Things Fall Apart Okonkwo Character Analysis Essay

In the novel Things Fall Apart, strength and pride are very important aspects of the main character, Okonkwo, however, these traits may sound like excellent traits to possess but because of the way he was raised, Okonkwo harbours many of his emotions under an outer shell of violence, strength and pride. His traits can be shown by looking at where he has come from in his life, for example, Okonkwo has acquired a large amount of wealth in his life because of his hard work and dedication which he also puts towards his family, unfortunately, his family also suffers greatly because of this due to Okonkwo’s high expectations of his children and his violent ways when they do not live up to them. Secondly, Okonkwo possesses hidden emotions that†¦show more content†¦Okonkwo’s harbouring of his sentimental emotions is a crucial part of his personality which makes him the way he is, for example, Okonkwo hates music because of the emotion that is required to create it, he rejects the idea of meaningful conversation because he considers it to be soft, and as he ages, he is rejecting the increasingly obvious fact that violence does not constitute inner strength. Firstly, it is revealed in the novel that Okonkwo does not like music and that he is bad at playing it which shows that he lacks the ability to express his emotions through listening to or creating music. Furthermore, Okonkwo’s ideals of not liking conversation and considering them weak goes against the mentality of his village which believes that â€Å"conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.† Lastly, as Okonkwo gets older, he is slowly realising that his violent ways are not truly making him a strong person but are in fact, slowly destroying him but Okonkwo refuses to accept this and continues with his violent attitude. Okonkwo has trouble revealing his true emotions ad even though they are present, he would never express th em to anyone. Okonkwo may try to act â€Å"manly† and strong when in the presence of others, but Okonkwo does possess sentimental emotions that he claims to view as weak which make up anShow MoreRelatedEssay Character Analysis of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart541 Words   |  3 PagesIn the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is portrayed as a respected and determined individual whose fatal flaw eventually works against him. Throughout the novel the readers are shown that Okonkwo has many of these Characteristics because he is obsessed with the idea of becoming just like his father. This becomes his flaw in the novel that puts him into exile and makes it hard for him to adjust to the changes that were made with in his village. 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