In Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart father son relationships play a crucial role in the narrative. The book talks about Okonkwo’s relationship with his father Unoka, Nwoye’s relationship with his father Okonkwo, and finally, Ikemefuna’s relationship with his father Okonkwo. A good father son relationship is important in a young boy’s life. Some believe that father son relationships don’t have any effect on a boy’s life but in reality they play a huge role in how a boy grows up. Fathers should provide many things to their sons because close father son relationships are crucial in determining what kind of man a boy turns out to be. A boys good relationship with his father not only teaches him manhood, but also establishes the orientation …show more content…
Because of Okonkwo’s unhealthy relationship with his father he never wanted to appear weak in front of anyone. This is probably how he won the wrestling match against amalinze the cat who was a powerful champion wrestler before Okonkwo beated him.
“Fortunately, among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father. Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages.” -chapter 1 page 4 Okonkwo’s eldest son Nwoye had a rocky relationship with his father. Nwoye lacked confidence, a large part of the reason for this is because of the way Okonkwo treats him.
“[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.” -chapter 2 page