In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, an African man by the name of Okonkwo. His father Unkoa was a failure in many ways. When Okonkwo was a young boy, his family never had enough to eat and not the best lifestyle because his father would play his flute rather than work on the fields. When Okonwo was eighteen, he decided his life would be nothing like his father. He would be a hard worker and an honored man. While Okonkwo strived to be a better man, events that he couldn't control ended up beating him down in the end, until he just couldn't fight anymore.
His first act to differ his life was by being known for his strength and personal achievements. "As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the earth." (Page 3) Since Okonkwo won the fight and became the greatest wrestler, his father died. Okonkwo became a wealthy farmer, with two barns of yams. He also has three wives, and two fighting titles. Everyone in the village respected him for his achievements. Although Okonkwo tries to be the best, he still has faults. During the Week of Peace, which his an African tradition that during this week, it was a period before planning time, and no one was allowed to be rude to one another. Okonkwo gets angry when one of his wives doesn't get home early enough to prepare dinner. He beats her, which is against the Week of Peace rules. This action could have destroyed all of the crops of the entire village. The priest said to Okonkwo, "You will bring to the shrine of Ani tomorrow one she-goat, one hen, a length of cloth and a hundred cowries." (page 31) Okonkwo was ordered to do this so that he would be forgiven, and the crops would not be destroyed. .
Later, Onoknwo along with the rest of the village, were attending a funeral for the death of a noble warrior.
