Things Fall Apart
...in his prime. The character Okonkwo always felt a need to prove himself because he is the son of a failure. His father was a man named Unoka who was heavily in debt because he preferred playing his flute and drinking palm wine to farming. Okonkwo first established himself as a man by beating the famous wrestler Amalinze the Cat in a match at 18 years old. He provided for himself, his mother, and his sisters economically by share-cropping yams for a wealthy neighbor until he made enough profit to get land and seeds and start his own farm. He does so well that by the beginning of the novel he has three wives, a large compound with huts for each of them as well as a separate one for himself, and a large and growing family. His ambition is to take the highest titles of honor that his tribe can bestow.
Okonkwo is known for his bad temper and his willingness to be rude to unsuccessful men. At one point his temper also made him guilty of an offense against the earth goddess, because he forgot that the village was celebrating the Week of Peace and beat his youngest wife during the holy festival. The goddess' priest prescribed a series of sacrifices and penance for him to perform.
One day Okonkwo's village sends a challenge to a neighboring village because they caused the death of an Umuofia woman who had gone to market there. This village fears Umuofia enough to reimburse them one virgin and a young boy instead of going to war. Umuofia's elders decide that the virgin will marry the husband of the slaughtered woman and the youth will stay in Okonkwo's house until they reach a final decision about what to do with him. The boy's name in Ikemefuna, and he becomes good friends with Nwoye, Okonkwo's eldest son. Ikemefuna is clever and loved by everyone in the household. When Ikemefuna has lived with Okonkwo's family for three years, the elders finally reach their decision and...
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