Things Fell Apart

One chapter that stood out to me in Things Fall Apart was chapter 13. Specifically, towards the end, when Okonkwo was exiled for accidentally killing a clansmen. Okonkwo is in his obi is thinking, "Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertantly?" (117) I believe that this is so hypocritical of Okonkwo to say. Ikemefuna was killed for an offense he had no part in, he was even benefiting Okonkwo's family, yet Okonkwo still killed him. In this section, it also brings up the topic of the twins. His twin children had no part in any crime they were only born, but they had to be punished. This shows that Okonkwo is selfish. He only started to think about justice when he was the one being punished.

My favorite line in the book is when Obierika tells the District Commissioner and his soliders that Okonkwo was "...one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog (179)." This quote shows the real effect of fear. Okonkwo, a man of pride and confidence, let his fear of being like his father take control. He didn't want to be weak. He wanted to fight in a war to show his power. A man of insecurity, Okonkwo really had to kill a man to show his strength, but in reality it only showed his weakness. Since he is unable to show his emotions, Okonkwo kills the messenger of the white men. Even his village is shocked and asks why he killed that man because they know that there was no reason and they could have talked it out. This is also relating to the quote from page 117. The man Okonkwo killed committed no crime, he was simply a messenger.