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Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart

11 Pages 2769 Words October 2017

nkwo attempts to work hard, provide for his family materially, be brave, and be masculine in every possible way. As a result, Okonkwo’s becomes successful in many ways – he becomes very wealthy, holds a high-ranked position in the community, has three wives, and is known for his skill as a wrestler and warrior. According to Solomon Iyasere on his text named “Narrative Techniques in Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo’s manliness is clear, For the most part, Okonkwo resorts to violence in order to maintain control of a situation and assert his manliness”(Iyasere). Okonkwo is renowned as a wrestler, a fierce warrior, and a successful farmer of yams that is considered a manly crop. He has three wives and many children who live in huts on his compound. Throughout his life, he wages a never-ending battle for status; his life is dominated by the fear of weakness and failure. He is quick to anger, especially when dealing with men who are weak, lazy debtors like his father. However, Okonkwo overcompensates for his father's womanly ways, of which he is ashamed of, because he does not tolerate idleness or gentleness. Even though he feels inward affection at times, he never portrays affection toward anyone. Instead, he isolates himself by exhibiting anger through violent, stubborn, irrational behaviour. Okonkwo demands that his family work long hours despite their age or limited physical stamina, and he nags and beats his wives and son, Nwoye, who Okonkwo believes is womanly like his father, Unoka.
Unoka lacked responsibility. He was poor, lazy, and neglectful of his wife, and he did not have a plan for the future. During his life, he never took a title and, therefore, never gained status or respect from the villagers. Instead, they called him a loafer, and he was the laughingstock of the community. Kwaku Korang, author of Making a Post-Eurocentric Humanity: Tragedy, Realism, and Things Fall Apart argues that Unoka is deeply rejected in his t...

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