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The Stubborness of Okonkwo

Okonkwo, a fierce warrior, remains unchanged in his unrelenting quest to solely sustain the culture of his tribe in the time of religious war in Achebe's book, Things Fall Apart. He endures traumatic experiences of conflict from other tribes, dramatic confrontations from within his own family, and betrayal by his own tribe.

Okonkwo faces and defeats the fiercest of warriors from other tribes.
As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalizine the Cat. Amalizine was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. (1)
Okonkwo feels great satisfaction from the attention and respect he gained from defeating the Cat. The victory brings out hubris, a self-defining trait of Okonkwo, which is applied to his life everyday from then until the day he dies. He maintains a consistent personality through many battles; some great, some unimportant. Okonkwo always felt the need to prove his bravery, even in times of peace.

From birth Okonkwo had wanted his son, Nwoye, to be a great warrior like him. His son instead rebelled and wanted to be nothing like Okonkwo. Okonkwo would not change so that his son would idolize him, as he had wanted since his son's birth. He chose not to acknowledge his son's existence instead. This would weigh heavily on anyone's conscience, yet Okonkwo does not let his relationship with his son affect him in the least bit.

The missionary had immediately paid him a visit. He had just sent Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, who was now called Isaac, to the new training college for teachers in Umuru. And he had hoped that Okonkwo would be happy to hear of it. But Okonkwo had driven him away with the threat that if he came into his compound again he would be carried out of it. (157) He thought if the boy did not want to be a warrior then it could not be his son. After Okonkwo gets banished from the tribe it undergoes a drastic cultural change. Okonkwo does not. Upon his return he discovers that his tribe has been partially converted by the Christian missionaries. He is appalled and rejects the idea.

Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umofia, Who had so unaccountably become soft like women. (157)

He has an overwhelming feeling of betrayal for the former members of the tribe because they no longer act like the great warriors that they once were. In a way Okonkwo feels that if he had been there he could have prevented the conversion of many of the tribe members to Christianity. His inability to conform brings his death; he is driven to suicide. . Okonkwo does not change throughout the novel. Despite his experiences, tribal and family, he remains the same; unchanged in a new time, where change is the only way to be accepted. This changed society, a society without heroes, was not a society suited for Okonkwo. He remains true to his beliefs at all costs, eventually the cost of his own life.

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