Old Wine in a New Wineskin: Achebe’s Okonwo a Character Archetype of Adichie’s Eugene Achike

The investigation and establishment of character types in literary texts is a cardinal thrust of archetypal criticism as a critical tool. Achebe’s Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart (1958) and Adichie’s Eugene otherwise referred to as Papa in Purple Hibiscus (2003) are character types in two canonical African fictions not only because both are male protagonists but also due to a number of other remarkable characterizations which they share in common. In fact, Eugene can he said to be a modern Okonkwo in various ways. Utilizing the vital tools and tenets of archetypal criticism, a critical juxtaposition of the two major characters in the two novels unveils that both characters are caring but cruel, and indeed unleashed multidimensional phallocentric violence in monumental proportions to their immediate family members, particularly to their women. Both characters are unsympathetic to their wives and possess similar volcanic temperaments. Also, both men have “no patience” with their biological fathers and maintain frosty relationships with them on account of certain grievances and grudges borne in their hearts against them over a protracted period of time. Indeed, both men can be said to be ashamed of their own fathers. But their disgusts for their fathers transform them into men of actions rather than of words and leisure, even as both characters become diligent creators and managers of wealth by their personal determination, courage and hardworking attitude as opposed to the indigent backgrounds they germinated from. Unfortunately, both characters encounter tragic ends in their seemingly unguarded pursuit for preservation and perfection.