Okonkwo vs Unoka essays

Okonkwo vs Unoka essays Chinua Achebes novel Things Fall Apart is a story about the coming of the white man to Africa and their influence in the ultimate destruction of the primitive, tribal lifestyle of the Africans. Achebe hints at the chaos that arises when a system collapses, and he shows this through Okonkwos and Unokas characters. Although both Okonkwo and Unoka had different circumstances for their deaths, both characters shared a similar fate in that both were unable to adapt to the changing society around them. This is supported through the differing lifestyles of Okonkwo and Unoka, and also through Achebes underlying theme about the effect of society on an individual. The Ibo tribe viewed Unoka as an efulefu, or a person who does not hold any status and was generally ignored by the clan. In his day he was lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow (Achebe 4). By the standards of the clan, Unoka was a coward and a squanderer because he never took a title in his life, borrowed money from his clansmen, and rarely repaid his debts. Also, he never became a warrior because of the fact that he feared the sight of blood. Yet, although he did not rank high in the tribes political and social hierarchy, Unoka was a skilled musician and had a gentle attitude towards life. Unoka was more of a romantic, which set him apart from the chauvinistic ideals of the Ibo tribe. It was because of this, that when Unoka became ill, the tribe neglected to help him but rather felt he deserved to be thrown into the evil forest to die. Had Unoka tried to conform to the standards of the tribe and acted less indolently, he may have stood a better c hance of survival. Unlike Unoka, Okonkwo strived to make a name for himself in a world that valued manliness. Due to the embarrassment he felt over the humiliating and dishonorable lifestyle of his father his whole life was dominated by ...