"text": "One could argue that Okonkwo's downfall is directly

related to his fear of being viewed as weak or becoming like his inept father
Unoka. As a young man, Okonkwo was determined to become a successful,
masculine warrior and grow up to be the complete opposite of his father.
Okonkwo's fear of being viewed as weak and effeminate influenced him to become
a callous, violent man. Okonkwo's aggressive, hostile personality leads to
several bad decisions, which results in his downfall.\nOkonkwo's first
significant mistake is beating his wife during the Week of Peace, which is
considered an offense against the earth goddess. Okonkwo then becomes
Ikemefuna's surrogate father and grows attached to the boy. Tragically, the
Oracle declares that Ikemefuna will be sacrificed and specifically instructs
Okonkwo to not play a role in the boy's death. However, Okonkwo fears that he
will be viewed as weak and kills Ikemefuna against the Oracle's
instructions.\nOkonkwo's violent actions ruin his relationship with Nwoye, but
he remains callous, hostile, and insensitive. During Ezeudu's funeral, Okonkwo
accidentally shoots his gun and kills Ezeudu's son, which results in a seven-
year exile. Okonkwo loses his titles and is forced to move his family to
Mbanta. When he returns to Umuofia, Okonkwo cannot adapt to the changing
culture and responds with violence by decapitating a messenger sent from the
European colonists. In order to avoid arrest and humiliation, Okonkwo hangs
himself. Each of Okonkwo's tragic mistakes stem from violence, which is
related to his fear of being viewed as weak. Okonkwo was never able to
overcome his fear, and his hostile demeanor led to his demise.",

"text": "Okonkwo's inability to follow the law, forget his

past with his father, his anger, and not accepting changes."
"text": "Okonkwo is a traditional man who doesn't accept
change very well. He also made a couple of other mistakes which led to his
downfall for example: Beating his wife during the peace weak where violence is
not condoned, he accidentally killed the son of the man whose funeral he was
attending, which led to him being banished to his mother's lend for several
years, and while he was away the church and colonists took over. When he came
back to\u00a0Umuofia things were no longer the same, yet he tried to fight
back while others had already accepted their fate, leading to his arrest and
finally the death of a messenger which was the last action he committed before
his death."

"text": "Okonkwo is incapable of self acceptance. He bases his

success and failure on his father's success or failure and in turn puts those
same pressures on his children. He cannot cope with the evolution of the tribe
and village when the missionaries arrived and his world begins to "fall
apart."\u00a0 Like many elders in a traditional society, he feels he has
no place in the "new" village and the old ways are as unnecessary as
he is. Because he measures himself and others by standards that are no longer
valid - he feels invalid and unnecessary."

"text": "Okonkwo has an excessive fear of being like his

father, so as a result, he begins at an early age to prove to his tribe that
he is strong and brave. As a result, he becomes an aggressive, angry, violent
man in trying to distance himself from his father. His father was lazy and a
poor provider for his family. Okonkwo's determination helps him succeed, but
it also is partially responsible for his downfall. His anger and violence
causes him to committ acts that damage his reputation. The more he achieves,
the less he enjoys it because his fear of failure is always there, reminding
him that he must continually prove himself to be better than his father.
During his exile, Okonkwo learns the\u00a0value of promoting unity within his
community, but it's too late. When he returns to his village, the missionaries
have already influenced his tribe, and it is Okonkwo's excessive\u00a0pride
that won't allow him to accept this. He's angry that his people don't support
him in his fight against the Europeans, and he allows his fear of failure to
blind him to the inevitability of European interference in the traditional
beliefs of his people. Again, Okonkwo's anger and violence get the best of
him, and he committs his final desperate act of vengeance. His suicide signals
his spiritual alienation from his traditional beliefs.",

"text": "Just as the title of this novel suggests, Okonkwo's

downfall is caused by\u00a0his inability to follow the mores of his culture
and to adapt to colonization. His pride aids him breaking the mores of the
clan. First of all, he beats his wife during Peace Week, which is unheard
of.\u00a0Next, he shoots a young boy when his gun explodes: "Violent
deaths were frequent but nothing like this had ever occurred" (Chap.13).
For this crime, he is banished for seven years. Next, as the Whites take over,
Okonkwo kills the messenger: "Okonkwo's matchet descended twice and the
man's head lay beside his uniformed body" (Chap.24). Lastly, Okonkwo
commits the greatest sin of all, suicide.As the culture of the clan falls
apart so does Okonkwo's life as he fails to adjust to his role within the clan
and later, his role as the clan's society is changed through the
pacification\u00a0by the White man."