Things Fall Part Essay
"Living fire begets cold, impotent ash." (P.153) In Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", Okonkwo kills himself because of Nwoye's failure to follow in his footsteps. Throughout "Things Fall Apart", Nwoye has been proving himself time after time a failure to his father. Nwoye was the opposite of his father, he was more like his grandfather, Unoka.. His laziness, degenerate and effeminate behavior, and finally his succumb to the white man drove Okonkwo to commit suicide.One of Nwoye's characteristics that Okonkwo very much disliked was his laziness. It was one of the things that Okonkwo stood against because laziness was also one of his father's traits. An example of this is on p.13, "Okonkwo's first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth." This example indicates how Okonkwo feels about laziness. He tries to mo
Lastly, the event that finally drove Okonkwo to kill himself was when Nwoye willingly submitted himself to the White Man and his religion. This action was basically the last straw for Okonkwo. Nwoye had not only failed him, but he also failed his ancestors and his land. Nwoye created an abomination by joining the White Man and his religion. This event occurs in p. 152, "He went back to the church and told Mr. Kiaga that he had decided to go to Umuofia where the white missionary had set up a school to teach young christians to read and write. Mr. Kiaga's joy was very great. "Blessed is he who forsakes his mother and father for my sake," he intoned. "Those that hear my words are my mother and father." Nwoye did not fully understand. But he was happy to leave his father." This event shows that Nwoye has succumb to the White Man. Furthermore, another of Nwoye's characteristics that Okonkwo hates is Nwoye's degenerate and effeminate behavior. Being degenerate and effeminate was also one of Okonkwo's father, Unoka's traits. An example of this is on
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Approximate Word count = 708
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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