People who don't have knowledge about their past history, origin and culture are like trees without roots (Garvey). This novel is about a man named Okonkwo and his family who live in a village called Umuofia. Okonkwo was a man who earned his respect by himself. His father, Unoka was known around the village for asking money, being poor, and not having the qualities of a man. Okonkwo wanted to be the opposite of his father so he worked hard towards making his own identity in the village. Okonkwo was very young when he started earning respect in his village by wrestling in which he won the battles for his village. As a young man Okonkwo went to Nwakibie to get yams from him to start his own farm since his father didn't leave him anything. Nwakibie …show more content…
Okonkwo had three wives. The plot of the novel becomes more interesting when Ikemefuna who was sent to the village of umuofia because of his father's crime, he was to live with okonkwo and his family for three years. During this time okonkwo had became attached to Ikemefuna . Ikemefuna was a good influence on Okonkwo's son Nwoye. At the end of the three years okonkwo kills Ikemefuna even though he was attached to him, Okonkwo couldn't show weakness. The death of Ikemefuna affected okonkwo very much. This novel takes a turn during the week of peace when okonkwo hits one of his wives and he is exiled from the village for seven years. Okonkwo went to his mother’s land for his years in exile. During that time a white man comes to the village and is killed by the villagers because they thought that the white man was there to harm the villagers. As a reaction to this a group of white men come and destroy a whole …show more content…
Nwoye converts to the christian faith and so do some of the other villagers. Since the white men were successful in converting the people to the christian faith they started building their own churches, Government, jail, and schools in the villages. When Okonkwo is in exile his friend Obierika told him that his son Nwoye has converted to the Christian faith along with many others in the village. After seven years of exile Okonkwo returned to the village of this Umuofia and tries to explain to the villages that they should not convert to the christian religion. When he returns from exile he also calls all his children to the obi and tells them that Nwoye is no longer a part of the family. The gods of the Igbo tribe were angry that the people of the Igbo culture converted the Christian faith and they burn down the churches. Okonkwo gives up on explaining to people that what they are doing is wrong and he ends up committing suicide. In chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart”, the role of customs and traditions is extremely important in deciding the fate of men, women, and children, showing the reader that customs and traditions will always exist whether you accept them or
The novel “things fall apart” is about the fatal demise of Okonkwo and the igbo culture of Umuofia. Okonkwo is well known and respected leader in his community, who is successful in everything he does, such as wrestling and farming. He is quick with his hands and takes pride in his accomplishments. Okonkwo’s family relationship makes him a sympathetic character because of his support and an unsympathetic character because of his cruelty. In many ways Okonkwo showed that he had no sympathy for others , However at times he could be sympathetic.
Thereafter, he is recognized a famous person in the local village. After two inter-tribal wars, he earns two titles. The novel in the end conveys that the events are witnessed and threatens religion and the result represents falling apart in the Igbo society. (Acehebe, 1958) Though Okonkwo proves an ambitious hero, he is affected by his internal fear that has ruled his entire life.
Next, Okonkwo is warned that he will be told to kill Ikemefuna, a boy who has become like a son to him. When the time comes, Okonkwo, Ikemefuna, and a few other men set out on their journey. When the men move to kill Ikemefuna, Okonkwo trails behind them so he will not have to be a part of
Among those of the same culture, individuals who are adaptive and open-minded can be successful when there is cultural collision. When the Igbo and European cultures collide, Okonkwo gradually spirals out of control, losing everything he values and his own sense of self. From the beginning of the novel, Achebe depicts Okonkwo as a virile warrior and a successful farmer within the Igbo tribe. Reacting with violence to anything he considers “womanly” or “weak”, “He was a man of action and man of war” (10). Because of his reputation as a warrior he is highly respected by his community.
Okonkwo’s aggressive ways caused Nwoye to rely on Ikemefuna, A boy given to Okonkwo by a neighboring village, as an older brother who teaches him a more gentle form of masculinity. The bond between Nwoye and Ikemefuna was stronger than the bond between Nwoye and Okonkwo ever was because of Okonkwo’s refusal to demonstrate affection towards his son as it could make him appear weak. However, because of the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye fears having to return to the harsh values of his father. Okonkwo’s stubborn ideas of masculinity ruined his relationship with his son beyond repair. Okonkwo’s refusal to show emotion towards his family pushed them apart which shows that Okonkwo is not willing to give up his stern values and reputation to be emotionally committed to his family.
In the beginning of the story, Okonkwo was a very vigorous man who everyone loves. One day a killing happened leaving Okonkwo with a wife and a son, Ikemefuna. He grew to like the young boy, where he is different from his other children, On a fateful day, Okonkwo murders Ikemefuna. Okonkwo had a load of guilt for killing his adoptive son, Ikemefuna.
“Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit” (Achebe, 16). Okonkwo had to figure out how to do the tasks that all men in his village do on his own, and at a young age. Okonkwo also had to be the man of the house at a young age because his father couldn’t provide for the family.
The hatred that he had for his father he carried with him throughout his whole life. That hatred turned into him killing Ikemefuna and the messenger. Ikemefuna was thought of as a son and he killed him in fear of being considered weak in front of his clan members. That weakness was thought of his weakness which was considered a failure. At the end of the story Okonkwo ends up being just like his father which is ironic because he strived to be nothing like him.
Okonkwo hates change, and he feels that the missionaries have brought about change through their religion, which has started to affect other aspects of traditional Igbo life and its people. He feels that the men have gotten weaker, hence him feeling proud when the warriors start acting like warriors again in his mind when the village agrees some violent action must be taken against the white man. When the village crier announces that there will be a meeting to discuss what to do about the foreigners following Okonkwo and the other prisoners getting released, Okonkwo is very excited. However, once the meeting gets interrupted by court messengers during a speech about how the white man is desecrating their gods and ancestral spirits, things take a turn for the worst. As soon as the head messenger tells the crowd to disperse “Okonkwo drew his machete.
The most prominent character in the novel is that of Okonkwo. He is depicted as a strong man who is ''well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond." (1). Okonkwo is a man of strong will and persistence who resists fear and detests failure. However, Okonkwo needed his village "Umuofia" to remain as it is, where no change or progress can be noted, as his value and self- meaning are measured by its traditions and rooted customs.
The novel narrates the life of Okonkwo. The latter was very successful in everything he undertook. The opening lines of the novel clearly demonstrate his success. He had three wives and eight children. His life, however, starts to shatter little by little through a series of events, leading him to being exiled for seven years from his village.
Okonkwo is a self-made, respected member of the Umofia clan. Though outwardly stern and powerful, much of his life dictated by internal fear. His greatest over whelming unable to support his family, and cowardly. Okonkwo has a son named Nwoye. They don’t have the best relationship due to okonkwo’s bad traits and horrible temper.
Okonkwo falls into deeper depression when he was exiled from his fatherhood and returned to his village seven years later to discover the change in his beloved village; it weakened
Eventually, Okonkwo nimbly returns to his village to exhibit his prosperity within Mbanta, while he is entirely appalled by the startling amendments to Umuofia. His barbaric village has been swallowed by intruding whites as they diminish the original, established culture with the flourishing of Christianity; which a wholly perplexing belief, as the concept of three Gods being one simply bewildered Okonkwo himself. The evident alterations to Umuofia was ruinous, Okonkwo was instantaneously enraged by the slight thought of consuming this life. His fierce, torrid nature illuminated the depths of passion, as he truly defined savage behaviour; Okonkwo sought to liberate his village from the virtuous lepers. Yet, the members of his once lordly village ultimately scorned notion of opposing the saintly whites.
Okonkwo achieves this by gaining awareness of circumstances that lead to his fall, through a dramatic reversal of fate. At the end of part one and during part two of the book it's is revealed that Okonkwo would have to leave Umuofia for seven years because of a crime he committed. During the funeral of Ezeudu, a respected elder and warrior, Okonkwo accidentally kills the son of the deceased. Because his crime was an accident it was deemed as 'female’, this meant that as a punishment Okonkwo had to leave Umuofia for seven years and go to his mother's village in order to cleanse his own village of his sins. When Okonkwo arrives in his mother's village he is very sorrowful because everything he had worked for in Umuofia would be taken away.