Nwoye in the ways of men.

Okonkwo had always feared that Nwoye would be lazy, so it was a pleasure for him to see how, under Ikemefuna's guidance, Nwoye became more of a man, performing manly tasks and grumbling about the silliness of women. Okonkwo took the two boys everywhere with him, but he had a really soft spot for ikemefuna.

The fact that it was he who had killed Ikemefuna out of fear that he might be deemed a coward, overwhelmed Okonkwo so much that he could not sleep for three days and could not eat for two. He drank palm wine during all that time and his eyes had become bloodshot and he grew weak. He could not stop thinking about the boy. Since Okonkwo was a man of action, and all the work had already been done, he had to find something else to occupy his mind and he sought out Obierika to converse with. Okonkwo also felt that he had become womanly because of his grief and decided to 'man up' and dismiss his pain, which he eventually seemed to have done.

Nwoye and Ikemefuna had become inseparable during the three years that he had been part of their household. Nwoye saw Ikemefuna as a big brother and enjoyed all the stories that he told him. He would follow Ikemefuna everywhere and was taught many things by him. This also gained him his father's admiration and led to Nwoye becoming even more dedicated to Ikemefuna.

On the day Ikemefuna was killed and Nwoye realised that he was dead, it seemed as if something had snapped inside of him. Nwoye would never be the same again and this event would forever influence his thoughts and feelings. It was probably this incident which eventually made Nwoye turn against his tribe and adopt the customs and religion of the colonialists.

The death is absolutely devastating to Okonkwo as it shakes his faith in the traditions and the things that he has built his entire life and existence around.  It calls into conflict many things he believes about himself in terms of his manliness and bravery and he also fears that it will bring him trouble as his friend Oierika believes it will be an affront to the earth goddess.

Nwoye had a very powerful connection to Ikemefuna and when he realizes that he has been killed, he begins to seriously question his world and the culture he has grown up in that could sanction or even demand something like that.  It very likely plays a role in his decision to leave the traditional gods and join the Christians later in the story.

In "Things Fall Apart", Okonkwo is a traditional, "masculine" man who holds a place of power and respect among his people, the Umuofia. Ikemefuna is a boy from a rival tribe who was given to the Umuofia as part of a peace settlement. Ikemefuna lives with Okonkwo and becomes, essentially, a part of his family, but it is decided by the village oracle that the boy must be killed. Okonkwo condones and participates in the killing, largely out of a fear of being seen as weak if he does not participate. Ikemefuna's death haunts him and seems to bring bad fortune upon him and those around him.

"Things Fall Apart" is often treated as a tragedy, and Ikemefuna serves to initiate the tragic aspects of the plot; Okonkwo's "fall" from success and power. Ikemefuna's death points to a character flaw in Okonkwo, and it is acting upon this flaw that begins the tragedy. Okonkwo is preoccupied with maintaining his image, and this hubris leads him to ignore the warning of one of the elders not to participate in the killing. Thus, Okonkwo fulfills the role of a typical tragic hero, in that his own mistake or character flaw brings about his undoing; Ikemefuna brings out Okonkwo's tragic flaw. As heartless as it may sound, Ikemefuna himself isn't all that important - what is important is the role that he plays in driving the plot forward by forcing Okonkwo to make an unwise decision. Ikemefuna's influence is largely upon the story itself, not necessarily the characters.

In my links I have included the subject "hamartia" - this is Aristotle's term for a character's tragic flaw or error in judgment. Ikemefuna, as a servant of the plot, reveals Okonkwo's errors in judgment by creating a circumstance in which his traditions of masculinity and violence actually serve to diminish his power and reverse his fortunes.

It is in Chapter Seven in which this sad event in the novel occurs. Key men from the tribe come to the house of Okonkwo with a pot of wine, dressed in their ceremonial finery. They leave with Ikemefuna carrying the pot of wine. As they journey, the men talk about normal things, but as they leave Umuofia, silence falls upon them. As they carry on, they hear the faint beating of the ekwe, a type of tribal drum. The men keep on pressing ahead. We are told that Ikemefuna felt uneasy at first, but what calms him is the presence of his "father," Okonkwo. We are shown Ikemefuna's thoughts about returning to his family. Suddenly, one of the men cleared his throat, and Ikemefuna is told to continue without looking back. Ikemefuna suddenly becomes incredibly afraid. As the men begin to kill Ikemefuna, Okonkwo hears his plaintive cry:

"My father, they have killed me!"

However, this does not stop Okonkwo himself running towards him and joining in the slaughter, out of fear that the others might consider him "weak" if he did not.