Okonkwo

The Tragic Hero The protagonist of things fall apart, Okonkwo is known as a tragic hero who holds a position of power and prestige choosing his course of action that possesses a tragic flaw, and gains, awareness of environment that lead to his fall. In his thirties, Okonkwo is a leader of the Igbo community of Umuofia. Achebe describe him as “tall and huge” with “bushy eyebrows” and a “wide nose that gives him a very server look”. When he walks, his heels barley touch the ground, like he was…

In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo, a self-indulgent individual in respect and authority to his clan, Umoufia is conflicted with a reoccurring outside western influence that poses as a threat against the normality of the custom-based society established within Umoufia in which psychologically effects his consciousness empowered over his fear of weakness; however, Okonkwo’s sense of identity before encountering western influence is to meet the expectations and customs…

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is about a man named Okonkwo who is respected and honored by the Ibo people, but he is afraid that he will be a coward like his father and he is often cruel. After an incident with a boy named Ikemefuna, Okonkwo’s life changes drastically. A recurring theme in Things Fall Apart is the struggle between tradition, change, and others. This theme is seen after Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo’s exile, and the invasion of the white men. The first event is Ikemefuna’s…

Okonkwo & Nwoye Nwoye is Okonkwo’s oldest son and causes grief to Okonkwo because he is more similar to his grandfather than him. While trying to appease his father, and live up to the life that he has envisioned for him, Nwoye falls prey to many beatings from Okonkwo. The fact that his own son was so much like the father he hated weighed heavily on him on he thought the beatings would correct it. Nwoye enjoyed the stories of his mother more so than the war stories from his father. Because he…

tribal culture, Okonkwo being a strong warrior he is expected to utilize strength to obtain power over others. Achebe presents this idea of violence to overcome weakness writing “Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak” (1958, pg. 61). Okonkwo even murdered those whom he loved on the inside, acts of physical harm becoming the norm and shaping the violent character of Okonkwo. Additionally, Achebe writes of Okonkwo’s perception on emotion “Okonkwo never…

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist Okonkwo is a large, male figure that consistently desires power and seeks to gain power over others. From an early age, Okonkwo attempted to be a very manly man after watching his father, who he described as lazy and soft, emulate opposite ideals. Although he was embarrassed of his father, he took these strong feelings and transformed them into energy that would help him succeed in being entirely opposite. He first gained recognition as a…

Okonkwo grew up in a village named Umoufia. He has bushy eyebrows , is tall and has a big nose. He shows only masculine behavior because he feels that showing feelings is for the weak. He's had a pretty rough life and not just with family. Even gets kicked out Umoufia for murder. His father, Unoka passed away ten years ago and was a lazy man who borrowed money but never paid back. He has eight children and three wives. His two children, Nwoye and Ezinma are the oldest , carrying out a distinct…

children, and religion. Okonkwo is violent, wealthy, and a worrier of his village, Umuofia. Okonkwo’s biggest fear is to do not be weak or coward like his father, Unoka who left the village unsalted, so he tries to avoid being like his father by being violent and beating his wife. Okonkwo has a twelve-year-old son that Okonkwo is afraid that he will end up like his father, Unoka. Umuofia wins a fifteen year- old kid, so Okonkwo decides to take him. During the week of peace, Okonkwo beats his…

interject their own religion and customs upon them. The tragic hero of the story, Okonkwo, becomes infuriated with his own people as he witnesses them betray their own morals and culture. He desperately tries to preserve the ethics and traditions of his community while the white man comes to destroy all that they once proudly had. The African community is rather a very patriarchal one. The author denotes a goal Okonkwo has which is to always appear and be the masculine figure his father never…

very different things to different people, in this book Okonkwo sees being a father in an incomparable way to the way his father Unoka saw it. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo struggles to play both the role of a leader, and a father. Okonkwo sees no desire in creating meaningful relationships with those in his life. He chooses society's opinion of him versus his family's. As the story progresses it becomes more clear that Okonkwo deals with his emotions in irrational ways,…