In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo
and Ekwefi have a child together, Ezinma, and Achebe has Okonkwo make her his
favorite. I feel like the reason Okonkwo views Ezinma as his favorite is
because she plays a part in boosting his ego and also appeals to him in ways
that no one else does. I say that she may be his ego booster because in the
story, Achebe explains to us how Okonkwo won over Ezinma's mother, Ekwefi. She
was described as being the "village beauty" and Okonkwo being able to
make her leave her husband for him already shows that he is obviously something
special and superior but having a child with her, upgrades him even further. Not
only did he get the girl but he created a family with her so people look up to
him even more than they did before.
Ezinma is described as being “as beautiful
as her mother” which shows she automatically catches her father’s eyes and
heart. But to take it further, she appeals to Okonkwo is ways none of his other
children do. When he is around Ezinma, he becomes this emotional, sensitive,
loving, tender man yet when he is around his sons, he is the complete opposite.
For example he beats his sons, but he would never hurt Ezinma. I think Ezinma’s
purpose in this story is to show that even after all the things that Okonkwo
has done, such as fighting in war, bringing back heads, beating his kids, he
still has a heart and is capable of loving and caring for someone.
What I don’t understand is why he wishes
for Ezinma to be a boy. If she appeals to him in all these positive ways, why
would he want her to be something else? I feel that if Achebe did make her out
to be his son instead of his daughter, Okonkwo wouldn’t feel the same way
towards her.
-Destiny Quinones
I think Okonkwo wishes that Ezinma was a boy because he is sexist. He feels that woman are the weaker of the sexes are not worthy of the respect of higher people, such as himself. Okonkwo wishes Nwoye was just as enthusiastic and interesting as Ezinma
ReplyDelete-T'Nia Tention
DeleteI believe Okonkwo want Ezinma to be a boy because he believes that males are superior and Ezinma obeys him. Oknonkwo is hard on his sons because they are not what he wants them to be. Like Nwoye can't learn how to handle yams properly, and converted to Christianity, therefore going against his fathers beliefs. While Ezinma stayed loyal to what Okonkwo believes in.~Jaya Jugmohan
ReplyDeleteJaya and T'nia, I agree with both of your points about Okwonko feeling as though woman are the weaker sex. He refuses to believe that it is possible for a woman to be of a superior power or have a superior influence over a man. I would also like to think that maybe Ezinma would change his feelings on this topic. Maybe after contemplation he would come to the conclusion that it is possible for his daughter to rise above, even if she isn't a man. - Elisabeth Magana
ReplyDelete4. I agree with you, I feel that Ezinma acts as the feminine side of Okonkwo, though it is not within she is still there in his present life, because his femininity is unreachable by his actions and demeanor because of his absence of a mother figure throughout his life. Okonkwo does not know how to embrace his femininity and act upon it which is why he wants Ezinma to be male so badly so he does not have to face the fact that this compassionate side of him is in arm’s length but he cannot reach it within.-Rakasha
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ReplyDeleteOkonkwo did wished that Enzinma would have been a boy but at the same time, if she was, whould that have change anything? I think that Okonkwo expects perfection in his children but his idea of perfection is strong male who has strong qualities. However, even when expecting this, Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna, who is an adopted son that has the qualitative that he wanted. I see this as Okonkwo 's slowly ruining himself because he expects perfection and when he does meet that perfection, he destroy it.
ReplyDelete- Vy Ly
It is clear that Okonkwo prefers Enzinma over all of his other children, and he wishes she was a boy instead because he believes that the female is the weaker gender. Enzinma has always found a way to maintain her loyalty to her father while Nwoye for example shares the qualities Okonkwo does not want any son of his to have. He believes that if his daughter Enzinma was a boy instead of a girl, she would be the perfect hard working son he's always desired to have. -Melenny Gallardo
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