Okonkwo’s relationship and as a father figure with Ezinma, Ikemefuna, and Nwoye in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was complex. The individual connection that Okonkwo had with each of his children had extreme high and lows during the novel.
Ezinma was the only child of Okonkwo and his second wife Ekwefi. She was his favorite daughter. She was also the only child out of ten children that Ekwefi had that made it past three years old. Okonkwo was very fond of her but only very rarely showed it openly. Okonkwo wishes that Enzinma was a boy due to her masculine spirit. “You have not eaten for two days, said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him. So you must finish this. She sat down and stretched her legs in front …show more content…
Elders decided that he should stay with Okonkwo until they figure out what to do with him. Ikefemuna was very afraid at first but quickly became very popular with the children especially with Nwoye because of his lively personality and seemed to know everything. Okonkwo became very fond of Ikefemuna due to his influence on Nwoye but never showed it because it will be a sign of weakness towards him. Okonkwo treated him like a son by letting him go to events with him and carrying his stool and goat skin bag. Ikefemuna felt like the member of the family but still thought about his mother and his three year old sister but it became less frequent and poignant. After three years, the village had decided to kill Ikefemuna and wanted Okonkwo not to be part of it. They said to Nwoye and Ikemefuna that he was going back to his village. Ikemefuna felt very happy about that but somehow knew it was not going to happen. “He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them” (p.57). He was lead out of the village by Okonkwo and few other men. Ikemefuna felt uneasy but was not afraid because Okonkwo walked behind him. Okonkwo ended up killing Ikefemuna after he’d been hit by one of the men and Ikefemuna said this to Okonkwo before he died “My father, they have killed me” (p.61). Both Okonkwo and Ikefemuna were …show more content…
Okonkwo was very proud of Ezinma but always wished that she was a boy because of her masculine spirit. With Nwoye, Okonkwo disliked him due to his similarities to his grandfather but changed when Ikefemuna joined them. Nwoye started to act like a man in their culture. When Ikemefuna was murdered by Okonkwo, Nwoye was sad, depress, and confused. So when Nwoye had enough of Okonkwo’s parenting, he went to join the Christians. Okonkwo was glad to see him go. When Ikefemuna joined, he made an impact on their children especially with Nwoye and Okonkwo was pleased to see that. Okonkwo treated Ikefemuna like a son and he felt like part of the family. But when Okonkwo killed Ikefemuna, his death greatly affected Okonkwo and Nwoye to the point that their relationship couldn’t be
Ezinma was the only child of Okonkwo and his second wife Ekwefi. She was his favorite daughter. She was also the only child out of ten children that Ekwefi had that made it past three years old. Okonkwo was very fond of her but only very rarely showed it openly. Okonkwo wishes that Enzinma was a boy due to her masculine spirit. “You have not eaten for two days, said his daughter Ezinma when she brought the food to him. So you must finish this. She sat down and stretched her legs in front …show more content…
Elders decided that he should stay with Okonkwo until they figure out what to do with him. Ikefemuna was very afraid at first but quickly became very popular with the children especially with Nwoye because of his lively personality and seemed to know everything. Okonkwo became very fond of Ikefemuna due to his influence on Nwoye but never showed it because it will be a sign of weakness towards him. Okonkwo treated him like a son by letting him go to events with him and carrying his stool and goat skin bag. Ikefemuna felt like the member of the family but still thought about his mother and his three year old sister but it became less frequent and poignant. After three years, the village had decided to kill Ikefemuna and wanted Okonkwo not to be part of it. They said to Nwoye and Ikemefuna that he was going back to his village. Ikemefuna felt very happy about that but somehow knew it was not going to happen. “He still missed his mother and his sister and would be very glad to see them. But somehow he knew he was not going to see them” (p.57). He was lead out of the village by Okonkwo and few other men. Ikemefuna felt uneasy but was not afraid because Okonkwo walked behind him. Okonkwo ended up killing Ikefemuna after he’d been hit by one of the men and Ikefemuna said this to Okonkwo before he died “My father, they have killed me” (p.61). Both Okonkwo and Ikefemuna were …show more content…
Okonkwo was very proud of Ezinma but always wished that she was a boy because of her masculine spirit. With Nwoye, Okonkwo disliked him due to his similarities to his grandfather but changed when Ikefemuna joined them. Nwoye started to act like a man in their culture. When Ikemefuna was murdered by Okonkwo, Nwoye was sad, depress, and confused. So when Nwoye had enough of Okonkwo’s parenting, he went to join the Christians. Okonkwo was glad to see him go. When Ikefemuna joined, he made an impact on their children especially with Nwoye and Okonkwo was pleased to see that. Okonkwo treated Ikefemuna like a son and he felt like part of the family. But when Okonkwo killed Ikefemuna, his death greatly affected Okonkwo and Nwoye to the point that their relationship couldn’t be