There is irony with Ezinma being Okonkwos favorite child. Okonkwo
believes that being masculine is superior to being feminine. Okonkwo does not
have any respect for his father because he was lazy, which caused him to be
poor and live off of other people. He saw is father to be weak and described as
feminine. To rid of the reputation that
Unoka created, Okonkwo developed aggressive masculine characteristics, and
hides his affectionate side. This gives him great power and status in his clan.
Okonkwo treats femininity as a sin. As he sees his father in
Nwoye, lazy and female like, leads
Okonkwo to disrespect Nwoye. When Nwoye converts to Christianity, Oknokwo views
Nwoye as a disgrace to the family and weak, and threatens his other sons not to
follow in Nwoye’s footsteps.
So if Okonkwo thinks showing feminine characteristics is a
weakness, then why is Ezinma his favorite child? Shouldn’t it be one of his sons
who are the opposite of Nwoye? He is being the father he wishes he had to his
sons, trying to raise them to be strong willed and hardworking just like he is,
and teaching them how to plant and handle yams properly at a young age, which
he never had. If he is raising his sons to be strong willed like him, shouldn’t
there be one son to reflect him and his values. Therefore I don’t get why his
favorite child is his daughter. Although she listens to him, she holds no
characteristic to make her seem masculine. –Jaya Jugmohan
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ReplyDeleteI think there is a possibility that other than the fact that Okonkwo prefers Ezinma over Nwyoe due to how loyal she is to him. It may as well be because unlike Nwyoe; Enzinma does not fulfill any of the qualities Okonkwo's late father had. While Nwyoe is a constant reminder of his grandfather, they're both known to be lazy and different compared to all of the men. -Melenny Gallardo
ReplyDeleteI feel like Ezinma reminds Okonkwo of himself, or at least the kind of person he wishes to be. She is patient and full of passion for her tribe, just as he is. When I read about this, I'm constantly wishing that Okonwo would realize that it doesn't matter if Ezinma is a girl or not. I think that would have been a good change, but by the end of the book, he still doesn't realize the sexism in his actions.
ReplyDelete- Elisabeth Magana
DeleteI agree with Melenny that there is a possibility that other than the fact that Okonkwo prefers Ezinma over Nwyoe due to how loyal she is to him; she is patient and full of passion especially for her tribe. -Rebecca Jones
ReplyDelete