Things Fall Apart Ikemefuna Analysis

Even though it is literally stated that Okonkwo is not one to show his emotions nor talk very much, he has deeper thoughts and feelings. There were numerous occasions when his children were put in danger and he was too worried for them. I also strongly believe he would defend his wives if ever the need arose. It is also written, however, that he almost always loses his temper on his family, and beats them occasionally. It is also because of this temper that he beat one of his wives on the Week Of Peace, almost shot another, and practically strangled his eldest son. But do not entirely blame him. His temper is his temper, and even though he learns how to control it, it is still always there, a part of him. As of the beating, he is not the only one that practices it. It is in their culture for the husband to beat his family when he feels it is necessary. His people believe it is a form of

King Tut's death is one of the most controversial topics in the world. King Tut was a pharaoh who started ruling at a very young age and died at a very young age. The finding of his tomb was one of the greatest archaeological findings in all of history, because it was nearly untouched by grave robbers King tut's death has never been proven because the person who excavated his tomb broke a lot of King Tut's body trying to get past the sarcophagus to the actual body. There are many different theories saying that King Tut died of different causes. Especially one theory that is grown particularly famous which is that King Tut died of murder but one things for sure, King Tut did not die of murder, instead he died of malaria and a broken leg.

“Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand”(Achebe pg.13). Some might say that Okonkwo is a cold man who cares for no one else, while others say that he is a bit of a softie. Through the story we are able to see two main sides to Okonkwo, a sympathetic and unsympathetic side. Okonkwo lived a difficult life. His father was a lazy man, who owed many others heavy wages. Okonkwo knew that in order to become a strong, respected man in the village he had to prove himself to not be like his father. He worked hard to get to where he wanted to be and on the way developed a somewhat cold hearted attitude towards things. All he cared about was being successful unlike his father. Unfortunately, due to this he pushed his sympathetic feelings aside. Okonkwo’s family relationships make him a sympathetic character because

First, Okonkwo is a controlling gentlemen. He wants to be nothing like his father, him and his father are very different. During the week of peace Okonkwo beats his wife. He beats his wife up because she was braiding her hair instead of

Okonkwo is also incredibly aggressive. He regularly physically abuses his nuclear family and does so to make himself seem more masculine. His violence in order to protect his fragile masculinity goes to the extent that “his wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper.” (2.12) After the missionaries arrive in Umuofia and Okonkwo’s

To show affection was a sign of weakness. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else-with a heavy hand” (page 28). In this part of the book the author describes how well Ikemefuna is fitting into the Igbo culture. Okonkwo is very fond of Ikemefuna, but refuses to display his feelings. In this quote characterizes Okonkwo as an angry and cruel

Nwoye, the actual son of Okonkwo, was very damaged by the killing of Ikemefuna. Nwoye would've been upset over the incident, whether his father was involved with it or not, but because his father was apart of it, Nwoye used all of his frustration on his father, even though he wasn’t the only one guilty for doing the crime. Because of the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye will never be the same emotionally because he had never had a brother like figure in his life and that was taken away. Due to his father being apart of the killing of him, the connection between Okonkwo and Nwoye has been impaired (and may lead to what Nwoye does in the next significant change). Okonkwo also was afflicted by the killing of Ikemefuna. Ogbuefi Ezeudu, an elder of the tribe highly advises him to not before he went on the walk with his son. When he made the choice of helping kill his son, it was because he wanted to fit in and didn’t want the other guys in the tribe to think less of him. “He was afraid of being thought weak,” Because of him murdering Ikemefuna, his heart becomes harder by trying to become more manly even though an elder of tribe advised against it. However, he is being more like Okonkwo’s father. Okonkwo is a role model in the tribe because of where he came from and is work ethic. He even beat the top wrestler and got more famous. The tribe also thinks that Okonkwo is becoming tougher.

There are many different things in Things Fall Apart but some of those things are valued more than others by people. This is introduced in page 37 when Okonkwo decides to not assist the feast but decides to stay and work on his farm . In addition to prefering the farm over the festival Okonkwo values his reputation over his love for his foster child, Ikemefuna.

Okonkwo thinks he is the owner of his household and he shows no mercy to anyone who angers him. “He ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives…lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness.” (Achebe, Chapter 2, p.8). Okonkwo beats his children and wives because of his temper which is influenced by the Igbo society; he puts on a hard exterior because he is afraid of being weak and unsuccessful. At one point, he attempts to kill his second wife with a gun because he thinks she is the cause of a tree’s death. In order to prove his power and strength, without thinking of the consequences, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife during the week of peace - a week when the village celebrates peace and who ever disrupts the peace will be punished by Ala, the earth goddess (Lycos, online). “His first two wives ran out in great alarm pleading with him that it was the sacred week. But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for the fear of a goddess.” (Achebe, Chapter 4, p.21). Okonkwo lives in a male dominant society where men are pressured to be strong and successful; because of these influences, Okonkwo develops an inner

The two days after Ikemafuna’s death Okonkwo did not eat or sleep, “he was so weak his legs could hardly carry him” (63). For the first time Okonkwo showed great remorse for his actions. Okonkwo even called for the company of his biological son, Nwoye. But despite his son’s company and attention of his wives, Okonkwo thought constantly about Ikemafuna’s death. The effects this event had on Okonkwo contradict any of his previous emotions. Before, the only emotion he had outwardly shown was anger. This was the first time Okonkwo showed any form of guilt or sadness, indicating how much he valued Ikemafuna. Despite Okonkwo being extremely tough and strong, Ikemafuna’s death was still able to change him. Okonkwo’s change in behavior characterizes him in a new unseen way and allows the reader to see him in a light other than the one that casts him as purely evil and

As far as this goes he never has sympathy for anybody​ no matter who you are. I think it started with his dad and how people would say he was the worst and he never did anything so Okonkwo Decided not to go that road so he made something of himself but little as he knows he changed for the worst and not the better. Throughout this book somebody is always either getting hurt being saved or just dying and make at of it is from Okonkwo. That should tell you a lot about his character and who he is.

Okonkwo life is “dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). When Okonkwo was a boy, his playmates teased him calling, saying that his father was agbala. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was lazy. He did not work on his farm; he died in great debt. He did not acquire a single title. He did not have a barn to pass down to his son. Unoka is a type of man who is scorned in Umofia. He is seen as weak and effeminate. As Okonkwo grows older, he is determined not become a failure like his father. His father was weak; he will be strong. His father was lazy; he will be hard-working. Okonkwo earned his fame by defeating the reigning wrestling champion. Okonkwo diligently plants yam, building a successful farm. He builds himself an obi, has three wives and many children. His fame “rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo will not let one womanly trait sully his reputation. Therefore, he “hate[d] everything that his father Unoka had loved” (Achebe 13). One of these was gentleness. Okonkwo refuses to show any signs of emotion, except his temper. He

In Things Fall Apart okonkwo prefers pride over anything in his life he does anything too be strong. He ruled over anyone over a heavy hand too prove a point too himself. He also never shows emotions toward anyone because he thinks it will make him weak. But his pride can always lead too something bad if used the wrong way.

When Ikemefuna came to Umuofia, Okonkwo “became very fond of the boy- inwardly of course… He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else- with the heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy” (24). This establishes that Okonkwo loves Ikemefuna but because he wants to look strong and demonstrate power he shows little to no emotion of love towards him. Correspondingly, when Ikemefuna is facing his death, he runs to Okonkwo asking for help. As this happens Okonkwo, acting on impulse, slays Ikemefuna with his machete. Okonkwo try’s to act like he does not have affection for Ikemefuna, but the reader sees the reality when, after Ikemefuna’s death, “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days…He drank palm-wine from morning till night…[and] did not sleep at night” (55). In other words, Okonkwo is mourning over the loss of Ikemefuna and. Though this is the case a close reader might see that Okonkwo’s impulse of killing Ikemefuna was because he wanted to seem strong but the evidence shows the reality of his emotion. One might conclude that Okonkwo can be loving and compassionate, but because of his need to look masculine his relationship with Ikemefuna is

Okonkwo's fear of being perceived as weak tragically leads to him to be unnecessarily violent and excessively prideful. These two fatal flaws lead to Okonkwo’s own emotional isolation, and his inevitable downfall. Driven by the fear of being seen as weak and emasculated, Okonkwo exhibits hyper masculinity and rage. Although this behavior initially leads to success in the patriarchal society of Umofia, rage is his greatest bane: it masks his compassion and pusillanimity. Onkonkwo’s obsession to never appear feminine is driven to the extreme. He denies affection even to his own family, “never show[ing] any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To [Okonkwo] show[ing] affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.” (pg. 28). Okonkwo whose “whole life [is] dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness.” (pg. 13) suppress his compassion in order to appear important and manly. Ironically this creates a stark juxtaposition between his own fear and his position as an alpha male. Rather than being masculine and courageous, Okonkwo just creates tension within his family and within himself. The pinnacle of this extreme hypermasculinity is when Okonkwo ignores the wisdom of the elder Ezeudu, and violently kills his “son” Ikamafuna: “As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He had heard Ikamafuna cry “My father, they have killed me!”