A father-son relationship is an important part of a boy's development . In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a powerful clan leader in Umuofia and his father poor choices in his life has driven Okonkwo to achieve success. Okonkwo is a hardworking and violent man and more successful than his father, Unoka. Unoka was a failure and it was how it shaped Okonkwo as a person and Okonkwo expects his children to follow his footsteps and become successful as him. The conflict is based on expectations and Okonkwo wanting their children to be like him and not like their grandfather, based on Unoka, Okonkwo beats and treats their children in order for them to become masculine and violent. Father-son relationship in Things Fall Apart is based
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Nwoye has a very rocky relationship with his father, Okonkwo. Nwoye is Okonkwo’s first son and being his firstborn son puts a lot of expectations on Nwoye. Nwoye would rather listen to his mother's tall tales than the violent stories that Okonkwo tells. Okonkwo considers Nwoye weak. “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness.”(13) Nwoye has never been a strong boy, in Okonkwo’s eyes. Okonkwo is disappointed in Nwoye and Okonkwo is harsh to him, fearing that he will become like Unoka. Okonkwo wants him to be violent and masculine what is expected from Igbo culture. Okonkwo will not accept nwoye to be weak and a failure like Unoka, “but Nwoye resembled his grandfather, Unoka, who was Okonkwo’s father. How could he have begotten a women for a son.” (153) Nwoye goes down his own path, Nwoye has found a support system in Christianity because he can not continue living with Okonkwo’s expectations. Nwoye does not meet his expectations therefore the father-son relationship between the two become strained. The relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye fail because Nwoye can not meet the expectations of the Igbo culture and …show more content…
Nwoye and Ikemefuna relationship is very brotherly relationship. Based on the book, it states that Ikemefuna made Nwoye feel grown-up and he was like an elder brother to Nwoye. “Nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives to do one of those difficult and masculine tasks. When Ikemefuna arrived, Nwoye started performing masculine tasks.Ikemefuna is seen by Okonkwo as a hardworking young man and more manly than Nwoye. The role of a man in Igbo culture was expected to control everything and be powerful and Okonkwo expected that from Nwoye and Ikemefuna and Ikemefuna happened to meet his expectations. “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children, he was not really a man.”(53) Okonkwo has a more positive father-son relationship with Ikemefuna, his adopted son. Okonkwo begins feeling closer to Ikemefuna than he does to Nwoye but when Okonkwo gets the son he wants and wishes for, the perfect clansman, but showing how he cared towards Ikemefuna would just make him weak, Okonkwo in the end to not show weakness kills
Nwoye has a very rocky relationship with his father, Okonkwo. Nwoye is Okonkwo’s first son and being his firstborn son puts a lot of expectations on Nwoye. Nwoye would rather listen to his mother's tall tales than the violent stories that Okonkwo tells. Okonkwo considers Nwoye weak. “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness.”(13) Nwoye has never been a strong boy, in Okonkwo’s eyes. Okonkwo is disappointed in Nwoye and Okonkwo is harsh to him, fearing that he will become like Unoka. Okonkwo wants him to be violent and masculine what is expected from Igbo culture. Okonkwo will not accept nwoye to be weak and a failure like Unoka, “but Nwoye resembled his grandfather, Unoka, who was Okonkwo’s father. How could he have begotten a women for a son.” (153) Nwoye goes down his own path, Nwoye has found a support system in Christianity because he can not continue living with Okonkwo’s expectations. Nwoye does not meet his expectations therefore the father-son relationship between the two become strained. The relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye fail because Nwoye can not meet the expectations of the Igbo culture and …show more content…
Nwoye and Ikemefuna relationship is very brotherly relationship. Based on the book, it states that Ikemefuna made Nwoye feel grown-up and he was like an elder brother to Nwoye. “Nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives to do one of those difficult and masculine tasks. When Ikemefuna arrived, Nwoye started performing masculine tasks.Ikemefuna is seen by Okonkwo as a hardworking young man and more manly than Nwoye. The role of a man in Igbo culture was expected to control everything and be powerful and Okonkwo expected that from Nwoye and Ikemefuna and Ikemefuna happened to meet his expectations. “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children, he was not really a man.”(53) Okonkwo has a more positive father-son relationship with Ikemefuna, his adopted son. Okonkwo begins feeling closer to Ikemefuna than he does to Nwoye but when Okonkwo gets the son he wants and wishes for, the perfect clansman, but showing how he cared towards Ikemefuna would just make him weak, Okonkwo in the end to not show weakness kills