American poet Henry David Thoreau once said‚ “Men are born to succeed‚ not to fail.” These words perfectly describe the mindset and values of Okonkwo‚ the main character in Chinua Achebe’s novel‚ Things Fall Apart. To Okonkwo‚ in order to be a man he must always show strength and never reveal his true emotions. In Things Fall Apart‚ yams symbolize the ideals of masculinity and power‚ as well as the pain and sorrow that can accompany denying one’s limitations and weaknesses. In Igbo culture‚ men
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affected are of the Igbo tribes greatest men‚ Okonkwo‚ in the way that he was conflicted with his sense of identity and struggled to fit in between the changes of accepting new ideas and staying with his common traditions. Before the arrival of the Europeans‚ the Igbo people thrived and peacefully lived among themselves; Okonkwo was a strong male warrior who wished to be seen as profoundly masculine and successful. With the arrival of the new culture‚ Okonkwo felt immensely conflicted‚ he lived to challenge
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Fear In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart‚ Okonkwo has a fear of weakness and failure. Although Okonkwo is the strongest man in Umuofia‚ Okonkwo’s fear of failure does not permit him to be a true genuine person. Okonkwo’s life is driven by his fear of imperfection and becoming a failure. Therefore he avoids anything that will prevent him from failing. Okonkwo‚ one of the most powerful men in Umuofia‚ is feared and honored. For example‚ "Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and
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their culture‚ own preferences‚ and their view on the conflict. In Things Fall Apart the character Okonkwo faces many conflicts which he usually handles with his culture’s values coming first. One example from the book is when the clansmen are taking Ikemefuna out to kill him. Okonkwo had bonded with Ikemefuna to the point of a father-son relationship where they both respected each other as such. Okonkwo‚ despite his love to Ikemefuna‚ went with the men to kill
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In Things Fall Apart‚ Okonkwo worries that after his participation in the killing of Ikemefuna his emotions will show as a sign of weakness. Expressing emotions as a male is seen as a sign of femininity and therefore a sign of weakness in Ibe culture. Okonkwo tries to hide his emotions behind his actions and temper that lead to the foreshadowed ending of the village slowly falling apart. At the start of the novel we are introduced to Okonkwo as an amazing fighter who was nothing like his selfish
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Conflict between tradition and change “Okonkwo did not have the start in life in which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit” (Achebe 16). Traditionally in Umuofia‚ when a man dies‚ his son inherits his assets. Okonkwo’s father‚ Unoka‚ was scared by the sight of blood‚ in an immense amount of debt and did not support his family. As a result of Okonkwo’s father having no title‚ Okonkwo was left with nothing when his father died.
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Fear can drive us to do many things‚ sometimes heroic‚ and yet often malicious. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart‚ the main character‚ Okonkwo‚ has a driving fear behind his actions that causes him to do harm to others and himself. This fear was cultivated by his environment‚ and it grew to a place where he uses his ever present fears as a justification for his often violent actions. Fear has always dominated Okonkwo’s life because he has never wanted to show weakness like his father before
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Although his dad was an unhonoured and a lazy man. Okonkwo ‚the son of Unoka ‚ has managed to become an influential clan leader in Umofia. Since his childhood Okokwo was always embarrassed of his dad. To begin with‚ Unoka was a lazy man‚ he left all his farming for the last minute; moreover‚ he was a profligate and a spendthrift‚ he borrowed money from his clansmen and never returned them back .Furthermore‚ he was soft and liked music also he feared the sight of blood; therefore‚ he never became
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“Any one who knew his grim struggle against poverty and misfortune could not say he had been lucky. If ever a man deserved his success‚ that man was Okonkwo.” (34‚ Achebe). Okonkwo couldn’t deal with just being happy‚ as Unoka had valued life‚ he needed the honor and the social status. He needed to wash away the stain that was his father. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond‚ His fame rested on solid personal
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Until the arrival of the European missionaries‚ nobody‚ including Okonkwo‚ has ever learned about or considered another religion. It is Igbo tradition to always trust in and never question the culture‚ because thinking otherwise would be disrespecting their gods. The arrival of the white man and his new faith is a rude awakening to many‚ questioning everything the villagers have ever believed in. Though many members of the clan are completely unmoved by the teachings of Christianity‚ some people
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