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Things Fall Apart Quote Analysis

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Analysis of Okonkwo and Unoka in Things Fall Apart Do you know who Okonkwo and Unoka are? In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, he introduces two unlike characters, Okonkwo and Unoka, who live in the village called Umuofia. Okonkwo is Unoka’s son and Unoka, is Okonkwo’s father. Although, they have many differences in terms of their strength and success; they are similar through their common interest in farming. As explained,the characters Okonkwo and Unoka are particularly different. One way they are different is that Okonkwo is strong and Unoka is weak, for example, the quote: “Okonkwo threw the cat” (Achebe pg. 1) determines how strong Okonkwo is. The quote explains he has so much strength that he was able to throw “the cat” one of the greatest …show more content…

One way they are similar is through common interest in farming. This quote demonstrates how Unoka is similar to Okonkwo “Unoka...had said to him during that terrible harvest month: ‘Do not despair’... You have a manly and proud heart.”(Achebe pg 24) This quote explains demonstrates how Unoka doesn't want his son to feel hopeless due to failure. Unoka wants his son to do his best and never give up. The phrase “Do not despair” and the word “devotion” are connected because y Unoka doesn't want Okonkwo to give up and has declination to give him that advice and so his son can be a great farmer and won't let that failure bring him down. Another quote that explains explains Okonkwo’s similarity is “Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man.”(Achebe pg. 33) This quote explains how Okonkwo wants his son to be an amazing farmer and man. Okonkwo wants his son to be the best farmer and never look down. The phrase “great man” and “devotion” are connected because Okonkwo has a commitment to make his son the best. To conclude, Unoka and Okonkwo both have a cultural tradition of never giving up and being the best

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In Umuofia, Okonkwo has a high title, earned by demonstrating his achievement in his city. He is recognized everywhere for being a great wrestler who beat Amalinze the Cat. In chapter one, it says that “He brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat” (Achebe 3). Okonkwo made it his goal to demonstrate himself powerfully to the community because his father, Unoka, was the opposite. The emotional, lazy, gentile, and unsuccessful Unoka was interested in music and drinking, and he didn 't try hard to make a name for himself.

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Prompt 2 Okonkwo is driven by his hatred of his father and the fear he will become like him. Okonkwo saw his father, Unoka, as a coward and is ashamed to be his son. Everything that Okonkwo does is meant to set him apart from the legacy of his father. First, this is evident in his beating of his wives and even his aggression with his children. He is trying to show his strength and ensure he is not portrayed to be like his father: powerless and incapable.

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Okonkwo was a big supporter of physical and verbal abuse in his home, especially towards his wives and Nwoye. To Okonkwo, physical abuse was another language. This is how he spoke, and punished, on the occasion of the abuse, and how he had handled the situation. Women was treated poorly in Umuofia because men believe that they were weak and in inadequate. “ Even as a little boy Okonkwo had represented his father 's failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was Agbala.

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Short Story Once upon a time in another galaxy where there are no human lifeforms, there lies a place where the unimaginable actually becomes reality. This strange place is known by the locals as V-Twinland. To understand this planet, you must know the fine details of this magical place. The locals that populate V-Twinland are entirely made up of motorcycles. If all the people that lived in this wonderful world were motorcycles, then the environment must also support millions of motorcycles.

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Finally, Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, is similar to Unoka in that he is does not resemble the traditional strong and masculine adolescent boy; Nwoye doesn’t feel welcome in his family and culture, so he leaves his family and becomes a part of the Christian community. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo believes the strength of his family is determined by each family member

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Okonkwo becomes like this because of his father. His father was lazy and dies a dishonorable death and leaves nothing for his family. Okonkwo fears becoming like his father, an agbala. The effect of this is beneficial for Okonkwo. The way he turns out makes him a great man and because of this, he obtains the third highest title in his tribe.

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His father was the exact opposite of what the Igbo people stand for. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is a “coward [who] could not bear the sight of blood” (Achebe 6). In turn, Okonkwo became a ruthless warrior who was known across the different tribes. The worst aspect of Unoka is that he was considered to be a failure. This caused Okonkwo “even as a little boy [to resent] his father’s failure” (13).

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Unoka was described as lazy, improvident and not capable of thinking about tomorrow. From this Okonkwo was ashamed of his father and strives to be nothing like him. Okonkwo’s hatred towards his father has hardened his heart and has made him incapable of being a person of compassion and understanding throughout the novel. His hatred for his father has made him fear failure and weakness throughout the story. His fear of failure has brought him to his downfall.

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Okonkwo is a very well-respected and independent man in Umuofia due to his titles and hard work. Even though he seems put together and stern, his life is dictated by fear. His fear of becoming like his father led him to helping in the murder of Ikemefuna, beating his wives and children, and disowning his oldest son, Nwoye. As a main character, Okonkwo remains pretty much the same throughout the book, his biggest issue being his inability to have compassion. Who might he not have compassion for and why?

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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

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However, Unoka the grown-up was a failure. He was very poor and was constantly in debt, which means that his wife and children (including Okonkwo) didn’t have much to eat. Unoka was very feminine, having a love for music and a hate for wars and blood. He died ten years ago, still a failure who had no titles and was still in debt. Ashamed of his deceased father, Okonkwo has become the complete opposite of his father.

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First, his relationship with his father Unoka. Who he did not have a great relationship with. And someone he did not specifically care for. Someone he knew who just so happen to be his father. In the book there is a quote “okonkwo was ruled by one passion- to hate everything his father had loved”.

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Okonkwo can have pride in the important aspects of his life, such as Ezinma, and also be strong and prepared to fight when

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Okonkwo uses these traits to differentiate from Unoka and he even feels most like himself when he exhibits violent behavior in order to assert his power and authority over others. Literary critic Christopher Ouma affirmed Okonkwo’s genuine intention to change how he is regarded in society.

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