expel his fear because he can only distract it from his mind temporarily. Moreover, he spreads his fear to everybody and prevents them to recognize his
weakness.
4. 2. Okonkwos Reasons in Committing Suicide
In the first part of this analysis, I have explained about Okonkwos personalities, which are negative. However, Okonkwos reasons in committing
suicide are closely related to his negative personalities. They are connected each other because Okonkwos personalities has activated his motivations to commit
suicide. Therefore, in this part the most important point I would like to explain is Okonkwos reasons to commit suicide as result of his personalities.
Before explaining more about his reasons to commit suicide, the writer would like to discuss about Okonkwos past life that forms his negative
personalities that support him to commit suicide. These parts are divided into three parts. They are the main conflicts that Okonkwo faced, how Okonkwo deals
with the conflict and how conflicts change Okonkwo’s character. In the very beginning of Things Fall Apart, Achebe gives two different
conditions of Okonkwos and his fathers life. It seems that Achebe wants to contrast them. The differences can be seen on the way Okonkwo and his father
Unoka face their lives and achieve their goals. Okonkwo is described as a very successful man, while his father is described as the opposite. Those differences
became a trigger that causes a conflict not only between Okonkwo and his father, but also Okonkwo and all unsuccessful men.
Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond his fame rested on solid personal achievement. As a young man, he had
brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat the wrestling match. That was many years ago, twenty years or more, and during this
time Okonkwos fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan. p.3.
Young Okonkwo starts his success by throwing Amalinze the Cat in the wrestling match. It suddenly changes his life because he had defeated a tough
wrestler who is unbeaten for seven years. At first, Okonkwo gets his fame as the greatest wrestler, and then he gets everything.
He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had
just married his third wife. To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars. p.8
On the other hand, Unoka, his father, spends his lifetime in laziness. He does not want to work. He gets his money by borrowing from his neighbors.
Unoka is a man who is incapable in organizing his money and his life. He spends all of his money to have a party and buy some wine.
Unoka, for that was his fathers name, had died ten years ago. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about
tomorrow. If any money came to his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine, called round his neighbors and
made merry... Unoka was, of course, a debtor, and he owed every neighbor some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts. p.4
Different with Okonkwo, Unoka grows in his failure. He brings his family into a great poverty. He does not have any money to feed his wife and children.
Moreover, people do not give any respect to him because he is such a lazy person. People do not respect Unokas fear in taking any war. He is a coward who cannot
stand to see the bloodshed. In his death, Unoka left a bad memory, as he had never
