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.
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.
And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness (Chapter 2 Pg 3).” This quote shows the truth of how Oknonkwo was not really this cruel, tyrannical man. He lives his life in constant fear of being a failure the same as his dad. Who was very weak and considered lazy by his tribe. Even his father’s death has brought shame to Okonkwo.
Also, he had to experience the “ We do not serve Negros here ”. This give an idea to the reader that the poor treatment he received in New Jersey created bitterness in Baldwin that matched to the bitterness that his father had. Finally, he understood why his father had such beliefs. The reader also felt this was really interesting because at last James Baldwin learned about the cruelty in the real world. Most children did not listen to their parents and at the end he had to experience this before understanding the words of his father.
Okonkwo feels ashamed of his father, Unoka and, fears becoming like him. Unoka was a careless, lazy, poor and gentle man. He was more interested in music and conversation rather than doing work or improving himself. Okonkwo rejects everything that he believes his father stood for. Okonkwo adopts opposite ideals of his father.
His parents actions when he was young left him with the idea that love and relationships are horrible and all it does is hurt us, he felt as if it’s not worth going through the pain and stress. He only saw the bad sides of love, and because of that, he kept himself from everyone; he never realised the good sides of love until later on in his life. Another main contrast between the two poems, is guilt. In both poems the poets both feel guilt, but in different ways. Harrison, who had a good and loving family life, felt guilty about the way he treated his father when mourning.
I founded two stages in the development of this characters and in each he plays a role which advances of the plot of this novel. At first he is taken from his village and brought to Umofia. Then he stays with Okonkwos family, accepts it as his own, and becomes an exemplary son of the family. The series of event which bring Ikemofuna to Umofia serve to establish the character of Okonkwo. Okonkwo is shown to be trusted and well respected throughout the region.
Like so, poet ‘Peter Skrzynecki’ in “Immigrant Chronicle” visibly demonstrates his struggle to feel united with his own parents, it also demonstrates his struggle to feel united with the world that is different to his parent’s or ancestor’s. Like so, another text “Sweeney Todd” 2007 directed by Tim Burton focuses on the negative impact of forced imprisonment and reflects this negative impact as a result of Sweeney’s inability to generate a sense of “us” after he was freed from imprisonment. The poem “Felix Skrzynecki” initiates the readers with a personal pronoun by the poet “My” “My gentle father” instantly establishing their filial
The two protagonists demonstrate non-conformity and rebel against the apparent hypocrisy present in their respective societies. Hypocrisy can be defined as the difference between illusion and reality, in accordance to society it can be seen in people who are not what they appear to be, people who apply a facade. This hypocrisy is present in schools, families, and in people's values and relationships. Igby's non-conformist behaviour is evident through his values and beliefs, his appearance, wardrobe and lighting present wilst viewing the text. whereas Holden's rebellion is demonstrated through symbolism throughout the text, stream of consciousness and his ideals.
He associates his father with a woman because women, in his culture, are weak. “Even as a little boy he has resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate has told him that his father was an agbala”(Things Fall Apart, 13). Agbala literally means “woman”. If a man is called an “agbala” it means that he is weak and that he has not taken a title. Calling men “agbala” shows the reader how weak the women were in comparison to the men in society and how they were at the bottom of society.