Things Fall Apart And Samurai's Garden

A healthy and open father and son relationship is crucial in a young boys life. A child craves that relationship and for his father’s affection. It can determine how his adolescence and adulthood goes. A poor relationship can cause the son to go into a downward spiral. Many factors can cause this relationship to become poor. This year we read two books where I felt the main prominence in them were the poor father and son relationships and how that affected their thoughts and behaviors. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and in Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama laziness, dishonesty, and disapproval are factors that cause an unhealthy father and son relationship.
Laziness may seem like a minor reason but it is very detrimental to a father and son relationship. In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo’s father is very lazy, which ultimately leads to unconventional family dynamics in the eyes of the child ( 4 Achebe). In a child’s eye the father is

the provider and the mother is the nurturer. If the father is to lazy the child loses respect and turns to the mother. A father and son relationship is based on respect so when that is lost it can hurt the child. Children depend on the father to provide for the family; when those needs are not met then child feels neglected and without another role model.
Now laziness can be reversed but dishonesty is a character flaw, dishonesty is an obvious factor that can cause a poor father and son relationship, but this is the biggest factor.

For example in Samurai’s Garden, Stephan’s father showed dishonesty by having an affair with the Japanese woman and giving his mistress money ( 83 Tsukiyama). A father and son relationship is built on respect and trust, and when a father is untruthful that can destroy that relationship. Stephan felt uncomfortable around his father after that realizing that the world he was living in was full of deception. Another example is in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna but never tells Nwoye, which creates a further strain in their relationship when Nwoye finds out the real truth about it ( 52 Achebe). Nwoye felt he had no father so he used Ikemefuna as a role model. Okonkwo killed him and refused to tell Nwoye; Nwoye felt as though he had been lied to causing him to lose trust in his father. Trust is very important and it’s easy to lose but hard to

earn.
Children crave approval from their parents, they think the sun rises and sets on them, so when they are left with disapproval they feel empty and find they have no identity. In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo showed harsh disapproval towards Nwoye for not being a warrior or a hard worker just like him ( 127 Achebe). The first few years of a young boys life are spent looking for that approval from the father to create a sense of identity and when that isn’t found they begin to look elsewhere. Okonkwo’s disapproval, forced Nwoye to feel as though he didn’t fit in anywhere causing him to find another group to become his family and find a relationship where he felt accepted so he converted to Christianity.
Children look up to their fathers, so finding that healthy relationship is crucial for their development, so Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama show how crucial a healthy father and son relationship can be and the reasons that could factor into the reason for that unhealthy relationship.