village. This is another characteristic that I do not share with Okonkwo. Okonkwo began his search to wealth and status by going to a wealthy villager and asking for support. He was loaned enough seed yams to begin a productive crop. Beginning as a sharecropper was not what he wanted to be in life because he was not as wealthy and popular as he wished to be but it was his only option since his father had not left him anything to live off of. Okonkwo had to start at the bottom and work his way up to the top. This is much like the experience I have had in playing high school softball. When I was a freshmen I started to play but then quit because the freshmen never got any attention. I realized the next year that it was stupid for me to quit because I would always have to work hard to get noticed. I played my sophomore year but still did not receive as much attention as I had wanted. Though this time I knew that if I worked hard it would pay off. My junior year I joined the team again and realized how much my time and effort had paid off. Okonkwo was obviously a man with many flaws just like everyone else. He was still a hero of his people though. Even though his clansmen were aware of his flaws they still respected him and his achievements. My friends are also aware of the flaws and mistakes I have made but still respect me too. The theme of Thing Fall Apart is about man and his struggles in life against himself. When Okonkwo is selfish, he fails. When he is determined, he achieves. Reading Okonkwo's story has helped me realize that when I want something bad enough and work for it, I will get it. Though once I receive what I have worked for it can easily be gone in a heart beat if I am selfish about it. This story has also taught me that finding happiness in life is the most important goal I should strive for in life....
