Father-son Relationships and Okonkwo’s Downfall in “Things Fall Apart”

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The Link between Father-son Relationships and Okonkwo’s Downfall in “Things Fall Apart”
In African literature, various writers employed the influence of the father-son relationship to shape the story, as well as to represent several versions of masculinity in African tribes with a tragic misfortune. Chinua Achebe's “Things Fall Apart” is a remarkable example of those stories, which depicts a tragic hero Okonkwo tied in a father-son relationship in a way that leads to his eventual demise. He is a high-ranked figure in Ibo Tribe with titles, respect, money, and an appearance that typifies African masculinity. He develops his personality in contrast with his father, who was lazy, unsuccessful, and died under heavy debt. Okonkwo’s fear of becoming like his father molded an intolerable strictness and emotionless masculinity in him as his character flaw, which influenced his attitude toward his sons, as well as his behavior, actions, and experiences throughout his life, leading to his ultimate downfall.
Okonkwo’s relationship with his father, Unoka, shapes the story, dominating his opinion, personality, and lifestyle throughout his life. A father is a source of inspiration for his son, but in Okonkwo’s case, the father becomes a source of hatred, rage, and fear, developing the hero’s character flaw. Unoka was a lazy and unsuccessful man with feminine attributes, who died under heavy debts while his family never had enough to eat. “He neither inherited a barn, nor a title nor even a young wife” and met a “shameful death” (Achebe 18). This raged Okonkwo so much that he began to hate everything associated with his father, whether it was ‘idleness’ or ‘gentleness.’ “He was possessed by the fear” of his father’s loathsome life and “shameful death” (Achebe 18). The horror of being looked down upon and laughed upon like his father by the people made him extremely strict in his attitude toward life. He grew everything in his outlook and actions, which were in sharp contrast to the outlook and actions of his father. As Unoka was lazy, Okonkwo believed in hard work and earned a lot of wealth. His father loved music, while he hated anything like music, which moved his tenderness. Above all, he appeared to be an emotionless masculine figure, whom nothing could move due to the “fear of failure and weakness” (Achebe 13). His masculinity was visible in his walk, which was like pouncing on somebody, and he pounced on people frequently. He never showed any emotion to his family and friends, which might indicate his weakness. Although he was not that brutal by heart, his fear of inheriting his father’s attributes and hatred for the entire life and death of his father made him haunted by constant aggression. With his dedication to work and tireless effort, he proved himself an honored and respectable man in Ibo culture, where masculinity was valued than anything else. He earned barns, titles, young wives, and children, which Unoka could never achieve in his life. Still, his fear of becoming like his father did not leave him (Iyasẹre 67). According to him, showing an af...