He was tough- he was strong- he was everything a perfect clansman would grow up to be at the young age of 15. Everything the boy accomplished, Nwoye wanted as well. He would run, fight, climb and farm just to be like his newfound brother- much to Okonkwo’s delight.…
In Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart, he tells the story of a man named Okonkwo whose life is ruled by the fear of being masculine and able to care for his family. Through the book we see how Okonkwo rules his household like a dictatorship, seeing his family as property. Due to Okonkwo seeing his family as possessions he is able to justify that it is okay for him to beat his wives and children. Okonkwo has prominent relationships with three of his children: Ikemefuna, Eznima, and Nwoye. Okonkwo expects perfection from his children, that his boys will not grow to be feminine and that the girls will grow beautiful and smart.…
1. Okonkwo’s punishment was too harsh. In the culture Okonkwo lives in, everything the people do is too please the gods. Therefore, his punishment too was put in place to please the Gods. He was forced to leave his village for seven years and burn down his huts and his wives huts.…
After witnessing an invigoration wrestling match with impressive young men, Okonkwo criticizes his son: “Nwoye is old enough to impregnate a woman. At his age I was already fending for myself. No, my friend, he is not too young. A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches. I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man, but there is too much of his mother in him.…
Everything his father believed was right, counteracted Nwoye's belief. Nwoye was completely disowned from his father. Okonkwo didn't consider him his son anymore. In chapter seventeen, Okonkwo expresses his fury about his son's decision. "... Nwoye was not worth fighting for.…
Stereotypical From the time civilizations were formed humans have created stereotypes of other groups from an outside perspective. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, he humanizes the cultural and traditional based Igbo peoples as he tells the story of a tragic hero named Okonkwo and his family dealing with struggles that Africans faced in the 1890’s. Achebe works to counter the Imperialist stereotypes of African people especially the Igbo by explaining their traditions in depth with the meaning behind them and, showing not only the good side but also the bad. Traditions are passed down through time and often do not stand the the test of time. Throughout the novel the traditions are made very apparent of the Umuofian people, the traditions…
Many people tend to treat their children equally to keep the tension low. Spreading equality within children is very important, especially your own. On the other hand, Okonkwo didn't seem to really spread equality. He treated his son Nwoye and his daughter Ezinma fairly different. Okonkwo seemed to fill Nwoye with fear of his own father, which made the relationship distant between them.…
Terrified of messing up and getting beaten, Nwoye is effortlessly kind and loving to everyone in the village. He was scared of being like his father, so he began to oppose violence and wanted to be more level- headed. Okonkwo, however, viewed Nwoye was “already causing [him] great anxiety for his incipient laziness,” (13), and was worried that Nwoye would turn out like Unoka. Just like the relationship between Unoka and Okonkwo, Nwoye is scared of being like his father, and is a foil to him (153). When Okonkwo was acting manly, Nwoye was listening to the stories of the women.…
He is very black and white, women are meant to be weak and comprise to what men say and men have to be responsible and strong. This is an explanation to why the relationship between Okonkwo and his eldest son Nwoye and his eldest daughter Ezinma is so contradicting. We see how Okonkwo has a close to hatred or feeling of resentment for his son, but an almost accepting attitude towards his…
Okonkwo thought that by doing this he could turn Nwoye into his idea of what a real man was. While Ikemefuna was part of the family, Nwoye and him were inseparable. Okonkwo was pleased with the direction his son was headed in. He had an active interest in hunting and farming. “Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears, whereupon his father beat him heavily (53).”…
Okonkwo does not want change. His view of masculinity and personal validation come from the traditions of his people. Okonkwo is also afraid of losing his social status that he has worked so hard to obtain. While talking to the rest of his children Okonkwo says, “You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. He is no longer my son...…
When Obierika asks Nwoye about his father Nwoye says, “He is not my father” (144). Nwoye also believes his father was too controlling in his life. Okonkwo wants Nwoye to be this strong, big, and masculine man that he does not want to be. Nwoye tries to be what his father wants, but he cannot do it. Okonkwo decides to take his own life like Neil.…
In this culture, gender roles are strictly set for the men and women. Among the Igbo people, man rule ultimately. The more masculine one is, the higher they are respected among the community. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, the main character, is one of these respected men. In order to be a man however, as the narrator states, “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man”(Achebe 53).…
For one, it is culturally significant to have more than one wife, with the more wives indication higher rank or success. Okonkwo’s three wives (and children) feared him because he was a man driven by his father’s poor legacy, and he wished to avert it. This drove Okonkwo to become a successful yet harsh man - or a man with a tough shell. The relationship between Ekwefi and Ezinma is particularly fascinating to me because it contrasts the general tone of the book. The book tells a story of things falling apart while Ekwefi’s is a story of success.…
Okonkwo has had many children with his three wives but this is the child he feels most connected to. He often wishes she were a boy. Okonkwo claims that she has the traits he considers strong and masculine. She does not mind doing chores made for men. Okonkwo often has to remind her she is supposed to be more womanly.…