PERFECT CHARACTER A DELUSION OR REALITY
In the novel Animal Farm, the hope for a better world remains unattainable. Even with the change of governance, the animals are eventually mistreated. How is it possible that the longing for good can turn awry when the person is in power for long?
In the case of Okonkwo, he is not painted as someone who is without fault. In fact, he is in many ways a tragic hero. Neither is he a person who is evil despite his part in killing Ikemefuna. Based on your understanding of him in the novel, reflect on the following questions:
- How has Okonkwo been a figure of inspiration and disappointment to his people?
- What are the characteristics of Okonkwo that you can find in your nation’s leader?
Answers
For the first question, Okonkwo is portrayed as the tragic hero in Things Fall Apart and he inspired people in the Igbo community. These are the reasons why he is seen as an inspiration for the clan. First, he holds a position of power and prestige in his clan and his tragic flaw is his fear of weakness and failure and does not want to be like his own father who is very weak. He is the leader of the Igbo community and also known as a wrestler, a warrior and a successful farmer of yams. He has three wives and many children. He is a very masculine man and he tries his best not to be like his biological father, Unoka who is very weak and lazy. Unoka is poor, lacked of responsibility, neglectful and he does not plan for the future. Okonkwo works very hard so that he will not be like his father and he knows that he can support his family on his own. All these characteristics that he has are the reasons why he is an inspiration for the people in his clan.
He is a very successful person but he also has weaknesses and these are the reasons why people feel disappointed about him. He gets angry easily especially when he has to deal with men who are weak and lazy. Sometimes, he feels that the inward affection but he never portray it because he feels that by showing affection to other people is a weak characteristic. He tends to express his anger through violent, stubborn and beats his wives and his children if his family members do not fulfill what he want. He also acts before he thinks. He kills Ikemefuna just because he is afraid of being thought weak although he has been advised not to participate in the murder. Other than that, he kills a messenger from the British district office because he feels that people who enter Umuofia destroy the Igbo culture. Unfortunately, there is none of the clansmen who support him but back away in fear. He is totally defeated and he ends up his life by committing suicide, a shameful death like his father’s. People feel disappointed because a person who once became a hero in the clan dead in a very disgraceful way.
For the second question, there are some characteristics of Okonkwo that can be seen in my nation's leader. Okonkwo is a leader of the Igbo community and Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Abdul Razak is the leader for the Malaysian people. Based on the sentence, it can be seen that there is a similarity between my nation’s leader and also Okonkwo, the protagonist of Things Fall Apart. They are leaders who run their own people to become successful
Okonkwo is a leader who inspires the Igbo community and knows how to lead his people. Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Abdul Razak also inspires his people in Malaysia to become a good leader and to master the leadership skills so that one day, people in Malaysia can lead the nation or the world in the future. The most important part is both of them are the leaders who want their people to be united.
Fatin Syazana binti Yahya
For the first question, Okonkwo is portrayed as the tragic hero in Things Fall Apart and he inspired people in the Igbo community. These are the reasons why he is seen as an inspiration for the clan. First, he holds a position of power and prestige in his clan and his tragic flaw is his fear of weakness and failure and does not want to be like his own father who is very weak. He is the leader of the Igbo community and also known as a wrestler, a warrior and a successful farmer of yams. He has three wives and many children. He is a very masculine man and he tries his best not to be like his biological father, Unoka who is very weak and lazy. Unoka is poor, lacked of responsibility, neglectful and he does not plan for the future. Okonkwo works very hard so that he will not be like his father and he knows that he can support his family on his own. All these characteristics that he has are the reasons why he is an inspiration for the people in his clan.
He is a very successful person but he also has weaknesses and these are the reasons why people feel disappointed about him. He gets angry easily especially when he has to deal with men who are weak and lazy. Sometimes, he feels that the inward affection but he never portray it because he feels that by showing affection to other people is a weak characteristic. He tends to express his anger through violent, stubborn and beats his wives and his children if his family members do not fulfill what he want. He also acts before he thinks. He kills Ikemefuna just because he is afraid of being thought weak although he has been advised not to participate in the murder. Other than that, he kills a messenger from the British district office because he feels that people who enter Umuofia destroy the Igbo culture. Unfortunately, there is none of the clansmen who support him but back away in fear. He is totally defeated and he ends up his life by committing suicide, a shameful death like his father’s. People feel disappointed because a person who once became a hero in the clan dead in a very disgraceful way.
Okonkwo is a leader who inspires the Igbo community and knows how to lead his people. Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib Abdul Razak also inspires his people in Malaysia to become a good leader and to master the leadership skills so that one day, people in Malaysia can lead the nation or the world in the future. The most important part is both of them are the leaders who want their people to be united.
Fatin Syazana binti Yahya
In my opinion, Okonkwo has been a figure of inspiration to his people.
In chapter 1, Okonkwo manages to win over Amalinze, the cat . Amalinze was the great wrestler but Okonkwo has
successfully brought honor to his village by winning the game .
“Okonkwo was well known throughout the
nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements.
As a young man of eighteen he had brought honour to his village by throwing
Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was
unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was called the Cat because his back would
never touch the earth. It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the
old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged
a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights.” (Chapter 1: Paragraph 1)
This shows that at
the early age Okonkwo has successfully achieved a great achievement.
Nevertheless, Okonkwo also had disappointed his people. This is when he beats
his wife during the sacred week. As a well-known person, Okonkwo should not do
something that he already knows prohibited. The characteristics of Okonkwo that
I can find in a nation’s leader is responsible. In this novel, Okonkwo does
responsible for every of his action.
The characteristics of Okonkwo that I can find in our nation’s leader, Tun
Dr Mahathir Muhammad is determination. Okonkwo determines to do everything that
he is supposed to do. He is not a type of man who is easy to give up. This is
totally different to be compared with his father Unoka.
To put it briefly, human do have flaw even the leader. So, we must work hard to build a good character in order to bring peace in society.
By: Nur Afiqah bt Abdul Manap
Okonkwo has been a
figure of inspiration because he is a successful man. He is a rich and
respected warrior of the Umuofia clan. Moreover, in his youth, he brought honor
to his village by beating Amalinze the Cat in a wrestling contest. It is a very
great achievement for Okonkwo and the Umuofia clan because Amalinze the Cat had
been undefeated for seven years. He gains respect and praises from the clan.
However, Okonkwo
brings disappointment to his people when he beats his wife during the sacred
week. He should have control his anger
because to his clan, he has made the god angry. He is also disappointing when
he killed Ikemefuna himself. He should not interfere during Ikemefuna’s
killing because Ikemefuna has considered him as a father.
My nation’s leader is very
responsible. He never neglects the citizens just like what Okonkwo did. Apart
from that, he is also someone who fights for the right of his people. I believe
that he has the qualities of a good leader. The concept of 1 Malaysia that he
introduced has gathered people from all races.
By: Nur Izzah Zawani bt Boher @ Bujang Amri
For the first question , Okonkwo is a wealthy and respected warrior of the Umuofia clan in a lower Nigerian tribe that is part of a consortium of nine connected villages. He is haunted by his father who is a idle, poor, profligate, cowardly, gentle, and interested in music and conversation. Then he became totally opposite as his father. It has become a figure of inspiration for me because we are not supposed to rely on our past, we have to improve our living style and become more successful.
Okonkwo brings disappointment when he neglects to follow the rule of sacred week. He beat his wife. He also killed Ikemefuna so that society will respect him and in order to maintain his reputation.
The characteristics of Okonkwo that can be found in my nation's leader is hardworking. My leader never neglects his society like Okonkwo did. My leader fights for the best and give importance to the comfort of his society.
RAVI SHANKAR A/L M.SARAWANAN
Okonkwo was famous because he acquired many titles during his early age. He was wealthy and rescpectable in his village. He was a good wrestler and a great leader. The main reason why he became a successful leader was he was afraid of becoming his father who was irresponsible weak, and full of debt. Once he has the awareness of how being weak wont help, he tried to be strong and work his life out. Then he became an inspiration of his people.
In this novel, the writer told us that not every human is perfect. We have weakness and flaw. So does Okonkwo. He was 'allergic' to people with weaknesses. Take his son as an example. He beat his son and show hatred when his son shows his weak action. Besides that, he also killed Ikemefuna. He was strong outside but weak inside. This lead to the beating of his wife during the sacred week. Villagers were aware of this.
My nation's leader work hard like Okonkwo to maintain the stability of the nation. With good effort, comes good outcome. Malaysia is now a stable and peaceful country. All thanks to the nation's leader hard work.
ABDUL FALAKH ZAFRIEYL
Okonkwo was famous because he acquired many titles during his early age. He was wealthy and rescpectable in his village. He was a good wrestler and a great leader. The main reason why he became a successful leader was he was afraid of becoming his father who was irresponsible weak, and full of debt. Once he has the awareness of how being weak wont help, he tried to be strong and work his life out. Then he became an inspiration of his people.
In this novel, the writer told us that not every human is perfect. We have weakness and flaw. So does Okonkwo. He was 'allergic' to people with weaknesses. Take his son as an example. He beat his son and show hatred when his son shows his weak action. Besides that, he also killed Ikemefuna. He was strong outside but weak inside. This lead to the beating of his wife during the sacred week. Villagers were aware of this.
My nation's leader work hard like Okonkwo to maintain the stability of the nation. With good effort, comes good outcome. Malaysia is now a stable and peaceful country. All thanks to the nation's leader hard work.
ABDUL FALAKH ZAFRIEYL
