Things Fall Apart Foreshadowing Analysis

694 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Theme fear of things falling apart

Fear is universally known as an intrinsic destroyer. Chinua Achebe, author of the novel, Things Fall Apart, emphasizes the impact of fear in morphing an individual’s character.Achebe uses many different literary devices to stress the importance of fear in shaping and changing a person. Achebe demonstrates the importance of fear in order to exhibit how fear drives people to actions that they normally would not perform. This explains many aspects of Okonkwo’s destruction.
Throughout the novel foreshadowing is utilized to emphasize the theme of how fear can drive people to do things that they wouldn’t do otherwise. In the case of Okonkwo, fear of weakness drives him to be violent and angry. Starting in the exposition of the book, foreshadowing …show more content…

Okonkwo resents his father because of his weakness and apparent failure; therefore, he worked diligently to ensure that he would become everything his father was not. Ironically, his first born son, Nwoye, developed much like Unoka, despite Okonkwo’s rash efforts to steer his son to model himself. Fear of being perceived as being weak and different drives Okonkwo’s rejection and anger towards his son when he becomes a Christian. Achebe states that after Okonkwo heard of Nwoye’s association with the christians he attacked him: “Nwoye turned round to walk into the inner, compound when his father, suddenly overcome with fury, sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck,”(Achebe,151). Without his accumulated fear of weakness and judgement Okonkwo may have not acted as rashly to Nwoye’s new found faith. However, due to Nwoye’s resemblance of Unoka, his father, Okonkwo’s rationality is clouded by fear and resentment. As a father, Okonkwo can not accept, nor understand how he beget such a “degenerate and effeminate” son. Through this use of irony, Achebe once again emphasizes Okonkwo’s gripping fear and how it drives him to anger and otherwise unjustifiable

Show More
Related

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

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo depicts his masculinity in many different ways, even if it hurts the people closest to him. He feels it is necessary to display his manliness so he does not end up like his father Unoka. “He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience with his father” (4). Okonkwo correlates virility with aggression and feels the only emotion he should show is anger, leaving him no way to cope with the death of his culture.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Nwoye

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nwoye is the frequent subject of his father’s criticism and remains emotionally unfulfilled. Ikemefuna comes to fill that void and Nwoye, in his adoration of his adoptive brother, begins to mirror him. Ikemefuna helps Nwoye grow and find his masculinity, which, in turn, helps Okonkwo shift to a gratitude toward his once rejected son. “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna.” , through this quote we are able to distinguish Okonkwo's feelings toward his son that were once belligerent, now exhibiting acceptance.

    Read More

  • Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo’s first and most distinctive flaw is his fear of failure. Many people would agree that this flaw is driven by the fear of becoming his father, but Okonkwo takes this fear too far. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was known for being a very lazy and carefree man. He also had notoriety of being “…poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat.” (Achebe 5). A big tradition in Umuofia is having a father who is supposed to teach his children right and wrong. In Okonkwo’s case, these lessons had to be self-taught. Okonkwo had to commit to his own understandings of what defined a “good man” and to him that was the exact opposite of his father. Because of his fear to be seen as weak, Okonkwo even murders a child that calls him father. Ikemefuna was sent to live with Okonkwo because someone was murdered in a nearby village. An example of Okonkwo’s ill-hearted actions are shown in the following quote: “As the man drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. He heard Ikemefuna cry, ‘My father, they have killed me!’ as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.” (Achebe 61). The fact that he kills Ikemefuna shows that his reputation is more important than the life of a child. Okonkwo’s fear permits him to receive more respect from his tribe, but only because it inclines him to do better than anyone else.

    Read More

  • Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo’s fear leads him to treat members of his family harshly, in particular his son, Nwoye. Okonkwo often wonders how he, a man of great strength and work ethic, could have had a son who was “degenerate and effeminate” (133). Okonkwo thought that, "No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man" (45).

    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

  • Conflicting Conflict In Things Fall Apart, By Chinua Nwoye

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    When he was just a small boy, his dearest friend Ikemefuna is killed by Okonkwo. Okonkwo has always shown disapproval for the lack of masculinity in Nwoye. Nwoye is very distant from his father, and has deep psychological wounds from the rejection of Okonkwo. When he first hears the hymns sung by passionate missionaries, Nwoye’s heart is stirred by the magnificent poetry and tunes of the music. Eventually, Nwoye leaves his father and joins the church of the missionaries. When asked about Okonkwo, Nwoye states that Okonkwo is not his father (Achebe). Nwoye’s behavior is significant because it is a result of emotional neglect by his father. He seeks fatherly love, and finds it in the divine Heavenly Father. The holes in his heart are healed by the love he finds in this new religion. Although it means forsaking his father, Nwoye joins the Christians and leaves the pagan Ibo religion. Nwoye does not concern himself with his father’s opinion of Nwoye’s behavior, because he has already experienced disapproval from his Okonkwo. In a way, Nwoye’s transformation to a Christian is an act of revenge towards Okonkwo for the way Okonkwo has treated his son. The removal of Nwoye from his culture is an example of the major theme of the novel that shapes the work as a

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Okonkwo Analysis

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fear of failure and weakness dominates Okonkwo throughout his life. At first this fear motivates him to rise to success by working diligently and doing everything his father did not do. However, even when Okonkwo establishes an honorable reputation, fear of failure continues to overwhelm him and drives him to perform acts that lead to his suffering. One example of this is when the men of Umuofia decide that Ikemefuna must be killed and Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna even though he is told not to partake in the killing of Ikemefuna. Okonkwo panics when Ikemefuna turns to him and cries for help, and without thinking, Okonkwo slays Ikemefuna with his machete. Okonkwo does this because in the split second where Ikemefuna runs to Okonkwo for protection, Okonkwo is overpowered with fear of being seen as weak and kills Ikemefuna. This is an unwise act on behalf of Okonkwo, and as a result, he suffers emotionally in the next few days. He enters a stage of depression and cannot eat or sleep as all he can think about is what he has done to Ikemefuna. It is at this point that things start t...

    Read More

  • Okonkwo's Character Development In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness (p.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Quote Analysis

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin, Okonkwo shows his strength and weakness/ success and failure through many different emotions. Though he may not physically show his weakness, he shares it mentally and we as readers can feel this throughout the story. Because we only physically see his strengths, we only see the type of person Okonkwo wants us to see. We see a man who seeks fear from others rather than love. We understand this as true because we feel the love Okonkwo has for his people through his thoughts and understand that success isn't given it's worked for, and that hard work pays off.

    Read More

  • Notion of Balance in Things Fall Apart by Achebe

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    Unfortunately, everything is not perfect. His son, Nwoye, seems not to be showing the characteristics of a real man. He prefers to stay with his mother, listening to women's stories, than to listen to his father's tales of battle and victory. Later, when missionaries come to the tribe, Nwoye is attracted to their Christian religion because of its unqualified acceptance of everyone, much like a mother's unqualified love. Of this, Okonkwo r...

    Read More

  • Change And Tradition In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nwoye grows tired of his father and is called by the Christian faith and converts. Nwoye’s internal struggle with himself between change and tradition ultimately led him to convert against his father’s wishes. Okonkwo is extremely resistant to change, so he does everything in his power to prevent his family from converting; “‘If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck’” (Achebe 105). Okonkwo uses fear to keep his other children from the Igbo culture.

    Read More

  • Okonkwo In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1722 Words  | 4 Pages

    Okonkwo’s fear made him do regrettable things, such as killing Ikemefuna. Okonkwo strived to be the polar opposite of his father so for this reason he seemed harsh and emotionless towards his family and people around him. Okonkwo didn’t stop himself but changing his whole family to make sure they weren’t like his father. Okonkwo tried but he couldn’t change Nwoye’s lazy ways. Okonkwo was finally able to be superior than his father when he decided to be a warrior.

    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 Okonkwo and Nwoye in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    Two passages from the story Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, provide the reader with a more profound understanding of Okonkwo, and his son Nwoye.  The two do not have a good relationship and it becomes worse as the story progresses.   Throughout the book the two become increasingly distant and it is apparent that Okonkwo is very disappointed in his son.  After the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye begins to question many aspects of his life, especially religion.  As the Christian missionaries spend more time with the members of the village, Nwoye becomes interested in this new religion.  The first passage I have chosen discusses Nwoye’s feelings about Christianity.

    Read More

More about Things Fall Apart Foreshadowing Analysis

Open Document