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Father Son Relationships In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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Valentina Quiceno McGrover English 1H: 2A 19 March 2018 Psychology and Effects of Father Son Relationships Fathers like all compulsory aspects in life have an influence, Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart demonstrates the importance of a father and his role through leading characters. The leading character Okonkwo was affected by his father's non fulfilment in his tribe Umuofia, the absences and failure of his father Unoka caused a great hollowness in his life. Okonkwo and Unoka are portrayed as having an evidently strained relationship, one in fact that lead Okonkwo to consciously adopt opposite ideals from his father. The psychology behind this strained father son relationship fully answers the questions and unfolds the truth of Okonkwo's …show more content…

Despite the fact that his status in the Umuofia tribe was high-ranked, his masculinity seems to bulldoze over the qualities that humanize him. In a section of Psychology & Behavioral Health Vol.2 about fear, the author states, “Fear is an unpleasant emotion that occurs in response to an immediate and identifiable threat, usually of an external nature ” (Moglia). While faced with conflict Okonkwo detects a threat and reacts. In several instances these reactions have caused him immense losses such as the death of his adopted son. Okonkwo's temper always manages to shine through, Things Fall Apart depicts this perfectly by stating, “It is not only Ikemefuna who feels fear… every nerve in Okonkwo tells him this is wrong, but when the moment comes, he kills his adopted son.” The inability for Okonkwo to be weak makes him solely cruel and with a weak father like Unoka he felt forced to adapt opposite ideals. Chinua Achebe shows how Okonkwo had to make a life for himself as his father had not allowed for many opportunities for him to come in play. Later the author of the article, Psychology & Behavioral Health Vol.2 the author talks about the motivation that it takes to overcome and cope with the fears that prohibit him from growing and being he optimal version of himself. Fight or flight is described as a physiological …show more content…

The first is whether abuse has deleterious effects. “In earlier studies, in which samples were nonrepresentative and family ecological factors (such as poverty, marital violence, and family instability) and child biological variables (such as early health problems and temperament) were ignored, findings have been ambiguous. Results from a prospective study of a representative sample of 309 children indicated that physical abuse is indeed a risk factor for later aggressive behavior even when the other ecological and biological factors are known. The second question concerns the processes by which antisocial development occurs in abused children. Abused children tended to acquire deviant patterns of processing social information, and these may mediate the development of aggressive behavior” (Dodge 1990). These sudden behaviors against his son nwoye completely make him to adapt opposite ideals from his father Okonkwo just like okonkwo and his

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A theme most commonly used in literature. It has a way of bringing change either to a character or environment that no other theme can achieve, most likely for the worst. We see cruelty everywhere in life and pieces of literature it can sometimes be hard to see when it 's right in front of our face. I had a hard time figuring this out while reading The Poisonwood Bible and Things Fall Apart. It wasn 't hard for me to see what they were doing was wrong, but more of why they were.

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Okonkwo constantly struggled to create the same masculine character in Nwoye that he made for himself and constantly found a reflection of his effeminate father, Unoka, in Nwoye. Chapter two describes the relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye in Nwoye’s youth. “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness... He sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating” (13-14). Okonkwo’s efforts to change Nwoye’s resemblance of Unoka were causing their relationship to be pushed apart because of Okonkwo’s violence and Nwoye’s resistance.

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But rather than gaining any real respect, these measures lead to nothing but sheer fear of the family father. In the society of Umuofia, manliness is valued highly, and Okonkwo consequently feels compelled to eliminate any and every sign of effeminacy, that is, figuratively speaking, any gesture of tenderness. Deep down however – although incapable of admitting it – Okonkwo proves to be an emotional creature. For instance, when Ezinma is carried away on the back of the priestess of Agbala, he resists sleep and stays up all night anxiously wandering hither and thither awaiting her return, which is an obvious sign of affection.

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Everyone has a secret, a secret that is kept deep inside not wanting to be exposed. Fear in a way is, too, a secret but a secret that may change the person’s behaviour. In a book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is controlled by his fear; all of his decision is tied to fear of being seen as weak. The feeling of fearfulness is the certain factor that affects Okonkwo actions and personality because it changes the person’s behaviour, making Okonkwo himself. It also affects his interaction with other people and his status as a tribe member.

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“But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness”. Due to his father’s lack of work he pushed himself farther and is now pushing his own son nwoye. “Okonkwo’s first son, nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father anxiety for his incipient laziness”. In result of nwoye being lazy okonkwo threatens him to work, not only does he apply it to his first son but the rest of his family to the point where they are scared of his temper. Okonkwo wants his son to be successful and has hopes for him.

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Okonkwo’s sense of identity is challenged by the relationship of his father, Unoka, and his adopted son, Ikemefuna. Unoka is not the typical role model for anyone because “when Unoka died he had taken no titles at all and he was heavily in debt” (8). Unoka’s death did not bring good to his name due to his debt and the lack of titles. This shows why Okonkwo doesn’t want to be like his father, who in the ibo culture has no dignity due to the lack of titles. This makes Okonkwo become tough and respected because “he was not afraid of war.

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Ikemefuna’s character and tremendous effect on the clan illuminate the central concept of opposing views of masculinity throughout different generations present in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. To begin, Ikemefuna helps Nwoye realize how proud his father becomes when he no longer cares for women’s stories. Nwoye understands the notion that as a man in Umuofia he should be masculine and violent, yet he still prefers the feminine stories that his mother tells (Achebe 53). In addition, Nwoye even fakes his interest in masculine stories to impress Okonkwo: who in return stops beating Nwoye (Achebe 54). The generation gap proves that Okonkwo values a man’s strength but Nwoye sees staying true to himself and interests as more important.

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Timothy Odusote Ms.Calo English 12 , Period 8 January, 29 2016 Annotated Bibliography: Things Fall Apart "Albert Chinualumogu Achebe; 16 November 1930. " Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web.

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623 Words | 3 Pages

The novel “things fall apart” is about the fatal demise of Okonkwo and the igbo culture of Umuofia. Okonkwo is well known and respected leader in his community, who is successful in everything he does, such as wrestling and farming. He is quick with his hands and takes pride in his accomplishments. Okonkwo’s family relationship makes him a sympathetic character because of his support and an unsympathetic character because of his cruelty. In many ways Okonkwo showed that he had no sympathy for others , However at times he could be sympathetic.

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786 Words | 4 Pages

Okonkwo devotes his life to becoming the opposite of his unsuccessful father. This need to become masculine introduces his fear: “But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of

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The narrator says, "He had a great burning ambition to be one of the lords of the clan" (Achebe, 12). This quote highlights Okonkwo's fear of failure and rejection, which motivates him to be a strong leader and assert his power and authority over others. In conclusion, Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart is driven more by fear than malice. His fear of failure, rejection, and weakness motivates him to become a successful leader in his community.

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Haven Montgomery Siver E block March 21 2023 The Reality of the Fear Swallowing Okonkwo In the classic "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, the main character Okonkwo experiences a great deal of suffering due to his inability to process and understand the root of his insecurities. Though Okonkwo is seen to be powerful, masculine, and numb, deep down he is plagued by anxiety and fear over his own insecurities.

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694 Words | 3 Pages

Even though Okonkwo was a great man, he was “possessed by the fear” (Achebe 7) of his father’s failures. By using this personification, Achebe implies that fear is as

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His fear of weakness and failure is derived from his father, Unoka’s failures, which ignite Okonkwo’s misogynistic views. Throughout his lifetime, Okonkwo associates femininity with weakness because of Unoka, who was called an “agbala” or woman by the people of Umuofia. Since women have this reputation for weakness, Okonkwo lives with constant fear that he will be given the same title as his father. Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye’s effeminacy reminds Okonkwo of his own father. He says, "I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man, but there is much of his mother in him ."(Achebe, 66).

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Fear is the core cause of the dramatic shift of lifestyle for both Okonkwo and Nwoye. Through the management of reputation and the avoidance of their father’s likeness, Okonkwo and Nwoye built new lives for themselves. Okonkwo sought power and authority to prove his masculinity and make up for Unoka’s reputation as a weak man. He did this to the point where manliness became his character. Fearlessness and violence were masculine qualities that in Igbo culture signifies strength and influence.

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