Things Fall apart and Okonkwo’s Reputation Essay

Submitted By Drebourne1
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Pages: 9
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Andre Bourne December 07, 2012

Respect

In this novel Things Fall Apart there reputation in general is very important to them. The Reputation are based on their fights, battles, bravely, to how they crop and harvest, to what their job titles are, and its even to believe that there power from reputation owned them such as wives, and respect of the village. Okonkwo is worried about his very own reputation and worried about his reputation of being ruined and soiled because of his father’s laziness, drunkenness, and also being a coward, and a chicken for not having a real job or titles. Also for borrowing money from a lot of the villagers, and not having any chance, or way of paying anyone back. He dies in Debt “Okonkwo's father was a man who was not looked up to throughout the village. This was because he was a man who was lazy and would not think of the future.” () Does Okonkwo’s reputation change throughout this book? Yes his reputation changes from the structure order of the beginning to become good, in the middle a little rocky but it’s starting to become a conflict, and when we heads towards the end that’s when things hit the fan, become chaotic, become absurd, ridiculous, well I guess you get the point right, Okonkwo is a well known and respected among his village and only at the age of eighteen, he is respected for beating an undefeated wrestler, and winning the contest. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino”. (3) That’s how things first started for Okonkwo his reputation and respect was on a rise. It all ties in with strength and the understanding of manhood. Strong, athletic men are considered more important to the survival of the tribe, and even more than other types of men. Even though the wrestling match was many years ago,like many years ago we're talking about more than twenty something years ago, but since then his reputation and respect has increased and both grown. Okonkwo was know to be the fighter type, the type of person to instead of using words, and attacking somebody verbally he used his fists, and acted upon violence. When a clan’s daughter gets killed, Okonkwo wants to go to war for the revenge of her death, but the umuofia elders sacrificed a boy, and a virgin girl, the Umuofia elders seem to be more meaningful about the death of a innocent girl by sacrificing these two kids, and Okonkwo accepts, and eventually goes home. Another example of Okonkwo reputation changing is when his third wife comes home late, and not being able to cook his midday meal on time, Okonkwo beats her, and because he beat hers, he had broken the law of the week of peace, and the priest of earth, visits Okonkwo to give him his punishment. “The week of peace was one of the means of unification for the clan and appeasement for the gods in control over their crops.” (WEBSite paper) The word got out to the other villagers that there week of peace was mistreated, and to this was really big news to them because something like this to happen was very rare to them, it’s never happened before, but who other than Okonkwo to not follow rules and structures that was set in his village, to bring on changes. Time goes by and days pass the week of peace is over, its now time to prepare and harvest, Okonkwo is really big on his yams it made him wealthy so i’m pretty sure that’s what he’s gonna grow with Ikemefuna and Nwoye, or even with his three wives. But all Okonkwo does is just yells at them and threatens them, I know it’s not because he’s a bad father, its just that he wants them to succeed, become strong, men and not to be lazy like his belated father. And I wanna say
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