Okonkwo Essay

A leader of a tribe, a father, a husband, a friend, a man, Okonkwo ends his life by hanging himself. Was it to show bravery or was it because he was a coward. Was it a choice that showed his weakness or was it to show how strong he was? Some believe he was strong and courages because ending own’s life is a very hard thing to do. Some believe he was a coward and killed himself because he lost his leadership of his tribe.

Okonkwo kills himself because he lost his place as the tribe leader. A white man defeated Okonkwo and took his place as tribe leader. And he feels he has no one. He is lonely and humiliated. In his society white men are considered as weak. The defeat from the white man made him humiliated. Since the beginning of the book Oknonkwo was afraid of weakness. He saw it in his father and never wanted to be like him. He always did the opposite what his father did. Okonkwo’s choices were based on his father’s ones. He always chose the opposite one. He thought he would be stronger if he did the opposite of the weaker ones. His decisions lead him to a bad ending. Things were falling apart for him.

By the end of the story, Okonkwo tried to remain strong against the harsh change. Okonkwo killed a colonial official at the end because he thought he could gain the honor of his tribe. His tribe refused to agree with …show more content…
Okonkwo was defeated by a white man. The white man took his place as tribe leader as well. Okonkwo was humiliated by this which made him kill a colonial official think that his tribe would let him be the leader again. It did not work. Okonkwo also killed himself because he was becoming like his father, weak. At the end of the book Okonkwo was left in the forest where his father was. No matter what Okonkwo tried to be the opposite of his father. He ended up exactly the same place where his father was. This essay shows why Okonkwo was a coward and his choice showed