Outside Reading, Week 1, Post A

Easily the most prominent difference between the culture of Things Fall Apart and our culture is the notion of honor and amassing a reputation of one's self. This difference is exemplified through Okonkwo's quest to become is own man and differentiate himself from his father. The narrator attempts to explain Okonkwo's nature to the reader by describing his fear of being average: "Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man [...] Okonkwo's fear was was greather than these [...] It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father. Even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness" (13). Okonkwo's father had been the village idiot/drunk and simply existed for his own pleasure; he wasted all of his money on entertainment and palm-wine and never attempted to build an estate for his family. Okonkwo realizes his father's follies and attempts to become a better man by doing the exact opposite of what his father did: play all day and love everyone one. As a result of this, Okonkwo grows to be a stubborn and hardened man, always reluctant to show any emotion except anger. This shows a little bit of irony to the topic of honor and wealth: Okonkwo, despite being more respected and having a larger estate than his father, is seemingly an overall unhappier man. While his father lived a carefree life, Okonkwo has to work continuously to maintain his current standard of living, causing him to be bitter. This is a slight contrast to the United States, where honor and passing down reputations is not as important as it is in African society.