Fear, Peer Pressure, and Change

In chapters 7-11 of Things Fall Apart, the full extent of Okonkwo’s chauvinism is expressed. However, this part of the novel also begins to depict Okonkwo’s true feelings about his family. Although he shuns love and emotions as signs of weakness for effeminate men, Okonkwo struggled to cope with the death of Ikemefuna. However, his need to be seen as strong in the eyes of the village members drives him to ignore his paternal instincts and kill his surrogate son. Again, much like in the first six chapters, Okonkwo is pushed by the fear of becoming his father.

As Nwoye matures, Okonkwo also expresses fears about his son becoming weak. “I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man, but there is too much of his mother in him” (66). His father’s constant disapproval and lack of affection leads Nwoye to make stronger efforts to appease Okonkwo. He hides his love for his mother and sisters and pretends to be disdained with women and children. In a way, Nwoye’s feigning about chauvinism is similar to Okonkwo’s feigning about strength. They are both efforts to appease others and themselves by trying to fit into what they believe society wants from them.

These few chapters also begin to show a divide between traditional values and more moderate values in Umuofia. Although Okonkwo does not always strictly adhere to traditional customs or values, he does possesses a traditional mindset. He holds the priestess in high esteem, sees women as inferior to men, and follows the Oracle no matter the task at hand. Many of his fellow friends and villagers have a more relaxed view of society which often shocks and disgusts Okonkwo. Obierika’s report of Ndule and Ozoemena’s relationship elicited this response from Okonkwo, “I thought he was a strong man in his youth” (68). Okonkwo resists change in his narrow view of his society.

Okonkwo's resistance to change mirrors the resistance to change during the 1960's.