In many ways, Okonkwo represents the Igbo warrior spirit. He is strong, resilient, hardworking and is proud of his heritage. Symbolically his death, therefore, represented the death of Nigerian and Igbo resistance against the British Colonialists. Okonkwo’s death is the end of Igbo warrior culture. Okonkwo’s character attributes and virtues also represent the internal contradictions of Igbo culture. Okonkwo for one, rose up through the social ranks of his village to become one of its chief leaders. Showing the emphasis on hard work and reward in Igbo culture. In other words, Okonkwo represents that anyone in Igbo society can rise the ranks. This comes in strong contradiction with the strong feeling of disgust Okonkwo has towards women and femininity and the Igbo custom of discarding twins and having outcasts, called “Osu”. Secondly, Okonkwo’s disrespect and dislike towards femininity or anything else he associated with women (including affection and emotion) contradict the Igbo tradition of female Oracles. Oracles were direct messengers of the gods and often became possessed by the gods. The most important job or social role in Igbo culture was done by women, even though many men, including Okonkwo, look down to women as being inferior and weak.
Throughout Things Fall Apart, Achebe’s characterization of Okonkwo almost perfectly fits that of a tragic hero. Despite Okonkwo’s many positive attributes such as his work ethic, loyalty to Umuofia, strength, persistence, and his ability to be a material provider; Okonkwo is heavily flawed. Okonkwo has excessive hubris, lives in constant fear of being perceived as weak, is unable to show emotions other than anger, is not able to adapt to change and is extremely stubborn. It’s Okonkwo’s fear of being perceived as weak which drives him to kill Ikemefuna. Okonkwo’s inability to show emotions beyond anger is what drives away his son, Nwoye. Finally, Okonkwo’s stubbornness and inability to adapt to change is ultimately what drives him to murder a British messenger and hang himself. Lastly, the novel concludes when Okonkwo goes through anagnorisis, when he realizes that his traditional way of life, the titles he had his whole life to gain, his family for which he had provided for had all left him.
If you were to meet Okonkwo on the street, the way Achebe described him in Things Fall Apart. You probably wouldn’t take too kindly to him. He is described as aggressive, excessive with pride and violent. However, because Achebe gives us such a deep insight into the inner workings of Okonkwo’s mind and soul; we are able to sympathize with him. We see that the only reason he is so aggressive and violent is his fear. We are able to relate to his internal struggle. Through this description of Okonkwo’s ambitions and fears, Achebe turns Okonkwo from a violent warrior into a complex tragic hero, to which we, the audience can relate to.
Okonkwo’s main contribution to the main themes and ideas of Things Fall Apart is that when we are unable to adopt different perspectives and adapt to change, we break, snap and fall apart. Okonkwo was unable to reason with the new British government, communicate with the new British missionaries and understand why his son, Nwoye converted to the new religion. Okonkwo’s stubbornness is ultimately his downfall. This contrasts strongly with Okonkwo’s foil, Obierika, who was able to see different perspectives, adapt to the new British government, and ultimately survived. Because Okonkwo, in many ways personified Igbo culture as a whole, his death helped represent why and how Igbo culture and Umuofia were crushed under colonialism. Okonkwo was unable to adapt to colonialism and so was Igbo society,
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