Summer Assigment: Paper

Ironic Differences

Often, many characters are faced with obstacles that they must overcome in order to grow both mentally and physically. Many times, these obstacles force characters to undergo changes that can produce both positive and negative effects. As seen in the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, all of the people in the village of Mbanta experience the drift from their traditional way of life to one that is completely different. The twenty sixth chapter of the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster characterizes these changes as ironic. This literary element plays a major role in the course of Things Fall Apart because Foster explains irony in literature as events that result in one way; however, the readers predict that event will have a completely different outcome. Achebe uses irony to convey the idea that regardless of how drastic a particular change may be, every character can learn from this change. Despite how physically, or mentally different two characters may be, resultantly all of the characters have an opportunity to gain a profound sense of knowledge and understanding from every person they encounter.

One of the main characters, Okonkwo, became the backbone of the village of Mbanta and truly defined his idea of what a strong and capable leader of the tribe should represent. However, from the beginning of the novel, Achebe describes the most unpredictable people and environment Okonkwo originated from. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father was “…known in all of the clan for the weakness of …[his]… machete and …[his]…hoe” (17), many of his neighbors referred to him as “a debtor” (Achebe 4) because “…he owed every neighbor some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts.” (4) Although he was considered “…lazy and improvident,…” (4) he appeared to be a free spirited person, who enjoined subtle things, such as playing the flute. Although, his son, Okonkwo, was also a well known man in their tribe, his “…fame rested on solid personal achievements” (3) and unlike his father, Okonkwo enjoyed the danger of war because it exemplified his strength and courage. It appears as if Okonkwo and Unoka are two very different people and it was unexpected for such a powerful, strong, and greatly respected warrior to have originated from such a poor and unstable environment. Although Okonkwo possesses admirable qualities and appears to be destined to become one of the greatest leaders of Mbanta, he would not have been able to accomplish many of his goals, if it had not been for his father’s care free mentality. Okonkwo’s determination to become wealthy and successful was driven by his desire to accomplish more than his father had ever imagined, and through his father’s actions, Okonkwo greatly appreciated the value of hard work and all of its rewards.

Although Okonkwo developed an impressive work mentality, he was at a great disadvantage because his father had not acquired much during his lifetime that could contribute to Okonkwo’s success. As Okonkwo struggled to overcome the difficulties he faced of not having“…the start in life which many young men had…” (18) it appeared that as Okonkwo became more successful, his relationship with Unoka dwindled. The more he resented his father for his shortcomings, the stronger Okonkwo’s desire became to maintain his idea of a strong man. After his first son, Nwoye, was born Okonkwo pushed Nwoye beyond his limits to become a tough man, but Okonkwo only saw his son with “…incipient laziness,”(13) which forced Okonkwo to constantly nag and beat Nwoye. Okonkwo’s brutal mistreatment of his son eventually caused Nwoye to resent and hate his father, which forced him to eventually leave their tribe to join a Christian missionary. Irony plays a major role in this situation because not only does Nwoye end up feeling resentment towards his father just as Okonkwo feels towards his father, but they both resent their fathers for contradictory reasons. Unoka’s lack of determination to work and become wealthy causes Okonkwo to resent him, however, Okonkwo had such a strong work mentality that it forced Nwoye to resent him as well.

After Nwoye left Mbanta he joined a missionary that tried to spread the Christian religion throughout many villages, one of which included the village of Mbanta. The invasion of the Christian missionaries would be an event described by Thomas Foster in How to Read Literature Like a Professor as a “signified message” (Foster 238) because that incident resulted in a way that was opposite of what the readers expected. Since the Christian missionaries strongly believed in God, the readers predicated that they would bring about peace and unity to the tribe, however, the exact opposite eventually occurred. The arrival of this group brought a lot of tension and mixed emotions to Mbanta because it had been rumored that the village of “Abame … [had]… been wiped out…”(138) by a group of white men. However, after the Christian missionaries arrived in Mbanta, they built a church on a small section of the Evil Forest and despite their odds; they eventually gained the support of many converts in the village. As time progresses, one of the leaders of the missionary, Mr. Brown, continued to create peace amongst everyone in the village, by opening schools and by establishing solid friendships with many of the leaders of Mbanta. Things take a turn for the worst after his successor, Mr. Smith, takes control and enforces strict rules that ultimately lead to more anger and violence in village. Mbanta has always been a village “…feared by all of its neighbors” (11) because it “… was powerful in war and in magic…”(11), but as more missionaries invaded the village and tried to change the village’s traditional way of life, they created animosity, violence, and mistrust amongst the tribal members. Their ideas eventually destroyed the original beliefs of a once highly feared and dominate village.

Prior to the arrival of the missionaries, Okonkwo was known to be a very violent man and many times, his anger was directed towards his family. Since “Okonkwo never showed any emotions openly, unless it be the emotion of anger”(28) because he felt that showing “… affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength”(28) he was more than willing to become physically violent with anyone he felt disrespected him. With that knowledge, all of his wives knew that they would be severely punished if they were to disrespect him, however, his third wife, Ojiugo, was brutally beaten by Okonkwo during the Week of Peace after she did not come home early enough to cook him dinner. Many components of this event is essential to the irony of Okonkwo’s violent ways because for a man that could be extremely aggressive towards his own family, it was unexpected for him to be exiled after accidently killing Ezeudu’s son when his “…gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart.”(124) The narrator later said “the crime was of two kinds, male and female” (124) and ironically, “Okonkwo had committed the female,…”(124) which forced him to live on his motherland for the next seven years. In addition, his uncle, Uchendu, informed him that while he stayed on his motherland, his “…duty was to comfort … [his]… wives and children…” (134) After numerous months passed with Okonkwo living in exile, he felt he could have prospered more on his fatherland instead of his motherland, and he viewed those years as “…seven wasted and weary years…”(162). With this idea formulated, Okonkwo well anticipated a triumphant return to Mbanta.

Okonkwo’s return did not go according to his plan, mainly because the people of Mbanta were too consumed with the new Christian religion to even notice that Okonkwo and his family had returned. The village had completely changed due to strict rules enforced by the District Commissioner and Mr. Smith, but Okonkwo felt it was his duty to rally the men of his village together and fight against the white men, in order to regain control of their village. During one of his meetings, a group of white men came to break up the meeting; however, Okonkwo used his machete to kill one of the men. When the District Commissioner went looking for Okonkwo, he found his dead body hanging from a tree. Okonkwo was one of the greatest leaders of the clan, and over many years, he worked tirelessly to obtain several titles. Even though he invested everything into the clan, Obierika said Okonkwo allowed the District Commissioner to drive “… him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog…” (208) Despite all of Okonkwo’s accomplishments, he dishonored his clan by taking his own life, which is ironic because all of Okonkwo’s motivation was “…possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death.”(18) Okonkwo viewed Unoka’s life as a waste because he died without ever acquiring any titles, and he was left to die in the Evil Forest. Despite all of the fame and glory Okonkwo accumulated, Okonkwo and his father will be remembered for the same thing, their dishonorable deaths.

The village of Mbanta, along with many great leaders of the village underwent drastic changes as the novel progressed. Although many of these changes could have been a tremendous learning experience for all of the people in Mbanta, many villagers chose to deal with the situation in violent and destructive ways. Although the Christian missionaries thought they were introducing a more civilized way of life to the people of Mbanta, they ultimately destroyed the core beliefs and spirit of a once vivacious and powerful village. However, through all of this animosity and destruction in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Achebe reveals the essence of embracing everyone, despite their differences. Okonkwo and his father, Unoka, were amazing examples of how Thomas Foster’s ideas of irony from the book How to Read Literature Like a Professor can greatly affect two characters that appear to be the polar opposites. Resultantly, regardless of how different two characters or religions may be, there are still ironic circumstances that connect them on one basic level.