Unoka Okonkwoye Analysis

Father-son relationships are an important part of any young man’s life. The actions of the father can often influence the son in more ways than either realize, and these effects are apparent in Things Fall Apart. Unoka, Okonkwo, and Nwoye are men that make up three generations of an Igbo family living in Nigeria. Unoka was Okonkwo’s father, and Okonkwo was Nwoye’s father. In this family, the effects of father-son relationships are made obvious through the development and decision making of each son. Because of how Okonkwo and Nwoye were raised by their respective fathers, they developed in different ways and became completely different people as they aged. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, was notoriously lazy, had many debts, and did not seek to achieve much in life

His father was strong, hardworking, and harsh in his parenting. While Okonkwo hoped this would make Nwoye follow his example, this upbringing actually pushed Nwoye away. Although not lazy like his grandfather, Nwoye was much milder and had little interest in proving himself to everyone. Because of this, Okonkwo looked at Nwoye as a disgraceful, womanly son, and the two of them had an estranged relationship. Their relationship declined even further after Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna. Nwoye looked up to Ikemefuna as a big brother, and after his death, Nwoye tended to stay away from his father as much as possible. All of the tension between father and son finally culminated when Nwoye left the family and converted to Christianity. He had finally had enough of his father’s tyrannical rule and decided to turn away from his family and his culture. “Nwoye did not fully understand. But, he was happy to leave his father” (pg. 152). This quote talks about Nwoye’s feeling when he finally decided to leave the family. Although he didn’t fully understand his feelings at the time, he knew that he didn’t want to stay with his