Assignment of paper no-14 Character portrayal of Okonkwo

Topic :- Character portrayal of Okonkwo

Name :- Divya Vaghela
Batch :- 2018-20
Roll no :- 07
Enrollment no:- 2069108420190044
Gmail ID:- vaghela.divya230@gmail.com
Paper no:-14( The African Literature)
Submitted to:- Department of English, MKBU
Total words :- 1545

• Brief information about Novel  :-


" Things fall apart" was a novel written by chinua Achebe. It was written in 1957, Nigeria and published in 1958. We can find period of post colonialism in novel . The novel's title was taken from W.B. Yeats's famous poem ' second coming' , one line was there like Things fall apart. Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian writer,he was  acclaimed for his unsentimental depictions of the social and psychological disorientation accompanying the imposition of Western customs and values upon traditional African society. His particular concern was with emergent Africa at its moments of crisis; his novels range in subject matter from the first contact of an African village with the white man to the educated African’s attempt to create a firm moral order out of the changing values in a large city.This is Achebe’s first novel, concerns traditional Igbo life at the time of the advent of missionaries and colonial government in his homeland. His principal character cannot accept the new order, even though the old has already collapsed.

•• Character sketch of Okonkwo:-


- Okonkwo was a main leading character from the novel. He was tall and has a good personality in his Igbo culture leaving in Umofoya land. He was a very good wrestler , because of this skill he was well known in Society. He was known by all near by villages and also in his village for his manliness. He was a son of Unoka.Unoka was idle, poor, profligate, cowardly, gentle, and interested in music and conversation. Okonkwo consciously adopts opposite ideals and becomes productive, wealthy, thrifty, brave, violent, and adamantly opposed to music and anything else that he perceives to be “soft,” such as conversation and emotion. He is stoic to a fault. So, he don't like his father and their habit. He want to be totally differ from his father.His father don't get good fame,as he hasn't done any men kind of work. So, Okonkwo want that he should proved as men, with hardworking. Further in novel we can find Colonialism, Gender issues, Class and caste conflict, Masculinity of men, Womens as subaltern and shown as dumb. Womens haven't right to speak or to present herself. She becomes only toy of men's hand. Okonkwo married with three wives it shows his attitude or Masculinity or to say Manliness of culture.Maybe in that to have a more numbers of wife ,is a good sign for men.One important thing was that it is not problem that with howmany women he is married,but the issue was that,How he treat them ? Was he accepted them well? Was he giving respect or bring only as a servant of house ; which supposed to do only work of house and they have nothing further in life. Okonkwo was a father of many children.For him the most important thing is to have a pride in culture, we find his character as too selfish, he is beautifying hisself,that he should be looking well. He is ready to do anything for Culture and cast but at the end we find that just his culture gave him betrayed.


•• Now for the further discussion of Okonkwo I taken some articles ; with it's argument I will talk more.

1] Okonkwo's fate and the worldview of Things Fall Apart :- 


Okonkwo's fate and the worldview of Things Fall Apart This article argues that despite the apparently exhaustive critical attention paid to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (1958), certain key aspects of the novel's meaning remain unresolved. At the heart of the problem lies the question of how to interpret the reasons for Okonkwo's downfall or fate. The article suggests that a number of different sources of explanation appear to be plausible at various levels, but it goes on to demonstrate that at least some of these putative explanations are incompatible if not mutual-ly exclusive. The more general difficulty arising from this is that several of these explanations are underpinned by worldviews which differ from and even conflict with each other. The article intends, therefore, through an ex-ploration of the possible reasons for Okonkwo's demise, to consider what worldview the novel finally supports and, indeed, whether the novel's outlook is coherent at all. The chief conclusion is that although the overall perspective of the novel is highly complex, it does not necessarily follow that the actual meaning of the novel itself is either illogical or self-contradictory. Okonkwo and divine justice Throughout the novel, it is clear that the  world of Umuofia is predicated upon  a  spiritual  dimension  to  existence,  and  particularly  upon  a  sense that  the  universe  is  ordered  and  controlled  by  divine  justice.  Given  this religious  aspect  of  the  text,  it  is  worth  considering  to  what  extent  the novel  supports  the  notion  that  Okonkwo  is  punished  for  violating  the divine order. More specifically, it is  necessary to examine precisely how the novel conceptualises this divine order and, consequently, whether or not Okonkwo’s fate ought to be regarded as just and deserved.


2]  Analyzing the character of Okonkwo in Things fall apart.


So, in this paper the writer says thatThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe documents the civilized and rich life the Igbo had before the arrival of Europeans and the ruinous social and cultural consequences that the arrival of European missionaries brought. This contrast of life in Umuofia, is profoundly shown by the author through the characteristics and sufferings of the protagonist Okonkwo. Okonkwo was a character with great internal fear, self-esteem and extreme devotion and loyalty to his own culture and tradition.Okonkwo was a self-made, well-respected member of the Umuofia clan. He was renowned as a leader of his tribe and also as a successful farmer and warrior. Though outwardly stern and powerful, much of his life was dictated by internal fear. The fear of being lazy, coward and feminine in nature like his father.Further it talks about how and which kind of contribution gave Okonkwo to his clan. During the battle of two villages, Okonkwo got a young boy which not belong to his clan. That boy was taken care by Okonkwo.That boy likes Okonkwo's style and work ,he want to be like his,he was inspired too. He has a good friendship with Okonkwo's old son. About that son Okonkwo believes that he should not be like his grandfather. Okonkwo want his boy as him. He should not be proove as a lazy and not working man.After some month one old man from clan came to Okonkwo and said him that ,now this is the time to kill that boy , because he doesn't belong to our clan. You should not keep him further. At that time without any kind of thinking he kills that boy, without any faults of boy.So, it Prooved that for his clan he is able to do anything.



•• One of Okonkwo‟s tragic flaws is his carelessness. It happens when he, due to his carelessness, accidentally kills a boy from his clan. It happens when Okonkwo comes to Ezeudu‟s funeral. During the ceremony, Okonkwo‟s gun explodes suddenly. A piece of iron pierces the heart of one of Ezeudu‟s sons. Even though the death is accidental, the act is abomination to the Igbo.It is clear that even though Okonkwo accidentally kills the boy, the act is still forbidden in their clan. It is against the earth goddess and Okonkwo should be punished. As a punishment, Okonkwo is to be exiled for seven years, and the next morning some men come and destroy Okonkwo‟s house. They also kill his animals and set fire to the building. This accidentally event becomes the starting point of Okonkwo‟s next tragic flaw.The end of Okonkwo‟s seven years of exile draws near. The white men and their Christianity foothold have grown stronger. The Mbanta community adjusts to the new situation. Okonkwo is contemptuous of his mother‟s people‟s accommodating response to the ever-growing strength of the new Christian community. In Umuofia, Okonkwo discovers that many things have changed. Many men of title have converted and joined the Christians. The white men have not only sought converts and built churches; they also have set up a government and a court system. It is the system that does not respect their traditions or social order.


Conclusion:-


 To sum up, we can say that the okonkwo for  his clan ,caste , culture ,his attitude were more important things. He spents his whole life for showing musculanity , showing hisself as Men, not giving respect to the womens,but at the end we find that no one will come to save us or for our last days nobody would came for to look. When Okonkwo returns village after seven years , he finds village was quite changed ,and people are accepting Christianity. When he raises his voice against white person , and decided to do suicide rather then giving space for them. At the end ,when he committed suicide nobody was come for his funeral ceremony. Moroever they said that it is there in culture that , if you committed suicide then nobody will come to touch us. So , all goes in water that ,for whatever he is doing all in reflection he doesn't get anything. I think I am also agree with that with proof reading.


• Works Cited

 •• Foley, Andrew. Okonkwo's Fate and the worldview of Things Fall apart. Tuesday August 2001. sunday March 2020 <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268061703_Okonkwo's_fate_and_the_worldview_of_Things_Fall_Apart>.

 •• Habib, Md Arafat. Analyzing the character of okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. Tuesday November 2014. Sunday March 2020 <https://www.academia.edu/12370094/Analyzing_the_character_of_Okonkwo_in_Things_Fall_Apart>.