Okonkwo and Obierika

A comparative analysis of how the characters of Okonkwo and Obierika are representative of Ibo culture in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"

1,215 words () | 0 sources | 2003 United Kingdom

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the novel "Things Fall Apart", written by the African novelist Chinua Achebe, is a story about the change that the Ibo tribe goes through upon the arrival of the European missionaries. In particular, it looks at how Achebe is skilled in the fact that he shows both the culture of this tribe and the change it undergoes, through the characters of the novel and mainly through the most important one, Okonkwo. Another important character that catches the reader's attention is Obierika. It explores how both of these characters are successful heads of households, how they both depict certain values and customs of the Ibo culture and how they are integral to the novel in that they offer the reader insight into how the tribe "falls apart".

From the Paper:

"However, seldom do we find a hero with good qualities alone, and we soon find out that all of the aforementioned qualities were driven by the fear of becoming a failure like his father - a fear which drove him to many other, worse, qualities. The most prominent of these is his sternness and harshness in his dealings with people, deriving from a hate of gentleness and showing of emotions. Thus, he beats his wives and children, continuously shouts at them and is afraid to show any emotions he may be holding. These emotions are shown to us in his thoughts; for example, he shows his love for his daughter Ezinma by collecting medicine for her when she was dying, and his guarding of the cave of Agbala when Ezinma was summoned to her, as well as his feelings of loss when he kills his "son" Ikemefuna."