Things Fall Apart - Essay Example

The fact that he has three wives in and of itself illustrates his misogynistic nature and attitude. He is terribly cruel to his son Nwoye, as he feels that Nwoye is not masculine enough and that he is feminine and weak. Nwoye begins to behave in more masculine ways to please his father Okonkwo, as anything less is simply unacceptable and can lead to a beating from his father. Okonkwo is a portrait of dominant male ideology as he causes his family a great deal of pain and suffering because of this ideology.

Okonkwo is rarely able to display emotion and is depicted as first and foremost, seeking to be masculine and in control. He is depicted however, at one point in the story, as a concerned parent, when he ventures out looking for Ezinma, after she is taken by Chielo. The reader also sees throughout the piece, Okonkwo’s difficulty in dealing with change in his environment, especially from a racial point of view. White men are coming to his village and living among his clan, only to cause Okonkwo to feel threatened and then to finally feel defeated.

This is understandable as the white settlers only seek to change the ways and beliefs of the natives of Nigeria. These expressions of anti-colonialism seem to reflect the ideas of Achebe as well, as a prevailing theme surrounding the colonists seems to be their inability to speak the language of the tribe. This is ultimately what prevents them from understanding the ways of the tribe. Interestingly, as much as Okonkwo opposes the white man and his religion (Christianity), his son Nwoye converts to this very religion.

Certainly, this is an illustration on the conflicts that arose during colonization. The white men brought their religion and beliefs to the Igbo people, and certainly Okonkwo represented the institution of tradition and culture. Further evidence of this is the fact that Okonkwo participates in the death of Ikemefuna, the sacrificial boy from a neighboring village