Fear Of Failure In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo Falls Apart A survey taken by The World Bank during 2017 shows that 31.31% of Africans have a Fear of Failure that prevents them from setting up a business. The novel Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe presents many themes such as: Tragic Hero, Culture Clash, and Fear of Failure. The Fear of Failure was a drive for the main character Okonkwo. It drove him to become impersonal with many relatives, be overly aggressive, and eventually lead to his death. Okonkwo had not allowed his father, Unoka to form a personal bond with him. Unoka was considered an Agabal; woman, by the tribes men. Unoka’s lack of merit and utter laziness caused Okonkwo to want to be better than Unoka, and immerse himself in their cultural roles, by becoming a man. The fuel that had fed Okonkwo’s motivation to be a better man was his fear of failure. The author describes this theme, “ Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and ever beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements…, he had no patience with his father.”[3] In other words, Okonkwo had used his disgust of his father’s lack of achievement as a motivator to become a well known person in Umiwafia. This disgust however, had lead to a distaste

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is an important piece of literature due to its ability to convey a Culture Clash from the African view point, introduces a loveable character with a tragic flaw that motivates him to his death, and a culture that introduces the fear of many. Okonkwo shows how his fear lead him to dislike anything associated with his father; laziness, agabala, and lack of achievement. Eventually after the arrival of the missionaries Okonkwo soo felt the same about his culture and life. No one cared, but him. He was ignored like a messy room that needs to be cleaned. This brought Okonkwo grief and eventually the rapid change in his culture was the force that lead to Okonkwo’s death, Fear of Failure was the noose that was tied and waited to be