Okonkwos Fall

Blake Rose
In, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe there is a man known as Okonkwo. He is the
protagonist in the story. Throughout this book its easily seen how great of a warrior Okonkwo is,
but everyone contains flaws. This has been shown overtime, from Achilles to Hamlet, many great
warriors who have been defeated by one major defect. Okonkwo is driven to be all things
masculine from beating his wife and kids to acting violently when he feels the urge is necessary.
Everyone who knows him knows hell do anything to show hes not weak like his father, but in
his downfall he does something cowardly, by hanging himself. Okonkwos downfall is generated
from being perceived as weak, just like his father was his entire life. Sometimes, a persons fear
of being something they dont want to be, can overshadow their life causing them to act in certain
ways.
Being perceived as weak was Okonkwos biggest fear, as he grew up with a father who
lived day to day and was never financially stable. The perception of his dad starts off on page 4,
as the text reads, In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking
about tomorrow. If any money came his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of
palm-wine, called round his neighbors and made marry. This represents his lack of money, but
when he received money, hed waste it on a drunken habit. It also talks about how he was lazy
and not willing to put in any work. This is the perceived outlook on his dad, who eventually was
so looked down upon they didnt even consider his death to be a tragedy. His dads poor
upbringing of Okonkwo created something desirable out of his son. Luckily, in their culture,

Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to
the worth of his father (page 8). This meant great things were to come of Okonkwo, he didnt
have to prove anything to anyone, but his fathers past doings created a warrior out of his son. He
also has a fear of his son containing feminine traits. It says in chapter 4, I will not have a son
who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. I would sooner strangle him with my
own hands. He takes it to the extent of saying hed rather kill his son, with his own hands. This
connects to his fear of someone going at him as weak and doesnt want a son who may destroy
his reputation.
A warrior is someone who will do anything to protect one of three things, which is his
community, his family, or his reputation. Okonkwo was destined to be great from the beginning,
he was suppose to rise from his fathers struggles. Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things.
He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages (page 8).
These line can imply the pressure that was placed on his shoulders even as a little kid, but they
also show his ability to step up and own those roles. This drive seen within the book is the fear of
being like his father. The differences were shown, He was a man of action, a man of war.
Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood (page 10). Hes a warrior, hes doing whatever
it takes to show hes not his dad. Many people believe that hes attempting to be his own person.
Usually when someone tries to be unique its out of a self found passion. Doctors spend years in
school, thousands of dollars, and all that time because they want to help an individual get
healthy. Okonkwos motivation may have no been all his anger towards his dad, but throughout

the book its very relevant. Hes so proud, he even beats his wives constantly, there are many
examples of the beating being so rough, they can hear her screaming through the walls. Even
though the priest comes and tells Okonkwo of his wrong doings, his pride gets stronger as he
tells people its not at his fault. Being perceived as strong due to your actions against enemies is
heroic, but when those actions are taken upon your own its a problem. That problem isnt
anyones, but Okonkwo being fearful of himself.
Therefore, its seen that he reacts in the moment and his actions in the moment dont
usually tend to disappoint. Okonkwo states this in chapter 24, Afraid? I do not care what he
does to you. I despise him and those who listen to him. I shall fight alone if I choose. This is
implying he will fight even if its a fight he cannot win, he will take on whoever, whenever. This
is significant because any moment anytime, hes saying hes willing to battle even if its alone.
This ties back into the beginning, where hes allowing his masculinity to clearly be seen. Theres
a scene near the end of the book where Okonkwo is in no position to act upon, but he does. An
individual he actually likes, whos name is Ikemefuna, is about to be killed, rather than helping
him, he brutally helps in his murder. This shows how he was scared of being perceived as weak
and his fear of showing emotion. Whats even more interesting is the reader sees emotion after he
finishes the young boy off. This isnt the first time his emotions showing up, but it reveals a side
that he doesnt want to reveal. This may be a personal concept for Okonkwo, but this happens to
many men who hold themselves with a high sense of pride. Its not easy for men historically to
be emotional because theyre suppose to be masculine. The culture hes incorporated with is fully

of manly men, guys who hold no mercy, kill people. Then theres Okonkwo a man who takes that
to a certain extent, where hes crazy.