Theme Of Reality In Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'

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In my essay I will discuss how Okonkwo’s in “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, changes from the beginning to the end of the story relates to reality as motion and how in reality he was his fathers child, but in ideal he wanted to be nothing like his father he wanted to find something different in himself which relates to contradiction energizing motion. Contradiction energizes motion is when there is contradiction between one’s reality and one’s ideal so that consequently energizes motion. Oknokwo is the son of the lazy Unoka. Okonkwo wants to make his way to being man, so he refused to follow in his father’s footsteps. Okonkwo ideals were the complete opposite of his father’s, he’s father was poor, cowardly and loved good music and conversation, …show more content…

With contradiction energizing motion being what you want to be vs. what you are at the end of the day Okonkwo knew he was his father’s child meaning no matter how he tried to run away from the thought of being just like his father in reality he really was. Reality as motion is a notion that overtime whatever appears to be is actually a moment in the process of becoming. Okonkwo was known for is the one everyone in the village turns to, he’s man known “throughout the nine villages and even beyond,” but his tragic mixture of manliness, anger and violence brings him destroying himself. Achebe says Okonkwo, “seemed to walk on springs, as if he was to pounce somebody and he did pounce on people quite often.” His rage drove him to three transgressions that lead him to the punishment of seven years of exile; this leads him to lose respect from the village. Okonkwo first mistake was his beatings of one of his wives during the Week of Peace, where violence is forbidden, to honor the Earth goddess. He not only breaks Week of Peace he messes up completely not only does he physically abuse his wife he tries to shot her, but his aim was terrible.

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