Things Fall Apart: Character & Key Quotes: Okonkwo

Character: Okonkwo

Protagonist of “Things Fall Apart”.
Characterised by physical strength, self-discipline, and a strong ambition to not replicate his father’s failures.
Embodies traditional male characteristics and societal expectations of the Umuofian society.
His downfall is partly because of his inflexible adherence to traditional norms and his inability to adapt to change.

Fear of Failure and Weakness

Okonkwo’s profound fear of weakness and failure, attributed to the utter failure of his father Unoka, drives his behaviour and decisions.
His fear leads him to harshly reject his father’s identity, “he had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his father.”

Masculinity and Power

Okonkwo’s masculinity is explicitly linked to aggression, control, and dominance. He sternly believes that “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children he was not really a man.”
His conception of power and control is often demonstrated in his temperament and how he handles situations, “When he walked, his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody.”

Tradition and Norms

Passionately devoted to the traditional laws, believes in physical courage and tribal warfare as the benchmark of honour and respect.
Okonkwo’s belief in the traditional customs is reflected in his action, “He was a man of action, a man of war…On great occasions such as the funeral of a village celebrity, he drank his palm-wine from his first human head.”

Okonkwo’s relationship with Unoka reflects his profound hatred for his father’s failure and aids in driving his ambition.
His relationship with Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, is strained as Nwoye expresses a latent preference for his grandfather’s gentleness over Okonkwo’s tough discipline.

Succumbs to his fear of weakness, ultimately resorts to suicide, a highly detested act in his society.
His character development is a tragic trajectory from being a local hero to a discontented exile, and finally to a distraught individual.

Okonkwo’s life elucidates the pressures of societal expectations and the adverse consequences of an inability to balance tradition with change.
His character provides an insight into the complexities of societal norms, individual personality, and the subtleties of human vulnerabilities.