Okonkwo Character Analysis

What is the significance of Okonkwo’s character? What does he represent or is symbolic of? 

     Okonkwo’s character stands as a symbolic figure of Nigeria’s past. Not only does he represent cultural and traditional norms of the Igbo population, but as well, he is able to represent the impact the colonizers had on most of the civilians. Through Okonkwo’s character, the reader is exposed to the ‘Igbo World’, and can discover the inner workings of such a complex society. Such as, Okonkwo’s figure represents the importance of maintaining balance between the real and spiritual world, the value of status (ozo), the occurrence of death, the importance of equality and transparency, and the power of natural happenings. Okonkwo is a great representation of such phenomena’s, as he too is a flawed being through which the reader is able to see the consequences that follow when a societal member dismisses such important values/ideas. Okonkwo’s representation of some of the Igbo values are better represented than others. Such as, he is determined to attain status, whilst he neglects the Igbo value of equality. Through the consequences that he bares and his interactions with other villagers, the reader gets an insight on how the Igbo people (especially Umofoia) collectively approached such principle ideas, and how they were adopted into everyday life. Further on, Okonkwo’s lack of acceptance to the colonizers stood as a symbol of the feelings of Nigeria’s people as a whole. Despite the outcasts who were not involved in village activities, most of the clans/villages pre-existing in Nigeria before the British lived at tranquility by following the balance of the world of real and spiritual. Their everyday life was guided by the previously listed morals, which were then disturbed. With this, Okonkwo’s reaction to the foreigner power embodied the nations responses as whole. 

What is the purpose of Okonkwo’s character within the text? 

     Throughout the novel, Okonkwo lives on the principles of masculinity and tradition. His actions throughout the plot can be summarized by either his natural need to follow tradition, or to prove his masculinity. With this, he disregards emotions, ideas revolving femininity, and is unable to adapt to changes which would alter his strict persona. Without the respect the villagers have evolved for him, he would would be viewed as a severely flawed character or even an outcast, as his character traits are not a fit for the morals guiding the Igbo’s. The purpose of his character is to underline his flawed persona’s inability to succeed, and his failure to fully adapt to the Igbo guidelines and the change which followed colonizer power. Within part one of the novel, Okonkwo dismisses server societal morals, which consequently, each time, decrease the communal respect the people had gained for him over time. The buildup of ignorance towards important communal norms leads Okonkwo to be exiled (although the occurrence triggering his his sentence of exile being a mistake), as he then returns to a village who have essentially forgotten his name. Okonkwo’s character shares the importance of ‘fluid persona’, as the consequences through which he faces show how the world is unaccepting of such a rigid character. 

How does Okonkwo’s character contribute to big ideas?

     Okonkwo’s character’s relation to big ideas relates back to the essay by Victor C. Uchendu “The Igbo World”. As stated earlier, Okonkwo’s character embodies the values of the Igbo people, as well as the nation’s response to foreign power. His character showcases the morals which Igbo population were guided by, and how such a way of life was represented as successful. His character is placed in the middle of two larger histories. That is; the existing reality of the Igbo population before the European’s, and the European’s quest to colonize Africa. His significance in living in two large histories shows the change in reality between the two contexts, and the results which occurred after. His character contributes the the image created of Umofoia by showing how each individual attained a part in maintaining a harmonious society. His character later then represents the westerner’s colonizing quest through his personal reactions. Despite being such a character, his responses and reaction to significant events in the plot symbolize the nature of many others’ in the nation. His inability to accept change (the foreigners) can relate to the nations drive for independence many years later.