He lives in a society where men rule, and it is hard for him to show love or affection towards his family. In this book Okonkwo’s character shows intolerance towards his father’s image, feminism, and the changes in his community. Okonkwo shows intolerance towards his father who was looked at as being weak. Unoka unlike Okonkwo, had no job and no money. He instead spent his time trying to bum money off other people in the village, well aware he would not be able to repay them.
No one wants to be seen as weak or a failure and be taken advantage of, that’s why people have their guards up. Things Fall Apart tells a story of a stubborn man (Okonkwo) responding to change. In Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart, he reveals Okonkwo’s fear of failure and of weakness. Okonkwo, with a deep insecurity of being like his father, known to be a poor, unsuccessful man and a failure in his society, gives his best to be successful and nothing else. Okonkwo passionately works hard to be at the top as a respected man (which he achieves) and the complete opposite of his disappointing father.
He is afraid to show affection, as seen with Ezinma and Ikemefuna. In fact, he is so “possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life” (Achebe 18), that he does not heed Ezeudu’s advice regarding the death of Ikemefuna. Okonkwo is afraid of looking weak, so he kills Ikemefuna himself. His deep seated fear of resembling his father is stronger than even love for his adopted son. Okonkwo’s “whole life was dominated by […] fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13), and while this initially aids him in his success, it is also the precise reason for all his immoral actions.
However, just like his father, Okonkwo is always at odds with the values of the people of the village. Okonkwo feels it is difficult to adapt to the changes in his village as the white men come to live among the Igbo people. He finds it very hard to accept the ideas of the white men and, at first he refuses to. He realizes that he
For many years authors have brilliantly incorporated the theme of sorrow and disempowerment as a consequence of the actions of others. Authors depict the reality of others doubt in people, even their family members, through their brutal and trust lacking actions. Through the short stories “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro, “Brother Dear” by Bernice Friensen and “A Cap for Steve” written by Morley Callaghan the aspirations and desires of the main characters are not accepted by their fathers and also rejected by a more powerful authority. Not only are the characters not accepted but also relatives are thought to be more advantageous than then the key characters and although one character does not have a sibling, money overpowered his importance. Lastly, the fathers expectations of two characters does not align with the mothers, yet in one piece of literature the mother expected exactly what the father wished.
Confirmation to support this is when David reveals "did I wonder what might happen if I killed my uncle". David managed to see some good in people including his father. Watson demonstrates the life of David Hayden growing up, and realizing later what a great role model he had in his father. David saw his father as a weak man and he thought his perfect role model was Frank, which is seen as he said "not manly figure like uncle Frank". He felt let down in his father, as he didn't arrest anyone or carry a gun, "And that disappointed me at times".
As we know, Wes Hayden is one of the main characters in the story Montana 1948. By making very big decisions, he undergoes a big character change throughout the story. Wes Hayden, having grown up as the “Other Son” in his father’s eyes, has developed a good and rightful sense of justice through a bad example, his father Julian. Although he is said to be inexperienced, Wes has developed this sense of right judgment through the learning experience of life and his daily job. He is a victim of favoritism, and because of never being the one with the attention he has learned not to be like his bad father and his brother by teaching himself what is right in others eyes, not the eyes of his dad.
He published Things Fall Apart in 1959. It was a response to other novels that depicted Africa as primordial and cultureless. Achebe was able to illustrate religion, race, and culture amongst other topics from both African and European viewpoints due to his English education and European exposure. Things Fall Apart was to be a responds to the colonial accounts of Africa, therefore the book took a political standing. Many of his novels address the post-colonial social and political issues that Nigeria still faces.
Although his father was looked upon as a failure in society, in the eyes of the tribe, and by his own son, he contained something that Okonkwo never had: humility and happiness in the smallest things. He thought that those were the reasons that made his father a failure. His son, Nwoye, was more like Okonkwo’s father and this leads them to drift off in different directions. Okonkwo had grown up to reject anything that resembled his father, humility or happiness, and this leads him to live his life dominated by fear. Okonkwo's tragic flaw is that he fears looking weak and letting emotions get the best of him is what lead him to his ultimate downfall.
This is discovered when the patriarch, Julian Hayden, says to his son Wesley “Ever since the war…Ever since Frank came home in a uniform and you stayed home, you’ve been jealous” (118). This favoritism shows what little respect Julian holds for his younger son that stems from Franks dominance between the Hayden siblings. Wes is constantly put down because of his brother’s achievements; these situations can either make or break Wesley. In all families, there is a member who thrives on ‘power trips’, and in this specific situation, it was Julian, “He wanted, he needed, power…he was a dominating man who drew sustenance and strength from controlling others” (20). Julian acquires his power through putting others down, especially Wes; this causes Wesley to have a lot of animosity towards his father.