When Okonkwo was “angry and could not get his words quickly out enough, he would use his fists” (Achebe 2). Okonkwo’s violent personality traits cause him to make very irrational decisions that would later have future consequences. Despite that, his less than perfect tendencies did help him to achieve many goals throughout his life. However, the instances where they worked against him outweigh all other factors. Okonkwo is seen as a very painfully structured man and when something doesn't go according to his structure, it causes him to make irrational decisions.
In Othello by William Shakespeare, Iago deceives others, mainly Othello and Roderigo, due to his desire for revenge, an improved reputation, and power. Throughout the play, Iago uses his desire for revenge to deceive others, like Othello. Iago’s desire for revenge shows when he states, “For “Certes,” says he, / “I have already chose my officer.”/ And what was he?/ Forsooth, a great arithmetician, / One Michael Cassio, a Florentine” (1.1.17-21). Othello’s choice reveals Iago’s jealousy of Cassio earning the position which fuels Iago’s desire for revenge on not only Othello, but also on Cassio. Another time Iago deceives someone to build up his plan is when he tells Roderigo, “When she is sated with his/ body she will find the errors of
Okonkwo has a response to the collision of his culture. Okonkwo tries to fight the changes made by the Western people. Okonkwo’s response to the Western people trying to bring Western ideas into the Ibo culture are simply trying to fight back at the Western people with violence. Okonkwo is a strong and fierce leader, but throughout the story, he is challenged by the Western people and the cultural collision because Okonkwo is supposed to be the leader of Umuofia. Okonkwo is supposed to fight back for his village and not stop until he gets it done.
Okonkwo comes back to find he has lost his spot in the higher-ups of the clan “He had lost the chance to lead his war clan against the new religion, which, he was told, had gained ground.” (171)Achebe uses logos in this in order to give us an understanding of what happens on the punishment side of life. In this portion of the novel, Okonkwo is back in Umuofia, and he finds the tribe has been taken over by the missionaries. “The white missionary was very proud of him and he was one of the first men in Umuofia to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion, or Holy Feast as it was called in Igbo.” (174) Ethos occurs in this section because of who is meant to read this. Achebe wants to get his point across to Europeans and the western world; however, they would not read this if the white men were portrayed as evil and inaccurate. By using celebrations and sacraments that actually occur Achebe gains credibility of his work.
Consequently, he was a debtor who owed lots of cowries to many men. “After the death of Unoka, Okonkwo was ashamed to be the son of his father, because in his father’s lifetime, he didn’t take a title or even make a name for himself” (Achebe 8). Yet, the clan didn’t judge a man on the worth of his father, they judged a man’s worth according to his own actions. Unlike his father, Okonkwo was a wealthy farmer who had taken two titles in Umuofia. Furthermore, he had shown incredible prowess as a strong warrior.
Even though Achebe sets Okonkwo to his downfall, it is evident that Okonkwo is a great hero despite his rash behavior and temper. Generally, a tragic hero is born into royalty and has already attained the noble status. However, Okonkwo was born into a poor family, and according to Okonkwo his father was “weak and feminine”. Regardless his father’s failures Okonkwo acquires respect in the Igbo society by defeating a great wrestler: As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. (1) Okonkwo furthermore spends his hours toiling away in an attempt to earn his way up in the patriarchal society.
Okonkwo was one of the most famous and fearful member not only of his clan in Umuofia but other nine villages as well. He worked hard to become a renowned and prosperous member of his clan and to break away from the legacy of his father Okoye who was referred to as ‘agbala’, a man who has not won any title and was another word for woman. Okonkwo was not an evil man but his life was dominated by fear of weakness and failure which made him extremely violent and aggressive. He hated everything associated with his father- music, gentleness and laziness. But much to the anguish of Okonkwo, Nwoye embodied most of his grandfather’s traits and this enraged Okonkwo deeply.
Okonkwo is very aware of his self-image and wants to be viewed as a hero in the Ibo tribe. If Okonkwo was to act feminine he would not be seen as a hero, but he would be insulted instead. Okonkwo’s father was a very lazy, weak man with no desires or ambitions. Okonkwo strived to be the opposite of who his father was and wants to have a totally different reputation than his father. ‘Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala.
The decision to abandon his son becomes another example of Igbo’s inability to deal with change. By changing his religion, Nwoye disregard his father in the worst way. But Okonkwo cannot fight against his son because he is uninformed about the Christian culture. It seems that committing suicide is Okonkwo’s way of going against Christianity. But unfortunately this act not only takes his life but it also takes away the respect of Umuofia for
The prophet in Igbo culture announces that Ikemefuna should be sacrificed for the earth goddess. The men in the Umuofia clan, as a result, take Ikemefuna to the Evil Forest and perform the execution. An elder from the clan advises Okonkwo to not involve himself in this execution because Ikemefuna calls him “father.” Despite this, Okonkwo still joins the group to the Evil Forest. As the men walk toward the Evil Forest, their conversation reveals the reason for Okonkwo’s involvement: “the men of Umuofia talked and laughed about the locusts, about their women, and about some effeminate men who had refused to come with them” (Achebe 58). The group derides the people that are considered weak, including the men who did not get involved in the execution as well as women.