Friday, December 15, 2017
Things Fall Apart #2
In Things Fall Apart part 2, we see that Nwoye has turned his beliefs over to Christianity. Okonkwo isn't very happy with it. Okonkwo then replies that Nwoye isn't his son anymore. I dislike the fact that he says this. As Nwoye was coming back from the church, Okonkwo had beaten him up because Nwoye didn't tell him where he had gone to. I didn't understand why Okonkwo had to beat him up. Okonkwo could have easily been happy for Nwoye and the things he had chosen. Instead Okonkwo has a different mind set for Nwoye. It was for him to become a strong man instead of becoming a "women". I think the fact that Nwoye didn't want to tell Okonkwo he had gone to the church was because he knew that his father wouldn't approve of it. In my opinion, I didn't think it was necessary to beat up Nwoye for wanting to learn different beliefs. I mean sure, if the parents believe in something else then it's most likely that their child will follow but, if the child wanted to do or learn something different, we shouldn't punish them. The child isn't just going to have one parents' traits, they are obviously going to have both. In Nwoye case he had gotten most of his mother's trait and some of Okonkwo's. Each parents should support their child's decision instead of putting them to shame. Plus since Okonkwo has 5 other sons he could make them into strong men.
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I understand your reasoning, but it was part of Igbo culture to not show any signs of having a fragile masculinity. It is somewhat the same way now, as many men have to live up to society's standards of masculinity getting rid of what makes them human which is empathy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that a child doesn't always have to carry on the traits of their parent(s). The fact that masculinity is a huge part in this culture to me is sort of sad.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Okonkwo beating up his own son is totally harsh and cruel. However, it wasn't surprising because we know what type of person Okonkwo is. He is tough, cold hearted, stubborn, and aggressive. All these characteristics put together make him take actions that are not the right ones to take. The saddest part is that no one can and will be able to change his way of being. If your not with him or go against him you are his enemy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in the fact that it wasn’t right for Okonkwo to beat and disown Nwoye. I think that the reason he did it was because of social pressure to maintain his pride and reputation. I also think that he isn’t really as violent as he is made out to be in the book because I think he is so caught up in not becoming like his father that he tries to show it by lashing out at people. I also agree with what you said about parents letting their kid choose their own beliefs. Parents shouldn’t get angry or disown you because you have different views on things than they do and who is to judge what is right and wrong in opinion based topics anyway it is only what you as an individual believe to be true.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you said that it wasn’t right for Okonkwo to straight up disown and beat up Nwoye for going to a church to learn about new beliefs. Parents should be supportive of their child no matter what unless it is a really bad decision, but in this case, it was a bad decision in Okonkwo’s eyes because he ended up just beating Nwoye.
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