Who Is Okonkwo In Things Fall Apart

In the historical fiction novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist Okonkwo is a tragic hero who deals with many internal and external conflicts. Okonkwo is a leader in the Ibo village in Nigeria, and is seen as a very prestigious and powerful figure throughout the village and among his peers. This is because of his history as a great wrestler earlier in his life, his success as a farmer, and his fierce personality. He is married to three wives, and has many children to care for. Although Okonkwo’s life may seem like one everyone would want to live, he struggles with internal conflicts that have to do with his resentment towards his father, which causes him to live in fear and anger. In addition to his internal conflicts,
Okonkwo acts with emotion, rather than thought. He commits his actions too quickly, and does not think them through. A perfect example is when Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna. He let his emotion (fear) take over him and killed the boy, rather than thinking and making the right decision. If Okonkwo were to think over and actually process the situation, Okonkwo could have made an entirely different decision and not have killed the boy. This flaw comes back to haunt Okonkwo time and time again. Whether the emotion is fear, anger, or pure rage, Okonkwo makes his decision as quick as he can. These poor decisions range from beating his wife to burning down the Church. This is a very poor trait because the choices Okonkwo makes at times do not only hurt him, but those around him. Once Okonkwo realizes that his choices and actions end up putting him in tough situations time and time again, he realizes his failure. This is why his impulsiveness takes part in his
Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was a very weak and fragile man in the Ibo village. He owed money to a lot of people, and was nothing like the warrior Okonkwo is. Because Okonkwo hated his father’s womanly ways so much, he made it his goal to do everything opposite to what is father would have done. Unoka was irresponsible, while Okonkwo tried to be very responsible and kept his family in order. Unoka fainted at the sight of blood, while Okonkwo was a very violent person, which was shown in his actions. The hatred Okonkwo had ultimately caused his fear of failure. He did not want to fail because he knew his father had, and he hated his father. Okonkwo hated Nwoye because Nwoye reminded him of his father. The hatred Okonkwo had for Unoka tied in to everything he did, from his daily decisions to his decisions to kill others. Although hatred for another family member may be a common trait, Okonkwo’s was so strong that once he realized he had failed like his father, he decided to take his own