. He has a large family, many yams and is well known throughout the village for his valor. He raises his family by his mentality of manliness and is ...

    Read More

  • An Identity Crisis in 'Things Fall Apart'

    1770 Words  | 4 Pages

    Okonkwo is one of the most powerful men in the Ibo tribe. In his tribe, he is both feared and honored. This is evident by this quote, "Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on the solid personal achievements. He brought honor to his tribe by throwing Amalinze the Cat" ( Achebe 3). This suggests that in Okonkwo's tribe, making a name for yourself in any way possible, even if that means fighting and wrestling to get your fame attains power. Okonkwo wanted to be one of the highest leaders in the tribe, and was willing to do anything in order to achieve that goal. He loved his tribe, and they defined him.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

    2265 Words  | 5 Pages

    Upon an initial reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, it is easy to blame the demise of Okonkwo’s life and of the Umofia community on the imperialistic invasions of the white men. After all, Okonkwo seemed to be enjoying relative peace and happiness before then. He did have a few mishaps; one of them resulted in him being exiled for eight years. Nonetheless, he returned to his home town with high spirits and with prospects of increased success. However, everything has changed. The white men have brought with them a new religion and a new government. Okonkwo’s family falls apart. The men in his village lose their courage and valor; they do not offer any resistance to the white men. Consequently, Okonkwo kills himself in disgrace and Umofia succumbs to the white men. However, the white men are not the only people responsible for demise of Umofia. The Igbo culture, particularly their views on gender roles, sows the seed of their own destruction. By glorifying aggressive, manly traits and ignoring the gentle, womanly traits, Umofia brings about its own falling apart.

    Read More

  • Who Is Okonkwo In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart?

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    He was born poor, and grows up to be wealthy. In the first paragraph, Okonkwo already starts gaining self respect. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino.” (3) Okonkwo earns a good reputation for himself and for his community. He provides this by showing his caliber and bravery in a physical contest. Okonkwo earns self respect by becoming very successful from starting with almost nothing. “Okonkwo was clearly set out for great things.(...)He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife.(...) he had taken two titles.” (8) Okonkwo’s tough work has earned him money. He has several wives, many kids, and a big living combination. This shows that he is a really respected man. Thus, Okonkwo has a determined motivation to improve his

    Read More

  • Theme Of Feminism In Things Fall Apart

    1833 Words  | 4 Pages

    Okonkwo sees his father’s gentleness as a feminine trait. He works hard to be as masculine as possible so that he will be the opposite of his father and overcome the shame his father brought to his family. Okonkwo deals with this struggle throughout the entire book, hiding the intense fear of weakness behind a masculine façade (Nnoromele 149). In order to appear masculine, he is often violent. In his desire to be judged by his own worth and not by the worth of his effeminate father, Okonkwo participates in the killing of a boy he sees as a son, even though his friends and other respected tribe members advise him against it. (Hoegberg 71). Even after the killing of Ikamefuna, Okonkwo hides his feelings of sadness because the emotions are feminine to him. He goes so far as to ask himself, “when did you become a shivering old woman” (Achebe 65), while he is inwardly grieving. The dramatic irony of the secret fears that Okonkwo has will open the reader’s eyes to how important gender identity is to him. This theme is also presented among Okonkwo’s children. He sees his oldest son, Nwoye, as feminine because he does not like to work as hard as his father (Stratton 29). When Nwoye eventually joins the Christian church, Okonkwo sees him as even more feminine. On the other hand, Okonkwo’s

    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 Okonkwo's Societal Changes

Open Document