Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, follows the...

Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, follows the tragic life of Okonkwo, a man who suffers a miserable fate due to the fear of failure that controls every action he makes. Though the fear of failure acts as motivation to become a successful and respected man at first, it later cripples Okonkwo in such a way that failure ultimately defines his life. Okonkwo is constantly afraid of being a victim of weakness and desperately tries to remain a strong and unyielding man. It is his overwhelming fear of weakness that causes things to fall apart in his life, as his attempts to avoid failure and weakness eventually lead to the ultimate defeat: his shameful suicide. Fear of failure and weakness dominates Okonkwo throughout his life. At first†¦show more content†¦Okonkwo’s unhealthy obsession of wanting to be an unbreakable man becomes so paralyzing that he no longer understands how to recognize the line between weakness and strength. His definitions of strength and weakness are so different from that of the other villagers that he feels compelled to prove himself worthy in ways that are not necessary in the opinions of others. Because of this, he leads himself to his own destruction and failure. It is Okonkwo’s contrasting views from the views of the others in the village that lead to his demise. When the villagers of Umuofia gather to have a meeting to discuss what actions to take regarding the white men, Okonkwo attends with the resolution that no matter what his fellow villagers decide, he will indeed avenge himself and act against the white men. During the meeting, however, five messengers come on behalf of the white men. Okonkwo is enraged by this and jumps forward, standing in front of the messengers and confronts them. When the head messenger says that they have come to end the meeting, Okonkwo becomes so infuriated that he kills one of the five messengers. When the villagers let the other messengers escape, Okonkwo realizes that his village will not go to war with the white men and disappears from the meeting. Later he is found hanging from a tree, dead. Okonkwo makes numerousShow MoreRelatedCommentary on Passge (Page 124-125) of Things Fall Apart by Chnua Achebe1162 Words   |  5 PagesIn this passage of Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist and main characters of the novel, Okonkwo, has just been sent into exile away from his land of Umuofia , Nigeria . The crime he has committed to receive such a punishment is the sin of murder. While he is attending a funeral for a man named, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, Okonkwo’s gun accidentally explodes and kills Ezeudu’s sixteen-year-old son. Killing a clansman is a crime against their earth goddess, thus, Okonkwo and his family are sentRead MoreEssay on Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe3009 Words   |  13 Pagescolonized societies and the ways in which writers articulate that identity. Things Fall Apart is a good novel that serves as a reminder of what Nigeria once was. It shows how a society can deal with change, how change affects the individuals of that society, and how delicate a change can be; so much so that the people themselves are surprised at the change. Things Fall Apart is an English novel by the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe which was published in 1957. Throughout the book the role of customsRead MoreThe Portrayal of Women in Things Fall Apart Essay1070 Words   |  5 Pagestendency to look at them more or less than a slave. Chinua Achebe’s post-colonial novel, Things Fall Apart, do at some points of the novel support the case of the subjugated African women in the course of Okonkwo’s life through the practice of polygamy, paying bride price, and the atypical case of Okonkwo beating his wives at slight frustration. In Okonkwo’s eyes, women are mere property and the ones that keep a man sane. But, it is also through Okonkwo, we see women – mothers (Ekwefi), wives (Ojiugo)