Question

How do Okonkwo’s family relationships make him a sympathetic or an unsympathetic character in chapters 5 and 6?

Answer 1

Answer:

Okonkwo is both a sympathetic as well as an unsympathetic character as he has the emotion and zeal to do things right. But at the same time, he also makes sure not to show these feelings and emotions, in the belief that people may think he's weak, thus presenting himself as a 'strong-willed' manly family man.

Explanation:

Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" revolves around the story of an African man Okonkwo, chronicling his life from youth to his 'mature' life as the head of his family. Also present in the plot is the emergence or presence of the White 'foreigners' who had come to 'civilize' the people and the conflict between the two.

In looking at the character of Okonkwo, we can conclude that he is both a sympathetic as well as an unsympathetic character. This is because he is strong, self-made, and has emotions, beliefs, and wants to be different from his father. He appears continually afraid of being called or thought weak like his father Unoka, who was unable to take care of his family. And that was why he wanted to be so different from his father in the way he wanted to take care of his family. But at the same time, he also appears as an unsympathetic character in that he does not believe in showing his emotions externally, rather keeping them inside and even preventing his sons to appear weak. In this sense, his adopted son Ikemefuna is more of a man to him, appearing strong and manly while his real son Nwoye is weak, for he has lots of emotions making him less of a man.