Theme Of Nwoye And Okonkwo

1077 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: portrayal of woman characters in things fall apart

When things fall apart they fall in pairs; Okonkwo and Unoka, Nwoye and Okonkwo. They are father and son yet they(sons) wanted to be nothing like each other. Both Nwoye and Okonkwo break their ties with their father believing their father ideology to be wrong and flawed. Both came to resent each other, as the sons refused to follow their father’s ways of life. As Okonkwo refused to become his father and Nwoye didn’t believe in his father’s belief.

In “Things Fall Apart” the opening chapter shows Okonkwo and his father, Unoka, relation. Unoka was a gentle, weak man, that could not stand the sight of blood making him a failure in the tribe as a man.“Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure.”(Achebe ,6).As he was thift man who always landed himself in debt. Okonkwo …show more content…

Okonkwo treated everything his father was, kindness and idleness as a weakness that lead to failure. “ Okonkwo was ruled by one passion-to hate everything that his father Unkoa had loved.One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness.”(Achebe,13) since he refused to grow up to be a failure. Okonkwo was a fierce warrior that ruled himself over his masculinity and anger unlike his father. He wanted to be as manly as possible but that lead him to have problems with his eldest son , Nwoye.

Nwoye and Okonkwo relation is complex having many different stages but just like Okonkwo and his father it become pieces. Nwoye and Okonkwo relation at the beginning was ruled by fear;Okonkwo had little to no problem using violence to reprimand his son to do work when he(Okonkwo) thought his son was being lazy. Leaving Nwoye feeling like a sad faced youth as he doesn’t know how to make his father happy since Okonkwo was a strong man that didn’t appear feminine. ”Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old, but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient Laziness. At any rate, that was how

Show More
Related

  • Sympathetic and Unsympathetic Characters in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a sympathetic character and unsympathetic character in regards to his family relationships with his adopted son, Ikemefuna, his daughter, Ezima, and his father, Unoka, as a result of he appears to genuinely care about his family; but, the pride within himself prevents his expression of such pride and concern openly.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo was well known through out the nine villages because of his achievements in the tribe. Okonkwo had a great fear of becoming like his father. This had a rather large impact on his life and how his personality. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was a lazy man whereas Okonkwo was a hard worker, Okonkwo ruled his house with a heavy hand and he was a man of war.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    2074 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Thing Fall Apart, we see a conflict early in the story between Okonkwo and his father, Unoka. "Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness a...

    Read More

  • Uchendu Quotes

    473 Words  | 1 Pages

    Since Nwoye cried, Okonkwo beat him. Nwoye wishes he could see his mother and he wants to be with her. When Okonkwo goes to exile, he goes to his Mother's village. He respects his mother and this is where he finds forgiveness for what he did. "Do what you are told, woman," Okonkwo thundered, and stammered. "When did you become one of the ndichie of Umuofia?" And so Nwoye's mother took Ikemefuna to her hut and asked no more questions. As for the boy himself, he was terribly afraid. He could not understand what was happening to him or what he had done.”(Page 5 ebook) Ikemefuna was scared of Okonkwo so he found what was his closest mother figure and looked to her for comfort. “Okonkwo was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. But his wives and children were not as strong, and so they suffered. But they dared not complain openly. Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth.” (Page 5

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Okonkwo's Fall In Things Fall Apart

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being a father and husband is hard enough on it’s own, but especially in this culture. “I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man, there is too much of his mother in him.” (Achebe, 66). Okonkwo struggles with raising his kids to be of tradition. Although he has successful daughters, his sons are where he falls short. Okonkwo believes that Nwoye is lazy and he fails as a father in that respect. “Suppose when he died all his male children decided to follow Nwoye's steps and abandon their ancestors? Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at he prospect, like the prospect of Annihilation.” (Achebe, 153). This is an all too real reality for Okonkwo to face. After raising him the best he could, Nwoye had left him to join the missionaries. This is where the establishment of a new culture started to affect Okonkwo. If he hadn’t been taught by the tribe that manliness and strength were essential attributes that every man must have; his fate may have taken a different

    Read More

  • Okonkwo A Sympathetic Character

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    In these few chapters that we read, we have already learned a lot about Okonkwo, his life, and how he shows sympathy to some, but to others he is heartless. Okonkwo is other wise known as an unsympathetic person. Okonkwo is a clan leader of umuofia who holds many titles and is well known among his people. Okonkwo's daily life consists of tending to the three yam farms he has produced and to make numerous offerings to numerous gods and to help himself and his family. Okonkwo's personality is hard driven, since his father did not provide for him and his family Okonkwo had to start man hood early and this led him to be very successful in his adulthood, Okonkwo is an unsympathetic character who only shows sympathy rarely because he believes it's a sign of weakness Okonkwo's family relationships make him a sympathetic character because when his children show signs of manliness or do their jobs right he shows sympathy towards them. He is an unsympathetic character because whenever he get a little mad he has to take his anger out on something and that is usually vented by beating his wife's.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Manliness In Things Fall Apart

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because his father borrowed from others without means of returning, lived off of others, and never made a stable life for himself and his family, Okonkwo does the opposite in his life. Normally a son would inherit his father’s barn, but because his father was unmanly and “had a miserable harvest” (Achebe 16), “there was no barn to inherit” (16). Okonkwo “hate[d] everything that his father Unokoa had loved” (13) because all that his father did was weak. He makes a stable life for himself and his family by producing yams and stocking up his barn. Okonkwo’s idea of manliness is also more aggressive than the clan. When he is suggested to not take part in the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo not only was there, but he “cut him down” (61) because of the fear “of being thought weak” (61). Whenever Okonkwo thought he or a member of his family was being thought of as weak, he would either beat them, physically, or himself, emotionally, up. He is more aggressive and intolerant of unmanliness because of the fear of becoming like his

    Read More

  • Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo is “a man of action, a man of war” (7) and a member of high status in the Igbo village. He holds the prominent position of village clansman due to the fact that he had “shown incredible prowess in two intertribal wars” (5). Okonkwo’s hard work had made him a “wealthy farmer” (5) and a recognized individual amongst the nine villages of Umuofia and beyond. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw isn’t that he was afraid of work, but rather his fear of weakness and failure which stems from his father’s, Unoka, unproductive life and disgraceful death. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness….It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” Okonkwo’s father was a lazy, carefree man whom had a reputation of being “poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.” (5) Unoka had never taught Okonkwo what was right and wrong, and as a result Okonkwo had to interpret how to be a “good man”. Okonkwo’s self-interpretation leads him to conclude that a “good man” was someone who was the exact opposite of his father and therefore anything that his father did was weak and unnecessary.

    Read More

  • The Stubborness of Okonkwo

    389 Words  | 1 Pages

    From birth Okonkwo had wanted his son, Nwoye, to be a great warrior like him. His son instead rebelled and wanted to be nothing like Okonkwo. Okonkwo would not change so that his son would idolize him, as he had wanted since his son's birth. He chose not to acknowledge his son's existence instead. This would weigh heavily on anyone's conscience, yet Okonkwo does not let his relationship with his son affect him in the least bit.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo is not all that he may seem; as there is more than what meets the eye. Okonkwo is the primary protagonist within the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo is a cruel yet kind man who has everything yet has nothing, which in turn creates a sympathetic character. A character such as Okonkwo has many facets; or masks if you will. Then we have his many influences: the Ibo culture; his father Unoka and of course his own personality. Then there is a staggering list of achievements. Okonkwo is a strong character but thinks only inwardly - especially towards his father - which will be discussed further in this essay.

    Read More

  • The Development of Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo wanted to become one of the greatest men in the Ibo tribe, but three unfortunate events occur bringing him closer to his end. Okonkwo was a proud, industrious figure who through hard work was able to elevate himself to a stature of respect and prominence in his community. The one major character flaw was that he was a man driven by his fear to extreme reactions. Okonkwo was petrified of inadequacy namely because his father was a complete and utter failure. This fear of shortcoming made him hate everything his father loved and represented: weakness, gentleness, and idleness. Who was Okonkwo, well Okonkwo was a hero and also he...

    Read More

  • Notion of Balance in Things Fall Apart by Achebe

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    Unfortunately, everything is not perfect. His son, Nwoye, seems not to be showing the characteristics of a real man. He prefers to stay with his mother, listening to women's stories, than to listen to his father's tales of battle and victory. Later, when missionaries come to the tribe, Nwoye is attracted to their Christian religion because of its unqualified acceptance of everyone, much like a mother's unqualified love. Of this, Okonkwo r...

    Read More

  • Essay on Okonkwo and Nwoye in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    This passage shows the reader that Nwoye is extremely different from many members of his family and the other members of the village.  After Okonkwo learns that his son is interested in the new religion he is furious.  Okonkwo has always been disappointed in his son.  He believes that Nwoye is not as strong as a man of their clan should be.  When Okonkwo was Nwoye’s ...

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Okonkwo

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    While everyone was working on their farm, Unoka did nothing but drink, dance, and just plainly prayed to the gods. Okonkwo was ashamed of him and did everything possible to never end up like his father. When the narrator stated, “With father like Unoka, Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men had…But he threw himself into it like one possessed. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death” (pg. 18). The shame of a father like Unoka drove Okonkwo into the passion of being nothing but successful in his life. Everything about Okonkwo had to be acknowledged and respected whether be his family or the people in the village. The true hatred of his father derived his power when the author stated, “Okonkwo was ruled by one passion- to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness” (pg.13). Also, another statement that represents the flaw in Okonkwo is the way he is when it comes to his father, not defeating him or fighting for the father that raised him even thought they were poor, the gesture of lowing your head to the outer of your father’s name in disgrace when the narrator stated, “ … ‘Ask my dead father of he ever had a fowl when he was alive’ Everybody laughed heartily except Okonkwo, who laughed uneasily

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Book Report- 11 Pages Long. I Got An A

    2728 Words  | 6 Pages

    Nwoye – In the eyes of Okonkwo, his oldest son, Nwoye, is weak and lazy from an early age. He dislikes his father because he beats him so often to make him more masculine. After the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye becomes very depressed and later converts to the Christian faith, which makes Okonkwo disown him.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Nwoye And Okonkwo

Open Document