Character Analysis of Okonkwo

Myles Noland
Red ID: 814212367
3/1/14
Prof. Reddick Afras 260
Character Analysis of Okonkwo There are many ways to tell a great story for the enjoyment and/or entertainment for the audience. Telling a story through visionaries such as movies, which is a very effective way to entertain the viewers, or pictures such as comic books or articles have proven to be more common for the majority of the people. Books, also, are very essential to the readers as they process writing and create imagery through their minds to appreciate the thoughts of the author. That’s exactly what Chinua Achebe did when he wrote the novel Things Fall Apart. Achebe describes the main character in the story, Okonkwo, in a variety of ways. Okonkwo was a man of strength that never shown any signs of weakness to others, a man of huge stature that seemingly was intimidating, and a legendary warrior.
Okonkwo is well known as a fierce warrior, a legendary wrestler, and a successful farmer of yams. He achieved his fame by defeating the great wrestler known as “the Cat” and for that he received high authority and leadership. Achebe described him as “tall and huge” with “bushy eyebrows and a wide nose” that “gave him a very severe look”. Whenever Okonkwo walked, his heels hardly touched the ground, like he walked on his tip-toes, as if “he seemed to walk on springs as if he was going to pounce on somebody.” Okonkwo had a “slight stammer” and he had very heavy breathing to go along with his gigantic size. He had three wives and several kids that lived in huts on his ground. Throughout his apparently glamorous life, Okonkwo fought a never ending battle for prestige. Even though his public image illustrated strength and power to everybody he came across his life was controlled by the fear of failure and weakness. Dealing with men who shown weakness and laziness, he was very quick to snap judgment, especially because they reminded him of his father, Unoka. Unoka was cowardly, gentle, poor, interested in music, and loved conversation. He was a man that was assumingly a smooth talker. Okonkwo resented his father and wanted to be the exact opposite of him. Okonkwo adopted the idea of becoming wealthy, courageous, violent, and an immense dislike for music. He was very stoic to a fault and wanted to portray his idea of manliness. Okonkwo overplays for his father’s weak mindset, of which he is ashamed, because he does not endure gentleness. Even though at times he felt affection inside of him, he never showed affection toward anyone. He isolated himself by demonstrating anger through intense, persevering, and illogical behavior. Okonkwo demanded that his kin works long hours regardless of physical stamina or age. Unfortunately, even though he showed to be the ideal meaning of manliness, he would nag and beat his wife and son. He felt his son, Nwoye, was becoming weak like his father Unoka so he would try to show him his version of tough love. Achebe, being the great author that he is, incorporated the meaning of Kujichagulia to the character of Okonkwo. Kujichagulia means to define ourselves, name ourselves, create and speak for ourselves. Achebe used this principle of Kwanzaa in the character of Okonkwo throughout the story. Okonkwo observed how his father was and determined to define who he was as a person. He made a decision to be the complete opposite of his father, Unoka, by showing what he thought was a symbol of manliness. He made a name for himself and became wealthy. Everything Okonkwo received was earned not given, which makes him respected in a way. Everything about the character was hardcore no matter the situation. My personal opinion of Okonkwo is that I believe he went way too far as far as being complete opposite of his father. He was a tragic hero in the classical sense. Though he seemed to be superior character in the story, his catastrophic flaw being the reckoning of manliness with recklessness, resentment, and violence brings about his own devastation. He begrudged his father so much that he was unable to express his inner feelings due to the fact that his so called “manly” morals clashed with his “womanly”(weak) ideals. It seemed as if he was in a battle with his inner feelings throughout his life that ultimately caused him to commit suicide. In my view, even though he was wealthy, known as a legendary warrior, and manly, it seemed as if he struggled within himself. In conclusion, Chinua Achebe portrayed a man who wanted what he thought was best for himself and family. A man who had shown much hatred for his father that it controlled his life in a sense. He had proven to be a man with no weakness, a man that was so huge he looked threatening, and a great warrior to the eyes of many. Although that was illustrated on the outside, Achebe exemplified how he was feeling on the inside. Okonkwo put on this image of manliness that it broke him down mentally throughout his life. He never shown an ounce of weakness till the very end of his tragic death by committing suicide. Achebe, showed the audience that money and power isn’t everything. Outside looking in, it seems as if Okonkwo was living in heaven, but deep down inside him, he was roaming in hell.