Okonkwo, The Most Powerful Defenseless Man

Okonkwo, the Most Powerful Defenseless Man In the novel, Things Fall Apart, the protagonist, Okonkwo, overcomes many obstacles that make it difficult for him to be respected in his culture and community. His father, Unoka, was imprudent and was not respected in the community, as he was in debt to many of his neighbors and kept asking for more when he knew he would not be able to pay it back. “When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt.”(Achebe 8). Despite these setbacks, Okonkwo became one of the most respected and wealthy men in his village. The actions that led to Okonkwo’s downfall can only be explained through Alfred Adler’s theory, “Inferiority Complex” and Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. …show more content…
Throughout the novel, he was very controlling of his family and went to great lengths to keep his sense of control. Even during the Week of Peace, a week before the Feast of the New Yam in which they celebrate the past and upcoming year, Okonkwo beat one of his wives out of pure ornery which is completely frowned upon by the culture during the week of peace. Upon Okonkwo returning to his obi, home, he saw his banana tree and realized it had been altered and, he immediately jumped to conclusion that one of his wives had killed it, “As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive. Okonkwo’s second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it to wrap some food, and she said so. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping.”(Achebe 38). Although he was already angry because he does not enjoy the Feast of the New Yam, this does not justify his actions and can be better explained through his inferior self-analysis. Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” can also explain his actions through the stage of needing …show more content…
At the time of the Week of Peace in the novel, Okonkwo can be best associated with the need of self-esteem in which he feels the need to show his power so that he knows it exists, and that he has authority. In the latter part of the novel, when the white missionaries from England invade Umuofia, Okonkwo does not realize how powerful this group of men are because he was away in his motherland. When Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, converts to Christianity with the white missionaries, Okonkwo becomes furious and disowns him from the family. Later in the story, Okonkwo returns from his motherland, Mbanta, and he begins to learn that Christianity is sweeping through the land of Umuofia, Okonkwo’s fatherland. The white missionaries were using sly tactics to slowly trick the people of Umuofia into accepting