Things Fall Apart if Okonkwo,

Things Fall Apart if Okonkwo, a 'man of action' embodies that Yeatsian intensity; which character[s] represent 'the best' that 'lack all conviction.'

The idea of people who are "the best" yet lack "all conviction" seems like a contradiction. How is it possible for a person to be good, to be the best, yet lack all conviction and belief? What Yeats means may be that people like Nwoye, who lack conviction in their own worth and culture often turn to the culture of others to find a sense of identity. The weak yet "best" Nwoye fall prey to the persuasion of the missionaries who are full of passionate intensity about eradicating African culture.Or, Yeats may mean that people like be Unoka, Okonkwo's father, are pacific but not strong enough to lead, as Unoka is unable to apply himself to anything but his music.

However, another interpretation of the phrase "The best lack all conviction, / while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity" could be that the best lack the conviction of their society, namely the belief that 'the best' is valuable. The African tribe does not value the good members of the tribe enough, and treats them carelessly. The best members of African youth are destroyed or ignored. Although he is African, because he is a member of a rival clan, Ikemefuna, is killed, when the energies of the Umuofians would be better spent resisting white influence. Because she is a woman, the noble and stalwart Ezinma is not valued, although her father loves her almost as if she were a son.