How Did Unoka Influence Okonkwo's Life

China Achebe demonstrates the disrespect the Ibo men had for woman in Things Fall Apart by depicting verbal and physical abuse within the community. The men have control over a woman through power of authority. This physical and verbal abuse lets the men of the society feel empowerment over the woman. “ Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” Achebe 12.

Things fall apart is a tragedy novel written by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo, who is the protagonist of the novel and one of the most powerful men in the Ibo tribe often resorts to violence to make his points understood. Down in his heart, Okonkwo is not a cruel man, but his life is dominated by his internal conflict, the fear of failure and of weakness. He hated his father, Unoka, because he was a lazy debtor. Okonkwo made it a point in his life to set himself apart from his father by being well known and wealthy as well as becoming a great warrior in the tribal conflicts of Umuofia and the surrounding villages.

This story applies to the Feminist Criticism because the relationship with Emily and any male figure in her life is dependent. Also, this short story displays a society completely dominated by males. Moreover, Emily in the text is presented as isolated, a life she lives due to her father’s controlling ways, this shows her as dependent and feeble minded for continuing this unhappy way of life based on a man’s jurisdictions. Faulkner, in A Rose For Emily, states, “That was two years after her father’s death and a short time after her sweetheart— the one we believed would marry her—had deserted her. After her father’s death she went out very little; after her sweet heart went away, people hardly saw her at all.

Okonkwo was raised by his father Unoka who never earned any titles. Unoka was a sensitive man who never relished at the thought of war, but found joy in playing his flute. Unoka did not have the greatest luck when it came to farming, this caused him to end up in a lot of debt that he couldn’t pay back. Unlike his father, Okonkwo had no problem with the idea of war. Okonkwo grew up resenting his father for not being stronger and more masculine.

They are also considered the bravest out of everyone in a community The first reason is, everyone respects The Receiver and it is the most important and exclusive job in the community. After Jonas was selected to be The Receiver, the audience reacted this way, “he heard a gasp-the sudden intake of breath, drawn in astonishment by each of the seated citizens.” (57) It was an important part in the book because of the way the audience reacted. It is a very different and rare event that almost never happens so they admire and honor him. He also was skipped over which, in their community, was a monumental deal. The Chief Elder also says, “Which is

He is a picture of an abusive, cruel and pervert man who only thinks about his own satisfaction and disregarded even his own flesh and blood. Harpo 　　　He is Mister’s son from his first wife and a husband to Sofia. Just like his father Albert/Mister, he condone the patriarchal belief and justify his beatings to his wife as legit because she won’t follow him as the ruler of the house. In The Color Purple, Walker also voices concern over gender dynamics; the polarity between masculinity and femininity causes the division of gender roles; not being able to fit into role models is frustrating; men and women are supposed to show masculine attributes and feminine attributes respectively (Hsiao, 2008). The Special Symbols The Color

There are many different interpretations as to why the flute represents Willy. Willy 's dad has a business selling flutes and was able to make a profit of it. Willy also works as a salesman but isn 't successful. Willy is having one of his flashbacks and talks to his dead older brother, Ben. Ben states that, "Father was a very great and a very wild-hearted man... And we 'd stop in the towns and sell

He is thought to be lazy and weak and does not live up to the expectations that his father has for him as his oldest son. Okonkwo’s biggest problem with his son is that he is reminiscent of Okonkwo’s father. After the arrival of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo began to see positive changes in his son. He began to adopt more manly attitudes giving Okonkwo hope for him. “He wanted Nwoye to grow into tough young man capable of ruling his father’s household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors” (52).

Unoka was a very unsuccessful man who brought his misfortune upon himself by spending the majority of his time drinking and relaxing rather than working just as the other villagers did. "Unoka, the grown-up, was failure. He was poor, and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him money because he never paid back." (Achebe, 4).

His father was the exact opposite of what the Igbo people stand for. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is a “coward [who] could not bear the sight of blood” (Achebe 6). In turn, Okonkwo became a ruthless warrior who was known across the different tribes. The worst aspect of Unoka is that he was considered to be a failure. This caused Okonkwo “even as a little boy [to resent] his father’s failure” (13).