Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, follows the tragic life of Okonkwo, a man who suffers a miserable fate due to the fear of failure that controls every action he takes. Although at first the fear of failure acts as a motivation to become a successful and respected man, it later cripples Okonkwo such that failure ultimately defines his life. Okonkwo is constantly afraid of being a victim of weakness and desperately tries to remain a strong and unyielding man. It is his overwhelming fear of weakness that causes things in his life to fall apart, as his attempts to avoid failure and weakness ultimately lead to the final defeat: his shameful suicide. Fear of failure and weakness dominates Okonkwo throughout his life. At first this fear motivates him to achieve success by working diligently and doing everything that his father did not do. However, even when Okonkwo has built an honorable reputation, the fear of failure continues to overwhelm him and pushes him to perform acts that lead to suffering. An example of this is when Umuofia's men decide that Ikemefuna must be killed and Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna even though he is told not to take part in killing Ikemefuna. Okonkwo panics when Ikemefuna turns to him and shouts for help, and without thinking, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna with his machete. Okonkwo does this because in the split second that Ikemefuna runs to Okonkwo for protection, Okonkwo is overcome with fear of being seen as weak and kills Ikemefuna. This is an unwise act on Okonkwo's part, and as a result, he will suffer emotionally in the coming days. He goes into a phase of depression and is unable to eat or sleep as all he can think about is what he did to Ikemefuna. This is where things begin… halfway through the paper… there are failures in his eyes. Wanting to avoid being a failure just like the villagers are, Okonkwo commits suicide. The irony is undeniably present here. To commit suicide is to offend the Earth, as the people of Umuofia believe. It is said that killing oneself "is an abomination to man... his body is evil and only strangers can touch it" (207). Suicide is considered a grave sin and a shameful way to die, and any man who commits suicide is seen as a failure and weak. Okonkwo is just that: a failure and a weakling. Okonkwo spends his entire life trying to be seen as a successful man and continually performs feats of strength even though he sometimes has to pay a price for it. In the end he pays the highest price of all, his life, and all his efforts to succeed become futile. He is now a disgrace and a failure in the eyes of his clan, just as his father had been.