The circular nature of the themes in this story is common
in literature. It is an example of “the sins of the father” being visited upon the son.
Okonkwo is so determined not to be like his own father, considered
weak and worthless by the Ibo tribe, that he lets this goal cloud his reasoning. He
becomes a controlling, angry and irrational man. He makes decisions based on his
obsessive desire not to appear weak. These decisions are often compulsive and irrational
and have long-range negative consequences for him. He commits three murders in the novel
(Ikemefuna, Ezeudu’s son, and a government official ). He also beats his wives and
shoots at them when they fail to prepare his dinner. These actions cause things in his
life to “fall apart.” Okonkwo’s father was considered weak and unable to support his
family, but beloved and easy-going. In trying not to be like him, Okonkwo goes too far
the other way, in one of the novels’ great
ironies.
Ikemefuna is sent to live with Okonkwo’s tribe as
a peace offering for the killing of an Ibo girl. He lives with Okonkwo for three years
and Okonkwo comes to love him and appreciate him more than his own son, Nwoye because
Ikemefuna has qualities and talents that Okonkwo admires, qualities lacking in his own
son. The Ibo tribe later kills Ikemefuna because the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves
have told them to do so. Okonkwo, however, is warned by a tribal elder, Ezeudu, not to
take part in the killing as it would have dire consequences for him. While they are
walking in the woods, however, Okonkwo does participate in the killing of Ikemefuna
because he does not want to appear weak in front of the other men. As predicted,
Ikemefuna’s death and Okonkwo’s bad decision to participate in it cause things to “fall
apart” in Okonkwo’s life. Ikemefuna and Nwoye had become good friends, brothers in
spirit if not blood, and the sensitive Nwoye becomes alienated from his father over
Ikemefuna's death. To use a cliche, “what goes around, comes around” (regarding the
circular events in the story). Nwoye later leaves the tribe and becomes a Christian,
rejecting the beliefs of a father he perceives as harsh and
unloving.
Okonkwo favors his daughter Ezinma, who is his
wife Ekwefi’s only child. Ekwefi has lost many other children. Ezinma is not only
beautiful, but she is the only one of Okonkwo’s children that is totally like him. They
have a very close relationship and Ezinma is allowed to do things that the other
children are not. This is unusual because she is a girl, yet Okonkwo treats her as if
she were a son. Because of his favored treatment of Ezinma, however, Okonkwo’s other
children are alienated from him, including Nwoye. Once again, Okonkwo’s decisions return
in circular fashion to haunt him because Nwoye leaves the tribe to join those that are
aligned against Okonkwo.
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