Things Fall Apart, 2002. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. (1979 is similar)
Achebe employs the morally ambiguous character Okonkwo in order to allow him to be more accessible to the audience. The reader recognizes that Okonkwo is ethically indefinite in that he can be an outwardly merciless killer while at the same time a loving father figure. When first the reader is introduced to Okonkwo, he is known as the respected warrior, affluent and imperative as a leader and farmer. But he is also a man that is haunted by the memory of his father, and therefore all of his acts are in desperation to elude the failures his father was marred with.
Okonkwo is celebrated in his tribe as being an infamous warrior, a merciless killer. He was known throughout many villages as the strong fighter, the fearless combatant, whom was revered for his strengths. It is difficult for the reader to acknowledge that any man so impassive to the physical pain he had inflicted upon others, could be more than just simply wicked. He shows that he enjoys the sport of killing through his actions, and is not restricted in his disdain for any man he feels is weak. He is a man that loathes limitation, and despises laziness. Perhaps the most agonizing occurrence in the entire novel offers to the reader the best example of the malicious character that resides within Okonkwo. When Ikemefuma runs to Okonkwo for salvation and Okonkwo refuses, the audience is almost all at once painful realization that his fear of what others perceive of him is too strong to overcome, and they experience the heartbreak of knowing the love he felt for Ikemefuma was not enough to dominate his fear. This is significant to the novel’s genuine accessibility, in that Achebe wrote this character to represent a universal irony of the strong man who cannot help but succumb to his weakness.
It is easy to view Okonkwo as the strong warrior, but he also has a loving aspect to his character, which works to portray him as the vague man he is. The reader is quick to acknowledge the violence and fear, but must look deeper to recognize the warm and loving father figure beneath. It is because of his fears that Okonkwo suppresses most of his affections, but there are some instances where the reader can see but a glimpse of his kindness and adoration. The reader notices this in his fondness for Ikemefuma and Ezinma. It is unfortunate that Okonkwo must conceal the love he has for his favorite daughter, even though she is much like him in her ways of placing importance on performance instead of emotion. It is significant to the novel that Okonkwo suppresses his emotions in this way. The concealing of emotions that he feels are feminine, including love, is central in portraying his moral ambiguity.
Achebe uses his mastering of the qualities universal to human men of all cultures to create a character in Okonkwo that is morally indistinct. It is intriguing to the reader to try and place Okonkwo in a type of “evil” or “good,” although it is not at all an easy task. The fact that Okonkwo is so vague in his motivation makes him uniquely obtainable to the audience. His tragic flaw, common in all familiar Greek myths, is his fear of failure and his abhorrence of weakness. He is a man dominated by anger that struggles with his emotions, and works to resist his basic human need for poignant expression. His characteristics are powerfully human, and because they are so believable, he is exceptionally identifiable to the reader. His ambiguity is what makes his character so believably human, and Achebe uses his understanding of human nature to his advantage. Okonkwo cannot be burdened with any kind of label, whether his intentions are good or bad, just as any human cannot be restricted to such dry descriptions. And with this in mind, it is simple for the audience to acknowledge that it is his motivation that remains clear, to be a strong, prosperous man.
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