Okonkwo’s Fatal Flaw
...der to ensure that he would not make the same mistakes that his father made, Okonkwo lived a life, “dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (16). Fortunately for Okonkwo, in the Ibo tribe man was judged solely on his merits and not those of an ancestor. Okonkwo was a very prosperous and respected man within his village. At age eighteen, the great warrior Okonkwo, had become the wrestling champion of the land. His own success as a self-made man, made him impatient of others who were not as successful. For example, at a meeting for the tribe’s elders, Okonkwo called another man a woman and said, “This meeting is for men” (28). Even though Okonkwo was a much respected figure within his village, his deep fear of failure and weakness continued to haunt him. “It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and the forces of nature…” (17). Okonkwo was hard and stern with his family stating that if a man “was unable to rule his woman and his children then he was not really a man” (52). He dealt with his son Nwoye, who did not take after him, especially harshly. Nwoye was not as strong and masculine as Okonkwo was when he was young and Okonkwo was afraid that his son was going to grow up and be like his grandfather Unoka. Okonkwo regarded Nwoye as having “too much of his mother in him,” and insisted that he listen to only “masculine stories of violence and bloodshed,” instead of the folktales his mother told, which Nwoye much preferred. Okonkwo also never showed any form of affection because he considered it a “sign of weakness” (30). Thus, when Okonkwo was pleased with his son he said nothing and when Nwoye upset Okonkwo he was scolded harshly. Furthermore, Okonkwo frequently beat his wives as a way of showing his superiority and masculinity. In treating his family as he did Okonkwo was constantly attempting to show the village that he had no weakness. Okonkwo’s fears and pride eventually become his downfall when the Euro...