How is Okonkwo different from his father Unoka?
Okonkwo is successful, hardworking and violent, while Unoka is a failure, lazy and gentle. It is because of Unokas failure that causes Okonkwo to possess a personality very different from him, he was possessed by the fear of his fathers contemptible life and shameful death.
When did Okonkwo kill Ezeudu’s son?
How are the ramifications of this boy’s death different from those of Ikemefuna’s killing?
What is the relationship between Okonkwo and nwoye?
Nwoye is Okonkwo’s eldest son who Okonkwo considers irredeemably effeminate and very much like his father, Unoka. As a child, Nwoye is the frequent object of his father’s criticism and remains emotionally unfulfilled.
What is the author message in things fall apart?
The Struggle Between Change and Tradition As a story about a culture on the verge of change, Things Fall Apart deals with how the prospect and reality of change affect various characters. The tension about whether change should be privileged over tradition often involves questions of personal status.
What made Okonkwo kill himself?
Okonkwo’s death comes because he realizes that he has failed both the people and their goddess, Ani. Though he has the spirit to endure misfortunes such as the loss of his yams during the drought that hit Umuofia, the traumas of exile, and the humiliation of imprisonment, he does so with others.
How does the author describe Okonkwo?
Achebe describes him as “tall and huge” with “bushy eyebrows and [a] wide nose [that gives] him a very severe look.” When Okonkwo walks, his heels barely touch the ground, like he walks on springs, “as if he [is] going to pounce on somebody.” Okonkwo “stammers slightly” and his breathing is heavy.
How is Okonkwo and Unoka similar and different?
Unoka and his son Okonkwo appear to be polar opposites. Unoka was an ineffectual, dreamy man who achieved little. He loved music and drinking, was poor and lazy, took no titles, and died heavily in debt. He is also a wealthy man with two barns full of yams and three wives.
How does Unoka serve as a foil to his son?
A foil to Okonkwo, Unoka is not a successful or respected man. He plays music well and is able to weave and tell creative folktales. This is in direct contrast to Okonkwo’s rejection of music and insistence on only telling cold and gory war stories.
Who is to blame for Okonkwo’s death?
Okonkwo is responsible for his death because he has remained stagnant while his village and family are changing. His entire life was measured against his father so he never established his own sense of identity — he just wanted to be opposite of his father.
How does Okonkwo die?
With a feeling of hopelessness, Okonkwo gives up and hangs himself. He commits suicide because he cannot deal with the changes that the Christian white men are making in his village.
Did Okonkwo kill Ezeudu?
Okonkwo’s accidental killing of a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, and he knows that he and his family must leave Umuofia for seven years. In the literary tradition of the tragic hero, Okonkwo’s undoing continues with his accidental killing of Ezeudu’s son.
Is Okonkwo a hero or a coward?
Okonkwo is a tragic hero in the classical sense: although he is a superior character, his tragic flaw—the equation of manliness with rashness, anger, and violence—brings about his own destruction.
What does nwoye symbolize?
Okonkwo symbolizes the fire, Nwoye symbolizes the wind, and Ikemefuna symbolizes a wilting flower. Okonkwo, the main character in the story, can be described as fire for various reasons.
Why is Okonkwo not a hero?
In conclusion Okonkwo was not a hero because he would have fought for what he believed in which was his culture and believes. If he was my hero he would have never given up even though his entire clan betrayed him and instead of committing suicide he would sacrifice himself for the cultures and beliefs of the clan.
Why is nwoye attracted to Christianity?
Nwoye is drawn to Christianity because it seems to answer his long-held doubts about his native religion, specifically the abandonment of twin newborns and Ikemefuna’s death.
How does Unoka influenced Okonkwo?
Unoka exerts a powerful and entirely negative influence on his son’s life. Okonkwo sets out to be everything that his father was not: rich, strong, fierce, respected, a great warrior, and a pillar of the tribe.
Why did Okonkwo kill Ezeudu’s son?
Ogbuefi Ezeudu’s death is announced to the surrounding villages with the ekwe, a musical instrument. Okonkwo’s gun accidentally goes off and kills Ezeudu’s sixteen-year-old son. Killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, so Okonkwo must atone by taking his family into exile for seven years.
What is the purpose of nwoye’s point of view?
Nwoye’s point of view allows Achebe to question some of the village traditions and culture.
Was really Unoka a failure?
Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. But Unoka was such a man that he always succeeded in borrowing more, and piling up his debts.
What did Okonkwo hate?
Umoufia was becoming all that Okonkwo hated. He interpreted Umoufia acceptance of the white-man’s co-existence as weak and failing. Like his son Nwoye, he hated them. As his family, his traditions, his culture and his home fell apart Okonkwo feared for himself.
What type of character is Unoka?
Unoka is Okonkwo’s father. Though he is a talented musician, he is lazy and irresponsible, falling into debt and bringing shame upon his family. Unoka’s bad reputation in Umuofia haunts Okonkwo throughout the novel.