Things Fall Apart- Okonkwo’s Obsession With Weakness

From the very beginning of Things Fall Apart, by China Achebe, the reader quickly discovers Okonkwo’s fear of "weakness." However, Okonkwo confuses the word "weakness" for "failure." Every time there is a slip from his family life through his work life, he views the mistake as a disgrace and the disgrace in turn show weakness.

All traits of a human being must derive from somewhere or someone. In this instance, Okonkwo’s father was known as a failure, and therefore the catalyst for Okonkwo’s fear of failure. When the father was still alive, he continuously made poor finical decisions, leaving his family to care for themselves. 

In the future, I predict that Okonkwo’s obsession with weakness will challenge him to overcome larger obstacles through out the novel. Although his tribe is strong, perhaps a large enough threat of either physical violent or mental challenges will present themselves. 

Things Falls Apart- Response to "An Image of Africa"

In the article, "An Image of Africa," by Achebe, he discusses his opinions about the novel, The Heart of Darkness and uses the literary term "foil" to depict the relationship between Europe and Africa.

A leading Conrad scholar labels The Heart of Darkness it "among the half-dozen greatest short novellas in the English language." This is because it displays the ignorance Europeans feel for African culture. Europeans at the time, and even somewhat to this day, seem obligated to improve the lives of people in these third-world countries; however, this obligation usually doesn't correlate with kindness. Ideas and opinions are forced, threatened to be acknowledged.

Having read The Heart of Darkness over the summer, it is useful to gain more insight of this complex text. At the root, it hopes to portray the underlying nature of humans how they interact. Since I read this article before the assigned reading, I would predict that there are many comparisons between The Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart. 

The Shock of The Fall