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1、Analysis of Major CharactersOkonkwoOkonkwo, the son of the effeminate and lazy Unoka, strives to make his way in a world that seems to value manliness. In so doing, he rejects everything for which he believes his father stood. Unoka was idle, poor, profligate, cowardly, gentle, and interested in mus
2、ic and conversation. Okonkwo consciously adopts opposite ideals and becomes productive, wealthy, thrifty, brave, violent, and adamantly opposed to music and anything else that he perceives to be “soft,”such as conversation and emotion. He is stoic to a fault.Okonkwo achieves great social and financi
3、al success by embracing these ideals. He marries three women and fathers several children. Nevertheless, just as his father was at odds with the values of the community around him, so too does Okonkwo find himself unable to adapt to changing times as the white man comes to live among the Umuofians.
4、As it becomes evident that compliance rather than violence constitutes the wisest principle for survival, Okonkwo realizes that he has become a relic, no longer able to function within his changing society.Okonkwo is a tragic hero in the classical sense: although he is a superior character, his trag
5、ic flawthe equation of manliness with rashness, anger, and violencebrings about his own destruction. Okonkwo is gruff, at times, and usually unable to express his feelings (the narrator frequently uses the word “inwardly” in reference to Okonkwos emotions). But his emotions are indeed quite complex,
6、 as his “manly”values conflict with his “unmanly” ones, such as fondness for Ikemefuna and Ezinma. The narrator privileges us with information that Okonkwos fellow clan members do not havethat Okonkwo surreptitiously follows Ekwefi into the forest in pursuit of Ezinma, for exampleand thus allows us
7、to see the tender, worried father beneath the seemingly indifferent exterior.NwoyeNwoye, Okonkwos oldest son, struggles in the shadow of his powerful, successful, and demanding father. His interests are different from Okonkwos and resemble more closely those of Unoka, his grandfather. He undergoes m
8、any beatings, at a loss for how to please his father, until the arrival of Ikemefuna, who becomes like an older brother and teaches him a gentler form of successful masculinity. As a result, Okonkwo backs off, and Nwoye even starts to win his grudging approval. Nwoye remains conflicted, however: tho
9、ugh he makes a show of scorning feminine things in order to please his father, he misses his mothers stories.With the unconscionable murder of Ikemefuna, however, Nwoye retreats into himself and finds himself forever changed. His reluctance to accept Okonkwos masculine values turns into pure embitte
10、rment toward him and his ways. When missionaries come to Mbanta, Nwoyes hope and faith are reawakened, and he eventually joins forces with them. Although Okonkwo curses his lot for having borne so “effeminate”a son and disowns Nwoye, Nwoye appears to have found peace at last in leaving the oppressiv
11、e atmosphere of his fathers tyranny.EzinmaEzinma, Okonkwos favorite daughter and the only child of Ekwefi, is bold in the way that she approachesand even sometimes contradictsher father. Okonkwo remarks to himself multiple times that he wishes she had been born a boy, since he considers her to have
12、such a masculine spirit. Ezinma alone seems to win Okonkwos full attention, affection, and, ironically, respect. She and he are kindred spirits, which boosts her confidence and precociousness. She grows into a beautiful young woman who sensibly agrees to put off marriage until her family returns fro
13、m exile so as to help her father leverage his sociopolitical power most effectively. In doing so, she shows an approach similar to that of Okonkwo: she puts strategy ahead of emotion.Mr. Brown Mr. Brown represents Achebes attempt to craft a well-rounded portrait of the colonial presence by tempering
14、 bad personalities with good ones. Mr. Browns successor, Reverend Smith, is zealous, vengeful, small-minded, and manipulative; he thus stands in contrast to Mr. Brown, who, on the other hand, is benevolent if not always beneficent. Mr. Brown succeeds in winning a large number of converts because he
15、listens to the villagers stories, beliefs, and opinions. He also accepts the converts unconditionally. His conversation with Akunna represents this sympathetic stance. The derisive comments that Reverend Smith makes about Mr. Brown after the latters departure illustrate the colonial intolerance for any kind of sympathy for, and genuine interest in, the native culture. The surname Brown hints at his ability to navigate successfully the clear-cut racial division between the colonizers and the colonized.Character ListEVEN MORE HELP! Take a
