... his lazy and indigent father, doesn't understand that he can be kind and yet still be successful as warrior and farmer. Although he wanted to be respected as an influential leader within the Igbo community, he was rude to those who don't have titles, and harsh with his gentle sons, ... considered a failure and a laughingstock. He was referred to as "agbala" (Pg. 13), one who resembles the weakness of a woman, and has no property. Unoka died a shameful death and left numerous debts. By watching the way his father was when he was a young boy, Okonkwo decided to be everything his father was...

• Word Count: 637
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... to be proud of. There's always hope but in his case he let that hope go astray. Unoka has a son, Okonkwo. He is a great warrior, feared and honored by many. He works hard to maintain such honor. He is a man of courage, yet he is a man of cowardice. He ... to Umuofia, he soared high and tried to lead the clan once again, yet he failed. All the things he planted seem to fall apart. In the end the great warrior of Umuofia, stopped the pain in his heart by hanging his own body on a tree. The once greatest man in Umuofia was buried like a dog ... 's a little absurd. For the women of Umuofia,...

• Word Count: 1470
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... a depression where he "did not taste food for two days and did not sleep at night." This is not something that the Okonkwo of the first few pages, the fearless warrior, would have done. More importantly, he asks himself "how can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to ... has fallen to pieces is a significant event because it is the first time that Okonkwo's stoic mask has collapsed, and he has been unable to ignore his emotions. True, he thought himself a "shivering old woman" for it, but it was the beginning of a deeper change. Another event that provoked Okonkwo to ... grow...

• Word Count: 1421
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... debts; no barns, no yam-seeds and on top he had, from an early age, to work to feed his family and his mother who implies as well his father: a woman could not eat if her husband was starving. It probably would explain why Okonkwo did not grow as mentally as he grew physically. I mean that despite ... 's womb. These kids live shortly (not more than a few years) and this perpetual "born-die" cycle is the manifestation of evil spirits sent to bring misery in a woman's life. Whether there is a reality in it or not, I think that, mutilating someone in other to scare the evil, is inhuman. I w...

• Word Count: 2119
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... , and are portrayed as awesome and almost supernatural. Certain superstitious and religious beliefs like the importance of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves are also highlighted. The reader is also informed about the agricultural pattern - The Week of Peace, the planting of the Yams, the New Yam feast, followed by the dry season - The Harmattan - and the exquisite taste of locusts. Medical help, both herbal and psychological treatment, is meted out ... seems to confirm their feeling of superiority when women ask them to take care of these tasks for them. It is no coincidence that the wor...

• Word Count: 6237
• Approx Pages: 25
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... family is afraid of him because he rules them with an iron fist. One day, a daughter of Umuofia was killed in the neighboring clan of Mbaino. To avoid war, Mbaino gave Umuofia a virgin and a young boy. The girl was to become the replacement for the slain woman. The boy, Ikemefuna, is to be sacrificed, but not right away. For three years he lived in Umuofia, under ... saw him as taboo and they cannot even touch his body and take it down form the tree. Like his father he will die rotting on top of the soil. The only difference is that while he was alive he was seen as a warrior. The only ...

• Word Count: 2714
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

... number of children. A self made man whose fame suddenly grows after he throws another wrestler in a fight which was considered one of the fiercest fights ever. Over the years he also has shown his great prowess in inter-tribal wars and has taken two titles and despite his youth he is already ... has been nothing but ashamed of him since he was a child. He still remembers when many years ago his playmate called his father agbala - woman or man who has taken no titles. Okonkwo's hatred for father has only grown ever after. In his opinion Unoka is too feminine and lacks ... by one passion...

• Word Count: 917
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Chinua Achebe. This is a simple story of a "strong man" whose life is controlled by anger and fear. Things Fall Apart is about the tragic fall of a great warrior, Okonkwo, and the Igbo culture. Okonkwo is a respected and influential leader within the Igbo community of Umuofia in east Nigeria. He first earns his personal fame, and brings honor to his village, when he defeats Amalinze ... be tough and strong ("" ask my dead father if he ever had a foul when he was alive." Everybody laughed heartily except for Okonkwo, who laughed uneasily because, as the saying goes, an old woman I always...

• Word Count: 603
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... in Achebe's novel. She writes, "My primary concern is the woman's place within the larger social and political forces- (Jeyifo 3). In agreement with Jeyifo, the Igbo clans force is the male initiatives and control. The village men do the brave things such as fighting, hunting, and raising difficult crops. The women are expected to obey house rules in the home. Okonkwo is strict with his wives and children, and ... to his first of many failures. This is Okonkwo's first error against the rules of the tribe. Moreover, Okonkwo's weakness forces him to participate in the sacrifice of a young b...

• Word Count: 2677
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... as a man of great accomplishment. Everything that he has ever achieved is a result of his perseverance. Many would say the odds were not in Okonkwo's favor considering he grew up in poverty with a father that possessed many faulty character traits. ... Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness" (13). The only way Okonkwo knew how to correct this behavior was by beating and yelling at him. There was no father son ... a boy. Ezinma possessed character traits that Okonkwo believed only a male should have. She is a strong, ...

• Word Count: 1038
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... left her village and moved to Lagos in the midst of urbanization. Ezeudu was truly a warrior and the clansmen attended his funeral. During the gunshot celebrations Okonkwo accidentally fired his gun and ironically the bullet caused the death of the dead man's sixteen-year-old son. The only path left for Okonkwo to travel was ... that they both want different outcomes in their lives. They are after dissimilar goals with unlike expectations. Okonkwo will never be able to accept the coming of the Christians as a change in culture, social status, or even every day living. Okonkwo is overconf...

• Word Count: 1279
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... As a result, Okonkwo has grown up very poor and ashamed of his lazy father. At one point in the book, Okonkwo remembers hearing one of his playmates calling his father anagbala,? which was the word for woman, but all described a man who had taken not titles (13). Okonkwo never forgets this, and actually develops ... no money. As a young man, Okonkwo had been very successful wrestler, and as he grew older he became a well-known warrior. He was said to have brought home five human heads, which was a great achievement even for men who were much older that he was. At ... , and a very producti...

• Word Count: 2055
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School