Okonkwo quotes

C1'Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements.'

He built his fame on his own merits without anyone's help

C1'Tall and huge' 'bushy eyebrows and wide nose'

He has very distinct facial structures

C1'he breathed heavily'

Threatening even when he is at rest

C1'He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his father'

• Okonkwo evidently primarily values success—this would develop his own egotistical sense of pride and would make him dismissive and cruel towards others; also, it breeds self-criticism to an extreme degree 

• This is a patriarchy but status is also gained through success, both physical and financial—to be a proper man involves certain criteria 

• Repetition of ‘no patience’; it shows that he has a short temper that is revealed further in the novel

C1'As if he was going to pounce'

Animal-like referring him to lion to show that he is intimidating

C1'When he walked he seemed as if he walked on springs'

Very energetic

C1'Whenever he was angry and couldn't get his words he would use his fists'

He is aggressive and short tempered

C2'Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear of failure and of weakness'

It shows that Okonkwo at heart is a bad person way but the way he was brought up being ashamed and embarrassed of his father's failure changed him

C2'unlike his father he could stand the look of blood'

Unlike his father he wasn't weak and fearful but the opposite

C2'And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion- to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved'

Shows that he wants to be so unlike his father he is willing to hate everything he loved in order for him to be successful unlike his father

C2 ‘Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper’

Reveals Okonkwo’s masculinity through his dominance over women; his masculinity, unlike the other people in the clan, is uncontrolled and formed through fear, rather than respect/dignity/conversation 

C2 ‘Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala’

• Okonkwo’s hatred for men without titles began in childhood—he was made to feel weak when he was only a child, this culture of shame and misogyny is engrained within young boys from childhood, learning these insulting terms and normalising it before they even understand failure/success 

C3'He knew he was a fierce fighter'

It shows that he is tough as it is referring to his resilience after the disastrous yam harvest

C3'He did not sink under the load of despair'

Shows that he is tough as most people would feel defeated from failure but Okonkwo doesn't

C3'Since I survived that year,' he always said, 'I shall survive anything.'

From being strong after the disastrous yam harvest he now thinks that he is ready for anything as it is presented that the disastrous yam harvest is the worst thing that he would experience

C4'he beat her very heavily'

Beating his second wife, Ekwefi for lying when he wasn't supposed to as it was in the Week of Peace that shows his brutality

C4'If you split another yam of this size, I shall break your jaw'

Talking to his son, Nwoye and Ikemefuna and it shows his anger at their skills of cutting the yams not to his standards

C4'Okonkwo who had risen so suddenly from great poverty and misfortune to be one of the lords of the clan'

This shows his success throughout the clan as he started from the bottom and was able to rise up the ranks in the clan quickly showing his determination and the respect that he gained

C4'one would think he never sucked at his mother's breast'

It presents that Okonkwo is strong on his own and he didn't need anyone's help for his strength

C4'Tthe evil you have done can ruin the whole clan'

The karma that Okonkwo is going to experience which foreshadows the tragic ending that the clan meets further in the book by being colonised by the White colonists

 C4 ‘But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess.’

• Okonkwo thinks he is above the rule/the law/tradition; even above those gods that he prays to

• To stop beating somebody half-way through would suggest weakness, indicating that he had a confliction about beating them; stopping would show that he realised what he was doing was wrong, and that his actions were foolish

C5'Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun, ran out again and aimed at her'

His anger out at his second wife for the snide comment she made but missed the shot he took with the gun at her

C5'No, that is a boy's job'

It shows that Okonkwo runs a patriarchal household where women and men have certain roles in the family

C19’Okonkwo called his three wives and told them to get things together for a great feast. "I must thank my mother's kinsmen before I go," he said"

• It shows his success as he has more than one wife because it presents their status within the clan as powerful and respected 

• Wives are expected to obey their husbands, serve them, provide food, bear children 

• Having more than one wife is a sign of status within the clan, as it is entirely normal to have multiple

• This also contributes to patriarchy as it reveals that women are considered prizes/achievements, rather than actual human beings with their own free will; they are belongings to be purchased for a price

C13 ‘Okonkwo had committed the female, because it had been inadvertent. He could return to the clan after seven years.’

Ironic- Okonkwo is always displaying his strong but commits a 'female' crime He had committed a female crime meaning it was unintentional so he could return to the clan after 7 years