Okonkwo as a Strong Man and a Warrior

Okonkwo is considered as a warrior, and he tends to respond to violence easily. The masculine nature of his body portrays a man who is ready for war. His heels hardly touch the grounds as he walks in the village. Okonkwo is the only man who overthrew Analyze the Cat who had not been defeated for seven years. Okonkwo is fond of lashing out as the first response whenever he is angry. Okonkwo removes a machete and cuts the man who struck Ikemefuna though Ikemefuna was supposed to be killed as by the Oracle decrement .however Okonkwo later killed many people who included court messenger from British and Ikemefuna. The Okonkwo behavior of reacting to violence fiercely results from his desire to be totally unlike his father who was considered weak and lazy. His fear of becoming weak motivates him to take action in times of attack. The masculine character makes him be a renowned wrestler and a fierce warrior.”He was afraid of being thought weak” (Achebe, 43).
Okonkwo hard work in providing for the family makes him a stronger person. Okonkwo is a successful farmer growing yams which are usually referred as “manly” crop. He is married to three wives, and he has a lot of children born to him. Okonkwo has constructed many huts which are enough to accommodate all the children. His main fear in life is fear and weakness. Okonkwo deals violently with lazy debtors and weak people who resemble his father in the society. Moreover, Okonkwo does not tolerate idleness and gentleness, unlike his father.

Okonkwo is ashamed of his father Unoka nature of being too womanly and weak. Consequently, Okonkwo requires that his family works for long hours regardless of their age. Okonkwo spirit of working hard and fear of failure makes him be a strong man.
Okonkwo’s Masculinity
The masculine trait which signifies toughness and bravado culminates to his tragic end. Okonkwo uses his masculinity to belittle women in the society. Similarly, Okonkwo uses his masculine trait family as well as his associates. Okonkwo regards the masculinity as an indication of hard work. In that case, he beats both the wives and children to conform to his desires of hard work. Being masculine forces Okonkwo to be restless even in the Week of Peace. The feel of masculinity made Okonkwo drink wine out of human skull from a man he murdered in the war. Okonkwo’s masculinity forces him to call a man without a tittle a woman. Additionally, the masculine feel makes Okonkwo kill his surrogate son, Whiteman and later kills him, “[Nwoye] burst into tears, whereupon his father beat him heavily” (40).The pride incited by the masculinity is the cause of Okonkwo’s downfall.
Okonkwo as a Tragic Hero
Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero because he meets Aristotle’s criteria of regarding a person as a tragic hero. Okonkwo becomes a fruitful and respected man in Umuofia had a flaw in leadership but discovered his fate after his actions. Okonkwo receives no inheritance from his father, but his efforts make him be known in the nine villages and beyond. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements” (Achebe, 3).Okonkwo has three wives, many children, and a large compound which accommodate a lot of people. His performances earn him honor and respect from the people of the clan and outside the clan. Okonkwo brings honor to the village by defeating Analyze the Cat who had not been defeated for seven years. Okonkwo proves to be a tragic hero for gaining noble status in the society.
The spirit of the fear of weakness and failure is a tragic flaw to Okonkwo. Okonkwo forced to be a hardworking person because of fear of weakness and failure, but the fear contributes to his downfall. Okonkwo acts harshly, violently and uses his strength to solve problems. His violent behavior makes him kill court messenger in the clan meeting, and this resulted in the tragic fate. Because of the fear of weakness, Okonkwo beats his wives and kills Ikemefuna and the actions culminated in a weakened relationship with his wives and Nwoye.in spite of strong leadership and honor, Okonkwo exhibited some flaws which qualify him as a tragic error. Okonkwo discovers the fate of his action upon his return to Umuofia having spent seven years, He commits suicide after the realization of defeat.
My Brilliant Friend
Women and Gender
Undoubtedly, the society does not treasure the education of female children. Lila has a passion for education, but her parents do not allow her to go beyond elementary school. Eventually, loses her love for education and devotes herself to shoe repairing in the family shoe repair store. The novel also unravels the plight of women in the society. Firstly, the women in the novel against each other and the probability of getting diseases are high. Lila explains how women get infected with is fond fighting each as compared to men.“Life was like that, that’s all, and we grew up with the duty to make it difficult for others before they made it difficult for us. . . . The women fought among themselves even more than the men, they pulled each other’s hair, and they hurt each other”.
The lives of the children in the society are especially girls are under threat. The social web determines the lives of the children and the possibility of violence occurring each day is very high. Women are portrayed as people fight for power and superiority among themselves. Elena and Lila are trying to determine who deserves respect that the other. Elena’s mind shifts several times as she tries to determine who is prettier, jealous, and attractive and does well than the other. The novel uncovers how women are dishonored in marriage and sexuality. Lila marries Stefano Carracci at the young age of sixteen years old. Stefano betrays Lila in the marriage when Marcello Solara appears at the wedding wearing the made by Lila and purchased by Stefano. Elena on the other end is dating Antonio Cappuccio. The relationship between two is based on sex and Elena dares Antonio to take her virginity.
Elena and Lila’s Fight for Success
Lila and Elena faced a hostile environment they grew up. In spite of the challenges they faced, they devised some strategies to overcome them while assistance to each being the priority. “In a continuous game of exchanges and reversals that, now happily, now painfully, made us indispensable to each other”. (Elena)
Firstly, Lila teaches herself to read ahead of her classmates despite the fact that the society does not encourage education of female children. Lila is gifted though her mother cannot read. She has a lot of passion in getting knowledge, and she has promised to write a novel to be entitled Little Women, so she can become rich. Lila is well aware the only escape from a society marred with patriarchy is through education. On the other end, Elena is struggling for her education with the assistance of Lila. The two girls fight together to liberate themselves from the society dominated by woman slavery. Even though Elena is gifted with academic talent, she is not brighter than Lila. However, the two girls maintain their friendship as they struggle to fight for their liberation. of her Italian neighborhood despite the fact that Lila did not get a chance to do middle-level studies, she is offering fee tutoring lessons to Elena. Lila devises a way of doing private studies now that she does not attend any class. Lila encourages her friend till Elena is now a novel writer. The technique devised by the two girls helped them to change their lives.
How Friendship Contributed to Success of Lila and Elena
Lila and Elena developed a friendship which helped overcome the challenges they faced in life as they grew up. The friendship is traced back to where they met in the first grade.” you’re my brilliant friend, you have to be the best of all, boys and girls.”(Elena).Elena has a passive character and Lila proves to be sharp minded, but the two complement each other. Lila is forced to drop her education, but Elena continues her studies. Lila is seen paving the way for her friend Elena until Elena becomes a novel writer. Lila demonstrates a lot of love and compassion to Elena by offering free tutoring. Elena would like Lila to accompany her to school but that is not possible with lila.it is evident from the novel that the friendship of the two girls is strengthened by the issues they face in life. Poverty is common to the two women. The poverty has engulfed the Naples neighborhood and leaves education as the only route of escape. The poverty in their environs builds a strong friendship which enables the women to liberate themselves out of poverty.
The friendship helps the Lila and Elena to overcome the hardships they faced since childhood. Lila has to teach herself to read given that her mother is not able to help her. Lila later helps Elena to achieve academic goals by offering to be a free tutor to her. Their parents did not go beyond elementary school, but Elena and Lila’s friendship helps them to come up with means of assisting their parents. Elena is propelled to success by the free tutoring lessons offered by Lila. The assistance came about due to a strong bond of friendship between the two.