Okonkwo was a fierce warrior with a short temper. He had 3 wives and 7 children and never seemed to fully appreciate any of them. This character from the book “Things Fall Apart”, written by Chinua Achebe, lived in the small African village of Umuofia, one of the nine that make up their tribe. Judging Okonkwo's character as a powder keg with a short fuse, it is no wonder that his fame and glory of being a great person eventually collapsed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Okonkwo loved ancient traditions. Why shouldn't it? Okonkwo thrived on them. He acted like a legendary spirit, became the champion of the tribe, and built his compound and yam farm from scratch. Thus, when the younger generation challenged the tradition that Okonkwo was king, Okonkwo refused to be deposed from his high throne. His dedication to his old ways made him so stubborn to the point that he would rather die than have to change his ways. Okonkwo's dedication extended to his religion. When the white missionaries arrived, his first thought was to kill them. However, the other people in the village had a more passive-aggressive way of handling the situation, which Okonkwo did not agree with. When Okonkwo was pushed beyond his limit by being humiliated and taken prisoner by the white men and forced to pay their fine, he lost his mind. He not only hated the white man's religion, but the white man himself. When a messenger arrived, Okonkwo cut off his head, and when he realized that the people of his village would not arm themselves in a war against the white men, Okonkwo killed himself. Why did Okonkwo kill himself? There were many reasons. Okonkwo was afraid of being a coward like his father. Okonkwo was afraid of how Umuofia had changed. Okonkwo was afraid of going from being a big fish in a familiar pond to being a little fish in a new pond. Okonkwo was afraid. His life was ruled by fear, committing actions only out of fear that people would no longer think he was as brave as he acted, such as killing Ikemefuna. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Okonkwo was a very interesting character created by Chinua Achebe. There were many things that led to his downfall. He refused to abandon his old traditions, was devoted to his religion, and his life was governed by fear. Many times he could have changed his sad fate, but due to his stubbornness he could not open his mind to new things, and in the end that was his doom. If Okonkwo hadn't tried to manage his fear by trying to rule the lives of others with their fear of him, then maybe his life wouldn't have fallen apart.