Okonkwo - Character

Okonkwo represents the masculine identities of the Igbo people. He is violent and uncaring. He choses to act instead of careful deliberation. These are very specific parts of the culture that he embodies, while he rejects the more intellectual parts of his culture. He is unable to adapt to change, because he finds it feminine. This is one of the biggest internal conflicts for Okonkwo. There is a divide between what the village wants him to do and his own morals.

Okonkwo is an example of a tragic hero. His tragic flaw his fear of the feminine and his excessive pride. His fear of being associated with anything feminine comes from his fear of failure. When we begin the story we are introduced to Okonkwo’s display of power at the wrestling competition. His greatness and his reputation as a very powerful and strong man is introduced. Then Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is introduced. The rest of the chapter focuses on him and his values. Unoka’s character is established here in order to provide context as to why Okonkwo behaves the way he does. As he grew up, Okonkwo saw his father, Unoka, waste his life doing what he loved instead of providing for his family. This affected Okonkwo greatly since he had to grow up with the village telling him that his father was a failure or an “agbala” or an old woman. Since his childhood, Okonkwo developed this fear of becoming like his father. This fear has been what drives Okonkwo to do the things he does. He created an unique identity for himself, separate from his father, and he earned the reputation of being very strong and successful.

Throughout the novel, Okonkwo is described as rash and violent. He has an infinite amount of restless energy that he channels in violent ways, like beating his wives and children. However, his energy is also a real benefit, because it helps him achieve greatness and prosperity within the society. Okonkwo is quite mean to his children and wives, since he beats them and constantly nags them. Okonkwo’s decision to kill Ikemefuna shows that he is very stubborn and afraid of being perceived as unmanly. He chose to go against what the people of his village deem appropriate, in favor for what he thinks matches up with his ideals. This decision highlights the lengths to which he will go to in order to avoid being unmanly. as it is one of the major internal conflicts of Okonkwo. His fortunes change for the worst when he accidentally kills the son of a village elder at the elder’s funeral. This led him to flee the village and live in Mbantu, his mother’s hometown, for seven years. After this, all of Okonkwo’s dreams of earning titles and becoming the most respected man in the village were lost. He had to essentially start from scratch in another village.

At the end of the novel Okonkwo kills himself because he saw that his village was becoming weak, after they refused to fight against the Christians. Since he came from a very respectable status, only to be brought down by a tragic flaw; his inability to act as anything he sees as unmanly. His act of killing the messenger then killing himself acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s ironic, since Okonkwo’s fear of ending up like his penniless and titles father without a proper burial and a dishonorable death came true as he was trying to avoid it at all costs. When he killed the messenger, it was a desperate act of self-preservation and a last opportunity for him to reassert his manhood to the village. The shame of this failure ultimately led him to suicide.