Unoka's Failure In Things Fall Apart

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Okonkwo was who he was because of his father, Unoka. “In his day [Unoka] was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow” (Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe p.4). Anytime money would come Unoka’s way, which was a rare occasion, he would immediately spend it on palm-wine. He “loved the good fare and the good fellowship, and he loved this season of the year…” (Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe p.5). However, that was only in his youth. “Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor and his wife and children barely had enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back” (Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe p.5). Unoka’s failure to provide for his family inspired Okonkwo to be a better man.
Okonkwo was a strong-headed man. He didn’t want to be the laughing stock of the village like his father was, he strived to be the best he could be and he refused to be viewed as weak. He had three wives and many children that were all well fed and he had many friends. He had already broken the expectations of himself set by his father. If Unoka had been a good example, Okonkwo might have not been as strong, as powerful and as admired as he was. …show more content…
It depends on the perspective. For example, in Things Fall Apart, christian missionaries come to the village and try to convert the people of the tribe. In the eyes of the missionaries, they are doing good, but in the eyes of the people of the tribe, they are stealing their people and causing them harm. The change from Unoka to Okonkwo was a good change, but it was too much. Okonkwo was a better man than his father but he feared being seen as weak. His extreme fear led him to suicide and the end of the
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