A Comparison Of Marriage Is A Private Affair 'And Everyday Use'

The differences between generations have always been a major source of conflict when it comes to parent/child relationships. Each generation comes and goes with their own unique ideas, values, and morals. These contrasting beliefs regularly lead to disagreements since as humans we do not easily accept that someone has completely divergent ideals, especially when they are our parent or child. While they contain very contrasting settings and characterization, the short stories, “Marriage Is a Private Affair” and “Everyday Use”, contain similar themes, and display this generational conflict perfectly. The short story, “Marriage Is a Private Affair”, is about the relationship between a father and a son, and how it is affected when the son, Nnaemeka, decides to have a love based marriage and
The theme of this story focuses around how more traditional and religious values collide with the newer way of seeing and doing things. This story also takes place in 1950s Lagos, Nigeria, which also is a major factor in creating this conflict. The father along with the son are part of a tribe called the Ibo, and within this tribe it is believed to be almost insane to not only marry for love but also to marry outside of the tribe. Nnaemeka is a young man who has grown up understanding and learning the respect necessary towards his elders and his authority. Nnaemeka dreads upsetting his father by telling him about Nene, his future wife, and even after upsetting his father, he still hopes and dreams for his father’s acceptance and forgiveness towards his marriage. Okeke was born in a small village where he was taught a more traditional, conservative, and religious way of viewing everything around him. In the beginning of the story when Nnaemeka ends up telling his father that he cannot marry the woman Okeke has chosen for him because he does not love her, Okeke asks, “Nobody said you did. Why should you?” (Achebe 2). Okeke has obviously