In this fictional literary novel, the protagonist struggles with inner emotions that cause aggressiveness and skepticism. What is not perfectly clear is whether or not the main character, Okonkwo, wars more with himself or the White people that have brought their government and insane, seemingly hypocritical, religion with them. With that I will break down the dilemma of Umuofia during European colonization using missionaries as tools under the otherwise elusive categories of the bad, the neutral, and the good.
The Bad
Okonkwo hates his father for being unsuccessful. His father is dead. Okonkwo is a fierce warrior and with those brute forces come even more brutal emotional baggage. The Pale European colonists are here and half of the people seem to be ok with the new religion. The other half is divided between tribal loyalties and investigating this new white-man’s religion. Okonkwo shows severe disdain for those who have accepted the colonists but he is not afraid of the new missionary Mr. Brown, but of the colonial laws his perceived superiors bring along with him. Mr. Brown is a kind and genuine man who loves their people and shows real concern. The missionary aspect was not questioned after seeing Mr. Brown work and care for the people of their village.
Okonkwo’s desire to respond violently to the Christian church is not completely motivated by a desire to preserve his clan’s cultural traditions. He wanted to return from exile by impressing his fellow clansmen and elders and had a particular interest in doing so for reasons of having appeared to have and proved himself to be not only an elite warrior but as an elite and successful father.
It seems the country of the District Court purposely sent Mr. Brown, the caring and personable missionary, to make friends with the people and then replaced him with the hardliner Reverend Smith. Mr. Brown had realized that reading and writing in an exchange of native language learning should take place to ensure his mission of peace and compassion could take place. It came to a serious conflict and the people realized, “They are harsh and arrogant, and Okonkwo cannot believe that his clan has not driven the white men and their church out.” (Achebe, 121) The reverend refused to respect any cultural traditions and local rules. Instead, he imposed his own understanding of his culture thousands of miles away onto an indigenous culture. Not to mention, he had no interest in overcoming the language barrier to understand, just to change them to be like him. This language barrier and reliance on a messenger seemed to empower the third party influence of the interpreter. The interpreter messenger seemed to have attempted to appease the clan and the reverend had no idea how to understand certain responses of a tribe he knew very little about. With an already firmly held belief that he had some type of authority over the indigenous people, the reverend’s egotistical and invasive personality pushed Okonkwo to a breaking point. He showed no tolerance for any of their ancestral veneration. He truly held a black and white view of the way they should act, look, and respond. This was a stark contrast from the previous missionary who had endeared most of the clan. Eventually, the divisiveness became so strong that Obierika believed the clan’s kinship and solidarity was too weak to reconcile. The replacement of ancient customs with new judicial rules that took the familial oversight out of the clan’s authority caused many to question why Aneto was hanged. Specifically, “They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance“ (Achebe, 158). Okonkwo and Obierika seem to have realized that it was too late to expel the white colonists. At one point, Enoch strongly sided with the colonists that seemed to have insulted the ancestral ties of the clan. These were infuriating the already volatile emotional state of Okonkwo. He hangs himself in a possible self-determined act of escaping his perceived view of failure, but ironically imitating what he thought was his father’s alleged life of mediocrity or being a theoretical woman compromising manhood.
The Neutral
Mr. Brown and the early mission style do not threaten the Igbo. They even laugh at him and some of the foreign views of deity. They question the concept of trinity in light of their “…wood and stone…” false gods (Achebe, 176). The Abame elders prophesied through the oracle that other white men would come and cause destruction. They killed the man on his iron horse. As we see interpretive differences in response to the coming of white men, the colonists retaliate by killing all in the village.
Another aspect of neutrality, besides both language barriers, is that a new economic system seems to benefit the colonists and the indigenous via trading posts. Mr. Brown met with clan leaders to discuss differences of religious and cultural views. Neither converts the other. Some, like Okonkwo, agree that violent protest was necessary, while others do not.
The Good
With Mr. Brown, the Igbo and colonialists might have persisted in peaceful dialogue and not-forced conversions, somewhat free of coercion. Igbo society and cultural customs place value on diplomacy and rational solution by utilizing the clan elders to discuss important matters. Mr. Brown understood the importance of clear communication and shared ideas. The colonial powers had other intentions that undermined Mr. Brown’s well-intended humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors. Mr. Brown cared for the people and children in the hospital. The people benefitted and received this genuine act of kindness and resolve as a form of Mr. Brown’s sincerity. Beside the hospital and health care, Mr. Brown encouraged the Igbo parents to send their children to his school to learn the language of the colonists so that they can better retain their autonomy. This act of empowering is antithetical to the mission of the reverend. Nwoye seems to be a pivotal conversion character that relates to Christianity’s message for those that accept it, or Mr. Brown as its effective ambassador until his health fails.
Conclusion
With a constant need to prove he is not like his father, a woman by Igbo cultural standards, Okonkwo seems to seal his own fate. Had Mr. Brown’s health not failed and had he not been replaced by the arrogant reverend under an arrogant district commissioner, maybe Okonkwo would have warmed up to colonization. Either way, colonization seemed to destruct the culture of the Igbo. Regardless of Okonkwo’s choices, the good, the bad, and the neutral still may have never equalized.
Notes
1. Though it is never explicitly written that he hated his father, we cannot deduce from Achebe that Okonkwo had feelings of missing out on his childhood; only that he had relative and specific feelings that his father failed.
2. The hierarchical nature of Igbo culture considered a man without a title was more like a woman and should not sit in on clan meetings. Title may have implied a specific job title; something a man excelled at and others recognized.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Toronto: Anchor Canada, 2009.
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