Chapter 8: Okonkwo's Struggle

"Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm-wine from morning till night, and his eyes were red and fierce like the eyes of a rat when it was caugh by the tail and dashed against the board."(p. 63) It is from the beginning of chapter eight that we begin to see an entirely different side of the mighty and fearless Okonkwo. He kills Ikemefuna and is emotionally distraught by the fact that he put an end to a young boy's life who called him "father." Not only does he know the extent to which he is affected by it, but he is also aware of the contradiction within himself and all of his "manly" values. Emotional vulnerability, in his eyes, is a sign of weakness. The reality of his breakdown catches up to him on page 65 when he recoups his strengths and asks himself, "When did you become a shivering old woman. . . .you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war. . . .Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed."(page 65) Is his sudden recovery an act of incredibly valor, or just another one of his blind defense systems fed by his hatred of his father's memory? How have his ideals of how men should act impacted his own family, especially his children?