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There are several other short passages that support the idea that the relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye has deteriorated. Okonkwo was a typical man in the tribe. He often asked himself how he ended up with a son like Nwoye. “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating ( 13-14).” Okonkwo thought that by doing this he could turn Nwoye into his idea of what a real man was. While Ikemefuna was part of the family, Nwoye and him were inseparable. Okonkwo was pleased with the direction his son was headed in. He had an active interest in hunting and farming. “Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears, whereupon his father beat him heavily (53).” This occurred when Nwoye learned that Ikemefuna was leaving the village. After Nwoye learned of his friend’s death his personality changed dramatically. He became quiet and withdrawn, much to the dismay of his father. When the missionaries came into the area they seemed to have some of the answers that Nwoye was looking for. Nwoye had to leave his family to be a part of the new religion although he had plans to return to convert his mother and sisters. Okonkwo had given up on his son; he didn’t believe that Nwoye was worth fighting for. He had never thought of his son as masculine. Nwoye knew he disappointed his father, but he didn’t know what to do about it. “Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell....(57). Nwoye’s personality was completely different from his fathers. He knew he was supposed to be masculine and violent but he just couldn’t be. He knew that he was deserting his family, probably never to see them again, but it was something that he
