Things Fall Apart

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Robert Adam Root History 151G-4 Response Essay to Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe In reading Chinua Achebe's “Things Fall Apart, I felt that it had many themes and idea that I could respond to, however I would love to respond to the reoccurring theme of Okonkwo's beliefs of feminism and affection being weakness. I feel that Okonkwo believes these things to be true due to his upbringing, and his fear of his son Nwoye becoming like Okonkwo's father. Okonkwo's upbringing definitely wasn't non-traditional. What he was taught and the lifestyle he had while growing up is found in all cultures and customs, and the way that Okonkwo responded as an adult seems typical as well. Achebe described Okonkwo's father in this way: “Unoka (Okonkwo's father) …was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow.” (Achebe 4) In contrasting that to the culture I have been brought up in, it seems that the majority of men who had a father like Unoka responded in living their life in trying to make up for what their father lacked in his – which is the same idea that I felt that Okonkwo's goals and ideas were based on. I say this because of how often he had to fight the urge to show affection or love to his children and wives, and also to his believing that if he told Nwoye stories of battle and destruction that Nwoye would become more of a man. I feel grateful that I have been raised in a family that the idea of showing affection is encouraged, and that there is nothing wrong with the feminist traits of women, and that it is ok for me to have them. I have been raised to always express yourself through words and emotion, and in some cases physically. If one of my five sisters or one of my 4 brothers did something nice for me I wouldn't just turn my shoulder and pretend like nothing happened or just stare at her/him with indifference, but I would

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