His first distinctive struggle between gender roles occurs when he is entrusted with the child Ikemefuna to care for. In a short time, Okonkwo becomes very attached to him and treats him almost better than his own son. Ikemefuna is a much harder worker than his own son and is quick to call Okonkwo his father. Even though Okonkwo doesn't show it, he is very proud and even begins to see some of his good traits starting to rub off on his own son. However, Ikemefuna was a penance for a crime committed against a villager from a neighboring village and because of that, he was to be killed for that crime. After another man attacked Ikemefuna, “Okonkwo took out his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being seen as weak. ”(Achebe 61) In their culture, it is not manly to be afraid of blood and not joining in would show a soft and weak side very close to that of his father. To this end, due to his fear of being seen as his father and ultimately being part of the female role, Okonkwo embarked on a more difficult path. This is the first time he is torn between roles and even after choosing, he still feels sad about his actions and we see that Okonkwo still has emotion even if he hides it very well under the most roles.