The Psychology of Okonkwo in
Achebe’s Thing’s Fall Apart
Anish O Cornel, Ekiti State University
Content
· Instinctual Drives In Okonkwo (life and death
instinct)
· The Irrational Forces or The Structure Of The Mind
· Psychosexual Development
Instinctual Drives in Okwonko
Okonwo is a very complex character, bludgeoned by a
chain of psychosomatic symptoms, one of which is the inevitable reminiscence of
the struggles of the past with his father, Unoka. In the novel, he is driven by
an inexplicable torrent of fear, anger and ‘self’-ishness; the first, of which,
is the fear of becoming as fecklessly Anacreontic as his cowardly inebriate
paterfamilias of a hedonist father, Unoka. Throughout the novel, all (i.e.,
fear, anger and self-ishness) are tensely charged by both the life and death
instinct.
The
life instinct, being a survival force, seeking for satisfaction of needs such
as food, water, wealth, sex, etc. is one, which characterizes the first stage
of okonkwo’s behavior, while the second form, i.e., the death instinct, being
an aggressive drive, seeking for destruction, conquest and murder (euthanasia)
becomes prominent in his later life and actions. As the author puts it:
‘…Unoka…In his days…was
lazy and improvident and was quite
Incapable of thinking
about tomorrow…Unoka was, of course a
debtor, and he owned every neighbour some money from a few
debtor, and he owned every neighbour some money from a few
Cowries to quite
substantial amounts…’(pg 3-4).
To
Okonkwo, these features are detestable and irritating ones which he believes
should not have a man’s life lorded. He perceives a trans-gender influence of
the feminine, anatomizing the inner-most part of his father, and for this, he
determines never to be like him. Due to this datum, the urge to live a life of
opulence, backed by power, bravery, extreme masculinity/ phallogocentricism,
class and honor quickly sets in. He defeats Amalinze the cat at the village
wrestling competition and gains respect from society. More so, he becomes the
warrior-generalissimo of the Umofia infantry; a wealthy farmer with three
wives, and winner of two chieftaincy titles.
In all that we see in Okonkwo, in the novel, we realize
that, both the life and death instincts are basically conflagrated by fear: The
fear of failure and weakness (as of his father), as well as the fear that his
reputation and wealth would go into the hands of a bootless and worthless son,
Nwoye, one whom he sees as a prototype of his loathed father. In fact, this
instinctual drive (of fear) becomes more evident through his aggressive energy
(the death instinct or thanatos) when, he beats Ojuigo and desecrates the week
of peace, shoots at his second wife and narrowly misses committing his first
murder. He also draws his machete and cuts down Ikemefuna because he is afraid
of been thought weak. In addition, he murders Ezeudu’s 16yrs old son, a crime,
resulting to his banishment, the destruction of everything he has built up, and
even the subsequent inconsequentiality of his aggressive energy. Consequently,
he attacks and kills the harbinger sent to the elders by the white man; a
hyperbolic bravado of extreme machismo which brings about his flaw at the end
of the novel.
The
Irrational Forces Dominating Okonkwo’s Character (i.e., The Structure Of His
Mind (Id, Ego and Super-ego)
The Phaneromania for a life of fame, chivalry,
intrepidity, wealth, dignity and respect, as triggered by ‘fear’, ‘anger’ and
‘self’-ishness in Okonkwo can be exponentialed
through the pleasure principle (or Id). In the novel, it becomes very obvious
that, Okonkwo loathes to be like his father, Unoka, who throughout his life,
had been loose, weak, lazy, pusillanimous, cowardly, parochial and ‘womanly’. To
Okonkwo, these are traits that can lead to misery, penury and rejection in the
society and must, therefore, be odiously rejected.
Throughout his childhood, his mother was a projection
of masculinity, while his father, a projection of the feminine. Hence, in order
to avoid being conceived weak or ‘womanly’- in anyway- like his father, Unoka
was, he tries to be as manly as possible. This, he takes to the extreme, till
he becomes so chauvinistically phallocentric. For example, he treats his son
Nwoye very harshly, because he feels he is not only feminine in character, but
also serves as a mirror of his father, Unoka. In this regard, it should be
noted that, such a gamut of patriachal zombiism- inflected in his life-
has been as a result of his cacoethes
(i.e, mania) for fear, anger and selfishness, which all together, brings him to
a neurotic imbalance.
Also, at the execution of Ikemefuna, whom he so much
loves, he could have withdrawn from the killing thereof, but he fears the
consequence of his withdrawal. That is, he is afraid that, he might be thought
weak and womanly like his father Unoka, ‘‘who could not bear the sight of
blood’’ (pg 5).Hence, to maintain the parallel between his father, by
repressing or avoiding the sense of the contrary, he draws his machete and
kills Ikemefuna. More so, at Abame, he regards the tribesmen thereof as being
‘womanly’, because they refuse to banish the Christians.
Throughout his life, his ego is constantly dominated
by the Id, such that- often times- the Id tends to take the highest prominence
(or chances) more than his Super-ego. As part of its function, the ego creates
a balance between the Id and the superego. It meets the need of the Id while
putting into consideration the reality of the situation. More so, it makes us
understand that people have needs and desires, and that, being impulsive and
selfish, sometimes, can hurt us in the end. To Freud, the ego is mostly
influenced by the Id because we are born with our Id. In fact, it is the first
and strongest of the other two. Hence, in the case of Okonkwo, what we see is
the manifestation of his Id, which constantly overpowers him against any moral
or ethical restraint that has been developed in him. That is why he desecrates
the Week of Peace, by beating his first wife Ojuigo as well as shooting at the
second (even though he narrowly misses).
With these contumacious actions, he seems to have
negated the socio-cultural principles and laws which have been internalized as
part of the constructs of the super-ego of the citizens of Umofia. Hence,
through such actions, what we perceive is the Id, overshadowing Okonwo’s
superego, because, normally, Okonwo’s super-ego must have told him that, ‘Hey
Mr, it’s the Week of Peace and there is a law binding this week, which says,
‘thou shalt not strife’’’, because, psychogenically, the super-ego is like an
angel, sitting at his right shoulder, telling his ego to act based on laws
(familial, social, institutional, cultural etc.,) or to base behavior on how
his actions will favor the society. But the overwhelming silhouette of his Id,
subverts the chances of his superego, and thus controls his ego.
On the other hand, we also discover that, most of his
actions are tilted towards satisfying his ‘self’ at the detriment of others.
That is to say, most of his actions are jeered towards him and him alone. In
fact, he does not care about the consequence of the situation at hand (which
his ego presents to him). Hence, he carries out everything the way it pleases
him at the moment. In fact, the Id becomes the symbolic devil, sitting at his
left shoulder and telling his ego to base behavior on how his actions will
bring pleasure to his ‘self’. Hence, his actions tilt towards self-aggrandizement,
self-gratification and the projection of his ‘self’ or ‘image’ to society,
without considering whether it will hurt others or not.
In addition, anger serves as one other characteristics
of his id, which has added very extensively to most of his irrational and
impulsive actions. Through anger, he not only beats his first wife, as well as
shoots at the second, but also kills Ezeudu’s 16yrs old son. In fact, through
the self-same aggressive energy, he kills the white man’s harbinger. To this
effect, both ‘anger’ and ‘fear’ (apparently) become his psychic defensives
against his being perceived ‘weak’ and ‘womanly’. Very soon, we come to
discover that, in his life, he had believed that, the absence of the self-same
aggressive energy (coupled with extreme masculinity) in the life of his father,
Unoka, had resulted to his failure. Hence, having all these qualities
engendered in him, he struggles very indefatigably for success; defeating
Amalinze the cat, receiving two titles, becoming the warrior-generalissimo of
the Umofia infantry, fighting wars and carrying out murderous operations, (both
lawful and unlawful).
The elders-on the flip side- (we must note) tend to
symbolize parts of the constructs of the superego (I,e,. the laws in the
society) which have been internalized as the morality principle, serving to
influence the ego of every Umofian citizen, in order to project actions that
will not negate social and conventional standards of conducts. Thus, rejecting
these laws will attract judgment and rejection, in return. This is the case
towards the end of the novel, where Okonwo rejects the elder’s scheme of
silence, because he deems the elders, weak and womanly. Such a scheme of
silence, is a code of conduct which is to
be observed by every member of the elder-ship, to which Okonkwo himself belongs.
In spite of this, Okonwo acts otherwise. He kills the white-man’s harbinger,
thinking he is proving his mettle and manliness before society. But by rejecting
the elder’s code, he is rejected (by them) in return; and thus, faces reality –
that is, the unmasking of the Id.
In his life, he feels, it is for the sake of not being
conceived womanly, wretched and miserably by society (especially the elders),
that he had carried out many of his so-termed
manly actions. But then, the society for which all has been done now rejects
him. He begins to perceive cowardice and such a feminine tendency for withdrawal (that is, denial and
betrayal) as well as the run-away impulse
(something characteristics of his father), in the society. He feels society has
treated him thus, and that ‘it has led him to the sharps of the forest;
returning is not possible; and going forward is a great difficulty; the affairs
of this world are like the chameleon feces; into which he has stepped; when he
cleans, it cannot go’
At the moment, he is also visited by the memory of all
his past deeds, especially the killing of Ikemefuna whom he loves. Instantly,
his selfish impulse ruins him to self-condemnation. With this, regret sets in.
He is immediately judged by the awakening voices of his long shrouded
super-ego, with the ego re-casting the real-reality as well as consequences of
his actions before him. With regret now comes guilt; and instead of submitting
himself-to a rebirth or transformation-he decides to accept judgment as well as
the preference to die in condemnation, thinking that, submission, itself, is meant for women, for cowards (like his
father) and for others who exhibit such, (especially the elders). Hence, he
dies a miserable and abominable death (by suicide).
Psychosexual
Development
Much
of Okonwo’s childhood is not really elaborated in the novel. But we assume, (by
the little details redacted) that, he lived under a harsh familial ambiance;
and that all the stages of his psychosexual growths must have been subjected to
frustration; the result of which is the harshness of his behavior.
One could imagine how a mother who is left
dejected-under a harsh situation- by an irresponsible husband would treat her
child. In fact, much of the frustration that Okonkwo had in his childhood stage
gave him a disposition. He is egomaniacal and patriarchal. He hates the
feminine reek of character (something I would term anti-oedipal; a negation to
the Freudian believe that a male-child will always reveal his love for her
mother as well as for that particular organ serving as the aetiology of such
oedipal connexion i.e., the breast). So, to Okonkwo, the respect for such
femininity is lost. All he is about is that extreme masculinity- something
mixed with a crude machismo and sadism.
