In the beginning of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo's will allows himself to rise to the top of the Umuofia society. He first starts off as a son of a debtor and then rises to be one of the leaders of the clan, due to his hard work and hostility. He mainly becomes known for his wrestling skills, and luck has no say in his skills as stated in the novel. “That was not luck. At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. Okonkwo said yes very strongly, so his chi agreed. And not only his chi but his clan too, because it judged a man by the work of his hands”, (Achebe). However, once things stop going Okonkwo’s way, he blames his fate. This starts off when Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna. Ikemefuna and the infant twins killed in the evil forest, represent the most candid victims. They aren't given a chance to act, but are instead acted upon violently. “The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna”, (Achebe). Okonkwo blames the Oracle for him killing Ikemefuna, even though it is argued by the clan's oldest member, Ezeudu, and by Okonkwo's neighbor Obierika, that he had a choice in whether to kill him or not. When Okonkwo's gun goes off and accidentally kills one of Ezeudu's sons, Okonkwo faces exile. Even though his crops are thriving in the neighboring clan and Okonkwo is allowed to return in seven years, he is completely discouraged by the experience. “A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not true--that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation”, (Achebe).
- Sunil Shiwnath 2/20
Okonkwo blames his fate for things not going his way. I do not agree he was faced with fate, I believe his world is determined by his actions, and everything he ran into was an affect of how he handled his situations. Fate is something people, Okonkwo, Use to conver up messes they create for themselves, or the opposite.
ReplyDeleteOkonkwo blames his fate for things not going his way. I do not agree he was faced with fate, I believe his world is determined by his actions, and everything he ran into was an affect of how he handled his situations. Fate is something people, Okonkwo, Use to conver up messes they create for themselves, or the opposite.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that he was faced with fate. As all of his actions were intended and was his choices. His main focus was to try and preserve the traditional culture of the ibo. When he couldn't figure out a way to do it, he used fate to try and twist his mind that it wasn't his fault for the consequences.
ReplyDeleteThis means that he was faced with freewill then. He did everything on his own without the use of fate even when he hung himself at the end of the novel.
ReplyDeleteWait... Isn't there a saying that you create your own fate? Once Okonkwo kills the messenger, he realized that he set his fate. He knew the consequences of what he had done and took the easy way out.
ReplyDeleteA good example of how fate played a role in his life was how his gun accidentally killed a clan member which leads to his exile and absence from the villages events. If he had never been exiled, the story may have played differently, such as never having to go back to the motherland and he may have not lost his son the Christians.
ReplyDeleteI think that Okonkwo's fate was created by himself. At that point its not really predetermined.
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