What Is Okonkwo's Alienation In Things Fall Apart

The destruction of Okonkwo was revealed slowly throughout the books. He started to make some poor decisions, which became the beginning of his downfall. He killed Ikemefuna just because he didn’t want to be thought weak. He made unwise decisions to only appear to be strong and manly to others in the village. He did not realize how he lost so much from living that way. When, Okonkwo kills Ogbuefi Ezedu’s son, the real tragedy begins. Other tragic heroes usually have a steadier downfall, but Okonkwo had a direct fall in society due to this event. This puts his family into exile for seven years. After a short period of time, white missionaries arrive to Umuofia. When “The

Okonkwo ended up in exile due to his behavior as a consequence during this time he refused to get intoned with a more feminine characteristics because to him that was not the way things were and views his ancestor’s way of doing things as wrong. Okonkwo tries his masculine leadership once more by trying to start a war until he realizes that villagers are not standing behind him in his idea to go to war. Soon after the District Commissioners find Okonkwo dead in his compound, he had committed suicide by hanging himself, which is one of the biggest sins of them

This is an example of the difference in personal beliefs among family. Some may say that the book is about the differences in beliefs between the Africans and the colonizers, but it is more than that. It is clear that it was Okonkwo's personal beliefs and not necessarily the views of the people of Umuofia which guided him in what he did. One of these is his reliance in the strength of anger. Although he felt strongly in the beliefs and customs of the Ibo people, there are several occasions in which Okonkwo made a decision to disobey the customs in order to live out his own personal beliefs. For example, in chapter four, Okonkwo is yelled at by Ezeani, the priest of the earth goddess, for beating his wife during the sacred week of peace. Okonkwo did not feel remorse for his actions and probably thought of it as a sign of strength and manhood. Okonkwo was always worried about being seen as weak. One good

Okonkwo thinks that his mother’s clan is too womanly compare to his father’s clan of Umuofia, however even when he returns to his father’s clan after the completion of his exile he is also very much out of place there also. This is due to his obsessive masculinity and also because he just cannot adapt to the changing of times. Okonkwo “had lost his place among the masked spirits in the village” in addition to that “he had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion” consequently he lost any voice he ever had and was a “stranger” in his land seeming as nobody appeared to have taken any special notice of the “warriors” return. He speaks with his friend Obierika about the strangeness of his home land saying,

“Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure” (Achebe 4). As Okonkwo grows up, he realized his biggest fear and fatal flaw is the fact that he desperately did not want to end up like his father, disrespected and very emotional. Therefore, Okonkwo fears weakness and open shows of emotions, so he contains himself and only shows anger, as he associates it with manliness. He is so scared of becoming his father and changing his ways that he resorts to beating people to show his dominance. “And when she returned he beat her very heavily” (Achebe 19). In this quote, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife, Ojiugo, for not returning soon enough to cook the afternoon meal. Since he decided to act without thought, he beat his wife in the Week of Peace, where no one is to be harmed. This causes a great unrest between Okonkwo and his chi, or his inner spirit, and gradually leads to his downfall of luck and

After a village elder had found what crime Okonkwo committed, he told Okonkwo that, “you are not a stranger in Umuofia. You know as well as I that our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth, we should observe a week of peace in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor” (30). The elder proceeded to give Okonkwo instructions on how to attempt amends with the goddess. After a single action was taken, his proceeding efforts were nearly non-existent. Any attempt to fix the situation were minimal, as were efforts to learn from his mistakes. Furthermore, Okonkwo advances to partaking in the death of Ikemefuna. The relationship between the two is complicated, but is closest description is that of a boy and his step-father. Killing Ikemefuna is not an evil against the earth, as beating a wife during the week of peace was, but a crime against himself. He is unhappy with himself, and still does nothing to fix his ways, continuing on to single handedly killing a boy at a funeral. Although accidental, Okonkwo was still the man behind the gun. “It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land….he could return to the clan after seven years” (124). Okonkwo had no choice but to leave for the seven years, perhaps upon his return

Okonkwo abides by the rules of masculinity long after it suits his life. Okonkwo thought women we inferior to men. During the Week of Peace, Ojiugo lied to her husband; in the novel it states, “And when she returned he beat her very heavily” (Achebe 29). Okonkwo’s anger took over him. His vision of himself was so great that he thought he could beat his own wife, even during the Week of Peace. Okonkwo’s favorite child would be Ezinma, but she cannot be as great as he would want her to be because she is a female. Okonkwo openly said, “She should have been a boy” (Achebe 64). Okonkwo thinks that his daughter is great, but because she is not a boy he can not admire her. He thinks she would have been better a boy because, in his mind, he thinks men are greater beings than women. Okonkwo cannot wait for his son Nwoye to grow up and be as great of a man as he was. The novel states, “He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of ruling his father’s household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestor” (Achebe 53). Even though Okonkwo likes Ezinma, he thinks Nwoye will keep his legacy going after he is dead. Ironically, Nwoye leaves his father’s side and joins the missionaries, while Ezinma stood by Okonkwo’s side. The reasoning for Okonkwo’s exile was due to Okonkwo shooting a young boy

Okonkwo is a man who has to have things his own way. In the novel, there is a scene where his second wife, Ojiugo, did not make him his afternoon meal. Okonkwo, in an act of anger, started to beat his wife heaviley. His other two wives begged for him to stop beating Ojiugo, as it was the Week of Peace, a sacred Igbo holiday. However, “...Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess” (Achebe 30). Despite believing that he may be punished by a god, Okonkwo did not stop beating his wife. Unoka was a more compassionate man than Okonkwo, he was also stubborn. Unoka was lazy and fiscally irresponsible. He spent what little money he had on alcohol and didn’t

Obierika, Okonkwo’s best friend is wiser, refusing to go on the sacrificial march. He warns Okonkwo that the slaying of Ikemefuna does not please the Earth, and prophesizes, "It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families" (67). Shortly after Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo‘s rusted gun explodes at Ezeudu’s funeral, piercing the heart of the dead man’s son, killing the boy instantly. For killing a clansman, Okonkwo and his entire family are banished and Okonkwo loses his position in his village. It is during this time that Christianity establishes itself in Okonkwo’s village. Returning after seven years, he finds that everything he once knew has changed, as the white man’s law now takes precedence over village customs. The men of his village have become like women and everything is falling apart (183).

In the novel Things Fall Apart the main character, Okonkwo, makes a lot of decisions that lead to his downfall. Okonkwo is a fierce man who always has to show his dominance no matter what. He doesn’t tolerate disrespect, so he beats his wives and anyone who decides to go against him. Also he is afraid of looking weak in front of his clansmen so he does something he will regret in the book. All the decisions he made throughout the book catch up to him in the end.

Throughout the story you can see how dedicated he is, but how everyone changes around him and how he acts negatively toward the change. In the novel, things fall apart, Okonkwo is a violent man who fears weak and a failure. Even though Okonkwo is seen as a leader, it is not acceptable to harm others due to fear of failure. Tragic hero Okonkwo was a dominate leader in the Igbo villages.

Passion and responsibility are very peculiar nouns. Passion is an extreme measure of emotion usually driven by selfishness. Responsibility is a task or chore that is usually influenced by the environment. In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Okonkwo is a popular warrior within his tribe. Okonkwo is a man driven by passion, but he must follow responsibilities with they are necessary.

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, many characters take part in creating a predicament that ultimately leads to the main character’s end. Unoka, the deceased father of Okonkwo, does not have any physical presence throughout the novel. And yet he still dictates this main character’s behavior throughout the novel, and had he been alive, would have contributed towards a healthier relationship between the Igbo people and those that came from Britain. In the novel, when the Christians began spreading their religion, it is stated that “None of [God’s] converts was a man whose word was heeded in the assembly of the people.

Within the land of Africa there lies a tribe called Umuofia. Throughout the tribe you will come across many fields of yams and a man who is a strong, fearless leader named Okonkwo. In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo’s identity is challenged when missionaries and Western influences enter his tribe. Before the Western influences were introduced to the Ibo culture Okonkwo showed many characteristics that expressed his feelings and actions towards other characters as a whole. One of his main fears was being weak and a failure like his father, Unoka “who was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow.”

In chapter twenty, Okonkwo returns to his clan of Umuofia. Okonkwo was deeply upset that he lost all those years because he lost his role as a egwugwu, lose his role as a war leader of his people against the rising population of the opposing religion. If he didn 't go into exile, he could 've gained so much political power. But not all was at lost, while he was away, his yams prospered in Mbanta and in Umuofia and his friend, Obierika would give them out to the local sharecroppers. Also upon his return, his daughters were indeed very beautiful, easily finding suitable husbands. He found out that many people of Umuofia had converted to the opposing religion. The white men also brought government to Umuofia where there was a district Commissioner who judged and made decisions. With him, he appointed messengers (kotma). These men were highly despised by the people of Umuofia. Obeirka then told Okonkwo of the story of Aneto and how he killed Oduche over land. When he fled, he was captured and hung by the white man. Okonkwo wants to