Things Fall Apart Quotation Analysis Chapters 7-8

Chapters 7 and 8 are a turning point in the book, as Achebe establishes just how heartless Okonkwo can be by killing Ikemefuna. Achebe describes the moment in which Okonkwo kills the boy in this quote from page 53: "Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak". This quote holds a lot of weight because of how shocking the action is. The fact that Okonkwo could kill a boy who he lived with, a boy who called him "father", for the simple reason of not wanting to look weak is a horrifying and shocking revelation for the reader. This action foreshadows the rest of Okonkwo's raging and the consequences of them. 

After his violent and heartless killing of Ikemefuna, the reader sees Okonkwo as a heartless, cowardly man, too afraid of failure to be a good person. However, in chapter 8, one begins to perceive a different, more caring and mournful Okonkwo in this quote: "He did not sleep at night. He tried not to think about Ikemefuna, but the more he tried the more he thought about him" (Achebe 55). The fact that Okonkwo does, indeed, feel emotions other than anger and fear is an important revelation for the reader. Although he was able to kill Ikemefuna in cold blood in the moment, it does come back to haunt him. His own well being is suffering due to the loss of another human being, which makes Okonkwo a more vulnerable character.                

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