The Power of Fear in Things Fall Apart In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the theme of the power of fear is presented throughout of the book and is primarily expressed in the main character, Okonkwo. Okonkwo strives throughout his life to become a stronger, more powerful, and successful individual. He wants to do this because his father was a careless and lazy person who lived most of his life in debt and had no title to his name. People often viewed her father as a feminine figure because of the few accomplishments he had redeemed. Okonkwo never wanted to be like his father and he eventually got to the point where he was afraid of becoming like him. Achebe uses the power of fear as a theme to show how much it can devastate a person's outward personality and how it will never change who and what they are from within using the literary devices of irony and tragedy. Ever since Okonkwo was young, he was afraid of being the man his father was. His father was a poor, indebted man who had taken no title during his lifetime. In Okonkwo's culture, this kind of untitled man was considered a woman. People in his culture were judged by how successful you were and Okonkwo made sure to do just that. Fearing he would become like his father, he did everything he could to become a well-known person in the tribe. “Perhaps, deep in his heart, Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, fear of failure and weakness” (Achebe 13). This is Okonkwo's fear of becoming like his father. Okonkwo's misconception of masculinity leads him to commit stupid acts and ironically causes his eldest son to absorb the characteristics Okonkwo despises as well as boss him around...... middle of paper ..... . dramatic reversal and commits suicide shortly after. . The greatest tragedy of Okonkwo's life was his own suicide and it was all due to the fear of weakness that his father had. Okonkwo had the right mindset at the beginning of the book, but it slowly deteriorated. The theme of the power of fear was the main reason for Okonkwo's downfall. If Okonkwo had done some things differently than he actually did, he would have been in a much better position. Achebe uses the power of fear as a theme to show Okonkwo's downfall as well as the literary devices of irony and tragedy. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things are falling apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print. Franz, Angela. "Literary Analysis: Okonkwo's Fall in Things Fall Apart, by ChinuaAchebe." Helium. Helium, May 19, 2010. Web. April 9. 2014.http://www.helium.com/items/1836969-okonkwo-a-tragic-hero