Things Fall Apart Research Paper

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ESSAY ON THINGS FALL APART “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children.” In Things Fall Apart, Achebe likens Okonkwo to the most radical ideas of his culture. He is a pure product of his people. By exploring the Igbo customs that appear more controversial, Achebe creates an image of savageness in the face of the newly encroaching Christianity. Surely Oknkwo is not the only kind of man that Igbo the culture produces, but he promotes the tradition’s anger, violence, and power. His downfall and final sacrifice are relative to that of his religious enemy’s Jesus Christ. In this light, Okonkwo becomes a Christ-like figure for his own people, which makes the final scene of the novel all the more intense.”””” The Igbo tradition, as presented by Achebe, seems flawed in many senses to an outsider. While the culture has moments of extreme connectedness, fearsomeness,…show more content…
Okonkwo’s father himself was a weak man. He much preferred a calm life of playing the flute and drinking than working hard on the farm or becoming a skilled fighter like his son. Ultimately his father was left to die in the Evil Forest as a debtor. Okonwko strives to succeed in the all the places his father failed. Okonkwo becomes the strongest man in his villiage, and is famously known for “throwing the Cat.” He excels as a farmer and acquires three wives. In all respects of his culture, Okonkwo is a textbook example of what a man of the Igbo people should strive to be. The narrator comments on how “Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness,-the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.” (PPNEEDED) Okonkwo embodies the hatred of the Igbo culture. He enforces his views of manliness on his sons, and in particular on

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