Brandons

Brandon Rachwal  British and World Literature  Mr.Callies  9 March 2011 

__ Things Fall Apart __  The saying, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is a commonly used quote. It relates to either a son or a daughter following in the footsteps of their parents or siblings. In the book __ Things Fall Apart __ by Chinua Achebe Unoka and his son Okonkwo follow this quote very well, even when Okonkwo does not want to be anything like Unoka. Unoka lived a very poor life with debts throughout the clan. He ended up never being able to pay them back. In the end Unoka died a poor and with no respect. Okonkwo said he would never follow in Unoka’s footsteps. Unfortunately Okonkwo worked hard his whole life living wealthy not following in his footsteps until Okonkwo decided to hang himself after killing the head messenger from the church. When Okonkwo hung himself he lost all respect and dignity from the clan. The clan thought it was a cowards way to go, thus just like his father who could not pay his debts and was named a coward. In the end Okonkwo fell very close to the tree by dying with no respect just like his father.  Just like Okonkwo and Unoka, my father and I are very much alike. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree also applies to me. My father was been my role model for my whole life and I do many things that he has done. He is a very good working and always completes his task on time and correctly. He even if he has a lot on his plate he can still manages it all. My father is also very ambitious, he is about to get his associate degree within the next year just to show how important schooling is. Just like my father I am a extremely good worker and very ambitious. I currently have two jobs working 40+ hours a week and that’s not including school. I plan on going to WCTC for firefighting and then a business degree. I see this as a figure just like my father. So I would agree that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. 

In life the main rule is to stay true to your families traditions. If Okonkwo could have one rule for him and his family it would have to be staying true to family/clan’s traditions. In the book __ Things Fall Apart __ by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo has been loyal to his clan. On one night Okonkwo was at a funeral for Ogbuefi Ezeudo—who is the oldest man in the village—the clans men and Okonkwo were celebrating by shooting off their guns. In this celebration Okonkwo’s gun exploded sending shrapnel into Ogbuefi Ezeudo’s son killing him. In Okonkwo’s clan if you killed someone you are an exile for seven years. Okonkwo did not even try to fight against the ruling, instead he just accepted that this is the rule and he must follow. Instead of Okonkwo pleading it was an accident to stay in the clan he respects the clan’s traditions and stays true to this. Okonkwo and his family leave for seven years in exile. Okonkwo and his family both follow the rules, staying true to their family/clan traditions.  The rule staying true to your family and their traditions applies to me too. My family does not have many traditions at all besides a few family get to gethers on a holidays or birthday parties. The main event my family has is the one week we spend up north right after school gets out. This is where all the guys in the family go up north, this tradition has been going on for a long time, even when my father was young it was passed on. So in the same respect that Okonkwo was able to give his family/clans members by following rules, I too go up north every year. I have not missed a single year since I started going up north since I was old enough to go. To show my willingness to follow my family’s traditions I would quit my jobs if they would not give me off. I wouldn’t miss this trip for the world. To stay true to this tradition I plan on going up north with my family every year and if I have kids I will pass on the traditions and bring them up too. 

Every parent hates to see their child go off on their own, be even they know they can't guide their children for ever. In the book __Things Fall Apart"__ by Chinua Achebe Okonkwo and his son Nwoye fall under this problem. Nwoye is a boy who was sometimes frowned upon by Okonkwo. Even so, Nwoye followed the traditions as Okonkwo's was very strict with. Nwoye was guided by Okonkwo for his whole life, following whatever Okonkwo said. When the Christians came into the clans town and started to preach their religion Nwoye found interest in it because it seemed to make sense of why everything has been happening like Ikkemefumas death. In Okonkwo's anger he beats Nwoye hoping to guide him back to his believe. Instead of Nwoye giving in and following his dad, he ended up leaving the town and joining the Christian church leaving Okonkwo's guidance. Nwoye does not return but instead starts school with the Christians and lives his own life. It only goes to show that parents only have so much guidance before they leave and live their own life. Although I am not exactly like Nwoye and completely left my parents, I have pretty much gone off on my own with minimal guidance. As of right now I work two jobs, have school, working out, and hanging out with friends on my plate. I wake up at about seven everyday and don't get home till about midnight and one, by this time my parents are asleep. I don't see them as much as I used to which means they don't have the time one on one to guide me. This leaves me to be very similar to Nwoye in the fact that I'm on my own, even though I still live at home the concepts are similar. I know that I am not completely off of their guidance but in a few years i will be. Life goes on and I know for a fact I will not be dwelling at home. I am almost out of the house besides sleeping in it, one more step and I will be completely away from any guidance. When this time comes I hope the previous guidance has prepared me.