Things Fall Apart - by Chinua Achebe (Diverse Cultures Essay)

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe a) Describe in detail your impression of Okonkwos character having read part one of the novel. b) What is Okonkwos response to the arrival of the white man, and how does he cope with the changes that come about under the influence of a different culture. c) Describe your own reaction to Okonkwos actions at the close of the novel. a) Okonkwo is a senior member of the Ibo tribe in Nigeria at the end of the last century. He is an extremely complex character, and in my opinion has two very different sides to his personality. On one hand, Okonkwo is seen as a powerful, respected man, who is well known throughout his home village of Umuofia and beyond. He is a brave fearless warrior, who as†¦show more content†¦He expects them to all grow up to be brave fearless warriors, rather like himself. He also tends to compare himself to his sons too much, which is not entirely fair, as he lived in such different circumstances from them, and had to adapt to a much harder way of life. This results in his children not having a very good relationship with him. In fact, they are quite terrified of him, and it does not require much imagination to see why. His relationships with his wives are not any better, as he has very sexist ideas as to how relationships between husband and wife should be. He believes them to be the inferiors of men, and acts in a very impatient and rude manner towards them, treating them with no respect whatsoever. Nevertheless, I am sure that he cares for them in his own way, but being Okonkwo, does not have a very good way of expressing it. However, it is not entirely Okonkwos fault that he thinks in this way, as the society in which he lives imposes such narrow minded views as to how a woman should behave towards and be treated like by her husband, so he sees the way in which he treats his wives as commonplace, and sees nothing wrong with it. Regarding the laws and religions of his clan, Okonkwo tends to adopt the views of the majority, and has an inclination to follow them blindly, without much thought. He is completely against individuality and new ideas, and believes very strongly in the old way of going about things. He is not one to ponder uponShow MoreRelatedThings Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe1324 Words   |  6 Pages Chinua Achebe chose to write his novels in English to reveal a deep response of his people to colonisation and to make that response understood to people all over the world. 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