Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel, Things Fall Apart takes place in Umuofia, a village within the Igbo clan of Nigeria. The main character Okonkwo is a successful, but oftentimes rash clan lord. Okonkwo was born into poverty because his father, Unkowa was “lazy and improvident and quite incompetent of thinking about tomorrow” (2). Okonkwo resents his father because he was in debt with many of their fellow clansmen and because he was a coward who despised war. Okonkwo has a temper and will fight anyone who offends him. He is celebrated within his village because of his strength and the fact that at eighteen he beat Amalinze the Cat, a previously undefeated wrestler Okonkwo is an angry man who is mean out of fear that he will end up like his father, who brought shame to the village. Unkowa died of the swelling of the stomach and limbs. This illness was an extremely shameful way to die, so Unkowa’s body was brought to the Evil Forest where he was left to die. Okonkwo was “possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death” (15), so he did everything in his power to be completely different from his father. Because his father was lazy, Okonkwo didn’t inherit a barn, a title, or a young wife, which was extremely uncommon in Umuofia.
Following his father’s death, Okonkwo becomes the man of the house. He became a sharecropper to provide for his mother and young sisters. Elders gave him hundreds of yam seeds, the king crop, and he became a successful farmer. Okonkwo was a successful man, but his greatest weakness is his fear of being like his father. Okonkwo lacks patience, tolerance, and kindness because he believes that all of those traits are effeminate. During the village's sacred week, Okonkwo beat one of his wives because she left her home, and left her children to be fed by one of Okonkwo’s other wives. In the customs of the village, beating your wife is considered evil, even if she is in the wrong. Many villagers believe that Okonkwo’s good fortune has gone to his head, causing his impatience and lack of empathy.
Okonkwo is a foil of his father, Unkowa. Unkowa is lazy, meek, and unsuccessful. Okonkwo is strong, hardworking, and successful. Okonkwo wants nothing to do with his father, and his biggest fear is to be like him, so he overcompensates by appearing mean and manly. Unkowa was deemed a coward and never became a warrior because the sight of blood made him feel uneasy. Okonkwo has no problem fighting and is a skilled warrior.
Okonkwo is not a likable protagonist. He is chauvinistic, apathetic towards his wives and any unsuccessful man, and violent with both his actions and words. Okonkwo’s biggest fear is that he will end up like his father, penniless, in debt, and meek. But his biggest fear is also his greatest weakness, causing him to be feared and disliked by many of his fellow villagers.
Works Cited:
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York, Knopf, 2003.
Good discussion of character and the influences on him. I'll be interested to see whether, after we talk about tragic heroes, you see him as one.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I loved how you used Okonkwo’s father to show how different him and Okonkwo are. It is important that they are foil characters because it is how we know why Okonkwo is hardworking and mean. Your analysis of Okonkwo and his relationship with his father was very in-depth and definitely explained why Okonkwo is so successful and hardworking, yet also cruel.
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