I believe that Okonkwo was a victim because of how the missionaries and converted tribe members treated him and his way of life, and also because of the pressures that the Ibo culture imposed on him.
The missionaries and concerted tribe members treated Okonkwo and his way of life with disrespect when in chapter 22, page 186 Enoch tore off a mask of one of the tribes spirits. The missionaries disrespected Okonkwo in chapter 23 when they invited the leaders of the clan to their compound telling them they only wanted to listen and then imprisoned them until a fine was paid by the rest of the clan.
I think that the pressure that the Ibo culture imposed on Okonkwo also made him a victim. When in chapter 24, page 204 Okonkwo kills a messenger and then knows that the village will never go to war so he hangs himself. Okonkwo knows that hanging himself is a sin in his clans beliefs but he has been pressured by himself to always be a man of action. The pressure from himself and the clan is to much for Okonkwo so he hangs himself even though it is a disgrace because he has been pressured so much that he thinks that ending his life is the only way out.
I think that Okonkwo is a victim in this story because of how much pressure has been put on him from so many different sources and also because of the missionaries and converts mistreating and not acknowledging his and his tribes way of life and traditions. I believe the Okonkwo could have handled the pressure and disrespect better. Instead of ending his life there are countless other ways to handle the situation, all of which in my opinion is a more honorable way the handle his problems.
4.5/5
ReplyDeleteYou have set up your short essay properly, you use two supporting ideas, and you use direct examples from the story. You need to work on the fluency of your sentences. You are ready to start avoiding "I think," and you need to tighten up your punctuation and grammar.