On average, a human adult makes 35,000 decisions in a day, and every one of those decisions is influenced by what that person chooses whether that would be his or her values, situation in life, or people in his or her life. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, creates a protagonist, Okonkwo, whose life decisions influence by his view of the chi causes destruction. The background of the chi, how the chi and Okonkwo’s characteristics cloud his perspective on his life, and Okonkwo’s actions and effects of his view on his chi all are what influences him to become a tragic hero. The most influential belief system in Okonkwo’s life, his chi, clouds his perspective, which eventually causes his fall. In the words of Albert Einstein,
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This happens to when he refuses to see what is in front of him and chooses to see what he wants to see. Okonkwo is a very prideful man and only wants seen as a great man and worker. This triggers him to take responsibility only for good actions and rewards. He takes all the credit saying it is he, and only he, who was involved in the achievement. Here is where the chi agrees with man, meaning the man is in control, like when Okonkwo takes the credit for his success, “His fame rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe 3). If he makes a mistake, however, he does not want to have that blemish on his seemingly perfect person and blames his chi. This is shown when he challenges his chi. The chi is now in control because he blames it for his wrongdoing rather than accepting his blame and responsible for the error. Achebe expresses this again in Things Fall Apart when Okonkwo concludes that, “Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation” (Achebe 131). In addition, his father is a disappointment to Okonkwo, and he does not want to be anything like him. That then makes him not want to take the responsibility of his errors and appear as a disappointment like his father is to him. His characteristic of a self-rewarding man causes him to abuse the belief system of the chi and use it as a “get out of jail free card” and seemingly leaving his record blemish …show more content…
The chi is a guardian whose job is to control a man’s fate or destiny. The chi is the guardian and destiny of a man. However, Okonkwo will not accept his errors so he flips between him controlling his destiny and actions and his chi controlling his actions and destiny; due to his characteristics cause him to cloud the view he has of his chi because he will do anything not to be like his father. Okonkwo’s action towards his chi causes many negative effects that create rifts in his family. Kofi Awoonor describes Okonkwo’s plot in the novel Things Fall Apart as, “‘Okonkwo’s rise and fall are seen in a significant way in which he challenges his chi to battle’” (Killam 27). Okonkwo’s continuous battle between who is the reason for destiny and actions, himself or his chi, causes him to confuse all of his life choices origins to eventually cause his to all at once realize all of his mistakes and
This happens to when he refuses to see what is in front of him and chooses to see what he wants to see. Okonkwo is a very prideful man and only wants seen as a great man and worker. This triggers him to take responsibility only for good actions and rewards. He takes all the credit saying it is he, and only he, who was involved in the achievement. Here is where the chi agrees with man, meaning the man is in control, like when Okonkwo takes the credit for his success, “His fame rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe 3). If he makes a mistake, however, he does not want to have that blemish on his seemingly perfect person and blames his chi. This is shown when he challenges his chi. The chi is now in control because he blames it for his wrongdoing rather than accepting his blame and responsible for the error. Achebe expresses this again in Things Fall Apart when Okonkwo concludes that, “Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation” (Achebe 131). In addition, his father is a disappointment to Okonkwo, and he does not want to be anything like him. That then makes him not want to take the responsibility of his errors and appear as a disappointment like his father is to him. His characteristic of a self-rewarding man causes him to abuse the belief system of the chi and use it as a “get out of jail free card” and seemingly leaving his record blemish …show more content…
The chi is a guardian whose job is to control a man’s fate or destiny. The chi is the guardian and destiny of a man. However, Okonkwo will not accept his errors so he flips between him controlling his destiny and actions and his chi controlling his actions and destiny; due to his characteristics cause him to cloud the view he has of his chi because he will do anything not to be like his father. Okonkwo’s action towards his chi causes many negative effects that create rifts in his family. Kofi Awoonor describes Okonkwo’s plot in the novel Things Fall Apart as, “‘Okonkwo’s rise and fall are seen in a significant way in which he challenges his chi to battle’” (Killam 27). Okonkwo’s continuous battle between who is the reason for destiny and actions, himself or his chi, causes him to confuse all of his life choices origins to eventually cause his to all at once realize all of his mistakes and