Things Fall Apart Response

Many works of literature contain scenes of violence. This is mostly because that scene or scene of violence usually has a larger meaning in the plot of the story. I chose to use one of our summer reading books, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, to show why this is true. This work of literature is centered on the life of Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. He is a very strict and violent person, but this is only because ever since a young age he has hated his father’s failure. When his father died he makes a promise to himself that he will never be like his father. His father was a lazy, careless, and weak man. Okonkwo was determined to be everything his father was not, making him a strong, violent, and strict working man. “Things Fall Apart” has many scenes of violence throughout it. Most of them are related to Okonkwo in one way or another, weather he is the one being violent or not. One of the reasons violence is so important to this novel is that it shows how a person can act when they are so strict and stubborn. Since Okonkwo has a personality like this he is more likely to be violent than not. He is also very sheltered, meaning that he has built an emotional wall around himself, making it practically impossible for him to be compassionate towards anyone. He shows no emotion and always keeps a stern front. He may be felling something, but more than likely won’t show it. He will keep it bottled up inside, making him more likely to lash out in violence, which he does numerous times throughout this novel. Like most literature related violence, the violence in this novel has a deeper meaning than just a character being angry. The violence shows the effects of an unhappy childhood and the embarrassment of having to live with the results of that childhood forever. It is also an effect of trying to suppress feelings of pain and anger for long periods of time. Perhaps the reason Okonkwo was so violent throughout this work of literature is because his childhood was so embarrassing. Not to mention the fact that he was a very guarded person, who never showed much emotion, unless that emotion was anger. He felt obligated to become better than his father, so he kept pushing and pushing himself to be something that he may not necessarily needed to become. Doing that to a person can also cause violent outbreaks. The violence in this novel contributes so much to the actual meaning of the plot. It shows the effects of abuse, of being guarded, of embarrassment, and of pure hatred. Okonkwo felt abused during his childhood because his father never did anything productive and he was so in debt. He was guarded because he did not want to end up like his father and show emotion. In his mind showing any emotion, other than anger, was a sign of weakness and Okonkwo despised the thought of being weak like his father. He felt embarrassed because of the life that his father had led. His father’s poor choices set Okonkwo up for a life that was less than flattering. He had pure hatred for the weak and lazy because they reminded him of his father.
These traits are what caused Okonkwo to have fits of anger, some of which were fatal. He would beat his wives to show authority and power. He killed Ikemefuna to show that he was strong and felt no pain. He did feel pain though, maybe he even had regret. Why else would he have isolated himself to his hut for three days after he killed him? Okonkwo had many things that led him to his violent behavior. The embarrassment of his father, the drive he had to become strong and powerful, the emotional wall that was built from years of abuse, and so much more. All of these things show why the violence in “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is more than just a beating or a murder; it is a release for a man who knows no other way of expression.