Many of the themes of this novel are relevant to men of any period of time and culture, such as religion and status. Religion is important to the moral understanding of this novel as it places all men at an inferior level to Chielo, the Agbala, or possessor of the spirit of God of the tribe. Despite men being superior to women at the time the novel is set, Chielo humbles any man of the novel by possessing powers superior to mortal beings. The men in the novel all possess the human quality of respect and obedience. This is further illustrated by the status of Okonkwo after the hard work he has provided the community during the yam seasons and Okonkwo’s acceptance of his punishment for breaking the ‘week of peace’. In this respect, the moral understanding of the novel can be generalised to men of all times and cultures.
Achebe’s use of imagery throughout the novel provides the reader with a sense of being involved in the Ibo tribe, like the reader is watching these events unfold before them. This is particularly odd since the narrative of the story is told in the past tense. Many have noted that the ability Achebe displays to allow the reader to empathise with his protagonists is one of Achebe’s literary strengths. This is particularly illustrated in Achebe’s portrayal of Okika, a relatively minor character who delivers an important speech that changes the mood of the reader during chapter twenty-four. This speech is particularly important, as it portrays the vulnerability of the clan and foreshadows Okonkwo’s fatal actions,
“All our gods are weeping. Idemili is weeping. Ogwugwu is weeping, Agbala is weeping, and all the others. Our dead fathers are weeping because of the shameful sacrilege they are suffering and the abomination we have all seen with our eyes.”
Okika’s speech is referring to the unmasking of an egwugwu in public, which was a tremendous crime against the Ibo tribe. Achebe is showing the cultural importance of the egwugwu and is also causing the reader to feel like they have just been betrayed by their fellow man. This type of betrayal is relevant to men of all times and places but illustrated in an African context, further continuing the debate of whether or not the novel is ‘uniquely African’ or ‘relevant to men of all times and places.
Many other themes are clearly present in the novel, such as the idea of the Aristotelian hero. An Aristotelian hero generally begins life from humble beginnings, works hard and moves up the social ladder. He gains wealth and status and having an admirable personality, but the want for happiness leads to one fatal flaw bringing about the character’s own destruction, usually resulting in death. Okonkwo begins life in his father’s shadow, borrows yam seeds, plants them and is eventually able to have his own harvest. Despite having a high status by the end of the novel, Okonkwo’s own pride and honour will not allow him to be colonised by the ‘white men’ and this leads to Okonkwo’s suicide.
“You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.”
The character of Okonkwo serves to show how the relationship between father and son can differ between generations. Okonkwo’s relationship with his father is not shown throughout the novel, but his father is the main motivation for Okonkwo’s disdain of laziness and weakness. Achebe is emphasising the importance of a healthy role-model, which the character of Okonkwo clearly doesn’t have, but the downfall of Okonkwo at the end of the book implies that Okonkwo should have been more respectful of his father and his heritage. Achebe has created a very deterministic character, who believes that the only way of being successful is to be hard-working, strong and determined. However, the Ibo tribe did not frown upon Okonkwo for his father’s sins. This lead critic Umelo Ojinmah to argue, “This flexibility of the society contrasts markedly with Okonkwo’s single-mindedness”. Although the Ibo tribe do not seem to mind about Unoka’s lazy and weak past, Okonkwo is still driven to ensure he does not end up like his father.
In contrast, Okonkwo has a strained relationship with his son because of Okonkwo’s mission to avoid showing weakness. Okonkwo treats his family harshly and his son, Nwoye, in particular is not impressed by his father’s actions. A comparison can be drawn between the two father-son relationships in the book. Both sons are dissatisfied with their fathers and this leads to destruction in different ways. The lack of tolerance Okonkwo shows towards Nwoye joining the missionaries divides father and son, just as Unoka’s laziness divides he and Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s death at the end of the novel stems from the relationship problems he has had with both his son and his father. His intolerance and lack of emotion lead to the disowning of Nwoye and this can all be directly related to the unstable relationship between Okonkwo and his own father. Achebe’s inclusion of these relationships highlights the importance of a healthy relationship between father and son, as a father should be seen as a positive role-model and be helpful to the development of a child. This theme is universal to men of all times and is perhaps less relevant to specific African culture.
Okonkwo seems to treat Ikemefuna as his own son, despite the fact that he is not. Achebe makes it clear to the reader that, despite very rarely showing it, Okonkwo cares a great deal for him and he becomes integrated into the family.
“Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy – inwardly of course.”
Ikemefuna grows to see Okonkwo as his father and Okonkwo is viewed as being wrong for having a hand in killing him. In the Ibo culture, having a hand in killing somebody who calls you father is immoral and looked upon unfavourably. Ogbuefi Ezeudu, a wise old man, warns Okonkwo not to be included in the murder of Ikemefuna, but Okonkwo feels that he will be perceived as weak should he not finish Ikemefuna off,
“They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom, and kill him there. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. He calls you his father.”
Okonkwo’s actions, specifically culturally are viewed as immoral. His actions would likely be condemned by men from all times and places though and this is Achebe’s intention. The use of the phrase ‘as is the custom’ emphasises the African nature of what is to come in the novel. This would appear to suggest that the novel can be viewed as both ‘uniquely African’ and ‘common to men of all times and places’, but specifically as uniquely African.
However, Okonkwo’s relationship with his daughter Ezinma is more stable than that of Okonkwo and his son. Ezinma appears to be his favourite child and Okonkwo can actually be seen as showing some emotion for her through his actions. A good example of this is where Ekwefi falls ill and Okonkwo finds her the medicine she needs. Okonkwo wishes she could have been a boy, because he feels that she is stronger than Nwoye,
“She should have been a boy,”
Okonkwo’s relationship with Ezinma is surprising, as Okonkwo is very harsh towards Ezinma’s mother, Ekwefi, firing a gun at her and beating her during the ‘week of peace’. Okonkwo’s attitude towards women is typical of contemporary African culture, where women were seen as inferior to men and treated as such. This is why Okonkwo feels that Ezinma should have been a boy, because she is able to match up to the expectations Okonkwo has for his own son, Nwoye. It’s ironic that Okonkwo perceives women and weak and inferior, yet he has more respect for Ezinma than he does Nwoye. However, it is also ironic that the Chielo, who is the priestess of Agbala, is in fact a woman and is superior to even the highest of tribesmen. This illustrates some level of importance for women at the time of the novel, but generally they were oppressed by men. Men were even allowed to marry more than once at a time, whereas women were not. These particular aspects of African culture would be more difficult to relate to both men and women of more recent times and places. These, it could be argued, are specifically African aspects of life.
Okonkwo is a tragic hero and so has qualities applicable to men of all places and times. Okonkwo has many likeable, admirable qualities but one fatal mistake leads to his death. His strength and courage would be admired by modern readers and this results in the novel having human qualities relevant to men all over the world. However, the circumstances in which these qualities are drawn out of the character by Achebe seem to appeal more to African readers. In the past, Achebe has pointed out that it is his duty as an African novelist to inform the wider audience about his culture and the way it has progressed over time. An internet critic has agreed, arguing “Achebe is not only trying to inform the outside world of Ibo cultural traditions, but to remind his own people of their past and to assert that it had contained much of value.” This critic appears to be implying that this novel is both ‘uniquely African’ and ‘relevant to men of all places and times’.
In conclusion, Achebe’s portrayal of both men and women are ‘uniquely African’, but the general themes and narrative can be related to men of all times and places. ‘Men’ need not be interpreted literally, as the universal themes apply to both genders. It appears that Achebe’s intention was to provide a novel that could inform both descendents of the Ibo tribe and descendents of the colonisers of the events taking place during colonisation in Nigeria. The result is a novel that informs and educates readers of these events.