The analysis of ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe Essay

Sarah Ernst
Mr. Hayes
World Literature
13 May 2016
Okonkwo A Morally Ambiguous Character
The novel, Things Fall Apart, is about tribal communities in colonial Nigeria in the 1890s. In this time, there is a period of unrest between the local tribes and the colonizing British missionaries and officials. Into the 1900s there was tension because the British were in favor of ending the slave trade in place for palm oil trading. The Nigerian villagers and leaders did not like this because they profited from the trade of criminals and prisoners of war. The British were given permission by other european leaders to take responsibility for much of West Africa after the Berlin Conference in 1884 and 1885. The people of the specific region had no knowledge of this deal. This sudden invasion had an outcome of tension and distrust. This resulted in a massacre of African locals and the missionaries. Okonkwo is the son of Unoka in a village that becomes invaded by these missionaries. He has an inward fear of becoming like his father, a poor, cowardly, gentle, and feminine character. Okonkwo adopts the opposite ideals of his father, such as rich and powerful, confident, strong, and manly. He is becomes a wrestling champion at the age of eighteen to prove this. After that match, his success grows. Many would consider Okonkwo a morally ambiguous character because he participates in evil behaviors, but has a passionate heart. He could be closely compared to Odysseus from The Odyssey.
With a terrifying exterior, but a passionate heart, Okonkwo struggles internally with both his past and the changing world around him. This causes him to morph into a morally ambiguous character, fearing failure and rejection and struggling with masculinity. Okonkwo is unable to foresee the consequences of his actions, so they ultimately destroy his relationships with his village and family and result in his own tragic downfall. He feared the thought of becoming like his father, making him take on significant and often savage rolls in his environment, such as becoming a skilled warrior. He does this in order to make himself seem worthy and to compensate for his father's embarrassments. The book states, "Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He was still young but had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife" (Achebe 8). This shows how Okonkwo started to become successful at being the opposite of his father. He became a powerful man whose life was on track and he accomplished his goals. This displays how he is starting to become a morally ambiguous character because he is set up as having a great life, but starts to do things that might make the reader question him. This is significant to the novel because his life is seemingly perfect at the beginning. He is everything he wanted to be, but things start to fall apart.