Analysis Of Marriage Is A Private Affair By Chinua Achebe

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Marriage Is a Private Affair by Chinua Achebe
Conflicts arise between Nnaemeka and his father because he chooses to get married against his father’s wishes.
What started out as a simple love story for a couple planning on getting married became very complicated for Nnaemeka and Nene. The story opens with a discussion between a woman named Nene and a man named Nnaemeka, who live together in Lagos, Nigeria. The two-young couple are planning on getting married. Nene wants Nnaemeka to let his father know about their plans as soon as possible, but Nnaemeka is nervous. He worries that his father, who is a member of the Ibo tribe will not approve his son’s marriage to a woman who the father didn’t choose, especially when the father discovers that …show more content…

He believes that a marriage should be done out of tradition and should also be arranged by the father. Nnaemeka believes marriage is a private affair. He is upset by his father’s reaction but doesn’t care he loves Nene so he stops caring about what his father thinks. Nene also believes that marriage is a private affair. She believes that Ibo tradition is silly and people should be able to marry whoever makes them happy. Later in the story when Nnaemeka and Nene get married and start a family the father regrets his decision to ignore his son knowing now that he has grandchildren he is missing out on. This story shows how different the culture is then compared to now. Men and women can choose to marry whoever makes them happy.
The message I got from reading Chinua Achebe's short story "Marriage is a Private Affair" is that, despite cultural and generational differences, family love is a vital part of life. Nnaemeka's father, an Ibo man, is dead set against his son marrying out of their ethnic group. The different cultures in this story are very important to us while reading because in Nnaemeka’s culture you must marry the person you parents choose and in Nene’s culture you marry the person who makes your heart

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