Okonkwo is not all he may seem; for there is more than meets the eye. Okonkwo is the main protagonist of the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo is a cruel but kind man who has everything but has nothing, which in turn creates a sympathetic character. A character like Okonkwo has many facets; or masks if you want. Then we have its many influences: the Ibo culture; his father Unoka and of course his personality. Then there is a bewildering list of results. Okonkwo has a strong character but thinks only inwardly - especially towards his father - which we will talk about later in this essay. As a child Okonkwo was neglected by his father and even later in his life he did not speak to him - until, of course, his father was on his deathbed - this made him very angry. Okonkwo always considered his father Unoka to be lazy. Okonkwo worked hard to eliminate any trace of laziness from his personality. He is an extremely persistent man and a hard worker. He is given sweet potato seeds and even when heavy rains cause the sweet potatoes to rot he doesn't give up and keeps trying. He shows emotions internally and is extremely capricious. As shown by the following quote, Okonkwo still prefers boys to girls and men to women. This is because they perform “male” tasks. “…If Ezinma had been a boy I would have been happier. He has the right spirit” (Achebe, 66); Okonkwo kept saying that he wished Ezinma was a "boy" and "had the right spirit" which shows that he likes her but won't show these emotions, this and many other choices that Okonkwo makes are due to cultural influences. Despite kind feelings, cultural influences ultimately betrayed him. “Stunned by fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. It was… middle of paper… a mouse when it was caught by the tail and dashed against the floor” (Achebe, 63). For two consecutive days he refused to eat and drank only palm wine. This shows that he felt he had done something horrible and knew it was wrong, but only because society and culture dictated that he had to kill Ikemefuna. Therefore, Okonkwo evokes sympathy in the reader because he is not just a product of society. At the essence of his character, Okonkwo evokes sympathy in the reader only because of his many cultural and personal influences. These influences make him a product of society. Because of this he lost a lot but he also gained a lot. Okonkwo also thinks he is doing something to help when in reality he might be harming others. He has a conscience and regrets certain actions. He punished himself after killing Ikemefuna. Therefore, Okonkwo is a cruel but kind man who evokes sympathy in the reader.