that call for balance make him seem as though his only option is to act in violence, which further supports the European stereotype of Africans as violent and savage. It is in Okonkwo’s attempt to save Umuofian culture from falling into the hands of Christian Missionaries that Okonkwo becomes the defender to the Igbo culture. Unsurprisingly, his first reaction is to use violence to ensure the security of his people’s traditions. After hearing of the Abame massacre, Okonkwo says, “They were fools, they had been warned that danger was ahead. They should have armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to the market” (Achebe, 81). However, since the Missionaries had said nothing on arrival, Umuofia wisdom says, “Never
