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.
Furthermore, he had shown incredible prowess as a strong warrior. Though Okonkwo was on the path to greatness, he still feared ending up like his
In Chinua Achebe’s masterpiece Things Fall Apart he portrays the evolution of Okonkwo, a tribal leader, struggle to get out of poverty, and the colonization of Africa. Due to the colonization of his country and the changes it had brought caused the tear in Okonkwo’s tribe leaving him with nothing, and leading to his fate. Okonkwo had started his life from the very bottom, and he clawed his way to the top of social status in his tribe. Okonkwo didn’t receive any help from his family, causing his to put very high expectations on all his children. Just like Okonkwo, his village had high expectations for all it people, but those expectations were not kept for long.
He performs fatal flaw and banishes on behalf of it only to come back seven years later in a complete disappointment. All his life Okonkwo has been an undefeated man who is respected, honored and titled. Nevertheless, his anxiety of weakness and failure lead to his ultimate defeat.
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.
Rather than being killed by the men he despised he took his own life. Actions have consequences and in killing three people he realized he was not exempt from that rule. Upon his newfound cognizance he took a cowards way out which is also an abomination to their clan. While Okonkwo was an impressive figure to the people of Umuofia because of the warrior he had become for his own self-gratification he died just like his father; titleless. If Okonkwo hadn’t been so petrified of being seen as weak he could’ve lived to be more, but the persona he built wasn’t prepared to enter his new world of an
Okonkwo strives to be a better person than Unoka ever was or would be. Do to his father’s action Okonkwo had a rough childhood and grew up without inheriting a title or a farm. Okonkwo did everything he could so that he could rise to the top and show that he was nothing like his father. Okonkwo would never let anyone of his family be like his father.
Okonkwo is supposed to fight back for his village and not stop until he gets it done. In the story Achebe quotes, “He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood.” (Chapter 2). Okonkwo loved action and violence. That is how he believes things should get done.
He even characterized his father as being woman like. Okonkwo got angry very easily when dealing with things that he didn’t like such as a weak man. Showing love and affection wasn’t something that he did very often, not even to his family. He thought that it would make him look weak if he showed affection. Okonkwo portrays really violent stubborn and irrational behavior so he isolates himself.
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.