Things Fall Apart - Okonkwo

Okonkwo's path through life was not easy, but he was a cowardly failure for committing suicide. Born as the son of a lazy farmer, Okonkwo's only choice in life was to be the antithesis of his father, Unoka. Where his father was physically weak and ill disposed to hard work, Okonkwo possessed great strength and athletic prowess. Okonkwo's physical accomplishments in wrestling brought him respect of the clansmen and made him a hero. He parlayed this physical dominance into a reputation as a fierce warrior proud of his superior village. Unoka was so poor he had just one wife; Okonkwo had three wives and numerous children. Unoka had taken no titles; Okonkwo had taken titles and wanted to buy more and so on.

Okonkwo thrived on the structure of the Umuofia society. He may have been born poor, but the caste system of Umuofia allowed him to advance in society. In addition to his reputation as a prideful warrior, Okonkwo's physical strength and work ethic helped him find a sponsor for his farm. Though he was required give up two-thirds of his crop as a sharecropper, Okonkwo still was able to establish a successful large farm. His well-kept farm earned him the respect of his peers. He earned his place in the egwugwu and his opinion was respected among all the villagers. The farmers followed the same pattern of work during the dry season, planting after the first heavy rain and harvest. The rituals of harvest and preparing the Earth were soothing some.

Even when he offended the gods by beating his wife during the week of peace or accidentally killed another man with a shotgun, Okonkwo accepted the punishment dictated by the gods. Okonkwo took his family and fled to the motherland for seven years of exile. As a self-made man, giving up his homestead to be burnt to the ground had to be a substantial blow, yet he weathered it because it was what was expected. He took great pride in sponsoring a glorious feast for his kin before returning to Umuofia.

The theme of Okonkwo's sons further demonstrates this adherence to social mores. Nwoye was the oldest of Okonkwo's biological sons and Ikemefuna was a boy taken by the village as retribution and placed in Okonkwo's care. Nwoye was more like his Unoka. He liked the gentle things in life. He preferred his mother's soft children's tales more than the bloody tales of battle his father shared. He worked hard, but was never able meet his father's expectations. These 'failures' were punishable by beatings. When Ikemefuna came, he was a hard worker with a physicality that quickly won Okonkwo's favor. In short, Ikemefuna was the son Okonkwo had always wanted. Ikemefuna's presence helped heal a rift between father and son. Nwoye looked up to Ikemefuna and tried to emulate him. During the three years together, the boys became very close. Okonkwo took pride in both if his sons. When Umuofia decided Ikemefuna's