Okonkwo Essay, Research Paper

Strong, dominant, proud, competitory, successful, good respected, speedy to swoop on anyone, impatient with unsuccessful work forces, afraid of being like his male parent: these words describe Okonkwo.

Okonkwo is presented as consecutive frontward as possible. In Fact, his name is the first word you see in the book. It is rapidly made really clear to the reader that he is the supporter of the narrative, and is introduced as a hero. In the first paragraph the storyteller says, & # 8220 ; He is good known throughout the 9 small towns and beyond, Fame rested on his solid personal accomplishments, He brought award to his small town at 18 by throwing Amalzine the Cat & # 8221 ; ( p. 1 ) . He is a adult male revered by his small town for his accomplishments. As a affluent husbandman with two barns full of yams, and three married womans, Okonkwo already carries two rubrics. On page 8 Achebe writes, & # 8220 ; As the seniors said, if a kid washed his custodies he could eat with male monarchs. Okonkwo had clearly washed his custodies and so he ate with male monarchs and elders. & # 8221 ; Physically, Okonkwo is described as being really tall and immense with shaggy superciliums, and a broad olfactory organ that gives him a really & # 8220 ; terrible & # 8221 ; expression.

So, obviously one can see, Achebe uses an tremendous sum of description in the first chapter that fundamentally plasters the reader with ways to see and understand Okonkwo. Already he is the focal point of the reader & # 8217 ; s attending. By making this, Achebe practically forces the reader to hold a connexion with Okonkwo. Even if the reader has nil in common with the character

and can pull no analogues between oneself and Okonkwo the familiarity you portion with him is ineluctable.

Of class it is up to the reader to seek to associate every bit much as possible to the chief character in order to understand the focal point and the bosom of the narrative. We are all at the get downing phases of this. I am asked, how a reader might develop a connexion to Okonkwo? And what sort of connexion might that be? To be honest, I am non wholly certain of this. I imagine the best manner to link with Okonkwo would be the same manner you connect with any existent individual. Try to understand him and his civilization by paying attending to the things in the book, and near them with an unfastened head.

For a reader such as myself, the closest connexion I can pull to Okonkwo so far is one of understanding for his strength and pride. These are positive traits in many people. I would wish to believe I possess these qualities, but non to the extent that Okonkwo does. For these are what drive people to success and I understand that will to win. Why else would I be at this University? Indeed we come from really different civilizations and life fortunes but no affair how different, being human is adequate to understand and associate. But a job I see in Okonkwo is that he has excessively much pride and imposes his strength on others he is impatient with, he acts out of heedlessness and does non demo fondness. The drive force behind his success is fear of failure, and being compared to his male parent. With his self-importance, this could be unsafe.