You may have what it takes to be successful, but if you lose yourself in someone else’s priorities or societal expectations, you will be judged not by your potential but rather by your history – Dr. Lois P Frankel. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman took place in New York City during 1948. A lot happened in the 1940’s, World War II ended in 1945, so the 1940’s were consumed by the war. The pop culture was very anti-German and anti-Japanese. It was unimaginable just how much the war impacted all aspects of people’s lives. You could not just walk into the grocery store and buy all the butter you wanted like you can do now. Many items were rationed. Post war though became very luxurious. People’s spirts were lifted, movies were cranked out, fashion …show more content…
Which caused him to be in the public eye at a very juvenile age. Okonkwo, “was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen” (Achebe 3). At just eighteen years old, Okonkwo beat the number one wrestler who had gone unbeaten for seven years. This caused him to rise to fame. Achebe portrays Okonkwo as outwardly ridged and a dominant man, but lets his fear of becoming like his father, lazy, unsuccessful, and having feminine like qualities influence his life and the decisions he makes. This causes Okonkwo to work hard, become wealthy and portray masculine qualities. The immense success and fame Okonkwo achieved at a early age hurt him because that was the foundation he based all other successes off of. In the village of Umuofia, the elders and well respected and when they have opinions about something people tend to listen and agree with what they say, “It was this man that Okonkwo threw in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirt of wild for seven days and seven nights” (Achebe 3). The elders in the villages are very well respected and when they say something of that magnitude it stays with the villagers. “Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan” (Achebe 3). After throwing the Cat, Okonkwo fame grew and because of his new-found fame whatever he did people saw and judge him based on it do he had to think about every decision he made, but Okonkwo made decisions in the heat of the moment. “But I want you to have nothing to do with it. He calls you his father” (Achebe 57). Okonkwo took in a kid named Ikemefuna and when Oracle decided that he needed to die the messenger wanted Okonkwo to have nothing to do with it but when it came time to kill Ikemefuna Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna because he was afraid if he did not follow through then he would