Okonkwo's Relationship In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart Essay Blood is thicker than water, but is the bond between a child of blood relation and their parent stronger than that of an adopted child and that same parent? In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe introduces the reader to a man named Okonkwo. He is a successful man, with high titles in his village, and a renowned wrestler. His life is average of those in his tribe, called Umofia. He farms and takes care of his wives and kids. Though one day, tragedy strikes his village. A man of great esteem had lost his wife to a man in another tribe. To avoid war, the other village gifts Umofia with a young woman and the son of the man that killed the wife. It was decided that Okonkwo would care for the boy. In the end he winds …show more content…
In Chinua Achebe 's novel Things Fall Apart, the author depicts Okonkwo 's relationship with two of his sons, Ikemefuna and Nwoye, in order to emphasize his choice to oppress weakness, and how it eventually …show more content…
The author uses his death to further illustrate how detrimental it was to him to lose his sons, one biological and one adopted. Ikemefuna was passed from his own hands and his harsh words and actions drove Nwoye from the family. He avoided confronting himself about these issues and let his subconscious take care of it. Yet, it was too much for him to handle. Slowly he became more and more mentally ill, and finally decided death was the best option. Somehow in his childhood he had formed such a negative view of his father that he wanted to never be like him in any way. He tried his hardest to work as much and as well as he could, and be as "manly" as possible. On the surface, it was like the two were polar opposites, and it seemed like he was accomplishing this goal. Though at death,and upon deeper inspection, they were the almost the same. Okonkwo 's father had fits of depression, which allowed the reader to view the other side of this man, he struggled with psychological troubles like his son. Both bore a shameful death and were treated as outcasts, although most disagreed with Okonkwo 's burial. The stark difference between the two was that Okonkwo died deeply saddened, unable to forgive his clan, where as his father died happily, enjoying his music and the free way he lived his life. In life, as in death, a person is the way