Okonkwos Foil - 849 Words

Diana DeBernardis, 5 Mr. Rosenberry Honors English 11 December 19, 2012 Okonkwo’s Foil â€Å"Opposites attract.† This is a very clichà © quote used by physicists and other scientific personnel, but it rings true in many different ways. In literature, the correct term for a character that sets off or enhances another character by contrast is called a â€Å"foil.† Pairs of characters that are foils to each other have very opposing views and personalities, but their presence with each other illustrates the qualities in a better light. The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a fictional novel which includes a main character named Okonkwo. Okonkwo has some very distinguishing features about him, but the fact that he has a foil in the novel†¦show more content†¦When Okonkwo explains to Obierika how he would strive to have a son like his because he is so strong and mighty, Obierika answers with a very pacifying response. â€Å"‘You worry yourself for nothing,’ said Obierika. ‘The children are still very young.’† (Achebe 66). This passage shows that Obierika is not so concerned about power and supremacy. Because of the contrast in Obierika’s traits, he is definitely a foil to Okonkwo because Okonkwo is very strong-minded, dogmatic, and hot-tempered. If something does not go his way, Okonkwo will do something very irrational about it. When Okonkwo asked his second wife where his third wife, Ojiugo, was he became angered because his second wife lied to him about Ojiugo’s whereabouts. â€Å"He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily† (Achebe 29). Okonkwo’s rationale of beating his third wife was in very poor judgment because he beat her during the Week of Peace. The Week of Peace was a week among the tribes where there was supposed to be no violence. This shows that Okonkwo has a very short temper and he does not tolerate nearly as much as Obierika can tolerate. Not only does Okonkwo differ from Obierika in the fact of their personality traits, but Obierika is a foil to Okonkwo because of Okonkwo’s hunger for power. Okonkwo himself was known as the most powerful man in his village because he threw Amalinze the Cat, who was a great wrestler who hadShow MoreRelatedChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart916 Words   |  4 Pagesthe foil character. This character is the complete opposite of the main character. Usually, a foil goes through the same events as the main character however he will see things differently and have a different opinion. The purpose of this character is to shed light on the main character, and to show how things could work out differently if the main character would have thought differently. In the novel â€Å"Things Fall Apart† by Chinua Achebe there are multiple characters that could serve as foils forRead MoreTheme Of Racism In Joseph Conrads Heart Of Darkness1008 Words   |  5 Pagesangry that he cant do any thing when a group of Christians come and change things in the villages. Through character foils, diction and irony, Achebe develops the theme that a persons race should not factor into his characterization. First, Achebe uses character foils to shows that just because you are a certain race, it doesnt mean that you are a certain way. A man from Okonkwo’s village said looking at Okonkwo was like â€Å"‘Looking at a kings mouth,...one would think he never sucked at his mothersRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1341 Words   |  6 Pagesand divine wonder. Achebe emphasizes this difference to sardonically address how white men deemed their actions benevolent. 4.) Title The title belongs to a line from William Butler Yeats’s â€Å"The Second Coming†. Throughout the book, events such as Okonkwo’s decline in power and the arrival of white men reflect modernist ideas presented by the poem. Both literary works explore a breaking down of social norms and its psychological effect on people. 5.) Setting Achebe’s novel takes place during the 1890sRead MoreList Of Major Characters In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1345 Words   |  6 PagesFall Apart by Chinua Achebe Historical Date the Book was Published: 1958 List of Major Characters: Okonkwo: Main character, leader, power hungry man, tragic flaw leads to downfall Nwoye: Okonkwo’s son, joins Christianity, Okonkwo believes he is weak and unworthy, feels outcasted from community Ezinma: Okonkwo’s favorite kid, understanding, Okonkwo wishes she was a boy Mr. Brown: White missionary, brings peace and understanding to the Igbo people, builds schools and hospitals 4. List of Minor Characters:Read MoreThings Fall Apart and the Case Against Imperialism1433 Words   |  6 Pagesto achieve greatness as defined by his culture? How does he differ from Western heroes? What are Okonkwo’s strengths and weaknesses? 3. Describe Unoka, Okonkwo’s father. What are Okonkwo’s feelings toward Unoka, and why? How does the example of his father shape Okonkwo’s character and actions? Would Unoka be viewed differently in a different culture? 4. What do the early descriptions of Okonkwo’s success and Unoka’s failure tell us about Igbo society? How does one succeed in this cultural contextRead MoreAn Exploration of Proverbs in Things Fall Apart by Achebe Essay974 Words   |  4 Pagesthe dwarf wall of the barn. He [presses] the trigger and there is a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children.† This proverb sheds light on Okonkwos tragic flaw which is he always suppresses his feminine side. The proverb means that when you balance your feminine and masculine sides, you will be successful. Okonkwos problem is he was afraid of being thought weak so he always relies on his masculine side. Because he doesn’t listen to his feminine side, when he murders IkemefunaRead MoreCommentary on Passge (Page 124-125) of Things Fall Apart by Chnua Achebe1162 Words   |  5 Pagesis the sin of murder. While he is attending a funeral for a man named, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, Okonkwo’s gun accidentally explodes and kills Ezeudu’s sixteen-year-old son. Killing a clansman is a crime against their earth goddess, thus, Okonkwo and his family are sent into exile, being forced to go back to his motherland of Mbanta. The men of the family who have experienced the loss in this accidental death burn Okonkwo’s houses and kill his animals to cleanse the village of his sin of murder. Th ey do thisRead MoreChinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart1617 Words   |  7 Pages In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the characters Ikemefuna and Obierika are used as â€Å"foil characters,† and reveal pertinent traits of Okonkwo’s true nature. The traits of Ikemefuna and Obierika contrast the traits Okonkwo, and allow the reader greater insight into Okonkwo’s fear of emasculation and his trepidation for the transformation of Igbo culture. Both Obierika and Ikemefuna accentuate the abhorrence Okonkwo has for becoming epicene and opprobrious like his father. Obierika also is skepticalRead MoreOkonkwo And Nwoye Analysis807 Words   |  4 Pageswas not as manly as he should be, and that he was quite lazy. Nwoye’s behavior began to change when Okonkwo brought Ikemefuna into the family. â€Å"Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, who was two years younger, became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know everything. â€Å" (Achebe 35) In the novel , Ikemefuna was well admired in Umuofia, and was also Nwoye’s foil character. He knew everything that a person could possibly know, and taught Nwoye that laziness isn’t the answer. Nwoye’s change in behavior stoodRead MoreEssay on Gender in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart1881 Words   |  8 Pageswe are not privy to the psychological workings of Okonkwo’s mind we are made aware of his blatant physicality that is projected outward in all directions in effect incarnating him as his society’s ideal of manhood. It is this attitude and manner that develops into an overbearing masculinity. On more than one occasion we are alerted to the fact that Okonkwo’s adoption of the manly ideal is excessive. Obierika seems to have been conceived as a foil to Okonkwo so that his attitude indicates the possibility