Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna
At the start of the novel, Okonkwo took Ikemefuna from his home village, Mbaino as reparations for the murder of a member of Umuofia. Ikemefuna was openly taken in by the people of Umuofia and Okonkwo’s family. He was popular amongst Okonkwo’s children and even began calling Okonkwo father. This is why his death by the hands of Okonkwo came as even more of a shock and was even more heartbreaking to witness. Achebe never shied away from showing us the flaws and darker sides of Igbo culture. A prime example of this was when the oracle ordered the sacrifice of Ikemefuna, an innocent child. Ikemefuna’s death resulted in not only breaking the Okonkwo's armor of masculinity but also drove Nwoye away from Okonkwo and the Igbo way of life. This is how Ikemefuna’s death was not only one of the strongest points of the characterization of Okonkwo but also acted as a catalyst for Nwoye’s conversion and questioning of Igbo beliefs.
Construction of the church
When the first Christian missionaries arrived in Umuofia they were quickly dismissed as nothing more than a small inconvenience. They were offered to build their church on the lands of the evil forest. The church’s construction represented the new physical and cultural presence of the British and Christians within Umuofia. The Umuofians expected the treacherous spirits of the evil forest to make quick work of the new church, but no such thing happened. This not only symbolized the historical failure of Nigerians to fight off their colonial invaders but also lead to many Umuofians to question their own traditional beliefs and converting to the new religion.
Okonkwo kills himself
The death of Okonkwo ultimately symbolized the death of the Igbo warrior spirit that was previously so prevalent within Igbo culture. This is why Okonkwo’s death represented the final blow Umuofia needed to be fully conquered by the European invaders. The District Commissioner's reaction to Okonkwo’s death also shows how westerners have continually failed to accurately portray African culture in literature. The district commissioner says that Okonkwo might serve as an interesting paragraph in his book “the pacification of the primitive tribes of the lower niger”, Okonkwo’s whole complex internal and external struggle was reduced to a single paragraph. Just how western literature has often failed to portray the complexity and depth of pre-colonial African culture. Lastly, Okonkwo’s suicide serves to show us that his whole goal to remain strong and masculine ultimately fails as suicide is a grave sin in Igbo culture.
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