Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by being aware of danger. Fear can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. It can guide people to actions they would never take if they were not fearful. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart” the character Okonkwo was used to show how fear can overpower any other emotion in one’s life, influence him, and completely drive his actions.
In the very beginning of the novel Achebe introduced the main character Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a wealthy and respected member of the Umoufia clan, in Nigeria. He has three wives, a son named Nuwoye, a daughter named Enzima, and a son he took under his care named Ikemefuna. Although he is very wealthy Okonkwo is the son of Unoka.Unoka was very lazy, irresponsible, and couldn't …show more content…
He is unable to accept the fact that the missionaries have come in and began trying to convert the people and some tribal members begin to change as a result. Ultimately Okonkwo hangs himself. “Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling,and they stopped dead.”(Achebe 156). In one last attempt to save his tribe Okonkwo kills a tribal official. Okonkwo knows he will probably be put in jail or possibly executed for killing the messenger and also because he does not want to be controlled by the missionaries anymore he takes matters into his own hands. By taking matters into his own hands Okonkwo is controlling his own destiny instead of letting the Europeans control him. Okonkwo’s struggle to remain strong against the change that was taking place drove him to kill himself rather than be handed over to the Europeans.
In conclusion in “Things Fall Apart” different fears were represented throughout the text. Weakness, failure, and change. Okonkwo was shown as a tragic hero who seemed to be a physically strong person, but mentally he was not stable. This an example of how fear can make people take the easy way out of things they are afraid of or things they don’t want to
In the very beginning of the novel Achebe introduced the main character Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a wealthy and respected member of the Umoufia clan, in Nigeria. He has three wives, a son named Nuwoye, a daughter named Enzima, and a son he took under his care named Ikemefuna. Although he is very wealthy Okonkwo is the son of Unoka.Unoka was very lazy, irresponsible, and couldn't …show more content…
He is unable to accept the fact that the missionaries have come in and began trying to convert the people and some tribal members begin to change as a result. Ultimately Okonkwo hangs himself. “Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling,and they stopped dead.”(Achebe 156). In one last attempt to save his tribe Okonkwo kills a tribal official. Okonkwo knows he will probably be put in jail or possibly executed for killing the messenger and also because he does not want to be controlled by the missionaries anymore he takes matters into his own hands. By taking matters into his own hands Okonkwo is controlling his own destiny instead of letting the Europeans control him. Okonkwo’s struggle to remain strong against the change that was taking place drove him to kill himself rather than be handed over to the Europeans.
In conclusion in “Things Fall Apart” different fears were represented throughout the text. Weakness, failure, and change. Okonkwo was shown as a tragic hero who seemed to be a physically strong person, but mentally he was not stable. This an example of how fear can make people take the easy way out of things they are afraid of or things they don’t want to