Journal_7-TFA-HSP


 * Did Okonkwo make the right decision? (Did he have any other options? What should he have done?)**

When Okonkwo committed suicide, I was definitely surprised by the path that he has taken. In my opinion, I think he did not make the right decision. Okonkwo was a a man who always valued manliness and being strong. He never wanted himself to be seen as a weak person. However, committing suicide is one of the ways to show weakness. In the society, people commit suicide because they are afraid to face the consequences, or trying to get away from some issue. They are usually not brave and do not have a strong heart that would resist them from killing themselves. Committing suicide and Okonkwo's manliness does not match. It is sort of ironic in a way that Okonkwo has chosen such choice to get away from the white men. This shows that the inner side Okonkwo has finally taken over him, and made him be weak and afraid. This situation was hard for Okonkwo to get through since the clan was not acting as one and has changed from a manly clan, to a womanly clan (as Okonkwo says). The majority of the people had said that they should not go to war, in which made Okonkwo frustrated that nobody is agreeing him. From that point, Okonkwo would have realized that there is no other options that would make the clan comeback to its normal customs. However, I think that there would have been other options. If he was a true manly man, he would have used his strength and power to lead his clan. He would try his best to get the "original" clan back and tempt them to go to war against the white men. If that still did not work, he should have just accepted the reality. Even though they might not go to war, he should try his best to bring the clan as a whole, and find other ways such as keeping a good relationship with the white men. And so, I think Okonkwo did not make the right decision because this was revealing his weak side and there were other ways to get through this harsh process.