Essay on Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart - 1835 Words

Chinua Achebe’s â€Å"Things fall apart† is a story about a man named Okonkwo who is successful and physically strong. However, Okonkwo is emotionally unavailable and afraid that he will be seen as weak and that others will compare him to his father. The book’s peak is when Okonkwo does something considered immoral by killing a boy who he had taken in and raised as his own for three years, because he did not want to be seen as weak. Okonkwo is ruled by one obsession and that is to hate everything that his father had loved. Okonkwo’s birthright was fear, fear that he would become like his father. His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. The irony in the story is that Okonkwo’s life ends much like his father’s†¦show more content†¦He preferred working on his farm to feasting and he sought the approval of his tribesman because they tribesman respected courage and manliness. Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna because he did not want other tribesman to see him as weak, although they had advised Okonkwo not to participate. They knew that Ikemefuna had become a part of Okonkwo’s family during the three years that he lived with them while the tribe was deciding his fate. Okonkwo was fond of Ikemefuna although he would never show it. Ikemefuna grew to like Okonkwo more than his own father, a person whom Ikemefuna was not very fond of at all. Okonkwo was who Ikemefuna called to the first time he was struck with a machete and it was Okonkwo who struck the fatal blow. Okonkwo felt terrible afterwards for killing Ikemefuna, his family knew this because Okonkwo did not sleep or eat anything for days. Okonkwo killed the boy because he was afraid of being seen as spineless, however he still saw himself as weak for feeling sensitivity. Okonkwo said to himself, â€Å"when did you become a shivering old woman, you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed† (Achebe, 1959.) Okonkwo felt that showing affection was a sign of weakness, so the only emotion his family felt from him were feelings of anger andShow MoreRelatedChinua Achebes Things Fall Apart1601 Words   |  7 Pagesbelieved they were bringing positive changes and good deeds to the locals from an Imperialistic point of view, the majority of natives were affected by the political, cultural, religious, and economic changes which are depicted in the Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart. The novel primarily focuses on small villages such as Umuofia village in southern Nigeria, and the native’s first and prolonged contacts with the British expansionism or missionaries. In the novel, Achebe depicts the political changesRead MoreChinua Achebes Things Fall Apart1007 Words   |  5 PagesFearful Flaw Okonkwo is the protagonist of Chinua Achebe’s story, Things Fall Apart. He has a calamitous flaw that dominates his life. His fear of failure and of weakness causes him to take unnecessary and destructive actions. His fear of weakness leads him to be emotionally distant from his children, beat his wives, kill Ikemefuna whom he loved, and the Commissioners messenger. His fear of failure causes him to disown his oldest son who did not meet his expectations, become well than his idle fatherRead MoreAnalysis of Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart1579 Words   |  6 PagesChinua Achebes 1958 novel Things Fall Apart marked a significant turning point not only for literature, but the world, because the novel is an attempt to blend the conflicting identities and ideologies of Africa in the wake of colonization. The novel depicts the destructive tension that arises between the traditions of the Igbo people and white colonizers, but, perhaps contrary to the readers expectation, it does n ot present either side as holding the ethical high ground. Rather, the novel suggestsRead MoreChinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Essay2000 Words   |  8 PagesChinua Achebe’s novel â€Å"Things Fall Apart† chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entireRead MoreChinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Essay1736 Words   |  7 PagesThe classic African literary tale Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a brilliant account of historical African culture and the destruction colonialism can cause upon such cultures. As the reader fol lows the narrative and complexity of the characters through the novel, a sense of pride, trust, and faith in history emerges. Yet, with the introduction of colonialism the characters must learn to embrace and adapt to a new culture and set of beliefs or face termination from society. TheRead More Analysis of Achebes Impartiality in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart1098 Words   |  5 PagesAchebes Impartiality In Things Fall Apart   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Knowledge of Africa and the inhabitants of the massive continent were often portrayed as barbaric beasts by the first missionaries to enter the land.   Because of skewed writings by European missionary workers, a picture was painted for their readership of a savage Africa saved only by the benevolent, civilized western influence.   Achebe successfully attempts to redirect this attitude. Achebe educationally has the means to convey a different perspectiveRead More Existentialism in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay1635 Words   |  7 PagesExistentialism in Things Fall Apart      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chinua Achebe presents his audience with an interesting twist to a contemporary school of thought in his work Things Fall Apart.   This post-colonization narrative incorporates several traits that revolt against normative philosophic systems and tralititious theories and beliefs of the existence of man and his place in the universe.   Achebes efforts are characterized by a small diverse group of writers that purge realizations of predestinationRead More Missionaries Are to Blame in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart 842 Words   |  4 PagesMissionaries Are to Blame in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart      Ã‚   The burden and calling to reach out and help others, enfold many people in society throughout the world. Rich or poor, young or old, black, red or white, the motive is helping those with a need. As Chinua Achebe points out in his book, Things Fall Apart, though there is the aspiration to lend a hand, it can sometimes become deadly, and even fatal to the lives of people. Although the missionaries try help convert the Ibo villageRead More Okonkwo in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay973 Words   |  4 PagesOkonkwo in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart  Ã‚  Ã‚   Okonkwo, as presented by Chinua Achebe in the novel Things Fall Apart, wished to be revered by all as a man of great wealth, power and control--the antithesis of his father. Okonkwo was driven by the need to exhibit utmost control over himself and others; he was an obsessive and insecure man. Okonkwos father, Unoka, was a failure, a loafer, and People laughed at him (1426). This would bring great shame to any man as it did for OkonkwoRead MoreEssay on Gender in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart1881 Words   |  8 Pagescontradictions in the work of Chinua Achebe in relation to his placement of woman and femininity. Kristen Holst Petersen states that ‘the African discussion is between feminist emancipation versus the fight against neo-colonialism, particularly in its cultural aspect...which comes first, the fight for female equality or the fight against Western cultural imperialism’. This paper will attempt to highlight these contradictions in relation to Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Above all the tribe values