Title of Paper The father-son relationship throughout three generations shape the personalities of Okonkwo and Nwoye through their rebellion against their fathers. Unoka, Okonkwo's father was a weak man and “In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow" (Achebe,4) Okonkwo and his father's relationship was not ideal. Because his father was feminine, Okonkwo is inspired to hide emotions. In result this molded him to become a man fearing to look weak. Okonkwo and his son’s relation is far from perfect, while Okonkwo hides his weakness, it chokes the feeling of fulfillment for Nwoye. Because of Okonkwo's behavior, it has caused Nwoye to turn to Christianity to fulfill his sensitive side.
Unoka and…show more content… Okonkwo beats his son in order to bestow masculine features to him. But these behaviors do not bestow masculine behaviors, they simply just draw Nwoye farther away from his father. In the beginning Nwoye is trying to please his father but because Okonkwo never shows positive affections, this gives Nwoye no confidence in standing up for his ethics. Nwoye shows the lack of confidence and fear when, “And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women’s stories. And when he did this he saw that his father was pleased, and no longer rebuked him or beat him. So Nwoye and Ikemefuna would listen to Okonkwo’s stories about tribal wars, or how, years ago, he had stalked his victim, overpowered him and obtained his first human head. (7.4) Even though he liked his mother stories more, he feared telling his father, so he would listen to his father's stories just to please him. A turning point for Nwoye was when his father killed his dear friend Ikemefuna. This caused Nwoye to not only return to rebellion, but gave him the sense that being a strong man in Umuofia is wrong. “Mr. Kiaga’s joy was very great. Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake,” he intoned. Those that hear my words are my father and my mother.” This quote illustrates…show more content… Nwoye saw Okonkwo as a foolish man, just as the same way Okonkwo saw his father. Nwoye feared becoming “fake” like his father so he embraced his feminine side and joined Christianity. Okonkwo was truly a kind man, when his daughter was sick he would sneak visits in order to see if she was okay. But because he feared not having a title or looking weak, this caused not only his family to leave him but Umuofia. Okonkwo behaviors would cause a chain of reaction, while wanting to look strong he would actually make his son look more feminine. An example of this is when he kills Ikemefuna, this causes Nwoye to go back to his mother. “Throughout that day Nwoye sat in his mother hut and tears stood in his eyes”(42) After he goes back to his mother for comfort and not his father. The father and son relationship shape the personalities by the use of fear and
