All stories have a protagonist, which is a person or place that the story
focuses on and gives special traits. In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart , the
story follows the life and actions of Okonkwo. As the story progresses, the
reader becomes most intimate and learns a great deal about Okonkwo. Okonkwo acts
as the protagonist in Things Fall Apart because he appears to be a very strict
father and husband, by showing loyalty to his village, and by working hard. The
first reason that Okonkwo acts as the protagonist is because he is a strict
father and husband. In the Nigerian culture it is a custom for a man to be
strict and harsh in the ruling of his family. For example, in the story Okonkwo
says, "I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering
of the clan. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands." This is
showing that Okonkwo is so strict that he would threaten his own son, maybe even
strangle him rather then let him grow up weak. Another reason that Okonkwo is
the protagonist inThings Fall Apart is because he shows loyalty towards his
village. He fights skillfully and bravely in order to defend his village. When
Okonkwo has his fill of the invading British, he risks his life by killing the
head messenger, who is attempting to brake up a traditional Umuofian meeting.
This shows that he has loyalty for his village by sacrificing himself and
killing one of the messengers but letting the rest of them go so that Umuofia
would not go to war. Okonkwo is also a very hard and dedicated worker. For
example, following the harvest, "The only work that men did at this time
was covering the walls of their compound with new palm fronds. And Okonkwo had
already done that. He had finished it on the very day the locusts came."
This makes it evident that Okonkwo works hard and does not procrastinate . In
Things Fall Apart, Achebe excellently portrays a typical African village during
the British invasion. With the character Okonkwo, he expresses the feelings of
many Africans of the time period. It is for this reason that the book Things
Fall Apart is a modern classic.