Okonkwo And Unoka

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe it explores the intricate and interesting culture of the Umuofia tribe and those surrounding it. Mainly centered around the child prodigy, Okonkwo, now an adult with three wives and multiple children. One of the children, Nwoye, holds a disappointing resemblance to Okonkwo's father, Unoka. The pattern that evolved between the father and son is something beyond mere generational conflict. Growing up Okonkwo was deeply ashamed of his father, Unoka. He was lazy, irresponsible, there was not a great father-son relationship, and Unoka had died in shame. Okonkwo had to do everything in his power to build a reputation for himself and gain titles within the community. Throughout the book Okonkwo shares his thoughts of how Nwoye is a disappointment just like his grandfather, Unoka. Throughout the book there is strong significance that Okonkwo does not care for Nwoye like only referring to his mother as “Nwoye’s mother” and him constantly saying that he wished one of his daughters was born a son that would be better than Nwoye. Okonkwo slowly starts showing signs of his own downfall from grace, just like his father, while still be being entirely disappointed in Nwoye.
Okonkwo had become a notorious fighter in his community, but once he accidentally shot and killed someone within his tribe, he had to flee his land and go back to his mother land for seven years to live in shame. When he had to build up his life again in his motherland, he was starting over again and it was his start to a downfall to shame. While he was living in his motherland, this was about the time where the missionaries from England had begun to appear in African communities. The native people mostly rejected the idea of these “translucent skinned” men coming in and changing their ways of