Okonkwo and Ezinma relationship.
Okonkwo and Ekwefi treat Ezinma as their equal. She is favored and gets away with more things than the other children. Okonkwo and Ekwefi treat Ezinma like she is their equal rather than their child. They permit her privileges that other family and tribal children are not granted. Increasingly, Okonkwo comes to view Nwoye as a disappointment and extremely effeminate. Neither father nor son is unable to see and understand the other on his own terms. Ultimately, Nwoye is unable to forgive Okonkwo for his betrayal in killing his adopted brother. Okonkwo and his father have a serious conflict between them. Okonkwo hates his father’s gentleness and weakness and shows a great disapproval to his father’s characteristics. For Okonkwo’s first son Nwoye, he is a weak boy as well. Hence Okonkwo dislikes this son and forms another parent-child conflict.
Internal conflict and cultural conflict.
Chinua Achebe describes Igbo culture, which encompasses polytheistic religion, father-son inheritance, farming traditions, and belief in evil spirits. Okonkwo’s most prominent internal conflict, the fear of failure and weakness, destroyed his life and has made him a cruel man. His internal conflict gives him nothing but the fears of his family and clan have towards him. His conflict is greatly influenced by his father, but Okonkwo takes his fear to the extreme. The Ibo culture depicted in Things Fall Apart represents a civilized society because it is well organized with rules and values that are enforced. Like a civilized society, Umuofia has leaders the strong warriors and elders and a deity, whom which everyone willingly follows.