Okonkwo Character Analysis

Okonkwo, the protagonist of the novel, “Things Fall Apart,” represents one of the most compelling creations in all of modern African literature and as a result is characterised as a heroic figure, who is additionally a tragically flawed individual. Being a character within a novel empowering the ideology of thwarting the one sided story, Okonkwo’s significance ultimately results in him embodying and contradicting his clan’s beliefs.

Okonwko symbolises hyper-masculinity, as he associates anything woman-like as attributing to failure. This inherent trait of his originates from his fear of becoming his father, since he “was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness.” Agbala, the name of a woman, given to his father, who had no title, instilled the fear in Okonkwo to  associate anything effeminate with failure. This is further highlighted by the patriarchal hierarchy of Igbo society, which is reflected in Okonkwo’s dealings, as he views status as success, in specific masculine accomplishments. One such accomplishment was the growing of yams, often referred to as the King of Crops. Despite acknowledging the aid women proved to be to him, Okonkwo manifests disregard to “women's crops, like coco-yams, beans and cassava,” while only considering the crops he plants as being worthy of praise. This masculine dominant attitude is thus brought to light by Okonkwo’s quick to anger attitude, as he claims a man unable to “rule his women…was not really a man.” Motivated by this, he hastily (on more than one occasion) beats his wives, even threatening to kill them. One one occasion, he even disrupted the sacred Week of Peace, upon realising that one of his wives was idly braiding her hair. His impatience and impulsiveness were the key factors in what contributed to him going against his beliefs however, “inwardly, he was repentant.” The result of this has the purpose of demonstrating moral ambiguity. Despite Okonkow’s anger and impatience in many situations, resulting in bad ethical choices, readers are able to sympathise with his character, due to experiencing catharsis (purgation), recognising the reasons behind is over the top attitude and empathising with the decisions and actions he takes and makes. 

Furthermore, as an Igbo, Okonkwo’s is representative of the values his society holds in esteem. This is demonstrated by the reverence and respect Okonkwo bestows upon his clan, as he is constantly adhering to Igbo standards and traditional practices, all the while striving hard to achieve the honour’s his society holds as valuable. However,  acceptance of what society wants often results in unnecessary consequences. As aforementioned, the fear of seeming weak was the driving force in majority of Okonkwo’s actions. He effectively followed the urges of his clan, upholding the law when accepting Ikemefuna to live with him. Soon enough, he became fond of him, often finding ideal qualities in his adopted son. However, when the time for his prophesied death came, Okonkwo was urged to not “bear a hand in his death.” Nevertheless, Okonkwo killed him, for the sheer fact of being though as weak. Here, it becomes increasingly evident that not all of Okonkow’s decisions that were following Ibgo tradition embodied their principles. Additionally, he is unable to accept the change after he returns from banishment (of 7 years), upon seeing missionaries. This majorly contradicts Igbo standards, as they are known as a people accepting change, especially when considering social status and role structure.

Consequently, the desire that he demonstrates, to preserve Igbo culture against the encroaching influence of the colonial usurpers, is his ultimate downfall, as it is highlighted by his hamartia and inability to compromise. Thus, Okonkwo’s blind obedience towards his societal norms results in a hyper-masculine attitude, stemming from his inability to recognise balance within Igbo society, eventually casing him to relinquish to major extremes, i.e suicide.