When the clan elders decided that Ikemefuna was going to have to be killed he was very saddened even though he didn’t show it. Okonkwo took in Ikemefuna in not knowing how long he was going to stay with us, Ikemefuna stayed with us for 3 years nobody thought he would be with us for that long. With him staying with us for that long he molded into our family, he became my “brother” and Okonkwo’s “second son”. Seeing them bond over the those three years i know for a fact that he must have been heart broken, but tried not to show that he was weak to the clan elders or the towns people.
In conclusion, in the book “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo has constantly made decisions that have affected himself and others in a negative way. In the book, Okonkwo makes countless decisions that had a huge effect on people such as himself, his family, and his clan. Decisions that Okonkwo has made that affected his life and the lives of others are killing Ikemefuna when he was not supposed to, killing a clansman during Ezeudu 's funeral, and committing suicide after he killed the messenger who was sent from the white man to stop Okonkwo 's meeting. These decisions had groundbreaking aftereffects that greatly changed people 's lives and their effects cannot
Ikemefuna, an adopted boy of Okonkwo, was cherished by Okonkwo because he exemplified manly traits that Okonkwo wanted in a weaker Nwoye, his real son. Eventually, Ikemefuna needed to be killed as ordered by the Oracle of the Hills without the assistance of his father, Okonkwo. But as we see on page 61, this did not transpire. “As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow.
“Emotionally conflicted, bipolar tendencies, or moodiness” (Byronic hero). “Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down, he did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna.” (Achebe 55). This quotation from chapter 8 demonstrates that Okonkwo is depressed that he killed Ikemefuna. Okonkwo does not want to seem weak so that's why he killed him.
The next incident was when Okonkwo shoots his gun, it immediately hit a little boy´s heart. This horrible act lead him into exile. Okonkwo had to ascertain how he was going to make it on his own. After being exiled for seven years, he comes back and realizes that some strange white men has come to his
Nonetheless, Okonkwo seldom heeds his feelings and never explicitly shows that they affect him, lest he be labelled as cowardly. Perplexing as it may sound, Okonkwo’s ardent endeavours to be as masculine and opposite of his father as can be are nevertheless precisely what induces his failure in realising these ideals. Since Okonkwo actively suppresses any attempt of resolving situations of crisis by reasoning, he finds himself facing no other option than suicide at the end of the novel. Okonkwo dies in disgrace just like his father, and therefore, his act of martyrdom is a
The embarrasment that Okonkwo experienced as a result of his father's failures stopped him from being able to develop into who he was really suppose to be. Due to witnessing his father's "cowardly" life, Okonkwo is so afraid of being thought of as weak that he is unable to accept any feeling or action that may result in it. Eventually, Okonkwo's can not longer continue his act and he takes his own life. 1st Body Paragraph Throughout his life, Okonkwo is ashamed of his father.
In “On Tragedy” Aristotle says “That the change of fortune presented must not be the spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity”. In “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo notices a reversal in his society after chopping a messengers head off “He wiped his machete on the sand and went away”(176). This quotation from chapter twenty-four demonstrates Okonkwo’s reversal of character after killing a messenger and getting no response or cheers from his fellow clansmen. Okonkwo’s reversal of character after this occurs is what sets up his suicide. This trait is shown by society’s development to deal with the missionaries and Okonkwo’s way of dealing with them is in conflict with the way his fellow villagers want to be handled.
In Okonkwo, the author establishes a character whose, “…whole life is dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). This fear that drives Okonkwo to success within the village also leads him to push away anything he sees as falling outside the social and cultural boundaries of the tribe. He kills his adopted son, Ikemefuna, because he is, “…afraid of being seen as weak,” and asks himself why, “…of all people, [he] should be cursed with such a son,” as Nwoye that breaks away from the tribe (Achebe 61 & 152). This fear of the unknown controls Okonkwo’s life and the decisions he makes.
Okonkwo starts to scorn Obierika for not coming to kill Ikemefuna. Obierika then said that Okonkwo shouldn’t have gone. What Okonkwo did is the type of deeds that the gods punish. It is against their traditions to kill a kinsmen. Okonkwo shows up for the negotiation of the bride price.
Okonkwo achieves this by gaining awareness of circumstances that lead to his fall, through a dramatic reversal of fate. At the end of part one and during part two of the book it's is revealed that Okonkwo would have to leave Umuofia for seven years because of a crime he committed. During the funeral of Ezeudu, a respected elder and warrior, Okonkwo accidentally kills the son of the deceased. Because his crime was an accident it was deemed as 'female’, this meant that as a punishment Okonkwo had to leave Umuofia for seven years and go to his mother's village in order to cleanse his own village of his sins. When Okonkwo arrives in his mother's village he is very sorrowful because everything he had worked for in Umuofia would be taken away.
He cannot bear to see the execution, therefore, he does care about Ikemefuna and shows sympathy. However, when Ikemefuna turns to him, Okonkwo cuts him down. Okonkwo believes showing his affection to Ikemefuna and hesitating to kill him conveys that he is woman-like and weak, someone who is manipulated by emotions and fears blood. In dread of ruining his reputation, Okonkwo uses violence to show his strength and his masculine
The group derides the people that are considered weak, including the men who did not get involved in the execution as well as women. This reveals that Okonkwo goes on the trip because he does not want to appear effeminate and be laughed at, which suggests he values his reputation greatly. Later in the scene, Okonkwo looks away when a man attacks Ikemefuna, but when Ikemefuna cries for help, Okonkwo slaughters him. This conveys Okonkwo’s internal struggle, which reveals the complexity of his character. Okonkwo is more than just a violent and
Okonkwo passes lots of life events that make him become very impending to his consequences. Okonkwo was looking forward to being named the greatest in his clan. It all starts to fade as he commits his three greatest mistakes which lead him to get so far from his goal in which they can’t be undone. His first mistake happened during the week of peace when he furiously beats his wife as he accuses her of her negligence since she
But in my eyes Okonkwo was made to hate people, whether it being Ekwefi or Unoka. But there is ways there treatment was different, Ekwefi was his wife who he tried to basically kill. And shoot. As oppose to his father who he didn’t like because of whatever reasons he had. This info gives me all the clues to say yes Okonkwo was sympathetic if you look at the patterns.