Consequently, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna with his machete.

He feels that not participating would be a sign of weakness. He tells Okonkwo not to partake in the murder, but Okonkwo doesn't listen. The Oracle says that Ikemefuna must be killed as part of the retribution for the Umuofian woman killed three years earlier in Mbaino.

Later, he severely beats and shoots a gun at his second wife, Ekwefi, because she took leaves from his banana plant to wrap food for the Feast of the New Yam.Īfter the coming of the locusts, Ogbuefi Ezeuder, the oldest man in the village, relays to Okonkwo a message from the Oracle. He violates the Week of Peace when he beats his youngest wife, Ojiugo, because she went to braid her hair at a friend's house and forgot to prepare the afternoon meal and feed her children. Over the years, Okonkwo becomes an extremely volatile man he is apt to explode at the slightest provocation. Ikemefuna befriends Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, and Okonkwo becomes inwardly fond of the boy. He resolves to overcome the shame that he feels as a result of his father's weaknesses by being what he considers to be 'manly' therefore, he dominates his wives and children by being insensitive and controlling.īecause Okonkwo is a leader of his community, he is asked to care for a young boy named Ikemefuna, who is given to the village as a peace offering by neighboring Mbaino to avoid war with Umuofia. Okonkwo despises and resents his father's gentle and idle ways. Unoka died a shameful death and left numerous debts. He was referred to as agbala, one who resembles the weakness of a woman and has no property. Within the community, Unoka was considered a failure and a laughingstock. Consequently, his wife and children often went hungry. He often borrowed money and then squandered it on palm-wine and merrymaking with friends.

Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was a lazy and wasteful man. Okonkwo determines to gain titles for himself and become a powerful and wealthy man in spite of his father's weaknesses. He first earns personal fame and distinction, and brings honor to his village, when he defeats Amalinze the Cat in a wrestling contest. Okonkwo is a respected and influential leader within the Igbo community of Umuofia in eastern Nigeria. Things Fall Apart is about the tragic fall of the protagonist, Okonkwo, and the Igbo culture.

Things fall apart by chinua achebe