things fall apart :: essays research papers

How many different ways can one man evolve? Will he be the man that he wants to be or will he be the man that he fears most? These are some of the questions that would have to be asked when talking about the novel Things Fall Apart by Chunia Achebe. The main character  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Okonkwo starts this novel out by letting us know about how much he hates his father and that he will do anything to be the complete opposite. But by the end of the novel we will find out just how much he is like his father whether he likes it or not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Early on in the novel Oknokwo states his great dislike for his father because he is a lazy man that likes to depend on others and has a serous drinking problem. Because of this dislike for his father and the way his father chooses to live his life he decides to become the complete opposite of him. So to do so Okonkwo becomes a fierce wrestler and the greatest in the nine surrounding clans. So this gives him a great start in life even though that his father got him off on a bad foot and gave him much respect among all the villagers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then we start to learn about the violent temper that Okonkwo has. Everyone wasn’t scared of him they just respected him because of his wrestling capabilities. Until the incident occurred during Peace Week. During this time there was to be no violence among anyone in the villages. At all. But Okonkwo beat his wife badly because of one minor thing. She cut some leaves off of the banana tree to cook his food in to make it taste better.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then one day Okonkwo accidentally shot and killed a young boy in his village. For most villagers that would have meant death but for a high ranking Okonkwo it meant seven years of exile. This sounds bad and, is pretty bad but this is probable the best thing for him. This thought him to think before he acts upon his anger. During Okonkwo’s time in exile many things changed in the village, the mercenaries came and converted many of the villagers and built churches. So when Okonkwo was released from exile this patients that he acquired was probably the best thing for when he arrived or he probably would have been killed immediately.