Their leader orders the meeting to end. No sooner have the words left the messenger's mouth than Okonkwo kills
him with two strokes of his machete
. A tumult rises in the crowd, but not the kind for which Okonkwo hopes: the villagers allow the messengers to escape and bring the meeting to a conclusion.
Why does Okonkwo kill the court messenger?
Okonkwo kills the messenger
because he hates what the man represents: the end of his culture
.
Does Okonkwo get exiled for killing a court messenger?
Two instances are pure brutality as Okonkwo beat his wife during the Weak of Peace with irrational thought, and
killed the head messenger
as he swore vengence on him for his unfair treatment. Killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, so Okonkwo must atone by taking his family into exile for seven years.
What page does Okonkwo kill the messenger?
Analysis:
Chapters 24–25
. It is in Okonkwo's nature to act rashly, and his slaying of the messenger constitutes an instinctive act of self-preservation. Not to act would be to reject his values and traditional way of life. He cannot allow himself or, by extension, his clan to be viewed as cowardly.
How does Okonkwo react to the way the court messengers treat him?
They insult and beat the leaders
. The District Commissioner tells his men to treat the leaders of Umuofia with respect. Describe how the court messengers humiliate the leaders. Okonkwo is choked with hate.
Who is to blame for Okonkwo's death?
Okonkwo
is responsible for his death because he has remained stagnant while his village and family are changing. His entire life was measured against his father so he never established his own sense of identity — he just wanted to be opposite of his father.
What Okonkwo fears most?
Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear,
the fear of failure and of weakness
. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw.
How does Okonkwo kill himself?
Their leader orders the meeting to end. No sooner have the words left the messenger's mouth than Okonkwo kills
him with two strokes of his machete
. … Understanding that his clan will not go to war, Okonkwo wipes his machete free of blood and departs. He had already chosen the title of the book . . .
How is Okonkwo's death ironic?
Hanging himself in a tree, Okonkwo ends his conflict once and for all. The irony of it all is that Okonkwo worked hard and achieved many titles and honors in order to be buried with dignity. In the end, he
commits suicide
which is an abomination in his Igbo society. He dies in disgrace much like his father.
What happens to Okonkwo in the end?
Okonkwo dies an outcast, banished from the very society he fought to protect
. The novel's second tragedy occurs on the broader level of history. Achebe signals this second tragedy by ending the novel with a shift from an African to a European perspective.
What does Okonkwo death symbolize?
Okonkwo's death symbolizes
the death of the entire Ibo culture as he knew it
. … His death is symbolic of the damage that prejudice and disrespect for individual freedoms and beliefs can have upon society and the world.
Is Okonkwo a tragic hero?
Okonkwo is
a tragic hero
in the classical sense: although he is a superior character, his tragic flaw—the equation of manliness with rashness, anger, and violence—brings about his own destruction.
What does Okonkwo feel the greatest obstacle to going to war against the white man is?
What does Okonkwo feel is the greatest obstacle to going to war against the white man?
the coward, Egonwanne because his “sweet tongue” can turn fire into ash
. When the village meeting is called after the six leaders are released from the white man's prison, what does Okika say the clan should do? they must fight.
Why did nwoye convert to Christianity?
Why does Nwoye convert to Christianity? Nwoye converts to Christianity
largely to reject the excessive standard of masculinity his father wants him up to uphold
. Nwoye is not at all like his father, and Okonkwo constantly punishes him for being different.
Is Okonkwo destined for tragedy?
In Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo plays the role of a
tragic hero destined to fall
from his lofty titles. So Okonkwo with his characteristics doomed for tragedy, led a seemingly successful life, though a tragic flaw of pride and wrong decisions robbed him of his self fantasized gilded life.
What is Okonkwo's tragic flaw?
The protagonist of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is also considered a tragic hero. A tragic hero holds a position of power and prestige, chooses his course of action, possesses a tragic flaw, and gains awareness of circumstances that lead to his fall. Okonkwo's tragic flaw is
his fear of weakness and failure
.
