Okonkwo

The primary character of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, is quintessentially a proud man. It is this inbuilt pride that in many ways makes him a tragic hero. In an almost Shakespearean definition of tragic hero, Okonkwo pulls himself up from nothing by sheer stubbornness and pride only to have those exact characteristics play a part in his demise.

The drive for Okonkwo’s success comes from his distain of his father, Unoko. Okonkwo sees his father as shameful, lazy, effeminate and of ill-repute. He spends his time eradicating these traits from his own life. He becomes hard-working and ambitious. Starting with his wrestling prowess, Okonkwo trains himself to be a better person. He is successful in beating the previously unbeaten and respected wrestler named ‘Cat’, because he always landed on his feet.

Okonkwo marries three women and has several children. His relationships with his own children appears strained. His son Nwoye seems ‘soft’ and effeminate to him as he prefers to listen to folk stories rather than seek the masculine activities Okonkwo would like to see. He enjoys the company of his daughter Ezinma and her pragmatic nature but is regretful that she is not a boy thus allowing him to build on these traits. His temper alienates him from his wives and children who are aware a beating will follow anything that does not please him.

Despite what may be considered a tumultuous home life, Okonkwo achieves a high regard in the society and is chosen to host a ransom child named Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna is a part payment after his tribe kills a member of Okonkwo’s tribe. After some time the tribe chooses to kill the boy. Okonkwo eventually kills Ikemefuna himself out of fear that his failure to take responsibility in the execution would make him look weak.

After an accidental misfire that sends a shard of metal into an innocent bystander, Okonkwo is banished from the village of Umuofia for seven years. He is struck with shame and frustration. The crime itself is considered an effeminate one as it was unintentional and this stigma is shameful to Okonkwo who has fought so hard to be masculine in every way. He must leave the village where he had a high standing and return to his mother’s village, another feminine attribute that will haunt him. His compound is levelled and his farms destroyed, setting back years of progress and wealth. He retreats and starts a sombre exile. The message that fate can play a large role is lost on a man who felt he decided his own fate. He believed that he said yes and his ‘chi’ (personal god) said yes, but now thinks he said yes but his chi said no. This is not what he was taught by the elders.

While in exile, Okonkwo sees a nurturing side to community and repays this with a significant feast for those that host him. A sign that he has changed in many ways. When his son Nwoye meets and joins the newly arrived missionaries, he restrains himself from delivering a violent attack. However the world is changing fast and Okonkwo is still rooted in the old ways. He returns to Umuofia which is a new and transitioning village. His plans for a triumphant return are on hold as missionaries and colonists have a strong hold on the village way of life. He is arrested a short time after this along with the village elders. A fine is paid and Okonkwo swears revenge and war in his heart. He fears the village has compromised by not waging war against the intruders. The masculine, action-driven, village-oriented mindset takes over and Okonkwo takes things into his own hands by slaying a messenger. He immediately knows what will happen and takes his own life. A sad end to a proud warrior representing the end of an era in the community that once celebrated action and adhesion to culture above all else.

Okonkwo Quotes

Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Chapter 1

But he was always uncomfortable sitting around for days waiting for a feast or getting over it. He would be very much happier working on his farm. (About Okonkwo) Chapter 5

Okonkwo’s eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He sighed again, deeply. Chapter 17

Unoka

Although his death precedes the novel by a decade, Unoka is a main character because he has shaped Okonkwo’s life. Okonkwo has set his life path in complete opposition to his father’s. Unoka was lazy and is a burden to those in the community, especially his friends. He has no ambition to take a title or produce wealth. Instead he enjoys palm-wine, music and talking. This enjoyment of the arts is seen as effeminate in a culture that prizes the warrior spirit. There are anecdotes of Unoka owing large sums of money and having no intention to repay the ‘cowries’ even when asked by his close friend.

There is a moment when Okonkwo considers that his own child is the cold ash left from Okonkwo’s fire. If this is true then Okonkwo is the fire that has been revived from the smouldering ash of Unoko.

Unoka Quotes

Unoka was an ill-fated man. He had a bad chi or personal god, and evil fortune followed him to the grave, or rather to his death, for he had no grave. He died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess. Chapter 3

Nwoye

Nwoye is Okonkwo’s eldest son. He does not share the same drive and masculine focused traits of Okonkwo but it would be wrong to suggest he is like his grandfather Unoka. A symbol of generational change he is willing to question the world around him. He is willing to assist in the yam farming, despite being beaten if he fails at a task. He is willing to sit with Okonkwo and listen to stories of war however he has a mind of his own. This is deeply troubling to Okonkwo who shares his fear that Nwoye is effeminate with his friends. Nwoye is as close to the ransom-child Ikemefuna as a brother and when Ikemefuna is killed, a part of Nwoye snaps silently inside. He questions why certain cultural practices can continue.

Nwoye is a ‘parched soul’, complying with his father’s manly ideals and fulfilling the communities expectations but without joy. With the arrival of the missionaries he finds a renewal of hope and purpose. He joins them which in many ways, although never to be acknowledged by his father, is a very brave act at the time. Through the missionaries and their education of him, Nwoye finds a role in the community.

Nwoye Quotes

Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth. Chapter 2

Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, who was two years younger, became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know everything. (About Ikemefuna) Chapter 4

It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. …. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question ….  of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed. He felt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth. (About Nwoye) Chapter 16

Ezinma

Ekwefi and Okonkwo’s only child, Ezinma, is a combination of superstition and pragmatic realism. A favourite of Okonkwo, Ezinma seems to understand her father’s ways better than others being pragmatic and considerate of Okonkwo’s struggles. She is bold which often leaves Okonkwo wishing she was a male so that he could pass on to her his warrior spirit.

Ezinma is often falling ill which prompts Ekwefi and Okonkwo to believe their daughter is an ogbanje, a reincarnated spirit of a dead child that often returns to disrupt the village. Ezinma is abducted by Chielo, a priestess, and taken to a village and a cave while Ekwefi and Okonkwo follow throughout the night. Chielo often refers to Ezinma as ‘my daughter’ and may believe Ezinma is the ogbanje of her own daughter.

Although the reader may anticipate a non-traditional event to surround Ezinma, she ends up living the life of a typical Umuofia woman. She grows into a beauty like her mother, comes back to Umuofia after living in exile with her father, and is married. In some way Ezinma fulfils stereotypical expectations around gender compared with Nwoye who breaks with this and with tradition by following the new missionary faith.

Ezinma Quotes

Okonkwo was specially fond of Ezinma. She looked very much like her mother, who was once the village beauty. But his fondness only showed on very rare occasions. Chapter 5

Everybody knew she was an ogbanje. These sudden bouts of sickness and health were typical of her kind. But she had lived so long that perhaps she had decided to stay. Some of them did become tired of their evil rounds of birth and death, or took pity on their mothers, and stayed. Ekwefi believed deep inside her that Ezinma had come to stay. Chapter 9

Ikemefuna

Ikemefuna is a ‘ransom child’ who is taken from his village, along with a young girl, and given to the village of Umuofia as compensation after a child from Umuofia is killed by Ikemefuna’s village. He is given to Okonkwo to look after while the village elders decide his fate. Ikemefuna lives with Okonkwo’s first wife and quickly endears himself to all, notably to Okonkwo and his son Nwoye. Nwoye sees the slightly older boy as a brother and Okonkwo and Ikemefuna develop a father-son bond. Ikemefuna is innocent, likeable, hard-working and considerate.

Years later when the elders decide to execute Ikemefuna his death triggers a series of events that seem fated. Okonkwo is warned not to take part in the execution as the boy views him as a father and it is not right for a family member to kill their own family. Okonkwo, once again driven by his own sense of what is strong and manly, decides to accompany the men when they take Ikemefuna out to die. Okonkwo ultimately delivers the fatal blow to Ikemefuna, resulting in Nwoye’s sense of separation from the family, initiating a series of adverse events for Okonkwo.

Ikemefuna Quotes

And that was how he came to look after the doomed lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their neighbours to avoid war and bloodshed. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna. Chapter 1

Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength. He therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else—with a heavy hand. But there was no doubt that he liked the boy. Chapter 4

Ekwefi

Ekwefi had run away from her first husband to live with Okonkwo as his second wife desiring his wrestling prowess. Ezinma is her only surviving child and Ekwefi constantly fears that she will lose Ezinma as well. Ekwefi is good friends with Chielo, the priestess of the goddess Agbala.

Ekwefi Quotes

The relationship between them was not only that of mother and child. There was something in it like the companionship of equals, which was strengthened by such little conspiracies as eating eggs in the bedroom. (About Ezinma and Ekwefi) Chapter 9

Chielo

A revered priestess in Umuofia, Chielo is dedicated to the Oracle of the goddess Agbala. Chielo is a widow with two children and good friends with Ekwefi. She is fond of Ezinma whom she calls ‘my daughter’. At one point, Chielo carries Ezinma on her back for miles in order to help purify her and appease the gods.

Chielo Quotes

‘And how is my daughter, Ezinma?’
‘She has been very well for some time now. Perhaps she has come to stay.’ (Chielo and Ekwefi) Chapter 6

Mr Brown

In a counterbalance to Achebe’s portrayal of the African communities as organised, civilised and dignified, Mr Brown is the first white Christian missionary in Umuofia and Mbanta not to fit the stereotypical colonist invader. Mr Brown approaches his position with compassion and slowly wins converts through compassion and consistency. He is a persistent, kind and understanding man, who enthusiastically makes an effort to respect the Igbo beliefs. Mr Brown aims to keep peace with the African communities and asks his new converts to be open to new members and to allow the traditional communities to go about their business. He befriends many great men of the clan who begin to listen to and understand his message. He discusses religious beliefs with Akunna, a clan leader of Umuofia. Neither man gives up his belief but they learn about each other’s faith and gain respect for one another.

Mr Brown builds a school in Umuofia and uses gifts to persuade the Igbo people to send their children there. He tells the Igbo people that their future leaders will have to know how to read and write the British way and that they will need to adapt.

Mr Brown Quotes

None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in the assembly of the people. None of them was a man of title. They were mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu, worthless, empty men. Chapter 16

Reverend James Smith

After Mr Brown is taken ill he is replaced by Reverend James Smith, whose character and practices are in stark contrast to the gentleness and kindness of his predecessor. Smith is inflexible and, like Okonkwo, represents the inability to compromise. Those who are able to find middle ground, such as Mr Brown, Nwoye and Obierka, are successful in the transition of the community. Smith incites trouble by continually challenging traditional ways and creating overzealous converts to do the same.

Enoch

Enoch is a dedicated convert to the Christian church in Umuofia. Enoch is provocative of the traditional ways, trying to prove the gods are not real. Enoch’s insolent act of tearing the mask off an egwugwu during a ceremony leads to a climactic clash between the community and the missionaries. While Mr Brown had restrained Enoch in the interests of all, Reverend Smith is approving of Enoch’s rash actions and is ambivalent about the consequences.