The actions of the protagonist in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, has sparked many debates on whether he is a hero or a coward. Okonkwo has several conflicting personality traits which contribute to the confusion in distinguishing hero from coward. Okonkwo is highly regarded in his home village of Umofia, however he makes many mistakes which hurt his reputation and contribute to his downfall. While Okonkwo has strengths which make him a respected member of his community, he also possesses many weaknesses which force him to act in a rash manner and ultimately results in his death. Okonkwo is a very complex character, who despite having a lot of strengths in personality, is overcome by his weaknesses and resorts to suicide. Despite growing up with nothing, Okonkwo is able to provide for himself, and makes a name for himself in not only Umofia, but throughout the nine villages that make up the entire Ibo tribe. Growing up, Okonkwo’s father Unoka lacks the motivation and skill to successfully grow yams, which is the determining factor of wealth and masculinity in the Ibo culture. Once Unoka dies, Okonkwo is finally rid of the embarrassment brought to him by his father, and begins the journey to fulfilling his life. Due to Unoka dying without any wealth to his name, he is unable to give Okonkwo his remaining seed-yams to begin his crop. This lack of inheritance would have prohibited anyone else from achieving success, however Okonkwo does not let this hinder him and at only “eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the cat”(Achebe 3), in the annual wrestling match between the nine villages. The cat had previously been undefeated for seven years, and once Okonkwo defeats him, he becomes “well known throughout the nine villages and beyond”(3). Not only is Okonkwo physically strong, he is also extremely determined and hardworking. He must think up a plan to obtain the seed-yams he needs to establish his crop, which he would have gotten from his father had he been able to grow yams. Okonkwo uses his newfound respect from winning the wrestling match to ask one of the wealthy men, Nwakibie, in the village to loan him seed-yams to plant his first harvest. He is able to convince Nwakibie to give him seeds, gaining eight hundred seed-yams, however although he now has the proper materials to begin planting, the weather does not cooperate, and his crop fails many times before becoming successful. Had Okonkwo not been as determined and hardworking as he was, he would have given up after his crop first died in a drought, or after they drowned in the heavy rain. He never gives up and on his third try, successfully harvests yams. Okonkwo takes his rough beginning, with no inheritance or power, and turns it around to become one of the most respected and well known members of his community. Even with all of the strengths Okonkwo possesses, he lets his weaknesses rule him, causing him a lot of trouble. Okonkwo is very irrational, and often times acts without thinking. He is very scarred from his adolescence, and from the ridicule he was subjected to on behalf of his “failure” of a father. Okonkwo does
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Although Okonkwo has many positive character traits, he is ultimately ruined by his weaknesses and seen as a coward by his clansmen. Okonkwo is a very physically strong, determined and motivated man, however his fear of being thought weak controls his life and causes his downfall. After being ridiculed for his father’s laziness and lack of skill Okonkwo resolves to become a strong member of his community, and does achieve this for a period of time in his life. His impatience and violent temper ruins his life achievement and destroys his reputation and power in the village of Umofia. In his attempt to prove his predestined failure wrong, Okonkwo tries to become the strongest in the village, but in the end, his destiny prevails. Okonkwo beats the odds of being seen as lazy and unsuccessful, like his father was, but chooses the cowardly way out when things do not go his way. He begins life in a family who are disliked by the village, and ends life in a way that again makes him disliked by his
Although Okonkwo has many positive character traits, he is ultimately ruined by his weaknesses and seen as a coward by his clansmen. Okonkwo is a very physically strong, determined and motivated man, however his fear of being thought weak controls his life and causes his downfall. After being ridiculed for his father’s laziness and lack of skill Okonkwo resolves to become a strong member of his community, and does achieve this for a period of time in his life. His impatience and violent temper ruins his life achievement and destroys his reputation and power in the village of Umofia. In his attempt to prove his predestined failure wrong, Okonkwo tries to become the strongest in the village, but in the end, his destiny prevails. Okonkwo beats the odds of being seen as lazy and unsuccessful, like his father was, but chooses the cowardly way out when things do not go his way. He begins life in a family who are disliked by the village, and ends life in a way that again makes him disliked by his