Societys Destruction of Okonkwo That year the harvest was sad, like a funeral, and many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself. Okonkwo remembered that tragic year with a cold shiver throughout the rest of his life. It always surprised him when he thought of it later that he did not sink under the despair. He knew that he was a fierce fighter, but that year had been enough to break the heart of a lion(Achebe 18). This was taken from Chuna Achebes African novel, When Things Fall Apart. Since I survived that year, he always said, I shall survive anything. He put it down to his inflexible will. His father, Unoka, who was then an ailing man, had said to him during that terrible harvest month: Do not despair. I know that you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.(Achebe 18)Okonkwo believed he was such a fierce fighter, he could conquer anything life thew at him, however, these beliefs are what brought him down in the in the face of uncontrollable circumstances in the end. Okonkwo believed that war and brute fighting would fix everything. He was a proud and stubborn man constantly struggling to improve his standing in the tribal community. Okonkwo also had intense pride for his tribe and way of life. He believed it was the right way of life and not to be questioned. Everyone was supposed to fear war with Umofia due to their fierce warriors and greatness in battle. When the white men not only did not fear them, but openly threatened the tribal way of life, Okonkwo prepared to handle the situation the only way he knew how. He wanted to go to war against the new white invaders, chasing them from tribal lands and ending the threat of different ways of life.The changing society t...
