Okonkwo And Nwoye

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, the father/son characters that stood out to me the most was Okonkwo and his son, Nwoye. They have a very strong relationship that which can be violent at times, and sometimes even loving. In this essay, I will show you the kind of relationship they have and how it affects both of them. Okonkwo, the main character in this novel, Things Fall Apart, relationship with his son Nwoye different than any other. Okonkwo came from a troubled past in which his father raised him very difficult and hard. So in the novel, it seems like that’s what Okonkwo is doing to his own son. He has been through a lot growing up so he has a very short temper coming towards his family especially Nwoye. Evidence in the novel that shows what Okonkwo’s past was like growing, “Okonkwo did not have the start in life that which many young men had. He had begun in even his father’s lifetime to lay the foundations of a prosperous future. It was slow and painful. And indeed he was possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death.” This means that Okonkwo’s father never raised him good and had to watch his father die at a young age.
Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son is starting go through the same thing his father did when he was younger.
Still a young man, Nwoye, tries hard to please his father on his work ethic but it seems that nothing exceeds what Okonkwo wants. Okonkwo yells at him and tortures him for not being man enough. Textual evidence in the novel shows, “If you split another yam, of this size, I shall break your jaw” Okonkwo was yelling at Nwoye because he wasn’t cutting the yams the way his father wanted it. Okonkwo wants his son to grow up and work hard and be a good man. He’s doing this because he doesn’t want Nwoye to go down the same path Okonkwo did growing
up. The relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye is very stressful because Okonkwo has very high expectations for Nwoye. He always “sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating” when he didn’t like Nwoye’s laziness which resembled Okonkwo’s father, Unoka. So it pushed Okonkwo to show his strength and forced him to raise his son successfully. When Okonkwo was younger, he often beaten heavily by his father and that’s what made him grow up a sad-faced lad. So it connects the tense relationship of Okonkwo and Nwoye by Okonkwo’s intimidation and Nwoye’s fear for his father. Another way their relationship is tense because Okonkwo expects Nwoye to be a great man and farmer and he didn’t express it in a appropriate manner by threatening him he would sooner or later strangle Nwoye if he turned to be a failure. This constant abuse in Okonkwo’s and Nwoye’s relationship evoked a sense of fear in Nwoye when his father said he would kill him if he ruined his reputation and added tension to their relationship. So in this essay, it shows how Okonkwo and Nwoye’s relationship is in many ways.