Weakness And Failure In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Improved Essays
Fear of Weakness and Failure
Born in a village in Nigeria, author Chinua Achebe received English education. He had a multicultural upbringing. Growing up, he indulged in English literature but he also developed interest in his native Nigerian culture. He realized the necessity of more literary work about Africa and its people to showcase the true story to the foreign readers who viewed Africans as an uncivilized backward people. He makes an attempt to deliver an accurate understanding of the African culture and shed light on British colonialism in Africa. Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” is a multi-thematic novel of conflicts and weakness (El-Dessouky 100). Through the conflicts in the relationship between the fathers and the sons, Achebe presents to his audience the theme of fear of weakness and failure in the novel.
…show more content…
Unoka was an idle, spendthrift, and cowardly person. He was interested in music and desired to enjoy his life to the fullest. He spent whatever money he would earn on palm-wine. Unoka said that he “saw the folly of not eating what one had in one’s lifetime” whenever he “saw a dead man’s mouth” to justify his behavior (Achebe 2). He was an irresponsible man and never planned for the future. He never took any title and never gained status or respect from the villagers. He couldn 't stand the sight of blood, therefore, he never became a warrior and was called a coward. Unoka 's behavior was completely different to typical Igbo tradition that valued masculinity, wealth, and success. He was never taken seriously and was treated in a disrespectful manner by the Igbo clansmen. Hence, Okonkwo saw his father as a failure and a weak person. At the end, Unoka dies a shameful death and was left to die alone in the Evil

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    In writing, a theme is used to set a topic for the story to be told. The theme of insiders and outsiders is used by the authors of Things Fall Apart, “Gooboora, The Silent Pool”, and “Dhowli” in order to tell their stories. Within the stories an insider is a character who is supported by a larger group and is thus protected by this group. On the other hand, an outsider is a character who is outcast by the larger group and therefore subjected to more challenges due to the absence of the insider’s support. Race depicts insiders from outsiders by placing the native people as an insider and transitioning them to outsiders when another group steps in.…

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    No one is in complete control of his or her life and the things that happen can affect a person negatively. Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe, which is set in 1900’s Africa, is about a warrior named Okonkwo who cherishes his village very much but, due to unfortunate events, is exiled. Okonkwo soon returns to find his village has changed because the white men have came and colonized in the village, which leads to his suicide later on in the book. Krik?…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Many stories in literature portray tragedies that occur to unsuspecting characters rather frequently. Even more peculiar, some stories show that tragic events happen to characters when it’s noteven their fault. In the story Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe tells of a story in which a young Nigerian Okonkwo rises to power and nobility through persistence. His desire to work assiduously isinspired from his hatred of his father’s laziness as he strives to earning the highest title in the village of Umuofia. Unfortunately, his efforts are disturbed by the introduction of “White men” and he eventuallycommits suicide when he realizes his village no longer supports the ambitions…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages

    He is a warrior, farmer and a leader in the Igbo clan known as Umuofia. He is well respected by his clan members because of his hard work and service to his clan. Okonkwo has three wives and several children. His determination to not be like his lazy, poor father lead to his success. Unoka is the father of Okonkwo.…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Chinua Achebe's “Things Fall Apart” is a historical fiction novel that is set in the early 1900’s. This novel is about the tragic downfall of the main character Okonkwo, a well respected leader within his clan in Umuofia, who is also a tragic hero because of several flaws. Okonkwo’s most noticeable flaw is that he fears weakness and failure. Okonkwo’s fatal flaw is his fear of weakness and failure. This fear was the result of the weakness and failure of his father, Unoka.…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Chinua Achebe is “widely considered to be the father of modern African literature” (Achebe, 1959) he has multiple literatures describing the societal features in Africa, and is best known for his trilogy including Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, and No Longer at Ease. Although Achebe adequately depicts the traditionally African society to the western world in these novels, he may not have depicted the entirety of the society accurately. Focusing on Things Fall Apart, this short review will focus on Achebe’s representation of women within the Igbo society. The depiction of women in “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe demonstrates women in a subservient role which is unlike a women’s traditional role in an African society (Merun, 1980).…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The backbone of any piece of writing is the type of literary conflict that revolves within it. To truly understand the inner workings of any piece, one must be familiar with the four main types of conflict: Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Society, and Man vs. Self. Many literary works include more than one of these forms of conflict, including Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. However, it can be said that Man vs. Man is the most prevalent of these forms within this work. The Man vs. Man conflict form in Things Fall Apart covers the relationship between the main character, Okonkwo, and his first son, Nwoye.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Angered Obierika ends the talking of the Umuofian men by saying, “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog…”(Achebe…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The literary book “Things Fall Apart” is a well-written novel by Chinua Achebe about an ordinary Nigerian named Okonkwo and it explains how the impact of European colonization in his village significantly changed his life. Though this is the main idea, the novel also consists of many hidden messages which are shown through the interesting plot turns and literary devices. A theme that Achebe explores through the book is the role of men and women in the Igbo society and how certain customs are associated with each of them. The powerful personalities of the unique characters such as Ezinma, Ekwefi, and Nwoye, and the way that they reach out of their gender stereotypes is one of the main reasons that this piece of literature was so entertaining to read. While Ezinma and Nwoye’s actions and mindsets make them different from other children of the same gender, Ekwefi’s interests and mentality set her apart from other women as well.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In our world, people travel different journeys based on the situations they may find themselves in and so is it in the novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), written by Chinua Achebe. Achebe is a Nigerian, born in 1930; he also writes short stories, essays and children’s books by which we wins honorary awards and fellowship. While growing up, parents expects children to make better lives for themselves than they (parents) live, however, this novel has such twist to it as the protagonist (Okonkwo), father did not live a good life so that his son could follow. His dad Unoka lives a shameful life that causes his son to work extremely hard to make a good name for himself. Achebe’s work focuses on a cultural background of people in Africa who work tirelessly…

    • 1393 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe and published originally in 1958, follows the life of Okonkwo, a member of the Nigerian Igbo culture, as European colonists arrive to Africa. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo and his family struggle through their day to day life, only made worse by the integration of European society in the village. Instead of offering the readers the more familiar, if not overtold, perspective of Europeans colonizing Africa, Achebe introduces a completely foreign culture. As the reader becomes more accustomed to the Igbo culture, the arrival of the Europeans can be better understood from both sides; while colonial apologists’ perspective is well known, Achebe criticizes colonialism from a fresh perspective. Achebe…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Unoka was in debt to people, and he loved to drink alcohol. He was never responsible, and didn’t take care of himself or his family. However, he was a good musician, who enjoyed playing the flute. Okonkwo was embarrassed by his father for being a weak coward, who wouldn’t fight, and he was poor, unsuccessful, and too gentle. Okonkwo wanted to be the exact opposite of his father, so he was loud,…

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Growing up, Okonkwo was faced with having a failure as a father; Unoka was called “Agbala” by the other kids, which meant man with no title (World Eras 3). He eventually compared his father to the women in his clan, for he perceived them both as weak, frail, and powerless. Okonkwo had many children due to his many wives, but the reader is only introduced to one son, Nwoye. Nwoye eventually became a disappointment to Okonkwo throughout his childhood; he was not as…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Culture is what keeps people in a certain areas connected and is used to make a sustainable society to live in. Although the main goal of a culture is to unite the people some fall sort and still have separation between the people. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, A Nigerian village named the Ibo village is described very well but Achebe does not shy away from showing the reader how the villages culture and traditions divide the people more than unite them. Some of the villages ideas only separates the people rather than unite them which cause the culture to ultimately fall in the end.…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel « Things Fall Apart » by Chinua Achebe is written in English. However, there are some Ibo expressions set in this novel to introduce the reader’s mind into a more authentic and unique African atmosphere. The author, Chinua Achebe, is the first to write a novel about colonialism in the perspective of a colonized tribe from within. Furthermore, he is the only African who has ever described the African culture before and after the settlement of the Christians. This essay will examine how the Ibo expressions are used in the novel and what kind of effect they have on its audience.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays