The Parental Struggle in Things Fall Apart

The Parental Struggle in Things Fall Apart

Throughout the duration of Things Fall Apart by China Achebe many father and son relationships are observed. One of the most notable of these relationships is that between Okonkwo and his father Unoka. Okonkwo molded his life and morals intentionally in a polar opposite manner of his father. Another emphasized relationship is that between Okonkwo and his sons. It is evident that despite efforts to mold their children into who they want them to become, but at the end of the day each child is uniquely different in their individuality’s.

When Okonkwo was young his father Unoka’s lazy and irresponsible behavior brought shame and debt to their family name. It was known in their culture that if someone failed to make a a life or name for themselves they were written off as being unsuccessful. After experiencing his father’s failure and the trails it put him through Okonkwo was determined to do whatever it took to become a successful and well respected man in their society. “Even as a little boy he had resented 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” (13). This quote is a reference to the humiliation that Okonkwo felt and never wanted to feel about himself when a peer told him that his father had taken no title in life. Okonkwo made it his life goal to mold his personality around his pressing desire to not grow up to be like his father. However, Okonkwo’s obsession with becoming successful often could be mistaken for him being greedy or prideful. Okonkwo and Unoka’s relationship provides insight Okonkwo’s background and why he has become the man that he ultimately becomes.

Once Okonkwo is finally blessed with the son that he has been yearning for it is now his time to attempt to mold young Nwoye into an upstanding young man. However this back fires on him when Nwoye turns out to be a kind, empathetic, and seemingly feminine man. Okonkwo perceives these traits as being soft and aggressively tries to lead his son to act more like a “man”. “Nwoye is old enough to impregnate a woman. At that age I was already fending for myself” (66). By saying this Okonkwo is emphasizing his disappointment in Nwoye’s development into a respectable and successful person. In fact, Okonkwo is so obsessed with having a son that is respectable he begins to favor his adopted son, Ikemefuna, over Nwoye. He favors him because he