Okwonkwo Character Analysis

Okwonkwo, the novels main protagonist, is a lot more complex than meets the eye and is often used by Achebe to advance certain themes or purposes in the story. While Okwonkwo may not be a traditional tragic hero, he shares many traits of a tragic hero. Firstly, his tragic flaw, which can be excessive pride, is the thing that eventually leads to his downfall, his death. He commits a crime and the consequence is a punishment that is arguably too harsh, With that being said, Okwonkwo never really comes to a realization that his downfall may be a result of his wrongdoings or his tragic flaw. Choosing Okwonkwo as a tragic hero is a way for Achebe to be able to relfect on the entire Igbo society. If Okwonkwo is symbolic for the entire society, then Achebe is inferencing that their downfall was due to their own doings. While being colonized and being taken over is not something that can be attributed to the Igbo people, their inability to fight back and to open their minds about other ways of thinking could have attributed to their destruction. Using Okwonkwo as a tragic hero allowed Achebe to not only expand Okwonkwo's character, but to also show all the different aspects of the society. If Okwonkwo is considered symbolic for the entire Igbo culture, Achebe has effectively been able to use him to advance several themes. Firstly, the theme of the struggle between cultural beliefs and personal beliefs is something that often comes up with Okwonkwo and other characters like Obierika. While cultural beliefs are often forced upon every person in the Igbo society, there are instances where each character must question whether the actions are justified or not. many characters, including Okwonkwo, were attempting to reach and equilibrium between their cultural and personal beliefs. Another theme that Okwonkwo is the staple of is fate, or destiny. Although Okwonkwo works hard his entire life and does everything he can to stay away from the reputation of his father, he keeps facing obstacles until he eventually dies as worthless as his father did. Again, if Okwonkwo represents the entire Igbo society, then colonization and destruction of the culture was an inevitable act. While they may have attempted to calmly drive the Europeans out, the eventual takeover of their land is something that could not have been stopped.

Passage Analysis

Passage 1: 

The ogbanje scene with Enzima 

Chapter 9 

In this scene, Okwonkwo is suddenly awoken by Ekwefi with news that Enzima is dying. Okwonkwo reassures Ekwefi that it is only a fever and he sets out buying her medicine. The audience is introduced to Ekwefi's character more and learns that nine of her other children have died as infants. A medicine man told them that it was an ogbanje, a "wicked" child that keeps entering its mothers womb and dies again, only to torment the parents. When Enzima was born, she suffered many illnesses but was able to survive. When Enzima was 9, a medicine man found her iyi-uwa, a small pebble that is Enzimas physical link to the spirit world. Enzima and Ekwefi have more than a mother and daughter bond. It is clear that in Igbo culture, for women, being a mother is highest possible rank a women could have. This passage also shows that because of the iyi-uwa, the Igbo culture really values the link between the physical and the spiritual world and that many people try to find a proper balance between these two things. The Igbo culture also tries to find some sort of spiritual and superstitious link between every phenomenon that occurs, such as all of Ekwefi's children dying. 

Passage 2: 

Legal Ramification of Okwonkwo's crime

Chapter 13  

Ogbuegfi Ezeudi's death calls for a large and elaborate funeral because he was a great man that took 3 out of the 4 clan titles. Okwonkwo's gun accidently goes off and kills Ezeudi's 16 year old son. Because killing a clansman is a crime, Okwonkwo must take his family into exile for 7 years and goes to his mothers land, Mbanta. Obierika questions why a man should suffer so much for an accidental killing. This chapter shows the importance of kinship and the consequences that violating that could have. the Igbo people highly value titles and the bond of the clan but when someone violates that, their punishment is very harsh. With that being said, men often question whether the punishment is too harsh 

Passage 3: 

Throwing out the twins into the evil forest

Chapter 7

When Ikemefuna is killed and Nwoye senses it, something inside him breaks. The  audience is then introduced to the idea that newborn twins are left to die when Nwoye shares that the first time he broke down was when he heard the cries of newborn twins that were left to die in the evil forest. In Igbo culture, twins were not allowed and they would be "thrown out" right as they were born. Again, this shows some questionable Igbo cultural practices. Nwoye and Obierika often question these traditions. The Igbo are very loyal to their beliefs and they follow the rules perfectly, but right as something may damage their way of thinking or change how they view the world, their punishment is often questionable. 

Chinua Achebe Interview Discussion

The most meaningful take is the fact that Achebe expressed how many societies, more than he imagined, his book impacted. He share that a school from Korea wrote letters to him about how they were able to connect with the book because Korea was colonized by Japan. The discussion about this specific topic began by talking about how not only was his book able to give a voice to the unheard, but was also able to empower societies all around the world. Another side of the discussion was the fact that it was the first actual piece of African literature that expressed the voices of the Africans and so it was able to not start well known African literatures, but allow many of them to become well known. A question that was asked in the discussion was about if the bad portrayal of African Americans impeded on their progress. As a general consensus, we all agreed that being put in a bad light may not completely worsen a countrys progress, but it certainly does not help it. This discussion not only allowed me to understand Achebe's point of view clearer, but also helped me put the entire novel into context.